Get the best fits on the slopes, for less.

There’d be no novelty in suggesting that good quality ski-gear makes a real difference when it comes to people’s skiing experience. Ill-fitting boots, the wrong skis, or cheap helmets have long been the stuff of nightmares for holidaymakers who have compromised on equipment for the sake of cost-cutting, or negligence. For a time, however, it would only be the most committed skiers who would ever see the point in investing time and money into finding quality ski equipment – but with the dawn of the ski-hire industry, now even the most casual skiers can get on the slopes with robust, well fitted, high-performance kit.

For over 50 years, ski hire has been limited to boots, poles, helmets and skis. Now, with the rise of clothing-hire companies like EcoSki – holidaymakers can now get their hands on the very best ski jackets, salopettes, thermals and more – season after season, for a fraction of the cost of buying them.

The benefits of hiring clothing are so obvious, you wonder why it hasn’t always been around in some form. Throwing money into a void isn’t the most naturally attractive of exercises – so, it is difficult to understand why people have made a habit of forking out for salopettes that they plan to wear for two weeks a year – only for them to become obsolete after two seasons when their sizes or fashion preferences change. EcoSki provides a neat, easy alternative.

The company provide an online booking service where you can choose from a large range of the latest luxury ski-wear to hire for the length of your holiday – the gear is then delivered to your home a few days before your travel dates (or earlier, if you choose to try on a few different models before picking). Sure, trying on a range of outfits in your own home means you’ll have to miss out on the ambience of a crowded ski-clothing store on changeover day – but for many people, this won’t constitute too much of a loss.

The process after that is just as simple – take the clothes over with you as you would if you were packing normally, and send the package back to EcoSki at the end of the trip. Considering that a returns label is delivered to you along with the initial clothing package, the whole process of returning the clothes is just about as cumbersome as it would be to shove them back in a cupboard to gather dust for a year. That being said, EcoSki does make allowances for those who want to do just that. If you do find you get attached to your hired gear, you can buy it from EcoSki directly (your hire fee is taken off the price) – and then it’s all yours.

The upsides to hiring ski-wear are myriad – and the difference in outgoing costs between renting and buying is staggering – renting icebreakers, salopettes, hoodies and gloves – that could set you back around £1000 to buy outright – could cost you a little over £100 when renting through EcoSki. Not only is clothing rental a fiscally sound prospect for growing families – but it’s also a neat idea for getting great quality gear to those who might be trying skiing for the first time, and haven’t figured out whether or not it’s for them. Beyond that, however, it’s worth mentioning in particular that at the heart of companies like EcoSki is a commitment to making the ski-wear industry a more sustainable business. I can’t imagine there are many people out there who would assume that sending out hefty amounts of barely-used material to landfill every year is a marvellous idea; EcoSki’s model sets out to revolutionise that whole process – every piece of clothing that gets reused as a result helps make the ski-industry a whole lot greener.

You can find out more about Ecoski here and Consensio’s partners here.