By Brix Hahn/Extreme Alaska

1. A student’s guide to affordable gear:
skis and snowboards
Composed by Brix Hahn

2. Skiing and snowboarding are winter sports
staples in Alaska culture, and when the
weather’s behaving, being left at home while
friends hit the slopes can put a damper in
the weekend.
http://pixabay.com

3. The newly opened terrain park on UAF’s west ridge is drawing
a lot of attention from both adventurous and excited students
and staff, but supporting the hobby of skiing and
snowboarding can be expensive—especially while living on a
student’s budget. To put this in into perspective, an average
new set of new skis, boots, bindings, and poles from REI costs
around $1,000. A snowboard, boots, and bindings will put
around an $800 dent in your wallet.
www.fotopedia.com

4. Play it Again Sports can be a great place to find affordable gear, but their selection
sometimes lacks gear for more advanced skiers and boarders.
is a list of three websites that sell used ski and
board equipment at affordable costs, reasonable
ping rates and feature many popular and high
quality brands.
www.geograph.org.uk

5. http://www.mountaintimesports.com
MTS is an online company based out of Washington that sells all it’s gear at least
50 percent off its retail value. Additionally, all snowboards and skis are sold freshly wax
leaving the customer to adjust their own bindings and immediately get out on the slope
Top brands: Burton, Head, K2, Rossignol, Salmon, Volkl
Average Snowboard: $50-$130
Average Skis: $200
Shipping: $0

6. Level Nine sells all of their gear with a warranty, all shipments
cost a flat rate of $7 and they not only sell boards and skis but also
helmets, goggles, accessories and winter apparel.
Top brands: Atomic Cloud, Head Peak, Head Maya
Average Snowboard: $150
Average Skis Package: $200-$400 (boots, skis, bindings)
Shipping: $7

7. Galactic Snow Sports, based out of Virginia, ships all orders for free, has a wide
selection of brands, gear and used as well as new items.
Top brands: K2, Salmon, Burton, Ride,
Average Snowboard Package: $130 (board, bindings, boots)
Average Skis Package: $170 (skis, poles, bindings, boots
Shipping: Free