We’ve all seen the many people walking toward the stroll, some with skis laid flat across their arms, some just carrying poles while their significant other is juggling the skis.
Carrying skis, poles, goggles, helmets, gloves, ushering your child towards the chair lift all while wearing ski boots is not an easy task. Especially when you’ve just been given all of your equipment for the first time in a busy rental shop and didn’t think that they would be such awkward things to hold!
Unfortunately, skis don’t conventionally come with handles and the only thing that keeps two skis together is the brake system combined with gravity. This means that if you’re not sure how the system works, you’re likely to end up with a big ski mess on the floor with not too much of an idea on how to put them back together again.
The Brake System for Keeping Your Skis Together
The first step to learning how to carry your skis is understanding the locking brake system as briefly mentioned above;. Essentially skis are held together by the brake system under each heel piece and you can lock these together by holding the skis base to base and sliding one down onto the other.
If doing this correctly there is usually an audible click showing that the brakes are now interlocked. To take them apart, just do the opposite action taking note of which brake is on top of the other and pulling upward on that one.
5 Ski Carrying Methods
Luckily, you’ve found the right place for tips and tricks. I’m going to outline all the ways I’ve discovered over the years and hopefully one of these will help you on your way to the hill!
Method 1: Carry straps
This is probably one of the easiest solutions out there for a variety of people. Some of the latter options can require height, technique or strength;. The beauty of carry straps is that almost everyone has carried a bag or something over their shoulder before.
The invention of carry straps keeps your skis together and allows you to throw them over your shoulder. Which means you can carry this unconventionally shaped heavy item with relative ease all while keeping hands free.
There will be a few ski shops that will have this item in stock, but the easiest option can be to order online. Luckily straps are universal, so as long as you buy a ‘ski carry strap’ you should be on to a winner.
Method 2: Flat Carry
I like to call this method ‘The Server’ because you essentially walk with your skis flat on your forearms as if you were a server carrying a big silver platter.
This isn’t really an efficient way of carrying your skis but I have seen it done and it seems to work for some people that struggle with the other options in this list.
Exactly as it sounds, lay your skis and poles flat on your forearms and walk along like Buzz Lightyear with his wings out.
Method 3: Over the shoulder
There are multiple ways people use the over the shoulder technique to carry their skis.
You can place them flat over your shoulder and use your hand to hold the tip or tail of your skis to hold them in place, you can put your shoulder in between the heel and toe piece of your binding and rest your arm over the top as a counter balance (this is my personal favorite!)
Or you can use the method called ‘The Bazooka’ which looks horrifically uncomfortable but may just work perfect for you. This involves the skis sitting on your shoulder sideways with the edge resting on your shoulder.
Method 4: By the binding
Holding the skis lengthways you’ll put your arm around the ski and hold the toe piece of the binding to lift it off the ground. This works best if you’re slightly taller or if you’re riding on shorter skis.
Method 5: The Briefcase
This is an unconventional, potentially old school way of carrying your skis and poles but it’s great because you don’t have to purchase any accessories, you just use your normal skis and poles. You’ll loop the wrist strap of one of your poles over the tip of your skis and loop the other over the tail of your skis, then you’ll put each pole basket through the wrist straps too and voila, you have your own ski carry briefcase.
People will be in awe when they see you walking down the stroll to the mountain with this setup beside you. The briefcase technique shows you mean business and is probably highest rated for steez points.
These are the most conventional methods to carry your skis, hopefully you can experiment with each style and find one that suits you best.
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