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Snow is Like Money

© Michael J. Maassen (The Ski Bum)

September 1st, can it be? Ski season is only the better part of two months away... for those who live in the Northern Hemisphere. Well, I have been sitting at the computer surfing the World Wide Web these last few days trying to come up with a topic related to skiing. I have looked back at the past articles here in the Apres Ski Lounge and trying to stay focused on the fact most of us do not have snow on the ground yet. To top things off, I have just recently returned from a grueling summer with the Canadian Armed Forces. You see, I thought that one way to start my pre-season ski training is to take Basic Officer Training with the military... Well, guess what? I am ready to take on the slopes, and it is going to be a breeze to follow up this summer training with the pre-season conditioning program located in one of my earlier articles.

OK... time to get back on track. As I said, the season will start in about two months up here in the northern part of the world, so I thought, perhaps, it is time to look at and discuss BUYING versus RENTING ski equipment. I have thought long and hard on this issue and have the following ideas to share:

If you RENT, then you do not have to layout a whole whack of buckaroos, and that was about the only pro that I could come up with. Oh, there is one other pro to renting -- you do get to try out a variety of ski equipment so that when you do decide to buy you should have a good idea of what you are looking for.

Now, on the other hand, if you BUY you do have to spend some BUCKS. But keep this in mind -- you can always buy USED or last year's STOCK. Around this time of the year there are a lot of ski swaps and ski shows where retailers and dealers are trying to purge their last-year stock at some pretty darn good prices.

Now, if you still are sitting on the fence not sure if this is the year you bite the bullet and BUY, let me give one good suggestion:

BUY yourself a PAIR of ski boots, as this, by far, is the most important piece of equipment you will own. Ski boots over time mold and fit to your feet. Over the course of 3 to 4 ski seasons, those rental boots have seen millions of user's feet. You know what I mean -- they are PACKED out, and the odds of getting a good comfortable fit is as likely as your winning the LOTTO!

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