How To Maintain And Take Care Of Your Ski Gear

Here are the most important things for any ski trip.


Skis:
Chances are if you are anything like me your skis have been sitting in your ski bag since your last trip to the mountain. Before they will be ready for the slops you should take them to your local ski shop and have them tuned up. A tune up is just an adjustment of the bindings, waxing the bottom of the skis and sharpening the edges. The reason for adjusting the binding is to make sure they are in good working order and to make and adjustments for any changes in your weight. The edges of the skis must be sharp to make sure you can turn if you happen to hit some ice and you wax the bottom of the skis to fill in any scratches and to reduce the amount of friction on the snow.

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.


Ski Polls:
It is also very important to make sure that the bottoms of your ski polls are sharp so they can cut thru a thin layer of ice if needed. It is also good to make sure that you have the right size polls. Take the poll and turn it upside down, then place your fist around the end of the poll. Your arm should now be parallel to the ground of it is not you should get new polls. The purpose for polls is to help along with balance and ice. If you are trying to turn and start to slide on a patch of ice you can jam one side into the ice to help you complete your turn or to help stop.


Hands, Head and Eyes
Keeping warm and dry is important to your health, so making sure your hands and head are covered is important. By alloying your hands to get wet and cold you could damage your hands and possibly get frostbite. A hat should cover your entire head and be made from a warm material to help keep the heat from escaping. If you are skiing an have no eye protection how will you be able to see where you are going. At the very least you must have a pair of sunglasses, but proper ski goggles are best just because they wrap all the way around your eyes and are pulled close to make sure no wind gets in your eyes allowing you to keep your eyes open at any speeds or weather conditions.



Insulated Underwear:
Keeping your body warm and as dry as possible is very important if you are going to spend the day outside in the cold and wind of the winter and expect not to get sick.


Outerwear:
Outerwear for skiing has not changed much in the last 20 years, but the technology behind it has. Today's materials are thinner, less expensive and far more efficient at keeping the body warm and dry, while still looking good as well.