Ski service costs | Is it worth doing it yourself?
The skiing holiday is approaching and the whole family's skis and snowboards should be prepared for the slopes. If you don't have your own equipment for ski service at home, you either have to drive to the nearest sports shop or bring your equipment to the ski workshop while on holiday. With a family of four, you often have to dig a little deeper into your wallet. But what exactly does the ski service do, how much does a ski service actually cost and isn't it worth doing it yourself in the long run?
We asked ourselves these questions and conducted extensive research in which we compared the prices of over 50 ski service shops in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. We have compiled the following results for you.
Ski service types
The ski and board service usually differentiated between two types - the small and the large service. These species include different treatment steps per pair of skis or per snowboard , which are described below.
Small ski service
- Grind ski edges or snowboard edges - without desired angle, standard structural sanding of the base and waxing.
Great ski service
- Grinding ski edges or snowboard edges - without desired angle, standard structural sanding of the base, minor repairs to the base, waxing.
Some workshops also offer a special professional or racing service. This service can, among other things, grind special racing structures into the pads or sharper edge angles (86°-88°).
(Of course, deviations from this division may occur in individual ski service shops, but this is the standard in the majority of the shops researched.)
Ski service prices
The prices for the ski service in Germany and Austria are on average €28 for the small ski service and €37 for the large ski service. If there is major damage to the surface, an additional charge will generally be charged for repairs. For the professional service mentioned, you can expect a price starting at €50.
Ski service is the most expensive in Switzerland. At €40 for the small ski service you have to pay significantly more here and the large ski service also costs an average of €50, much more than the ski service in Germany and Austria.
The snowboarders among you will have to invest significantly more for board service in the store. While in Germany the small service costs €36, in Austria you can get it €3 cheaper. The large service costs €48 in Germany and €43 in Austria. If you have your board fixed in Switzerland, the small service costs an average of €46, while for the large board service you pay €60.
Depending on the location of the sports store or ski workshop, prices vary slightly within the country. While prices are often lower in larger sports shops within cities, ski workshops directly in ski areas are usually more expensive.
Ski service costs
Assuming a family of four, in which the parents and one child ski and the second child snowboard, this works out to €111 for a small service carried out in Germany. If a major service is carried out, the cost is 159 €. Due to these high costs, many winter sports enthusiasts tend to only have their equipment serviced once per season. Why this is a safety problem, especially when grinding edges, can be found in our blog post Grinding ski edges – how often? be read. But also Simply regrinding the edges costs money and is associated with effort. Even if the need is urgent due to urgency, it is common for an additional fee to be charged for an overnight or express service.
For those who would like to have an individual angle ground on their edges, there is often an additional fee, as moving the large machines means increased work for the servicemen. If there is a lot of activity, it can even happen that the request for a certain angle is rejected. You can find out which angle is best for which type of driving in our blog post Grinding ski edges – which angle? be read.
Compare ski service costs
Basic tools are listed below with which you can generally carry out a small service yourself. With the electric edge grinder, the edges of both skis and snowboards can be sharpened quickly and individually. Thanks to the sanding belts, you don't need any additional tools to prepare or follow up the edges.
Tools for small service
Our assembled wax set includes a wax iron, a scraper blade and a universal wax, with which you are ideally equipped for different circumstances.
Assuming that the family would like to have their equipment set up once before and once during a skiing holiday, the costs for the service provider would be €222. The purchase costs of the ski tuning tools we have listed total €416. If the family goes on a skiing holiday more than once a season, or has a more sporty style of skiing, so the material wears out a little quicker and needs to be straightened more often. The purchase of ski service tools pays off after 1-2 seasons . (Depending on your needs and driving style, you will of course still have to buy sanding belts, but here you can get 10 pieces starting at €25!)
Tip: If you don't yet have an attachment for skis and boards, we recommend the ES 2000 PLUS professional set, which includes a ski tensioner in addition to the edge grinder.
Tools for large ski service
In order to repair small damage to the pads, you need pad repair material and a pad puller. These additional acquisition costs to be able to carry out a large ski service amount to €30 more than for a small service.
| scope of application | Tools | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Grind | IT 2000 | €358 |
| Grow | Wax set | 58€ |
| Mending | Pad repair material | 5€ |
| Pad puller | 25€ | |
| total | 446 € |
In comparison, a family of four pays €48 more for a major service from the service provider alone.
If she has one large and one small service carried out per season, that adds up to €270. After 2 seasons, the acquisition costs have also been paid off.
Wear and tear due to ski service
Another point that should be compared is that Wear of the covering and edge material . On large service machines, the removal of the edges of skis and snowboards is approx. 0.2-0.3 mm. The thickness of an industrially manufactured side edge is 1.6 - 1.8 mm, with at least 0.5 mm required for a safe ride. If you start from the thickest side edge and the minimum amount of material removed, a Mechanical ski service on a large machine is possible about 6 times before the edges are too thin and the skis or boards are no longer rideable.
Since the removal with the ES 2000 is in the hundredth of a millimeter range, the edges can be sanded at least 100 times before they are too thin. This means you can often freshen up your edges while on vacation without having to worry about wear and tear.
The same problem occurs with the base, which is usually sanded during the ski service, although this is not necessary every time. This means that after a few services the covering material has worn away to such an extent that the Ski loses its stability and tension . Safety and driving pleasure are also lost as a result. When you carry out your ski service yourself, the base is simply brushed off a little, which means that hardly any base is removed.
Conclusion
Especially for families, groups of friends and holiday groups Purchasing ski tuning tools is often worthwhile after just one or two seasons purely for cost reasons . But it's also worth purchasing for individuals if you have it longer service life of the equipment is taken into account.
The individual processing, especially in the edge area, is another advantage for many people. Only a few ski service shops really make sure that customers get the angle that suits them. In the worst case, a beginner will have a racing angle ground on the edges, making the skis no longer usable.
So if you compare the ski service costs plus the resulting loss in value of the skis and boards with the purchase costs of the tuning tools, doing it yourself (depending on the number of skis and boards prepared) is worth it after 2-3 seasons at the latest.
