Portaski - anyone ever bought or use one?

[kookaburra]

Hi - looking for a way of transporting skis around the resort ( will have 3 sets of skis, helmts, boots, poles, as am going with DC and not DH.) Saw an advert for a 'portaski' looks like a little wheely device, apparently even a child can pull skis easily using one...
Is this just another useless gadget, anyone know? Thanks!

not seen one (or seen anyone using one) but they look like a jolly good idea if you have to do much walking in resort.

depending where you stay, of course, you might not end up walking far - we favour 'ski to door' places for just this reason.

Yes- I agree- we are definitely ski to and from the door afficionados! My bugbear is getting the skis initially from the hire shop to the chalet. (When I am very rich I will pay someone - somehow - to do this for me.) Thanks to the usefiul tip from 'toomanyprojects' on this site, I know that it is a slog from the hire shop in la Rosiere to the chalet.
Actually now looks like my enthusiasm was misplaced as the phone number on the Portaski website is unavailable - presume therfore not now trading maybe not enough people thought it a good idea, or maybe it was useless, or maybe it as just another start-up that did not make it beyond the first year.
Will have to get DS1 to engineer something similar...

if it's only for the trip from the hire shop have you a cheap sled you can load up and tow?

either that or you'll have to charm the nice young men in the hire shop

Mrs Badger - hey - if there is enough snow, that's a very, very good idea (sledge, I mean, the other might be fun, but I'm probably a bit too ancient for that to work )

kookaburra - there are sledges available in the chalets quite often - bought by previous guests and left behind or the ones used by the Snow Rangers.
The ski shop has bags available I think.

Which chalet are you in?

For the kids skis take a rucksack that has side straps from which you can their kids skis (by the binding) and loop the chin strap of the helmets through. Ski boots go inside . Kids carry poles (if they need them at all). The blue Esprit kids' rucksacks can hold a helmet btw !

thought this was a ski loo!

lol, this!

LIZs - you are organised!!!!!
toomanyprojects - we are going to the Ferme d'Elisa (just looked it up). Didn't have a brochure when we booked, so am hoping we are not in a chalet where the other 11 are all one big group... However on previous chalet hols (BC) we always found them more fun than hotels.

LIZs - what are the blue esprit rucksacks? Are they a freebie or do we buy them there?

ds got given a freebie one - blue with pink (!) trim and logo , not sure if they still do the same but someone here will know. Just the right size for a helemt or pair of kids boots. btw it took a lot of trial and error before I worked out how best to pack the rucksack to cart dd's stuff around while carrying my own , lol !

Esprit did rucksacks as a special one year (2000 or 2001) and then drawstring bags after that (for the children to take to Spritelets etc). They didn't do them last year at all (I was a bit caught out!) or this season either. You can't buy them.

Kookaburra - Ferme d'Elisa is near to (next door to) several other esprit chalets and virtually ski in out - the photo on the website is a bit out of date - Ourson chalet is next door to the left hand side!

In the brochure there is an aerial view of the resort - Ski shop is off the photo where Sandrine chalet is marked (have a feeling Sandrine is on top of the ski shop - if not very close!)

hmm we went in summer 2003 - perhaps they were leftovers , lol !

LIZS - it might have been later on that they had the rucksacks- we went for the first time in Jan 2004 - I was thinking it was earlier - and I saw people with them from earlier holidays but we all got the thin drawstring ones..

We use the Pocket Ski Slings

www.skisling.com/product.htm

Bought them at the SkiShow about 5 years ago and they are great!

Lorna