I’ve been booking my ski hire online for about the last ten years and I really wouldn’t do it any other way now. Booking ski equipment hire online not only saves you money (up to 40% off in resort prices) it’s also completely hassle free. Booking ski hire online works like this:

Visit skiset.co.uk who have shops in pretty much every ski resort in the World! On the skiset.co.uk website they will offer you a discount on your ski hire of up to 40% off the price you’d pay in the ski resort. You can choose any resort Ski Set have shops in, and then choose the actual shop you’d like to pick your ski hire up from in the ski resort (a map of location is provided), often they have 2 or more shops in resort, so pick the one closest to your accommodation. Then choose the dates that you need your ski hire for, you get the 7th day free and you can pick your ski hire up the afternoon before the ski hire period starts. You then choose the type of skis you’d like to hire, there are a large range of standards to choose from, beginner skis to expert sport skis with a number of options in between. Remove the boots option if you have your own boots. Then just pay for your chosen ski hire selection securely online, print out the confirmation details and take this to the ski shop when you arrive in the ski resort.

There are many reasons why you’re better off booking your ski hire online, I think many people probably haven’t realised the benefits of doing this yet. So here are my top 5 reasons to book ski hire online.

Why Book Ski Hire Online reason 1 – Savings. Typically you can save up to 40% off the price by booking your ski hire online

Why book Ski Hire online reason 2 – Know where you’re going. When booking ski hire online you can choose the shop by location and therefore you’ll know exactly where in resort you need to go to pick your ski hire up from.

Why Book Ski Hire Online reason 3 – Time saving. When you book ski hire online the ski shop will have your skis / snowboard ready to go, so you don’t have to wait when you get to the shop. If you need to hire boots then of course it’ll take a little longer, but when I’ve just had just skis to collect I’ve been in and out in 5 minutes!

Why Book Ski Hire Online reason 4 – Avoid airline baggage charges (and a bad back) . It could well be cheaper to get ski hire in resort than it is these days to pay the airline baggage charges. And it’ll be far less effort too.

Why book Book Ski Hire Online 5 - Get up to date equipment. Ski Set replace their ski hire kit every year. This means that the skis you hire will progress with the technical improvements as they happen. At Ski Set you can also specify exactly the skis or snowboard you would like to hire.

All in all, booking ski hire online is a very simple process and can save you a lot of money, especially if you’re a family or group. Most ski holiday reps will obviously be pretty disappointed that they can’t sell you the overpriced option, but it’s your choice entirely where you get your ski hire from, so don’t feel afraid to not order with your holiday company. I’ve been booking my ski hire online for 10 years and haven’t regretted it yet!

Book your ski hire online at skiset.co.uk

Ellis Brigham at Milton Keynes is next door to the Xscape snowdome. This means you can double up a trip to get your kit with a session in the snowdome. In fact if you’re thinking about buying skis or a snowboard and you want to test on the ski slope they’ll give you your session price back if you go ahead and buy the equipment.

So, back to the boots. We were helped by a fantastic member of staff called Gordon. Gordon was extremely knowledgeable about all the boots, seemed to have a good idea of what would work best, and asked all the right questions.

First up the usuals, foot measurements, volume test and then the first boot try. First off was the Salomon Mission RS8 at £220. The Salomon Mission RS8 is a mid level boot with a moderate flex. It has a reasonable volume, so a good option for those with wider feet. It’s a comfortable option so good for those that don’t spend much time every year skiing (1 week maybe) and don’t have the time to bed boots in.

Salomon Mission RS8 ski boot - £230

Second up was Atomic Hawx 100 at £285. These are a higher range boots, being suitable for intermediates to experts. This boot uses a more flexible plastic on the forefoot than most other boots, this is supposed to increase comfort and reduce strain in this higher range boot. I think it would be a really good option for those intermediates wanting to buy a boot that will not need to be upgraded in several years time.

Atomic Hawx 100 ski boot - £285

Third up was the Fischer Soma Progressor 100 at £280. This is a performance boot with a narrower fit than the Salomon or Atomic. I think this is the very reason why Dave immediately didn’t get on with this boot. This is probably a good option for intermediates with less wide feet looking for progressive boots that will last as harder terrain is explored.

Fischer Soma Progressor 100 ski boot - £280

Other boots tried on included the Salomon Impact 8 cs and the Lange Blaster 9.

After what was probably a good 2 hours in Ellis Brigham trying on the different options, and after much help from Gordon, the boot that was decided upon was the Atomic Hawx 100. This was down to comfort as well as the level allowing it to be used as a progressive boot for many years to come. Of course everyone will fit a ski boot entirely differently, these opinions are based on Dave’s own personal fit experience. If you are buying ski boots get down to a good ski shop, like Ellis Brigham, and get trying some ski boots on.

As for Ellis Brigham, we were extremely impressed with the service, mostly thanks to Gordon. No doubt will be back again soon for our next piece of kit.