Shipping vs. Schleppng Your Gear
Photo by Lala Azizli on Unsplash
If you recall wooden skis that broke in half if you land too hard on a bump, leather boots and cable bindings, then you know how long I have been skiing – and schlepping – my gear around the globe.
While I stay in decent shape, I’ve reached the point when schlepping skis, boots and rolling duffle a few blocks to a bus, trying to get them into a taxi, or asking someone to drive me to the airport is something to be avoided. Ditto waiting for my stuff at the baggage carousel and then schlepping it to the taxi line or van pickup is just too much for me now, as a senior passing eighty.
Since sherpas are not always available, I now ship my “stuff”. It’s the price of convenience. Shipping is pricey, but it’s worth it to me.
There are several methods – and costs – depending on destination. Sometimes I spend as much time planning the shipping as I would waiting at the baggage carousel.
Commercial courier services such as DHL, USPS and FedEx ship skis, boot bags and suitcases, pricing each one separately by size, weight and other factors including distance.
There are also intermediary companies – middlemen – that specialize in sports equipment and will ship skis, golf clubs, bikes, surfboards and luggage wherever you want. They often use the larger, commercial couriers, who apparently have made volume arrangements with them for lower prices. They will hold your hand and assist, and handle all the large carrier interactions. How much and how well differs from company to company.
The cost of shipping is its biggest negative, and depends on such variables as where you are shipping from and to, weight and size of what being shipped, packaging and the number of days between pickup to delivery. I’m guessing they also add in the remoteness o pick-up and delivery locations.
There also is usually a small additional charge for pickup from your location vs you bringing it to a carrier drop-off point, whether that is Manhattan or Mammoth, and additional fees for oversized skis or luggage.
Here’s a hypothetical round-trip shipment from my home in NYC to Big Sky and back, as I’ve done for real on trips with the 70+ Ski Club, with a general package that a skier like me) might ship for comparison: skis/poles at 25 lbs and a suitcase/duffle/roller bag of some kind at 65 lbs (oversized because I ship my boots in the duffle). I would ship on Monday and want it all delivered by Friday, with a return trip for pick-up Monday and delivered home by Friday.
Based mostly on my use of each company’s online calculators and reasonable assumptions, here’s a price comparison. Shipping is pricey, no question.
FedEx $615.00
DHL $904.00 For Luggage alone
USPS $718.00 (Luggage is most of this)
Lugless $815.00
Shipgo $520.00
EasyShip (Does not ship to Big Sky)
ShipSkis $560.00
SendMyBag $683.00
Seriously, you could rent for that price – but you won’t have your own skis, which you obviously love and trust enough to pay the shipping price. Also, you won’t have them to use during the shipping periods, which can be an issue if you plan on skiing elsewhere while your gear is traveling without you.
Sometimes I use a carrier-middleman, other times I ship direct. It depends on the location, but I always ship out on Thursday or Friday, for Sunday delivery.
Bad weather can slow down carrier deliveries, just as they slow down flights. One time FedEx was two days late, because of undrivable weather conditions; trucks simply could not get through. I kept calling them and they always responded, but weather is weather.
The point is, whether you fly to Big Sky, Cortina d’Ampezzo or Portillo, or any other destination, domestic or international, all you need to take on the plane (or cruise ship, for that matter) is a backpack or other carry-on, and/or your beloved boots you don’t trust to check or ship.
Shipping avoids schlepping anything heavy to the airport or train station, checking your baggage or equipment, picking it up from the carousel to a car or bus or train, dealing with risk of bodily harm due to heavy lifting or moving stuff around, and certainly not hanging around an airport to find your lost luggage.
The carrier-middlemen rarely lose items, and their Customer Support is consistently better than that of the larger carriers.
Shipping allows my arms, back, patience and temper remain unstressed and calm for the trips. Again, it can get pricey, especially on faster delivery times, but nothing like a hospital bill for compressed discs. If you’re anything like me, it is 9worth the price for my back, arms, hands and patience.
- Shipping vs. Schleppng Your Gear - October 8, 2025
- Importance of Rental Demo Skis - February 21, 2024
My first bindings wre cable bindings – I remember how happy I was to upgrade to the new Cubco bindings.
I have taken the modified schlepping approach. I am willing to take the time to review local rental shops in the local I am traveling to and then, if posisble, reserving either my skis or a demo ski I really want to try anyway.
That way I carry my boots – no way I am renting those, and have a slopeside rental that I also don’t have to schelpp to the condo while saving the shipping fees. But then I’m cheap.
A good fund raiser for local kids would be
to carry equipment to the lifts and/or buckling ski boots. I’m only 73 and the latter (buckling boots) is getting harder to do.
+1 for ShipSkis. We’ve used them for the last 5 years to ship a double Sport Tube to Steamboat. Stellar customer service, plus a discount through the IKON pass.
We shipped our skis to Aspen for many years, using a company that outsources to FedEx. In 2022, the skis got there as usual, but only one set came back to California. The company had switched to paper shipping labels, and as far as we can figure, the label on my ski bag fell off, and the skis are gathering dust somewhere in a huge warehouse in Denver… Or they were stolen, although why somebody would want a pair of three year-old , now obsolete K2 Mindbender 85s, I have no idea.
The company reimbursed us for the loss of the skis, but I have been renting skis for the past few years and have never been able to find a pair that I like as much as those K2’s.
Like the author, I have schlepped my ski gear all over Europe and North America but no more and I don’t ship. In my experience I have found that whether it’s a ski resort/area in North America or Europe a good local ski shop is very likely to have rental or demo skis that are better suited to the snow conditions you are likely to be skiing in. I found that if I studied ski reviews for North America and Europe I was able to develop a list of skis that were deemed good for different types of ski conditions and were appropriate to my abilities so that I knew what my options were if the ski shop didn’t have the ski brand I was hoping for. Yes renting skis can be expensive, particularly during peak vacation periods, but, at least for me, it has been cheaper than shipping my own gear and had me skiing on skis that were better designed for the conditions I was skiing in which made the whole skiing experience more enjoyable.
Many years ago, I started renting skis for marital harmony. While it bothers me to spend the equivalent of a new pair of skis each season, I enjoy new equipment and get to try skis I wouldn’t get to if I brought my own.
Like Tom, I found buckling boots to be difficult for me. I bought a pair of Nordica HD rear entry boots and have been very pleased.
By the way, I think Ron meant porter, not Sherpa.
Ron and Other repliers:
In short, skip the planning and the expense of shipping your skis all over the place. Just rent a premium demo package at the resort or location you will be skiing. Take your boots with you on the plane.
I have found over the years that this saves time and money just by having your boots with you. This allows you to have a ski that is fit for the location, terrain, and snow conditions in real time. Many years ago I skied in France and found that the ski shop I rented from was not fond of me asking to exchange skis the second day when the snow conditions were not very good. They did agree to allow me to exchange for a better ski for the conditions. Most North American resorts will be happy to accommodate your needs.
Bryan, you’re right. Porter is the correct term.
Also, I ship ‘everything’ – not just skis. Everything goes into my duffle bag, which I also ship. All I carry is a backpack.
And the paragraph that says “ … I always ship out on Thursday or Friday, for Sunday delivery.” should read …” for the following week’s Sunday.”