Ski service costs | Is it worth doing it yourself?
The ski vacation is coming up, and the skis and snowboards of the whole family should be prepared for the slopes. Those who don’t have their own equipment for ski service at home must either go to the nearest sports store or bring their gear to a ski workshop while on vacation. For a family of four, this often means spending a bit more. But what exactly is done during ski service, how much does it cost, and isn’t it worth doing it yourself in the long run?
We asked ourselves these questions and conducted comprehensive research comparing prices from over 50 ski service shops in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. We have compiled the following results for you.
Types of Ski Service
Small Ski Service
- Sharpening ski or snowboard edges – without custom angle, standard base structure grinding, and waxing.
Large Ski Service
- Sharpening ski or snowboard edges – without custom angle, standard base structure grinding, minor base repairs, waxing.
Some workshops still offer a special professional or racing service. This service can include, among other things, special race structures in the bases or sharper edge angles (86°-88°).
(Of course, some ski service shops may deviate from this breakdown, but this is the standard in the majority of the shops researched.)
Ski Service Prices
The prices for ski service in Germany and Austria are on average 30-35 € for the small ski service and 40-50 € for the large ski service. For larger base damage, an additional charge is generally applied for repairs. For the mentioned professional service, prices start at a minimum of 50 €.
Ski service is most expensive in Switzerland. With 50 CHF for the small ski service, you have to pay significantly more here, and the large ski service costs on average about 60 CHF, which is much more than ski service in Germany and Austria.
Snowboarders among you have to invest significantly more for a board service in stores. While in Germany the small service costs about €40 - 45, in Austria it is about €5 cheaper. The large service costs about €50 - 60 in Germany, and about €45 - 50 in Austria. If you have your board serviced in Switzerland, the small service averages 50 - 60 CHF, and the large board service costs about 60 - 70 CHF.
Depending on the location of the sports store or ski workshop, prices vary slightly between countries. While prices are often lower in larger sports stores within cities, ski workshops located directly in ski resorts are usually more expensive.
Ski Service Costs
Assuming a family of four, where the parents and one child ski and the other child snowboards, a small service done in Germany costs about €145. If a large service is done, the costs are around €210. Due to these high costs, many winter sports enthusiasts tend to have their equipment serviced only once per season. Why this is especially a safety issue when it comes to edge grinding can be read in our blog post Ski Edge Grinding – How Often? n. But even simply regrinding the edges costs money and involves effort. Even when it needs to be done urgently and quickly, it is common for an additional fee to be charged for an overnight or express service.
For those who want a custom angle ground on their edges, there is often an additional fee, as adjusting the large machines requires extra effort from the service staff. When it's busy, it can even happen that the request for a specific angle is declined. Which angle is best suited for which type of rider can be read in our blog post Ski Edge Grinding – Which Angle? n.
Ski service cost comparison
Below are our basic tools with which you can generally perform a minor service independently. With the electric edge grinder, the edges of both skis and snowboards can be quickly and individually ground. Thanks to the grinding belts, no additional tools are needed to prepare or finish the edges.
Tools for the minor service
| Application area | Tools | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Grinding | ES 2000PLUS | 448 € |
| Waxing | Wax set | 79 € |
| Total | 527 € |
Our assembled wax set includes a waxing iron, a scraper blade, and a universal wax, with which you are well equipped for different conditions.
Assuming the family wants to have their equipment serviced once before and once during a ski vacation, the costs at a service provider amount to about €290 - €310. The purchase costs of the ski tuning tools we list total €527. If the family goes on ski vacations more than once per season or skis more aggressively, causing the material to wear out faster and require more frequent maintenance, the purchase of ski service tools pays off after at most 1-2 seasons. (Depending on needs and skiing style, you will of course still need to buy grinding belts, but you can get 10 pieces starting at €25!)
Tip: If you don’t yet have bindings for skis and boards, we recommend the ES2000 PLUS SC30 set, which includes our in-house ski clamp in addition to the edge grinder.
Tools for the major ski service
To repair small damage to the bases, you need base repair material and a base scraper. These additional purchase costs to perform a major ski service amount to €30 more than for a minor service.
| Application area | Tools | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Grinding | ES 2000PLUS | 448 € |
| Waxing | Wax set | 79 € |
| Repair | Base repair material | 6 € |
| base scraper | 35 € | |
| Total | 568 € |
In comparison, a family of four pays about €50 more for just one major service at a service provider.
If you have one major and one minor service per season, it adds up to about €370. After 2 seasons, the purchase costs have paid off here as well.
Wear from ski service
Another point to compare is the wear of the base and edge material. On large service machines, the removal of ski and snowboard edges is about 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 needed for safe riding. Assuming the thickest side edge and the minimal removal, a machine ski service on a large machine is possible about 6 times before the edges become too thin and the skis or boards are no longer rideable.
Since the material removal with the ES 2000PLUS is in the hundredth of a millimeter range, the edges can therefore be sharpened at least 100 times with it before they become too thin. This means you can often refresh your edges even during vacation without worrying about wear.
The same problem occurs with the base, which is usually ground down during ski service, even though this is not necessary every time. This means that after several services, the base material is worn down so much that the ski loses its stability and tension. Safety and riding pleasure are also lost as a result. When doing ski service yourself, the base is only lightly brushed, causing hardly any base material to be removed.
Conclusion
Especially for families, groups of friends & vacation groups the purchase of ski tuning tools often pays off purely for cost reasons after just one or two seasons. But it also makes sense for individuals if you consider the longer service life of the equipment.
Also, the individual adjustment, especially in the edge area, is another advantage for many. Only a few ski service shops really make sure that customers get the angle that suits them. In the worst case, a beginner might get a racing angle ground on the edges, making the skis unusable for them.
If you compare the ski service costs plus the resulting depreciation of skis and boards with the purchase costs of the tuning tools, doing it yourself pays off (depending on the number of skis and boards serviced) after 2-3 seasons at the latest.