Ski hire: length, boot fit and what kids need

Quick answer

Hire skis that reach your chin if it is your first week, your nose if you ski one week a year and your forehead if you ski often and fast. The hire shop needs your height, weight, shoe size and how often you ski, because it is your weight that decides both the stiffness of the ski and the binding setting. Spend most time on the boots, that is where a poor fit ruins the week. Children rarely need poles to begin with.

Hiring in the resort is the rule rather than the exception for British skiers in the Alps. The equipment is newer than what you have at home, it is serviced between every hire, and you avoid both the transport cost and the risk of your skis being damaged on the way. But the hire counter is no place to think through the basics, because there is half a coachload behind you. Read this before you go and the whole procedure takes ten minutes.

Ski length: your height minus a bit

The basic rule starts from your own height. Stand the ski on end in front of you and see where it finishes.

You ski	The ski reaches	Why
Your first week	Your chin	A short ski turns by itself and forgives mistakes
One week a year	Your nose	The balance between easy to steer and stable
Often and fast	Your forehead or higher	A longer ski is steadier at speed and in powder

Weight is the detail people most often want to skip, and at the same time the most important one. It decides how stiff the ski can be and exactly how the binding is set. Give too low a weight and the binding may release in a turn when it should not; give too high a weight and your foot stays locked in when it should come free. The shop types the figure into a table, nobody needs impressing.

Ski types: three worth knowing

All-round or all-mountain. What you get if you say nothing else. Medium-width waist, works on groomed pistes and copes with a detour into the powder. Nine out of ten hire skis are this type.
Piste or carving skis. Narrower underfoot, shorter turning radius, bites harder on the edge. The right choice if you ski a lot and like speed on hard snow.
Freeride or powder skis. Wide and long, built to float in deep snow. Clumsy on the piste and rarely worth the hire unless you are going off-piste.

Children's skis are a category of their own: always short, always soft and almost always the same model however good the child is. Do not give a child skis that are too long to grow into, that is the exact opposite of how it works.

The boots decide how the week feels

A ski that is five centimetres wrong is barely noticeable. A boot half a size too big hurts after two hours and takes away all feel in the steering. Here is how to try them in ten seconds at the counter:

Put the boot on with a thin sock, never two pairs and never a thick towelling sock.
Stand straight. Your toes should just touch the front.
Flex your knees forward, as in a turn. Now your toes should come free and you should have room.
Try to lift your heel inside the boot. If it moves, the boot is too big, however comfortable it feels.

Hands tightening the buckles on a red ski boot — Tighten from the bottom up, and do the top buckle last.

Blisters on day one? Go back to the hire shop instead of gritting your teeth. They will change the size or heat-mould the liner, usually at no extra cost, and it is cheaper for them than an unhappy customer. Do not wait until Wednesday.

The helmet: try, shake, feel

A helmet is standard at the hire shop and is often included in the package price. Check the fit like this: put the helmet on without fastening the chin strap and shake your head. If the helmet stays put, the size is right. If it slides down over your forehead or tips sideways, ask for a smaller one.

You should not be able to fit more than one finger between your forehead and the front edge of the helmet, and your goggles should sit against the rim with no gap. A gap up there means both a cold forehead and a helmet sitting too far back. Fasten the chin strap so two fingers just fit underneath.

Measure your head circumference at home before you travel, with a tape measure around the forehead just above the ears. The hire shop thinks in centimetres, not in small and large.

Snowboard: length, weight and which foot forward

For boards the same rule of thumb applies as for skis: chin if you are a beginner, nose if you are experienced. But the board's weight range counts for more than the centimetres. Every model has a recommended range, and if you are outside it the board is either floppy or impossible to turn. Beginners benefit from a shorter, softer board.

Then there is only one thing left to know: regular means left foot forward, goofy means right foot forward. If you do not know which you are, test at home:

Take a run-up and slide on a smooth floor in your socks. The foot you automatically put forward is your front foot.
Or have someone push you gently from behind. The foot that catches you is the one that goes in front.
If you kick a ball with your right foot you are usually regular, but the test above is more reliable.

Say which it was straight away at the counter, and the bindings are mounted the right way round on the spot.

Parent teaching a child to ski on the beginner slope — Short, soft skis, boots that fit and a helmet. Hire the children's kit as a package.

Children: hire everything, and skip the poles

Do not buy equipment for children who will grow out of it in a single season. Hire in the resort, and hire the whole package of skis, boots and helmet. Many hire shops offer season hire that works out cheaper than two weekly packages if you travel more than once.

Poles are not needed to begin with. The youngest learn to turn with their body, and poles are mostly something to lose on the lift. Wait until the child turns confidently both ways and asks for them.
Try the boots with the sock the child will ski in. The toes should just touch the front when the child stands straight, exactly as for adults.
A helmet is compulsory for children on skis or a snowboard. There is no law that says so across the whole of the Alps, but we who run this site say so. Read more in our guide to safety on your ski holiday.
Write the child's name on the hire card. If something needs swapping mid-week it goes faster, and the ski school often asks for it.

Practicalities when you collect

Pre-book online. It is almost always cheaper than the counter price, and you skip the arrival-day queue.
Collect the evening before your first ski day, ideally between four and six. The shop is empty then.
Bring ID and your booking confirmation, and expect your card to be pre-authorised as a deposit.
Ask what damage cover costs and what it includes. It is cheap compared with the price of a broken ski.
Return on time on the last day. Many shops close early on Saturdays, right in the middle of check-out.

How to stop your skis being stolen at the lunch stop. Swap one ski with someone in your group, so you put your left next to their right. A pair that does not match is worthless to walk off with, and the thief moves on to the next rack. It costs nothing and takes two seconds.

Photograph the number too. Hire shops mark every ski with their own number, and the ski's own serial number is by the binding. Take a photo with your phone when you collect the kit. When you come out of the apres-ski and thirty identical pairs are in the rack you know exactly which are yours, and if they go missing you have the number to give the shop.

Booking the trip first? See the resorts and compare what a week costs.

All ski resorts How much does a ski holiday cost? First time skiing

Frequently asked questions

How long should the skis I hire be?

Start from your own height and take something off. If it is your first week, take skis that reach your chin, around 20 centimetres shorter than you are. If you ski one week a year they go up to your nose, and if you are an experienced skier take them at forehead height or a little above. The hire shop also factors in your weight, which decides how stiff the skis can be and how the bindings are set.

Which type of ski suits me?

Most people hire all-round skis, made for groomed pistes and able to handle most things. If you want to go fast and carve hard on the edges there are piste skis with a narrower waist, and if you are heading into powder it is wider all-mountain skis you want. Children's skis are always soft and short, however good the child is. Say what you ski and how often, and the shop will pick the category for you.

What matters most when I hire, the skis or the boots?

The boots, without question. A ski that is five centimetres too long is barely noticeable, a boot half a size too big ruins the whole week. Put the boot on, stand upright and flex your knees forward. Your toes should just touch the front when you stand straight and come free when you bend your knees. Your heel should stay still. If you can lift your heel, the boot is too big.

How should the helmet fit?

The helmet should sit firmly without squeezing. Shake your head with the chin strap open: if the helmet stays put, the size is right. You should not be able to fit more than one finger between your forehead and the rim, and your goggles should sit against the front edge of the helmet with no gap. Measure your head circumference at home, in centimetres around the forehead just above the ears, and it goes faster in the shop.

How long should my snowboard be?

Stand the board on end in front of you. As a beginner you want it at chin height, as an experienced rider up by your nose. But weight matters more than length. Every board has a weight range the shop works from, and if you are outside it the centimetres matter less. Beginners benefit from a shorter, softer board that is easier to turn.

Am I goofy or regular?

Regular means left foot forward, goofy means right foot forward. The simplest test is to take a run-up and slide on a smooth floor in your socks: the foot you put forward is the one you want at the front of the board. Another way is to have someone push you gently from behind and see which foot catches you. Say which it was when you hire, and the bindings are mounted the right way round.

Do children need poles?

No, not to begin with. Small children and beginners learn to turn with their body, and poles are mostly something to trip over and lose on the lift. Wait until the child turns confidently both ways and asks for them. Ski schools in the Alps almost always teach the youngest without poles.

Is it worth booking hire in advance?

Yes, for two reasons. Hire shops almost always give a discount for online pre-booking compared with the counter price, and you skip the queue on arrival day when the whole village is collecting equipment at the same time. Book collection for the evening before your first ski day if you can; between four and six in the afternoon is the quietest time.

Read on

First time skiing Safety on your ski holiday How much does a ski holiday cost? All ski resorts

The measurements are the rules of thumb that hire shops in the Alps work by. An individual shop may adjust for the model and the conditions, and their recommendation carries more weight than a table.

Ski hire in the Alps