Every year about this time we drag out our ski equipment and ask the big question: Does anything need replacing? In my full-time patrol days the answer was easy. More than 120 days on the mountain, no matter what the conditions and any skis would be tired, if not completely gone. Of course, if you ski 12 days a year then you could get 10 years out of a pair. But it would also mean you were skiing on 10-year-old technology and the way ski equipment has improved over the past decade, you would really be missing out on performance. In fact, if your skis are five years old, there is room for improvement.

The good news is that the same technology that makes today’s top-end skis perform better than their ancestors, has trickled down to moderately-priced models and there are some at the low-end that are solid performers. The new shapes of skis are well-known, a wider tip and tail with more side-cut make skis easier to turn. The carved turn, once exclusive to racers and advanced skiers, is now achievable by intermediates.

Even more important, new materials and construction techniques have given the new skis stability and strong edge hold in shorter lengths. This is best demonstrated by comparing race skis. Those of us with more than 30 years of skiing, especially at advanced levels, skied GS skis in lengths of 200-210 cms, and slalom skis, 195-205 cms. Today’s World Cup skiers race GS on 185’s and SL on 165’s. Obviously, these shorter skis make the sport easier to learn, and if you’re looking at those old, long skis in the garage, think how much easier it will be to turn a new, shorter pair.

Before you get the idea that all this new technology is expensive, let’s check some actual prices. It is true that at the top end, today’s skis are pricey, but packaging has increased the value. Consolidation in the industry has brought ski and binding companies together with the result that most skis are now sold as packages with bindings designed to enhance the performance of the skis.

My favorite skis are still race skis and one of the favorites is the Volkl GS with Speedwalls. $999 may sound high, but that includes the Marker rMotion 12.0 D binding which retails for over $200. That’s about mid range for top race skis, but with the new skis, most skiers don’t need race skis.

Here are some very good skis at some surprisingly affordable prices, skis that I skied last winter and found to have a lot of performance for the money.

The Nomad series from Atomic starts with the low intermediate Smoke at $399 with binding. Step up to the Smoke Ti and get more performance for $599. Elan’s Waveflex come in at $550 and Fischer’s Motive series has prices as low as $500. For those looking for a moderately priced ski with race ski performance try Atomic’s Doubledeck. The V73 has the kind of stability and edge hold I expect from a GS model, $699 with binding.

These are only a few examples, but you get the idea. The top 15 ski companies have something like 300 models total so there is a ski out there to fit your style and your budget. The early season will have plenty of demo opportunities so get out there and give some of these new skis a try.

The other key (and most critical) piece of equipment is the ski boot. There are several things to consider in order to determine if new boots are needed. Some are obvious: broken buckles, cracks in the plastic, and extremely worn heel and toe inserts. Less obvious from the outside, but equally important, is a packed out liner which affects fit. All liners pack out as boots are used and the result is a looser fit. It is possible to solve some of these problems with a boot fitting session.

Many boots, for example, have replaceable heel and toe inserts. These parts of the boot provide the boot binding interface critical to proper functioning of the binding both in retention and release. Packed out liners can sometimes be fixed with inserts such as the Custom Airfit System or padding around the ankle. Broken buckles can also be replaced on some models, but if the plastic shell is broken down it’s time for new boots. The boot fitter at your ski shop can help you with this.

If the boots are so far gone that new is the only solution, take heart. There are a lot of very good boots at moderate and even low prices. Part of the reason is the new shorter skis. It doesn’t take as much boot to control the new skis and that means you can drop down a model or two without sacrificing performance. The key is flex. Stiffer race boots can run from $600 to $900. But even today’s race skis don’t require the stiff boots we used to push around 200 to 210 cm models. Race boots range in flex from 120 up to 150.

A good example is Tecnica. Their stiffest race model, the Inferno R 150, goes for $899. Drop down to the Inferno 110 and save $200. The Inferno Heat in a 100 flex is $499 and few of us need anything stiffer than that. One boot line with excellent values is Dalbello. The Venom 80, a four buckle overlap with most of the expected features is just $349. As with skis, the technology has trickled down and there are very good boots available for under $400, and even under $300. And that softer boot is more comfortable and easier to get on and off.

The key in any boot is fit. A good boot fitter is critical when purchasing any boot. If you know the folks in your ski shop and they know how you ski, you can get top performance and stay within your budget. And ski equipment has never offered more for the money.