Skis have changed tremendously in the previous few years. Now, even for a beginner, there is a bewildering range of styles and lengths available. So what to do and when to buy?
First off, think about if you really need to buy skis. If you are only going to be skiing on one holiday a year, are the level of skis that you buy now going to see you through the progress you are likely to make in the next few holidays? Certainly, if you are a beginner or low intermediate, you should consider renting skis until you are confident about your ability to choose between diferent styles and makes.
Secondly, buying skis can be more expensive than you think. If you are bringing them from home, there are the ski tuning costs and the transport costs charged by many charter airlines these days. And what happens if you go over a rock in bad conditions and damage an edge badly?
If you do decide to buy skis, make sure you can take them for a test run beforehand. And that means either buying in resort or limiting your choice at home to skis that you have skied in the previous winter. Most ski hire shops will offer a discount of some kind to people who start off hiring a pair of skis and then buy towards the end of the week.
As far as the range of skis go, you will find an extensive range of carving skis available. The former "straight" skis have disappeared from the market. This means that the old advice about buying a skis a little bit taller than you is almost entirely false. If in doubt now, buy short rather than long - and listen to the advice of the pros in your sports shop. Even some of the professionals are now racing on skis that are only 155cm in length...
You don't need the top racing bindings, especially if you are an especially small or light person. Make sure that your DIN setting (the number at which your bindings are set) lies near the middle of the range of the bindings that you wish to purchase. Concentrate more on how and in how many directions the bindings are designed to release.