Equipment

This blog post will attempt to answer a whole pile of questions about equipment. Yeehaw!

BKL and U14s:

  • You all need to have complete setups of skate and classic equipment.

  • For classic equipment, most BKLers will have waxless/fishscale-style classic skis. That’s ideal. Older BKLers and/or those who are getting pretty excited about classic skiing may move toward waxable classic skis. U14s should have waxable classic skis. We’ll get more into the weeds of that another time.

  • Many of you choose to rent equipment, and that’s great. When you’re still growing a lot it makes sense to rent gear rather than have to buy new things every year. Others will choose to buy equipment they can pass down to younger siblings—this also makes sense. Ski swaps are a great place to buy equipment at a good deal.

  • For BKL & U14 aged skiers, the most important thing is to have equipment that is comfortable and functional so that you can enjoy skiing. It doesn’t have to be the newest or fanciest thing! But it does need to fit you well and be in good working order.

Juniors:

  • Before anything else: read through this equipment overview we drew up in the spring.

  • Renting vs. buying: this is discussed in the document above, but we recommend that juniors purchase at least 1-2 pieces of their own equipment per year.

  • Where to buy things:

    • Ideally, local shops. We love supporting the shops around us, such as Onion River Outdoors and Ski Rack. Caldwell Sport is another great option a bit further away but also quite a bit more specialized.

    • Starting this coming weekend (10/18), we will have a limited number of things for sale out of the clubhouse. These are typically items that we’re ready to move along because they’re not useful/practical/logical in our rental fleet for one reason or another. These items are just first come, first served, pay on the spot and take it away kinda things.

    • Ski swaps are another great place to get gear. The MNC swap is coming up on October 25th and they’re sure to have a lot of Nordic stuff!

    • We will again offer a team order window. The deadline is midnight on 10/25/26. More info + the form to start the process is here. The sooner you get on it, the better the chances are that we can get what you need.

    • We encourage y’all to get yourselves to the Team Night at Onion River Outdoors on Wednesday, November 4th! Additional info on that: “

      • Onion River Outdoors is coordinating a Nordic team night with brand representatives from Fischer, Salomon, Rossignol and Swix. The reps will be on hand to take measurements, answer questions, and facilitate special orders for equipment like skis, poles, boots and bindings, as well as soft goods such as base layers and gloves. Additionally, the Swix representative will take orders for ski wax for the coming Nordic season.  We are excited to invite you to this fun event, and we hope you and your team can make it. We will provide light snacks throughout the evening. The details for the event are as follows: 

      • Where: Onion River Outdoors-89 Main Street, Montpelier, VT 05602

      • When: Wednesday, November 4 from 5:00-7:00

      • How: Your team and coaches should show up at the shop ready to browse the selections our brand representatives are bringing and place their special orders that night. The discounts we are offering are 25% off skis, boots, bindings, poles and soft goods like Swix gloves and baselayers. We will offer 25% off Swix wax and wax tools (irons, brushes, scrapers, etc.). 

  • How to get answers to all your questions about your own gear needs:

    • Catch a coach BEFORE a weekday practice or try to set up a time afterward (but sometimes that is trickier with meetings, kids to pick up/feed, etc.).

    • Sunday, 10/18, sometime after practice = a good time to go over your gear needs. It’s generally easiest for us to help you if you bring all of your equipment with you, rather than trying to remember what you have at home and what size it is.

  • Getting skis ground @ Caldwell Sport: we’ll send down a batch of GRP skis and can send junior skis along as well. A grind typically runs about $100; potentially a bit less if a bunch of people want to send in skis. Deadline to drop skis with us is 10/22.

  • Refresher on dates:

    • 10/18: good day to ask for coach help reviewing your ski fleet and needs, or any number of days before/soon after that

    • 10/22: deadline to drop skis off with us to get ground, if you have skis that need grinding

    • 10/25: MNC ski swap

    • 10/25: also the deadline to submit Craftsbury Team Night order form

    • 11/4: Team Night @ Onion River Outdoors

  • Final note: please be sure to email jrskiing@craftsbury with equipment related questions. You never know which of the coaches may be on equipment management duty on any given day!

OMG skis

Anna Schulz