Time For New Skis?

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It must be that time of year, but I'm once again toying with the idea of getting new skis. I don't know what keeps coming over me, but let's face it, my skis are old as the hills, and I've been told again and again that I should really check out some of the new stuff. I am not sure how to best approach this, however, because skis are expensive, and I've tried newer skis and didn't like them. I would really need to ski on them and decide, because that's the true test. It would bum me out beyond description if I bought new skis and didn't like them, and if I'm going to pay the money, I'm going to make darn sure they're the ones for me. With all this neurosis, it's no wonder I've never bought new skis.

I've found that I am unable to really explain to ski folks what sort of skis I am looking for, partly because I don't really know, but also because I don't have a huge frame of reference. I'm old school, and we didn't really make an issue of what skis we were on. With the advent of modern shaped skis, which for the record I own (they're just old), everything changed. Now there is way too much to consider when buying a pair of skis. Way too much for my old and tired brain.

I did recently learn that some ski shops will let you demo a pair. For $30-40 bucks, they'll fit the skis to your boots and off you go. Then, if you decide to buy them, that money goes toward the price. I probably wouldn't buy them on the spot, but at least trying them will allow me to know what newer skis feel like, at least the ones that are more geared to my style of skiing, which for the record is not like most normal people. I'll leave it at that.

Unfortunately, the season is pretty much over and the snow is disappearing fast, so I may be too late for this year. However, I think next season I'll be more on the ball and test out some skis. It would have been more ideal to have a sense of what I want this year and then look during the off season, but that would mean being organized and on top of things, and somehow that just never seems to apply to me. Funny how that works.

Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to Tristan Holdsworth for the pic.