advice > rental

Wasteland Ski is committed to ensuring you receive the best possible service when renting. A necessity for most it’s an important part of your trip to get right. Even experienced skiers and boarders weigh up the pros and cons every year of whether to buy or rent.

Advantages of renting:

1. Renting can significantly cut down the cost of travelling especially on budget airlines. If money is tight then weighing up the difference in costs between the extra airline baggage and rental is a good idea.
2. Like all technology ski designs change rapidly, to keep up with the latest changes can be an expensive pursuit. Renting can give you access to the best every year without seeing your investment becoming obsolete.
3. Growing children and improving skiers especially benefit with being able to change equipment on a regular basis.
4. Save yourself the effort of lugging around additional equipment and instead pick it up from your own hotel. Renting can make your life a lot easier.
5. As with all good things that come to an end so do skies. If anything goes wrong with your rental equipment, an exchange will be organised by the company to have you back up and running as quickly as possible.  
6. You don’t have ongoing maintenance costs such as sharpening and resurfacing.  Rental companies will ensure that equipment is well maintained.
7. Renting is the best way to find out what suits you best.  Once you can justify the expense you will have a clearer idea of what you want.

Renting equipment

Remember that Wasteland Ski can arrange your rental to ensure a smooth transition on arrival and departure. However if you decide to do this on your own here is some of our advice:

• The majority of packages include skis/boards, boots and poles from beginner to performance levels.
• Protecting yourself on the slopes can lead to a more enjoyable holiday so helmets are a good addition to your package.   These items can also be rented separately allowing you to make use of your own equipment. Check your existing holiday packages for what is included, as most include rental especially with lessons.
• Pricing will depend on the equipment being hired.  Easy tuning, piste carvers or mountain cruisers are usually the cheapest whilst performance skies such as free ride or race skies attract higher rental prices.
• Renting equipment on the mountain can be more convenient but expect to pay more for it.  Be aware of damage policies, it’s worth paying a little more to get the right coverage.
• Ensure that you reserve equipment early as stocks can get low during peak times, leaving it until you arrive could mean searching for a long time before finding what you want.
• Snowboarders beware as the sport has greatly increased in popularity and some stores haven’t caught up with demand. If someone in your party requires a very large shoe size, check first to ensure they are available.
• When offered insurance on equipment always say yes! If you are not asked then ask for it. Whilst it’s unlikely you will experience problems, the minimal cost could save you a lot of money.
• Make sure you arrive ahead of time with the necessary information so you can get fitted and not encroach into your time on the slopes. Be ready with everyone’s shoe sizes, heights, weights, ability and history of injuries. This will make the process a lot quicker when sorting your bindings.  Be honest, just making this up or evading the truth could jeopardise your safety.