September has a particular ritual for skiers. At some point in the month, usually after the first forecast that mentions snow at elevation, you open the closet or pull down the attic hatch or unzip the gear bag that has been sitting in the corner of the garage since April. What you find in there determines a lot about how the season starts. Some of it will be exactly as you left it. Some of it will surprise you. And some of it, if you have not had this conversation with a shop tech yet, may be unusable in ways that are not obvious from looking at it.
September is the right time for this check precisely because nothing is urgent yet. You have time to get a tune scheduled, order replacement gear if something needs it, and make decisions without the pressure of a trip leaving in four days. The skier who does this in November is the one calling around for a boot fitting appointment the week before Thanksgiving.
American Ski Exchange works with skiers at the start of every season who are sorting through exactly this situation, and this guide walks through what to look at, what it means, and how to decide whether what is in your garage is worth bringing to Vail or whether you are better served on rental equipment this year.
Start Here: The Binding Conversation Nobody Has Had With You
Before you look at bases, edges, boots, or anything else, check your bindings. Specifically, find out how old they are.
This is not about whether the bindings look fine. It is about a technical and legal reality that most recreational skiers have never been told: ski bindings past a certain age fall off the manufacturer’s indemnified list, which means a certified ski shop cannot legally adjust or test them. The specific cutoff years vary by manufacturer and update annually, so confirming where your bindings stand requires checking with a shop tech rather than a chart in a magazine, but the principle is consistent across the industry.
What indemnified means in practice is that the manufacturer stands behind the binding’s performance and the shop’s liability for adjusting it within a defined service window. Once a binding ages out of that window, the manufacturer no longer certifies that the binding will release correctly at its stated DIN settings, and shops that adjust or test it take on liability they are not equipped to absorb. The result is that a ski tech who looks at your bindings and sees a manufacture date that puts them off the list will tell you they cannot touch them, regardless of how clean the plastic looks or how smoothly the release mechanism moves in your hand.
This matters in September because it means a pair of skis in your garage may be effectively unusable this season regardless of base condition, edge sharpness, or how much you paid for them. A binding that cannot be adjusted or tested by a shop cannot be certified safe to ski. Finding this out now gives you options. Finding it out the week before a Vail trip gives you a problem.
If you are not sure how old your bindings are, the manufacture date is typically stamped on the binding body or the heel piece. Bring that date to a shop tech and ask directly whether your bindings are still on the indemnified list for this season. That conversation takes five minutes and tells you immediately whether everything else in this checklist matters or whether the decision has already been made for you.
Bases and Edges: What Is Cosmetic, What Is a Tune, What Is Past Saving
After bindings, look at the bases. Turn the skis over and examine them in decent light.
Surface scratches and minor gouges are cosmetic. A base that looks scuffed and worn from a full season of use is not necessarily a base that needs more than a tune and a wax. Stone grinding and hot waxing restore the glide surface and fill in minor damage, and a ski that looks rough in September can ski like new after a proper tune.
Core shots are different. A core shot is a gouge deep enough to expose the wood or foam core beneath the base material. Left untreated, a core shot allows water to enter the core and compromise the ski’s structural integrity from the inside. Core shots can be repaired with P-tex, which is a base repair material, but significant core shots require shop repair rather than DIY treatment, and skis with multiple core shots or damage concentrated near the binding mounting points deserve a more careful assessment of whether repair makes sense relative to replacement.
Edge condition tells you about performance. Edges that are rusty along their length need rust removal and sharpening before they will hold on firm snow. Edges with significant chips or cracks, particularly near the tips and tails where impact damage concentrates, may be past what sharpening can address. Run your fingernail along the edge from tip to tail and feel for consistent metal rather than gaps or soft spots.
The honest verdict here is that most skis that went through a normal season and were stored reasonably are candidates for a tune rather than replacement. A full tune, which typically includes stone grinding, edge sharpening, and hot wax application, returns a ski to serviceable condition. What it cannot do is fix structural damage, correct delamination, or make a ski with off-list bindings safe to ski.
Boots: The Quiet Failure Most Skiers Miss
Boots are where the September gear check most often reveals something that looks fine and is not.
Ski boot liners are made of foam that compresses over time under the pressure and heat of skiing. A liner that was snug and supportive in its first season becomes progressively less so as the foam packs out. A boot that fit precisely three seasons ago and has been skied hard since then may have a liner that has packed out enough to allow the heel lift and lateral movement that compromises control and causes the shin bang and ankle soreness that skiers attribute to other causes.
The way to assess a boot is to put it on without a ski sock, buckle it down, and flex it forward. Your heel should not lift off the boot board. If it does, the liner has packed out. Some liners can be heat-molded to restore fit, and some boots take replacement liners that extend their useful life. Others are past what remolding can fix, particularly older boots with significant shell wear.
Shell condition is the other check. Flex the shell at the cuff and look for cracks, particularly at stress points near the buckle wells and the cuff pivot. A crack in the shell is a structural failure that no amount of liner work corrects, and a cracked boot shell is a boot that should not be on the mountain.
If your boots fit well last season and have been stored properly, they are likely fine. If they have five or more seasons on them with heavy use, or if you noticed comfort or control issues late last season that you attributed to fatigue, September is the right time to have them assessed rather than discovering mid-trip that they are the source of the problem.
Kids’ Gear: The Reality Check That Happens Every Year
If you are skiing with children, the September gear audit has an additional dimension that resolves quickly once you look at it honestly.
Kids outgrow ski equipment every one to two years, sometimes faster. A boot that fit in March may not fit in November, and a boot that does not fit correctly is both uncomfortable and a control problem for a developing skier. The check is simple: put last season’s boots on your child in September while there is still time to do something about it. If the fit is marginal, it will be wrong by February.
The math on carrying kids’ ski equipment deserves a clear look. Purchasing ski boots for a child who will outgrow them in eighteen months, plus the cost of transporting equipment to Vail, often approaches or exceeds what a season-long kids’ rental program costs, without the flexibility that a rental provides as the child grows and develops. American Ski Exchange’s kids’ rental options are worth comparing against the cost of equipment that will need to be replaced again next fall.
Helmets are worth checking separately. Kids’ helmets that were purchased several seasons ago, or that have taken any significant impact, should be replaced. The replacement window for helmets is covered in the next section.
Helmets and Goggles: When to Replace
Helmets have a manufacturer-recommended replacement window that most skiers ignore until something happens. The standard guidance from most helmet manufacturers is replacement every three to five years from the date of manufacture, not from the date of purchase, and immediate replacement after any significant impact regardless of visible damage.
The reason helmets degrade over time is that the foam liner that absorbs impact energy compresses with use and age, and a liner that has lost its loft through repeated minor compressions or simply through time does not absorb energy the way a new liner does. A helmet that looks undamaged on the outside may have a liner that is no longer performing as designed.
Check the manufacture date on the inside of your helmet. If it is past the manufacturer’s recommended window, replace it before the season. This is not optional safety theater. It is a straightforward equipment maintenance reality that affects whether the helmet does its job if you need it.
Goggle lenses are a performance question rather than a safety one. Scratched lenses reduce visibility and increase eye fatigue, particularly on bright days when glare is a factor. A goggle with a significantly scratched lens is worth replacing, and replacement lenses are available for most current goggle models if the frame is in good condition.
The Four Verdicts and How to Read Them
After working through the checklist, you will land on one of four outcomes for each piece of equipment.
Keep it and ski it. The equipment is in good condition, bindings are on the indemnified list, boots fit correctly, and a tune will have it ready for opening day. This is the best outcome and the most common one for equipment that has been reasonably maintained.
Keep it and tune it. The equipment needs work before it is ready, but the work is straightforward and worth doing. Bases need a grind and wax. Edges need sharpening. Boots need heat molding or a minor fit adjustment. This is what most skis need after a season in storage, and a shop tune before the season is a better investment than discovering mid-trip that the edges are not holding.
Replace it. The equipment has reached the end of its useful life. Bindings are off the indemnified list and the skis are old enough that new equipment makes more sense than finding a workaround. Boots have cracked shells or are packed out past what remolding can fix. Helmets are past their replacement window. This verdict is financially uncomfortable but clear.
Rent it this season. The equipment is functional but not ideal for Vail, or the binding situation means the skis cannot be used safely this season, or the cost of replacing everything at once makes renting the right financial decision for the year. This is not a downgrade. American Ski Exchange carries performance and demo tiers that put experienced skiers on current high-performance equipment without the capital outlay of replacement gear.
What to Do With the Verdict
Once you know where each piece of equipment stands, the next steps are specific rather than open-ended.
For equipment that needs a tune, get it on the schedule before the season fills in. Early-season appointment availability for ski tuning is better than it will be in October, and getting ahead of the rush means your skis are ready when the mountain opens rather than when your technician has an opening.
For boots that need fitting work, September and October are the best months for boot fitting at American Ski Exchange. The fitting process gets the attention it deserves when the shop is not managing the volume of a peak-season Saturday, and getting the fit right before the season is more comfortable and more controlled than addressing it after your first painful day on the mountain.
For equipment that lands on the rent verdict, reserving before the season fills in means the best available equipment is still on the rack. Performance and demo boards and skis move quickly once the season gets closer, and a September reservation locks in the tier you want before availability narrows. The packages and rates page covers what is available at each tier so you can match the equipment to what you want out of the season.
For families with kids who have outgrown their gear, the group rentals page covers coordination for families sorting out multiple setups at once, which is the logistics situation that benefits most from getting it handled before everyone is standing in the shop on the first day of a trip.
Frequently Asked Questions About the September Ski Gear Check
How do I find out if my ski bindings are still on the indemnified list?
The most reliable way is to bring your skis to a certified ski shop and ask a technician to check the binding manufacture date against the current indemnified list. Manufacturer lists update annually, and the cutoff years vary by brand, so a shop tech working from the current list is the authoritative source rather than a chart from a previous season.
My skis look fine but have been in the garage for several years. Are they safe to ski?
Visual inspection does not reveal binding age, liner pack-out, or whether your equipment falls within current certified service windows. A professional assessment covers what a visual check misses, particularly for bindings that may be off the indemnified list regardless of how the plastic looks.
What does a ski tune actually include?
A standard tune typically includes base grinding to restore the glide surface, edge sharpening to restore edge hold, and hot wax application for protection and performance. Shops vary in what they include at each service level, so confirming what is covered when you schedule is worth a quick question.
Is it worth tuning older skis or should I just rent?
It depends on the binding situation first. If the bindings are still on the indemnified list and the skis are in serviceable condition, a tune is usually worth it. If the bindings have aged off the list, the decision about the skis is effectively made regardless of base and edge condition. For skis that are tunable and usable, the calculus depends on how the performance compares to what a rental tier would put you on at Vail.
How often should kids’ ski equipment be replaced?
Fit is the primary driver for kids’ equipment, and fit changes every one to two seasons for most growing children. Beyond fit, the same helmet replacement guidelines that apply to adult equipment apply to kids’ equipment, and bindings require the same indemnified list check regardless of the skier’s age.
How do I get my gear assessed or reserve a rental before the season?
Contact American Ski Exchange to discuss gear assessment, tuning, boot fitting, or rental reservations before the season fills in. The FAQ page covers common questions about what the shop offers and how the rental and tuning process works.
Open the Garage Now, Not the Night Before Your First Trip
The skier who does this in September has options. The skier who does it in November has urgency. What is in your garage is probably mostly fine, but the binding question alone is worth answering before you assume. A five-minute conversation with a shop tech in September is a better use of time than discovering mid-trip that the shop cannot touch your equipment. Whatever the verdict, American Ski Exchange can handle the tune, the boot fitting, the rental reservation, or the honest assessment of what makes sense for the season. Visit vailskishop.com to get started before opening day.