I'm heading to Denver this week, where I will do two days of skiing. Torn about whether to bring my own skis.

Pros of bringing: Renting is a hassle, it would probably work out to save a little cash.

Cons of bringing: I'd still have to pay a substantial baggage fee, they're a pain to lug around while traveling, and most of all -- these skis aren't even nice. I bought them used five years ago, the boots don't fit terribly well. It may be a bit silly to carry them across the country?

For only two days of skiing with skis that might not be well suited to Colorados terrain, i.e. odds are good you might find some powder and want wider skis, I would rent skis. However if it were me I would carry on my boots but my boots fit well and I like them much better than any rental boots I have ever worn. In January I went up to New Hampshire for some mountaineering and did two days of skiing at the end of it, because I was scrambling to get all the gear together for climbing I forgot my ski boots and had to rent a pair. The pair I rented were reasonably comfortable and fit pretty well, they just didn't give me the same level of control over my skis. I presume the boots I rented just had too much flex in them.

Carry boots on, demo skis!

What David said. Just make sure you have the chance to switch them out at will because you will find a wide variety of skis. This means finding a shop on mountain that does demos.

I take mine along whenever I can but thats because I found them after demoing about 12 different skis and I am pretty dialed into them. Have fun.

I've wondered about bringing tele boots and demoing. Never tried it and I suspect that nobody does it.

Denis

I got curious and googled around a little. Looks like you can rent tele setups in some places. Bridger Bowl and some place I saw in the Tahoe area. Probably a lot more.

Glenn

Just returning from Telluride. Had my brand new Blizzard Bona Fide skis UPS'd to the hotel. The ski valet had them a day prior to my arrival and they were cleaned, shiny, newly waxed and ready when I went to ski the next day. Cost of shipment for two people to and from was $260. We skied for four days. Demo skis of the same quality as mine were $60 a day. For two people it would have been been a $480 expense.

I guess if you're flying Southwest taking your skis isn't as much of a hassle. Can't beat 2 free bags!!

But for just 2 days the extra $$ demoing wouldn't be worth the extra hassle lugging skis around IMHO...

My concern is that, as a general rule, airline baggage handlers are lackadaisical to careless and perhaps even destructive. Several years ago I had my brand new Volkl Supersports literally sabotaged during transport. The rear of the skis were totally delaminated and cawliflowered after being slammed repeatedly on their end. The Volkl rep said that there was no way that these could have been damaged in such a way unless it was done purposely. They honored the warranty and I complained to the airline only to get a "What do you want us to do about it?" type of answer.

For two days, bring your boots and rent. Not worth the hassle/risk to your boards. My general rule of thumb is that three days or less, I rent. More than that, and I bring mine in a SportTube (hard case). BTW - heading to Breck this Wednesday. Can't wait!!

I hear a lot of people who will ship their skis out in advance. I don't know if I'm taking crazy pills but every airline will give you a ski and boot bag together for 25 bucks each way. That means for 50 bucks you can bring all your own gear. I agree the airlines can manhandle them, but I pack my skis in a double ski bag and surround them with my socks, base layers, jacket, etc. and they are so padded up you could throw the bag at a brick wall and it would survive. As long as the total package between ski and boot bag weigh less than 50 pounds, you are home free for 25 bucks. I have done this on United, Delta, and American. Of course SW is free so no matter. With all your heavy stuff packed around the skis, you can easily get by with a smaller roller carry on and a backpack personal item for your extra stuff. Example, just flew AA out to whistler with my wife, we each brought our own gear and spent a total of $100 on baggage fees.

With all this being said plateau, if your stuff is that old I wouldn't bring anything, demo all new stuff and have a great time. Having skied my first season on the rossi S3s I'm never going back!

I've decided that it's so much easier to just rent and not worry about hauling skis and boots in addition to all the regular luggage. Before the Age of Airline Fees, I used to bring my skis and boots. Then I started just bringing boots and renting demo skis. My last trip, I rented demo skis and boots. The boots were comfortable and the skis were great, and it wasn't all that expensive. So that's what I'm going to do from now on.