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Originally Posted by polak
Buy second hand all-mountain skis.
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No one even knows what this means anymore. Wtf is an "all mountain ski" at this point?
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As for boots, I'd recommend renting a few times first.
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Boots are the only thing you CAN'T rent. Rental boots bear little resemblance to usable ski boots.
Going to a half-decent boot shop will essentially result in a salesperson looking at your foot, deciding what general shape toebox will probably work for you, and selecting a boot (i.e., this guy has a low-volume narrow foot, I'll put him in a pair of Langes). Going to, say, sport chek, in comparison, will result in someone handing you a pair of Salomons a half size too big and saying "see, they're pretty comfy".
The better idea is to go to a good bootfitter and get them to fit you for boots and footbeds. They'll tell YOU what you're buying. You then go ski, and if you have any discomfort, take the boots back to them - any reputable bootfitter will do work on your boot to tweak it. The extent of your involvement in the boot selection process should be limited to answering the bootfitter's questions and selecting a price range.
Too many people shop for boots like they do shoes - you don't know what fits, the bootfitter does. Not all brands are equal, the lasts are totally different and depending on the shape of your foot entire brands may be unwearable. If you haven't been fitting boots for years you can't make that call with any reliability. I say this as a huge gear-head. I've skied my whole life, 50-100 days per year and more when I was in school, worked in the industry, designed ski gear, and would never buy boots without the help of an expert.