This must be one of the smartest purchases I’ve made. My Salomon X-Frees have been getting really really old; I bought them 6 or 7 years ago. I have been demoing various skis throughout the season but last Saturday I tried a pair of K2s (the Apache Recon); they felt really good. After a quick investigation on the Internet, I found out that they were getting great reviews throughout the season. The problem? Most online stores had run out of stock.

I finally found the last pair at an online store for $750 with the Marker 14.0 bindings. I ordered it but the next day I got an email informing me that that they had received multiple orders and that mine was not the first one 🙁 So, I decided to visit one of the local ski stores just to check the prices.

At the first shop I visited I found a great deal. I got the same pair (K2 Apache Recon), with the slightly older model but still very good bindings (Marker Comp 1400 Piston Control), plus new Head RS80 boots. I checked on the Internet to find the normal prices for all these items:

• K2 Apache Recon with Marker Piston M1 14.0/12.0: MSRP $1250
• Head RS80 boots: MSRP ~$650

Now, I think that the bindings I got are around $200 more expensive than the ones that were bundled with the K2s at the online store. That makes a total price of >$2000. Well, thanks to the end-of-season sales/clearance, I got the entire package for $707! Perhaps I could have done even better but this is not bad at all.

I can’t wait to try everything out this weekend 🙂