Skier Poll: How Often Should You Buy New Skis?

The POWDER Weekly Poll is back, and after long discussions with the Department of Polls and Skier Opinion, we’ve decided to build on the momentum of our latest vote.

Last week, we asked skiers how many pairs of skis they own. The resounding answer? Three to five pairs, indicating that most respondents had a sizable, but not ostentatious, quiver. Now, we’re looking at that question from a new angle: how often do you buy skis?

It’s a simple query with plenty of nuance.

What you use your skis for certainly plays a role in how often you pull out the credit card. Park skiers, for instance, blow through skis faster—slamming your edges into rails isn’t good for structural longevity, after all. Meanwhile, those who carefully repair their skis and avoid rocks probably hit the shop with less frequency. Similarly, if you only ski a few times a season, you’ll get much more life out of one pair of skis.

Utility isn’t the only factor in this equation, though. Buying skis is fun, and people often buy skis when they don’t, technically, need skis. “Oh, those look cool,” you might think. “I guess I can make some room in my garage.” Sound familiar? You’re hardly alone. Skiing involves amassing fun stuff that we can live without—there’s a reason people suffering from gear acquisition syndrome, or GAS, are common among our ranks.

What’s our guess about this poll’s outcome? Avid skiers are adding to their quiver somewhere in the three-to-six-season range. But that’s just a hypothesis. To find out the real answer, we need your vote. You can participate below. 

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About the POWDER Weekly Poll

We launch our weekly polls at 3 p.m. EST every Monday. They remain open until 12:00 p.m. EST that Friday, with the results dropping on Sunday at 9 a.m. EST (schedule changes around holidays are possible). You can participate and see the results right here on our website or by visiting our Instagram page.

Related: How Many Pairs of Skis Do You Need? We Asked 4,500 Skiers