People always say that a skier should demo equipment before buying. But for us that can be hard since the demo options at midatlantic areas are often limited compared to ski areas in New England and west.

I tried a couple of demo days the last 2 seasons and I generally have fun trying different equipment. It is a great way to learn more about skis even if you are not plannign to buy a new pair. Demo experiences at the so called mega demo days at snow time resorts have been positive (poor weather set aside).

I just checked the DCSKi list of local demo days. I am disappointed once again in the timing of the days. The only Demo-day in December is way down in Sugar Mt., NC. The earliest demo day that is actually a day trip from DC is Whitetail on Jan 6. Most people purchase skis before XMas so having nearly all the demo opportunities in January is not so good.

I know Willis at 7S has on slope demo rentals all season long. I have never tried them before. What demo options do they have? Do any other ski areas have a good availability of quality demo equipment at on slope shops? Are the best demo options found on trip out of the area? --Tim

On the mountains, almost all of the ski shops will let you demo their skis. And if you buy, you get the demo dollars back.

Now each shop does have limited skis but if you are renting skis anyway, sometimes this is a better option.

I'm only about a third of the way done updating resort profiles and entering events into the Event Schedule -- so the list of Demo Days isn't comprehensive yet. I hope to finish within the next 2-3 weeks.

Scott, that explains it most likely. Thanks for the update. You da' man!

--Tim

Tim, I hear you on the Xmas buying season, but on the other hand, a lot of our local areas might not have enough terrain open for a decent demo experience before Dec 20th or so. As you may know the Ski Chalet demo days are set for Wisp ($10) on 1/11/07 and Timberline ($2) on 1/18.
If you want to get proactive about more dates you could surf websites of the local shops in the Balt/Wash area and beyond or email/phone to see when they are having their demo days (or just wait for Scott to post it on DCSki). I planned to go T-line last January for a Ski Chalet Demo day and about one day before I went I found out Alpine ski shop was hosting a demo day at T-line the day after the Ski Chalet event, so I stayed over night and did both for great demos and super cheap lift tickets. Why that Alpine event didn't appear earlier on my RADAR screen I don't know.
BTW, for anyone interested there is one more Ski Chalet swap. It's at Chantilly location on Nov 11&12 run by Canaan Patrol.
If you go the Ski and Board Expo at Dulles this weekend you might get some of this info from exhibitors?