Ski Rental Switzerland - Top Deals and Prices 2025

Are you planning a winter vacation in Switzerland but don’t want to buy a ski outfit or bring your own? No problem, because nowadays there are plenty of rental shops in every ski resort in Switzerland. You can rent skis of all models and price ranges. Whether you’re into alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, or snowboarding, it doesn’t matter.

But how do you find the best ski gear that suits you and your skill level? And what else should you keep in mind when renting skis?

Guidelines for Ski Rentals

Generally speaking, the shorter the skis, the easier they are to handle. It's crucial to consider whether you have prior experience or are completely new to skiing.

Ski Rentals for Beginners

For beginners, it's recommended to rent All Mountain Skis or Allround Carvers/Easy Carvers that reach up to your chest or shoulders. Skis shorter than chest height are not advisable for beginners, as they lack stability. Additionally, the skis should be soft in construction. The suitable slopes for beginners are marked in blue and red.

Ski Rentals for Intermediate Skiers

Experienced and intermediate skiers should choose All Mountain Skis or Allround Carvers/Easy Carvers that come up to their shoulders, chins, or nose tips. The recommended ski material ranges from soft to medium. The ideal slopes for experienced and intermediate skiers are also the blue and red runs.

Ski Rentals for Advanced and Pro Skiers

Skilled skiers, athletic professionals, and racers tend to select All Mountain Skis, Allround Carvers, Freeride Skis, or Race Carvers. These should ideally reach up to the tip of their noses or even the crown of their head. However, if you have a slalom course planned, you should rent shorter skis to chin height, while for giant slalom, choose skis that reach the crown. The construction of skis for professionals is firm, and the optimal slopes are marked in red and black. Given that athletic professionals already possess enough endurance, strength, technique, and fitness, they can freely choose any ski length.

Ski length recommendation

Height (cm)	Ski length (cm)
160	150
170	160
180	165
190	165
200	170

These values are only rough guidelines. In order to find the perfect equipment when renting skis, weight, age and gender are also decisive. Another factor for your safety on two boards is the waist and the radius of the skis. The waist is the width of the ski below the binding. The stronger the waist, the smaller the radius you can ski. A 14 m radius also allows you to make tighter turns. An 18 m radius, on the other hand, allows you to make larger turns.

The snow conditions are also a decisive factor for the length of the skis. If you ski in Switzerland between December and February, the snow is usually harder and sometimes even icy. With longer snowboards you will find the right stability in these conditions. In April and May, when the spring sun softens the snow masses, you should choose shorter skis. In the soft firn snow you will then ski with less effort.

The guidelines that help you rent skis also apply to renting a snowboard. It is advisable to consult an expert on the spot to help you make the right choice.

How big should the ski poles be when renting skis?

When renting skis in Switzerland, the ski poles are also a decisive factor for safe skiing on the slopes. Similar to the skis, the choice of poles depends on the local conditions and your own preferences

Ski racers in giant slalom can support themselves better with longer poles both at the start and in the turns. Freeriders on humpy slopes, on the other hand, enjoy more fun with shorter poles. So those who want to go fast and therefore often push themselves with their arms choose longer ski poles

More and more popular are the so-called telescopic poles, which can be individually adjusted to the respective conditions. These are also popular with tourers and freeriders.

Again, when choosing the right ski poles, your height, but also your leg length, skiing ability and personal preference are crucial. Although there is a simple formula that you can use to calculate the optimal length of ski poles. This is: body size in cm x 0.7 = length of the ski pole in cm

The following table can also help you

Ski pole length recommendation

body height (cm)	ski pole length (cm)
155 to 161	110
162 to 168	115
169 to 175	120
176 to 182	125
183 to 189	130
190 to 196	135
over 196	140

Freeriders can subtract another 5 cm from these recommendations. In a snow park, even rather only the 1-meter ski poles belong to the standard equipment.

There is a simple practical test for the right choice of ski poles. To do this, you should already be wearing your ski equipment, including skis and boots. Turn the ski pole around so that the handle touches the ground. Then take the pole in your hand below the round plate. The part above the plate sinks into the snow anyway and is therefore not counted for the optimal length of the ski poles

If your arm then forms an uncomplicated right angle, you have found the ideal ski poles. Try shorter and longer poles, then you will immediately feel the difference.

Good ski poles also have an ergonomic grip. The material should be light and strong at the same time - mostly aluminum is used. Professionals ski with the harder carbon ski poles and with telescopic ski poles made of Titanal. These allow quick adjustment of the length even in cold temperatures.

The right ski binding when renting skis

The ski binding is an essential safety factor. Of course, you can also adjust your binding yourself when renting skis. However, we advise you to leave this part to the professionals from the ski rental.

The professionals have a standardized testing device with which they can test when the ski binding releases. The decisive factor here is the so-called Z-value, which states the force with which the binding must be acted upon in order for it to release the boot. This is important because in the event of a fall, the risk of injury is lower if the ski boot releases in time.

In return, the ski boot must not be clamped too loosely so that the ski binding does not give up already in a sharp turn. So the higher this Z-value is, the later the ski binding releases the ski boot. The Z-value is in turn adjusted to your age, weight, gender, height, also sole length, contact pressure (= the force by which the boot is pressed into the binding) and skiing ability.

Rent the right ski boot

Of course, when renting skis in Switzerland, the right ski boots are also essential. After all, they should be comfortable. Your foot should not slide back and forth in the shoe. Many beginners or hobby skiers make the mistake of buying shoes that are too big

The shoe should not cause pain even after several descents. Midfoot and heel must sit firmly in the ski boot. In the end, your foot decides after a short time of trying on whether the shoe is comfortable or not. Optical aspects should be disregarded. Above all, the ski boot should be comfortable to wear and warm. Therefore, it is advisable to always test several models to find the right shoe

Almost like Rapunzel..

Flex value when renting a ski boot

A good guideline for finding the perfect ski boot for your individual skiing behavior is the so-called flex value. This value, also known as the flex index, indicates how stiff the shell of the ski boot is. The higher the value, the harder the shell

Ski racers pay attention to a high flex value, because a stiff shell allows a higher power transmission and thus a higher speed at the same time. For ski beginners, on the other hand, a low flex value is advantageous, allowing more freedom in the ankle joint. The same applies to the last width, i.e. the widest part of the forefoot. The wider the last, the more comfortable the ski boot. Racers use a narrow last width.

Moon point when renting ski boots

For the size of the ski boots, the so-called moon point, also called "moon" or "MP", is decisive. This is a boot size system that takes into account not only the size of the feet, but also the width. After determining your foot length from the heel to the tip of the big toe, you add 0.5 mm. This will give you the appropriate moonpoint.

Recommendation for ski boot rental

Shoe size	Foot length (cm)	Moon point (mm)
38	24	240
39	25	250
40	25.35	255
41	26	260
42	26.70	265
43	27.35	275
44	28	280

A simple test while trying on will help you decide which ski boot is best for you. Place your feet shoulder-width apart on the floor, tilt your upper body in all directions without ever letting your heels slide up. If you do not feel any pain, the foot is not too loose. If your feet feel comfortable, you have found the right shoe.

Is ski insurance necessary when renting skis?

When renting skis in Switzerland, employees often recommend having their own ski insurance to cover theft and breakage. However, the opinions of insurance experts vary widely when it comes to this topic Basically, a ski theft directly on the slopes occurs rather rarely and even if you park your skis in front of an alpine hut, hardly anyone will take them. After all, most of the people present are skiing themselves and it is a bit conspicuous when someone is skiing down the slope with two pairs of skis. The number of ski thefts has actually been declining in recent years

Also, the breakage of skis almost never happens, because the material usually withstands falls well. In addition, damage and even theft of skis are often covered by a normal, private liability insurance. If the ski breaks due to material fatigue, the ski rental company is responsible anyway. On average, a fee of 10% of the rental amount is charged for ski insurance at the ski rental shop

If, contrary to expectations, a theft does occur, the rental company can only charge the current value of the skis and not the purchase price. Therefore, when renting skis, it is recommended that the age of the skis is also noted on the contract. You can then report the theft and breakage to your private liability insurance.

Of course, this is only a recommendation and you decide for yourself how big a risk you want to take.

The different ski models

Below we give you a brief overview of the different types of skis that you will encounter in a ski rental in Switzerland.

Carving Ski

Basically, any ski that allows you to carve turns and curves in the snow is a carving ski. The difference between the various models lies in the shaping of the skis. There are the all-round forgiving easy carvers that are great for beginners and inexperienced skiers, and then there are the more narrowly shaped slalom carvers, sport carvers, and race carvers, which are suited for more advanced techniques.

All Mountain Ski

This is the all-rounder among carving skis, suitable for both groomed slopes and off-piste or powder snow. When choosing an all mountain ski, pay attention to the stiffness of the material; the softer it is, the easier it is to control, while a stiffer ski requires better skiing skills.

Freestyle Ski or Twintip Ski

A wonder among ski models, as the freestyle ski or twintip ski can be ridden both forwards and backwards, making it mainly intended for professionals. You can identify these models at ski rentals in Switzerland by their upturned tips at both ends. They are not designed for high-speed descents but are more for adventures in snow parks.

Freeride Ski

What the freestyle ski cannot do, the freeride ski delivers, as it can be used in both snow parks and on slopes. This wider ski is also suitable for tours in powder snow.

Touring Ski

This type of ski model is very lightweight since skis often need to be strapped on your back for hikes during ski tours. They also feature a special binding that allows you to walk uphill with the skis on and can be locked at both ends before heading downhill.

Once everything is adjusted, and your ski boots feel comfortable, and you've found the perfect ski equipment at a rental in Switzerland, nothing stands in the way of pure snow fun in the picturesque ski areas of Switzerland!

Once all the values are set, the boot feels comfortable and the poles are the right length, you've made it. You have successfully completed your mission "Ski rental in Switzerland". Now nothing stands in the way of pure snow fun in the fantastic ski resorts of Switzerland.