{"id":115141,"date":"2019-12-19T14:06:39","date_gmt":"2019-12-19T22:06:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/?p=115141"},"modified":"2020-05-22T13:03:17","modified_gmt":"2020-05-22T20:03:17","slug":"the-case-for-renting-ski-gear","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/snowsports\/the-case-for-renting-ski-gear","title":{"rendered":"The Case for Renting Ski Gear"},"content":{"rendered":"

Winter sports can feel downright difficult to pull off smoothly. You\u2019ve got tough winter weather and heaps of gear to transport from one place to the next. (Have you ever tried stuffing a giant ski bag into a too-small rental car before? It\u2019s not recommended.) Want a solution that makes that commute a little bit easier? Rent your gear.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Yes, REI sells plenty of <\/span>skis<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>snowboards<\/span><\/a>\u2014and for some people, especially if you\u2019re riding consistently throughout the season, owning your own gear can absolutely be the way to go. But if you\u2019re only skiing or riding a handful of days per winter or if you\u2019re planning a trip, then renting the heftier winter items like skis and snowboards may alleviate some of the hassle. It can also save you money, offer convenience, help the environment and remove a barrier that might prevent you from planning a trip in the first place.<\/span><\/p>\n

REI has been renting gear for around 30 years, but for this winter, the co-op will offer a wider range of <\/span>winter rentals<\/span><\/a>, specifically equipment. In five REI stores\u2014Folsom, California; Salt Lake City, Utah; Dillon and Boulder, Colorado; and North Conway, New Hampshire\u2014skis and snowboards will be available to rent in basic and premium options, as well as boots and poles.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For backcountry travelers, rental alpine touring gear and splitboards will also be offered at five stores (Salt Lake City, Dillon, Boulder, North Conway and Anchorage, Alaska). (<\/span>Get educated on avalanche awareness<\/span><\/a> if you\u2019re venturing into the backcountry.)<\/span><\/p>\n

Nordic skis will be available at 15 stores and snowshoes at 95. A limited number of season-long gear rentals for kids and adults will be available at<\/span> these<\/span><\/a> seven locations, a great option if you plan on riding throughout the season or if you have kids, who have a habit of growing every year. You can get freshly tuned skis and hang onto them throughout the winter for a fraction of the price of buying\u2014season-long rentals cost $170 for kids, $280 for adults, and that includes skis, boots and poles. The cost for daily rentals vary depending on what you\u2019re getting (a full price list can be found <\/span>here<\/span><\/a>).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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In today’s economy, people are choosing a lifestyle where they don\u2019t necessarily own everything they use. That includes skis.<\/p><\/div>\n

It used to be that you could only rent ski and snowboard gear that wasn\u2019t the highest quality. Rental programs were oriented mainly toward beginners or kids, and the gear tended to get used heavily. All of that is changing. \u201cIt\u2019s not your beat-up rock ski that\u2019s been in the fleet for 10 years,\u201d says Peter Whitcomb, director of new business development and circular economy for REI. \u201cAll of the aspects of the customer experience that used to be painful in rentals\u2014we are working to make better.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Now, there\u2019s rental equipment for every type of skier and rider. \u201cWhat we\u2019re trying to do is respond to a massive shift of customer behavior to be able to access, rather than own, a product,\u201d says Brad Carnine, rental manager at REI\u2019s headquarters in Kent, Washington. Carnine says the business models of companies like Airbnb and Rent the Runway are examples of \u201cpeople choosing a lifestyle where they don\u2019t necessarily own everything they use.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Renting gear can also help the environment. This comes down to maxing out the lifespan of the equipment. \u201cWe think rental skis are built to be used, so we want to bring them to the highest level of their natural life cycle as possible,\u201d says Carnine. \u201cBy having them available for everyone, as opposed to having people buy them and use them somewhat sporadically, it\u2019s a less impactful way to put those goods into service.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Whitcomb is working with REI\u2019s sustainability team to study the impact of renting gear versus owning. \u201cToday, what we know is renting is generally a net good thing, because it keeps that product in use longer and optimizes the usage of that product,\u201d he says.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Phone and in-person reservations are the primary system for renting at select REI stores while an online reservation system is being developed. Click<\/span><\/i> here<\/span><\/i><\/a> for more info on REI\u2019s rental programs.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Winter sports can feel downright difficult to pull off smoothly. You\u2019ve got tough winter weather and heaps of gear to transport from one place to the next. (Have you ever tried stuffing a giant ski bag into a too-small rental car before? It\u2019s not recommended.) Want a solution that makes that commute a little bit […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":115149,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,11],"tags":[724,1539,1841,473,364],"internal-tag":[],"class_list":["post-115141","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cycle","category-snowsports","tag-gear","tag-packing-lists","tag-rentals","tag-skiing","tag-snowsports"],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/rei.com\/blog\/snowsports\/the-case-for-renting-ski-gear","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"The Case for Renting Ski Gear","url":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/snowsports\/the-case-for-renting-ski-gear","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/snowsports\/the-case-for-renting-ski-gear"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/12\/Ski-Rentails_Hero_01_Content_Team_082817_68864-1.jpg?resize=150%2C150","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/12\/Ski-Rentails_Hero_01_Content_Team_082817_68864-1.jpg?fit=1493%2C769"},"articleSection":"Cycle","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Michelle Flandreau"}],"creator":["Michelle Flandreau"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Uncommon Path \u2013 An REI Co-op Publication","logo":""},"keywords":["gear","packing lists","rentals","skiing","snowsports"],"dateCreated":"2019-12-19T22:06:39Z","datePublished":"2019-12-19T22:06:39Z","dateModified":"2020-05-22T20:03:17Z"},"rendered":"