Cross-country skiing
in Other Sports ·
I was hunting for gear for my kid this year (8 years old, about 4'5"), and honestly, our local stores are a complete desert. At the Intersport in the WTC in Rijeka, they literally only stock adult sizes—way too long on the skis and poles, and the boot sizes are all wrong.
I eventually managed to score some used gear in Canada through an online classifieds site www.bolha.com. I picked up some Peltonen 157 cm skis with bindings (NNN-Rotafella) for $40, Alpina boots in size 34 for $20, and I found 110 cm poles at a local ski shop in Rijeka for $33. Everything is in great shape and hasn't seen much use!
The skis were picked up in Ljubljana while I was there on a business trip, and the boots were sent via "POSTE RESTANTE" to Jelšanin (for those who don't know, that's right on the border, about 16 miles from Rijeka). It turned out to be the easiest and cheapest way to go; shipping was only about $5, which is significantly less than shipping to America, and I didn't have to deal with any customs headaches.
All in all, the full setup cost me around $60, which is at least half the price of the cheapest new gear available in Canada. Kids grow out of this stuff so fast anyway; they'll probably need new boots by next year regardless.
My advice to anyone just looking to get into cross-country skiing recreationally: take a look at this classifieds site. There is plenty of inventory if you can find a good deal, you just have to keep an eye on it.
I eventually managed to score some used gear in Canada through an online classifieds site www.bolha.com. I picked up some Peltonen 157 cm skis with bindings (NNN-Rotafella) for $40, Alpina boots in size 34 for $20, and I found 110 cm poles at a local ski shop in Rijeka for $33. Everything is in great shape and hasn't seen much use!
The skis were picked up in Ljubljana while I was there on a business trip, and the boots were sent via "POSTE RESTANTE" to Jelšanin (for those who don't know, that's right on the border, about 16 miles from Rijeka). It turned out to be the easiest and cheapest way to go; shipping was only about $5, which is significantly less than shipping to America, and I didn't have to deal with any customs headaches.
All in all, the full setup cost me around $60, which is at least half the price of the cheapest new gear available in Canada. Kids grow out of this stuff so fast anyway; they'll probably need new boots by next year regardless.
My advice to anyone just looking to get into cross-country skiing recreationally: take a look at this classifieds site. There is plenty of inventory if you can find a good deal, you just have to keep an eye on it.