Skiing Equipment?

[kelsen]

Hi all, I would like to go to ski but I don't know what kind of equipment I should wear (top and under) and I do not know what kind of shoes to wear as well. I would like to rent the ski equipment there as well, r they also providing special skiing shoes for rent in the ski renting shop? And usually how much is the rent for all these equipment? Thanks mate!

[Jukka Aho]

Hi all, I would like to go to ski but I don't know what kind of equipment I should wear (top and under) and I do not know what kind of shoes to wear as well. I would like to rent the ski equipment there as well, r they also providing special skiing shoes for rent in the ski renting shop? And usually how much is the rent for all these equipment? Thanks mate!

First things first: are you talking about alpine skiing or cross-country skiing?

[kelsen]

Hi all, I would like to go to ski but I don't know what kind of equipment I should wear (top and under) and I do not know what kind of shoes to wear as well. I would like to rent the ski equipment there as well, r they also providing special skiing shoes for rent in the ski renting shop? And usually how much is the rent for all these equipment? Thanks mate!

First things first: are you talking about alpine skiing or cross-country skiing?

cross country

[Jukka Aho]

First things first: are you talking about alpine skiing or cross-country skiing?

cross country

You could do with ordinary jogging pants + long johns + light outdoor winter jacket. Windproof, moisture-permeable materials would be the best choice. Sports clothing shops should be able to help you with this; there are also special skiing pants (hiihtohousut) or even skiing overalls.

Take a look at these pictures and what the ordinary people are wearing in them. (Professional skiers may wear more close-fitting designs because their requirements are a bit different, but you don’t necessarily need that.) Oh, and don’t forget your gloves and a skiing cap (pipo).

The shoes need to be special skiing boots that will match the binding type used on your skis. Back in the day one would have worn woolly socks. I’m not sure if that’s still fashionable or if it needs to be some NASA nano-carbon tube multi-layered polymer turbo-space material now.

Overall, the clothing requirements depend on what kind of cross-country skiing you intend to do. For some people, skiing is an exercise method: they go around a track, metering their pulse and the number of laps and whatnot. For some others, it’s a peaceful trek into the Nature’s realm and they head to the tracks that go deep in the woods, advancing on their own pace, without any hurry – might even take a backpack with a thermos with them so they can make a stop at some point. The clothing requirements will also vary with the weather and the temperature.

Here’s some basic clothing advice:

• How to Dress for Nordic Skiing

[kelsen]

First things first: are you talking about alpine skiing or cross-country skiing?

cross country

You could do with ordinary jogging pants + long johns + light outdoor winter jacket. Windproof, moisture-permeable materials would be the best choice. Sports clothing shops should be able to help you with this; there are also special skiing pants (hiihtohousut) or even skiing overalls.

Take a look at these pictures and what the ordinary people are wearing in them. (Professional skiers may wear more close-fitting designs because their requirements are a bit different, but you don’t necessarily need that.) Oh, and don’t forget your gloves and a skiing cap (pipo).

The shoes need to be special skiing boots that will match the binding type used on your skis. Back in the day one would have worn woolly socks. I’m not sure if that’s still fashionable or if it needs to be some NASA nano-carbon tube multi-layered polymer turbo-space material now.

Overall, the clothing requirements depend on what kind of cross-country skiing you intend to do. For some people, skiing is an exercise method: they go around a track, metering their pulse and the number of laps and whatnot. For some others, it’s a peaceful trek into the Nature’s realm and they head to the tracks that go deep in the woods, advancing on their own pace, without any hurry – might even take a backpack with a thermos with them so they can make a stop at some point. The clothing requirements will also vary with the weather and the temperature.

Here’s some basic clothing advice:

• How to Dress for Nordic Skiing

wow! thanks for your detail reply (with attachment somemore ), so i can rent the shoes and skii equipment in the skiing resort/shop right? Because the place nearby my house has a down hill ski and a some wide empty space for cross-country ski, I would like to give a try but before that I wish I can get more info. Kiitos Jukka!

[Jukka Aho]

so i can rent the shoes and skii equipment in the skiing resort/shop right? Because the place nearby my house has a down hill ski and a some wide empty space for cross-country ski, I would like to give a try but before that I wish I can get more info.

Big commercial alpine skiing resorts – such as Rukatunturi, Pyhätunturi, Ylläs, Himos, Messilä, Tahkovuori, etc. – usually have cross-country skiing tracks as well, and will rent cross-country skiing equipment to their customers. They also have skiing schools (that is, introductory skiing classes for people who have never skied in their life) for both alpine and cross-country skiing styles.

But if you want to use the cross-country skiing tracks that are maintained by the local municipality and not by some commercial resort, you’re usually expected to bring your own equipment... and it is sort of expected that you already know how to ski, too. (Mind you, cross-country skiing is a winter sport that Finns practice in school, and in army... so Finns usually know how to ski, and have a pair of skis at home. Or at least that’s the way it used to be, before these warm winters.

Since cross-country skiing, like any sport, requires learning some basic techniques and moves that aren’t necessarily obvious (not to mention things like waxing the bottoms of your skiis, choosing the correct wax, choosing between the different styles of cross-country skiing etc.), getting live instruction from someone would be a good idea. The local liikuntatoimi, urheiluseura or hiihtoseura might arrange skiing courses (hiihtokoulu) for beginners, so I suggest you would look up their web pages and see what kind of activity and services they have. (Where do you live?)

Note that sports equipment shops will usually also sell second-hand pairs of skis, ice-skates, etc. so you don’t necessarily have to buy brand_new stuff at a premium price to get started.

[kelsen]

so i can rent the shoes and skii equipment in the skiing resort/shop right? Because the place nearby my house has a down hill ski and a some wide empty space for cross-country ski, I would like to give a try but before that I wish I can get more info.

Big commercial alpine skiing resorts – such as Rukatunturi, Pyhätunturi, Ylläs, Himos, Messilä, Tahkovuori, etc. – usually have cross-country skiing tracks as well, and will rent cross-country skiing equipment to their customers. They also have skiing schools (that is, introductory skiing classes for people who have never skied in their life) for both alpine and cross-country skiing styles.

But if you want to use the cross-country skiing tracks that are maintained by the local municipality and not by some commercial resort, you’re usually expected to bring your own equipment... and it is sort of expected that you already know how to ski, too. (Mind you, cross-country skiing is a winter sport that Finns practice in school, and in army... so Finns usually know how to ski, and have a pair of skis at home. Or at least that’s the way it used to be, before these warm winters.

Since cross-country skiing, like any sport, requires learning some basic techniques and moves that aren’t necessarily obvious (not to mention things like waxing the bottoms of your skiis, choosing the correct wax, choosing between the different styles of cross-country skiing etc.), getting live instruction from someone would be a good idea. The local liikuntatoimi, urheiluseura or hiihtoseura might arrange skiing courses (hiihtokoulu) for beginners, so I suggest you would look up their web pages and see what kind of activity and services they have. (Where do you live?)

Note that sports equipment shops will usually also sell second-hand pairs of skis, ice-skates, etc. so you don’t necessarily have to buy WORD CENSOR - SPAM POST/MESSAGE!!! WORD CENSOR - SPAM POST/MESSAGE!!! WORD CENSOR - SPAM POST/MESSAG stuff at a premium price to get started.

I stay in Tampere, thanks for your suggestion and I will go and look up so information.

[Jukka Aho]

I stay in Tampere, thanks for your suggestion and I will go and look up so information.

See these pages, then:

• Tampereen hiihtopalvelu – Cross-Country Skiing Course in English
• Tampereen hiihtopalvelu – Ski rental services
• A map of maintained skiing tracks in Tampere (and their current status/condition)