UKH

In Scotttish winter I'm a climber, but I have been toying with getting some second-hand skis for use when conditions are better for ski-ing. I'd love to have a touring setup so I could skin up MacDui etc, but initially I just want to get some downhill experience. The last time I skied was 30 years ago, that was only for 2 weeks so I'd be basically a beginner. I'm aware of the fact I'd need beginner skis. Now I'm male but only 174cms tall and 65kgs. I often browse Ebay for skis in the 159 to 164cm range but not bought anything yet. My main question is: Would ladies skis work for me also? I would probably have to change bindings though because my feet are size 10 (46.5 boots).

In reply to Duncan Beard:

Hi Duncan,

I have a pair of down hill piste skis with bindings that you can have for £50. I'm same height and weight as you so they should be ok.

I've kept them just for Scotland, usually hire something when I go overseas to ski. I'm back home tomorrow and will send you some pics if you're interested.

Jeff

In reply to Duncan Beard:

I’ve got a pair of my wife’s Salomon Xscream with downhill bindings you can have for nowt if you want them, but I won’t be back home until the middle of January.

In reply to Duncan Beard:

To start with I’d just rent. You’ll quickly outgrow beginner skis, and will get a flavour for what you like and dislike. Additionally, if you’ve not skied for a while a few lessons early on will a) accelerate your progress and b) prevent you from developing bad habits.

In reply to Jeff Ingman:

Hi Jeff, I am interested as long as they are not skis for experts! You can email me pics, I'll pm adddress.

In reply to John Ww:

Yes I am very interested and I live close to you by the sound of it, I'm in Barnsley. Please message or email me when you return.

In reply to Duncan Beard:

Will do 👍

In reply to Duncan Beard: Do you have ski boots already? If not what are your plans?

In reply to kevin stephens:

I have a s/h pair of Scarpa Spirit 3 touring boots I bought off Ebay 3 or 4 years ago, only used them locally on some 99cm snowblades so far.

In reply to Duncan Beard: Perfect! But be aware their soles may be too thick for most normal downhill ski bindings and wont fit unless they have height adjustments

In reply to Duncan Beard:

Officislly those have so called touring soles. Which means that either you need specific touring bindings, or modern Multi-Norm bindings (e.g. Solly Warden).

That being said, a lot of folks have used older style Solly S9xx (I guess it’s the STH series these days) where you can adjust the height of the toe piece. Also Marker’s Royal binding family seems to cope with the situation. Albeit you need to understand that using non-official combos the release pattern might not be correct (either they come off too easily, or don’t… both will be a problem).

In reply to Duncan Beard:

Because you have a good pair of touring boots you may well have to buy new bindings and possibly skis too. Learning to ski on bindings that are not designed to work with your boots will increase the risk of broken bones or ligaments. I have Solomon Warden bindings that work well on my downhill skis with my touring boots, at around £160 they are a lot cheaper than full on touring bindings. Most second hand skis, especially towards the beginner end of the spectrum will come with integrated bindings which cannot be  swapped for Wardens or similar. Most people coming to skiing with a climber’s fitness and attitude will outgrow beginners skis in a few days, particularly if you want to learn to ski in a way that sets you up to learn off piste/touring in the future. Ski Bartlett were good to deal with for me and seem to have a good range of options at sale prices.