[Northendzone]

couple of questions about buying skiis as i am a first time ski buyer and was planning on going down to max bell on Saturday to have a look:

- how much do you think the retail value of typical rental skiis would be? for example i was looking at some skiis and boots at sport chek and the skiis were $279 and boots were $149 (sorry don't recall brand names). do you think this would be of a similar quality as typicla rental skiis?

- i am 6ft tall and about 250 - from what i have seen on the net 180 skiis (which i am sure i have rented in the past) are correct - what "waist" width do you think would be appropriate for skiing in the alberta/bc areas - i don't plan on doing much more than cruising and can't see myself looking for waist deep powder

what else do i need to know? am i better off getting something at the swap meet, or going to sport chek - or a ski specialty shop.

I think my budget for the wife and i will be $600 each (for skiis, poles, boots and bindings) and maybe $200 each for kids (son 12 and dughter 9).

will buy hemets and a ski bag later on.