Rental and discounts: here’s how to ski without breaking the bank

A former Canadiens player who became an analyst at TVA Sports, Alexandre Picard is also the father of an 11-year-old hockey player, with whom he travels through the province’s arenas. A few weeks ago, he sent us an open letter written at the beginning of September, in which he draws a striking observation: many children are having to give up hockey, our national sport, due to lack of resources.

To accompany his words, The Journal offers you a series of texts on the costs linked to the practice of sport as well as on the initiatives put in place to help parents who are less fortunate or hit hard by the rising cost of living.

A sign that winter is approaching, La Poubelle du ski is welcoming customers in droves these days. The Montreal store where there is an extraordinary brothel is one of the rare places in Quebec that offers winter sports equipment rental.

• Also read: Half a season of hockey for $75, equipment included

• Also read: Support organizations for young hockey players increasingly in demand: from four to 200 requests in 14 years

• Also read: Accessibility to hockey: this family has an annual budget of $14,000 for their three children

“We started renting in the 1980s to keep it affordable. The customers asked for it, and they still ask for it,” says one of the bosses, Éric Levert, while continuing to manage the traffic on the floor.

The store was quiet on a Wednesday in early November when the Journal. Sixty employees were busy filling the aisles, keeping the back of the store moving and serving the few customers present.

Nothing to do with the organized chaos of Saturday. On these busy days, the number of employees increases to 160, including 100 who are there only to serve customers.

“It’s got to work. On a good Saturday, we can have 400 families passing by,” is proud to say the manager, who has 40 years in the business, including 20 in this store located on Saint-Laurent Boulevard and who has never spent a penny on advertising. .

Discounts of $10 per equipment rental are even offered to customers who pick it up during the week, in order to reduce crowds on weekends.

Between skis, snowboards, boots, skates, snowshoes and hockey equipment, there are more than 50,000 items available for rent.

That’s without counting all the new equipment that overflows the aisles. Since its beginnings in 1964, La Poubelle du ski has been buying surplus stock from its suppliers.

“If customers don’t want to rent their equipment, we have new equipment for all tastes and budgets,” likes to say another old timer, Yan Boucher, at La Poubelle for 20 years and manager of the section. skis and snow lances.

Rent for fun

For the seasonal rental of a pair of skis or a snowboard, the customer can choose between new or second-hand equipment.

The price is calculated on the store’s website based on the age, size and above all the cost of the goods.

For a child, the skis-boots-bindings set rents from $79 to $139 before taxes. For an adult, it’s around $199. Purchasing the same equipment will cost $230 to $350 for children and $400 to $900 for adults.

In snowboarding, seasonal rental for children will cost from $89 to $169 depending on the child’s height and weight and from $188 to $238 for adults.

To this, we must add the helmet, which rents for $20 to $25 for the season, and the poles, which are not available for rental, but which, at the Poubelle du ski, cost around $25 and will be replaced. free of charge by older children for growing children.

Prices are similar at Oberson, the other rare store to offer rentals in its Laval and Brossard branches. Second-hand ski-boots-bindings sets for adults are $169.95 for the season, $199.95 for snowboarding.

Save on tickets

The price of ski lifts can quickly empty your wallet. If a season pass isn’t for you, here are some tips.

• The Ski Passe-Partout package sells for $49.99 and allows you to obtain a 30% discount on five tickets in all resorts in Quebec, except at Massif de Charlevoix.
• The Snow Pass sells for $39.99 and allows children aged 6 to 12 to obtain three tickets at participating ski resorts.
• Buying the ticket in advance often allows you to obtain discounts, which is never the case the same morning at the station.