GEAR DILEMNA

WARNING: THIS POST CONTAINS RELIGIOUS MATERIAL THAT MAY BE OFFENSIVE TO SOME READERS!!

For a gearhead like me this is a great time of year. Deciding what new gear I need for the season and pouring over the specs and comparing. Since I'll most likely be going over to compete in the World Championships in Italy for Skimo I'll want have the best gear I can obtain/afford. What makes things kinda fun too is that our team leader in charge of gear, Ryan, has drummed up great pro deals for us. Did you hear that word? "Pro"? When I go to the Dynafit page I get to check in as a "PRO"!!! I love that concept. It also means a lot of markdown for the "PRO"!!

Cool.

So I have my boots figured out. I'm going to try to get some Dynafits. If I sell my Scarpas I can probably come close to breaking even there. Now comes the tricky part. Skis. It seems my 2 decade long affliliation with Atomic may finally be waning. The Dynafit skis are a super great deal, but word on the Int'l street is that they break and are really hard to ski on. Even the super stud Euros (the real pros that get them for free) are refusing to ski on them. Movement, a Swiss comany with the Canadian rep living right here in Canmore, may come through with a pro deal. I could always order some Atomics from Europe or try to get another pair of SkiTrabs.

So here's my dilemna. Even with a pro deal on skis and bindings it's probably going to cost me 800$ for a new pair. I've got 1 decent pair of SkiTrabs (probably the best skimo ski out there, but expensive). They're not the top line ski (weighing in 100g more than the World Cup model) and technically the bindings on there might not pass the new int'l rules (I have Gignoux heel-Dynafit toe, you're not suppossed to mix bindings). But in reality, they probably would work. I'd like to have a back up pair, especially racing in Europe.

But as I began to ponder the price.....800$ I began to wonder if I could get along with one pair. 800$...I wonder how much it costs to build a home in the 3rd world for a family living without one? I do have a fairly large quiver of skis....but racing at the top level demands good equipment. But 800$. I bet 800$ could purchase enough materials for a new home to be built in places like Mexico or Mongolia. I could get my pair of race skis, but a family could have a house!

I remember in the Bible there's a verse that says, "But whoever has the world's goods, and beholds his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?" Ouch.

To be continued...