How to Store Your Ski Equipment During the Off-Season

The calendar says its spring, but there still a few places left in the USA where the snowflakes are flying, moguls to avoid, ski lifts to traverse and hills to ski down. Well, that is unless you are a bit more ambitious and decide to jump the mogul. Don't tell me you never jumped a mogul because I know you did. Believe it or not there still great bargains for your final spring ski fling, but sooner or later it will be time to hang up your ski togs for the off season.

But as you go up the ski lift for that final time, did a nagging question lurk in the back of your mind? At the end of my first ski season it did for me. I wondered how to store my equipment? After all, lets face it ski equipment is not cheap. I had watched my roommate have to replace some of her equipment because the edges of her skis became extremely rusty. Expensive of ski equipment aside, if you are like me I got attached to my ski stuff. It took a long time to pick out what I wanted and to get the feel of my the edges of the skis', bindings, boots, even different poles have different types of a feel in your hand. The last thing I would want is to have to deal with buying new expensive equipment because I ruined my ski equipment because I failed to store it correctly.

Storing Your Skis
Wanting to store my ski equipment in the correct way, I asked my ski instructor. The first thing that he said is imperative to getting the best bang for your buck out of your skis. He told me to take the skis to a good ski shop for a tune up. The shop will get all the burrs off the bottoms, shave the nicks if any off (at the correct angle) the edges and give the skis a coat of wax. If you are on a tight budget, at the very least run a block of paraffin over the edges of the skis to prevent rust damage during the summer months. Take Velcro ski wraps and place the skis bottom to bottom. Take the wrap and wrap the ski wraps around the top of the skis, then again toward the back of the skis. This will keep the skis together and from scissoring of the skis which would damage the edges.Want to have your bindings to last longer? Turn the setting (DIN)on your bindings back to zero. DIN is the international setting at which a binding will release. Leave yourself a note on a tag that tells you what the setting was. If you don't remember to put a note in your ski bag as to what your bindings were set at or you gained or lost weight have your bindings reset by a professional. It is always best to have the bindings checked by a professional. If you need a refresher on bindings settings go to www.summitsportsinc.com/online/guides/ski-binding-guide.

Then store your skis in a ski bag. Off course your skis have to be dry when placed in the bag. The bag will not only help keep your skis off the floor but can help you in transporting and traveling with your skis. Store your skis and for that matter, all your ski equipment in a non-humid environment. In other words, don't take your ski equipment down to the beach house just to get it out of the way but you don't have to move to Arizona either.

Storing Your Boots
Storing your boots the right way will make the difference between a usable pair of boots or moldy oldies that can't be used. Make certain your boots are completely dry prior to putting them away. Pull the soft inner lining completely out of the hard outside shell so you make certain everything gets completely dry. When the boots are fully dry push the soft lining back into the boot making certain the tongue of the lining (make certain it isn't caught between the lining and the shell). Once that step is completed, buckle your boots and cover with a plastic bag so no creepy crawlies are in your boot next time you go to use them. Once I forgot to do this and a huge spider crawled out...well, let's just not finish that story but it wasn't pretty.

Storing Your Goggles
Goggles are perhaps the easiest item to store. Just put them back in the box they came in. If you have thrown that out in a cleaning frenzy get a hard plastic or metal case. Keep a soft eye glass cloth in the case to clean your goggles. Never ever use tissues, because they contain wood particles in them that can scratch your goggles, to clean them. Bolle makes wonderful goggle cases so you want to give them a try. www.heavyglare.com/94/411/3461/Accessories/Goggle_Cases/Spy_Goggle_Case

Storing Your Helmet and Poles
Helmets weren't in use when I was skiing but they will probably be required after I have both of my knees get replaced. I hope I'll return to the slopes after that. Hope springs eternal! As for your helmet, follow the storage equipment recommendations when you make your purchase. Your helmet should be kept clean, dry and in a non-humid environment like the rest of your equipment. Your poles should be kept off the floor as well. If you can find a ski bag on sale, put your poles in this bag. Store all your equipment together.

Well, hopefully it won't be long before the fresh powder will fly, at least in some area of the country for the next snow season. If you store your equipment correctly, you'll be ready for the next big blast from Mother Nature or a little help from a snow blower.