How to Properly Store Your Winter Equipment

Summer is just about here so it’s time to put that ski equipment away and bring out the summer toys. As easy as it is to chuck your gear into a garage or closet for the next few months and forget about it. There’s a few things you should do to make sure your gear is properly stored for next season. It might seem a little time consuming to take care of your gear when it’s just going to be sitting around till next season but trust us, your future self will thank you next season when you don’t have to spend the extra time getting your stuff ready and instead can run right to the slopes. 

Clean Them Off

You’ve probably been out there enjoying the spring conditions and as you know, with spring skiing comes mud. Having that mud, dirt, and grime sit on your skis all summer is not ideal and can make it harder to clean them off once winter begins. 

Wiping down your gear before putting it away will ensure that you’ll be looking fresh next season and won’t have to worry about cleaning those skis off while the rest of your buddies are ready to go rip. 

Sharpen Those Edges

With all the dirt and rocks you potentially skied over this spring it’s safe to say that those edges are probably not as sharp as they once were. Removing any burrs and giving them a nice sharpen will help prevent rust from accumulating over the course of the summer. Having rust on your edges isn’t a huge deal and is easy to remove but this step is just another that will allow you to ski to your full potential once next season begins. 

Wax Those Bases 

This step tends to get overlooked, but putting a fresh coat of wax on your bases and leaving it on will ensure that nothing may damage them over the course of the summer. It will also keep those bases from drying out so next season you won’t be wondering why you’re skiing so slow. 

Loosen Those Dins

This isn’t the most necessary step but for the meticulous this is definitely for you. Loosening the dins on your bindings down to the lowest number will lessen the load on the springs and can help make those bindings last longer. Again, this isn’t something you have to do and won’t make your bindings last significantly longer but if you’re already going through all these other steps it’s worth doing this one as well. 

Place Those Skis Horizontal

Another step that isn’t entirely necessary, but one that we like to do, is to make sure that your skis are placed horizontally on a rack when being stored. Although it isn’t too common, placing skis on a rack that holds them by the tips or just leaning them against the wall can warp the rocker and shape of the ski over a long period of time. If you have a ski with a lot of rocker on the front and back ends then this is a good idea to take into consideration before putting them away for the summer. 

Buckle Those Boots

One of the things that we see all too often with people who own their own boots is that at the end of the season they leave them unbuckled until next year. This is something you never want to do with ski boots as it can warp the shape of the boot and make it difficult to buckle next season when you go to put them on for the first time. A good rule of thumb is to keep your boots buckled whenever you aren’t wearing them.

Once you’ve completed all these steps you’re ready to put your equipment away for the summer! Now it’s time to start counting down the days until next winter and know that your future self will be thanking you for all your preparation.