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Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Ski Equipment

Here are the most important things for any ski trip.

Tune Up:
Before your skis are going to be ready for this ski season you need to blow the dust off your skis and get them back into shape. During a day of skiing you can get scratches and gouges in the bottom of your skis. These scratches and gouges cause surface friction and will actually reduce your speeds and your control over the skis. It won't affect you that much unless you are a professional racer, but by taking care of your skis they will last you longer. Skis come with sharp metal edges and every year if not every week during ski season these edges need to be sharpened with a file. This edge is for cutting into the ice incase you hit a slick spot on the slope during a turn. A sharp edge will help keep you in control.

Ski Boots:
It is not uncommon for someone to keep the same ski boots for years after their feet stop growing, but this is not a very good idea. a ski boot is made of a hard plastic shell and a foam insulations insert that not only helps keep your feet warm it also helps stabilize your foot in the boot so if you fall you so not get hurt, but after years of use the foam will start to deteriorate and will not give you the comfort and support you need to be able to go down the slops all day long. If you do not want to spend the money on new boots you should at least order new foam inserts.

Skiing with Polls:
For the most part unless you are a beginner if you are skiing at a resort you don’t really need ski polls. Most people only use them because I was how they were taught to ski, but if you are going to have them you need to have the right ones. A ski pole should go from the plastic ring above the bottom to just above the waist so that when the tip is in the ground and your hand is on the handle your arm is bent at the elbow with the lower arm straight out. Also every year the tip should be taken and sharpened when you have your skis sharpened and waxed you can bring the polls as well.

Gloves:
Believe it or not gloves are very important when skiing. If you fall you are going to have to use your hands to get up. Your hands are going to have to touch snow and if you do not want to damage your hands you need to keep them warm and dry. The glove should have at least 150 grams of thinsulate and should be big enough to fit the ends of the gloves into your jacket.

Long Johns:
Long Johns are insulated tops and bottoms designed to keep your body heat close to your body and the cold winds out, and are not only good for skiing but any activity that puts you out in the cold for several hours.

Pants and Jacket:
Ski pants and jackets are designed to keep the wind out and will stop water from penetrating in case you should fall and get covered in snow.