[ericmay]

The biggest thing that matters besides comfy boots is what type of skis (length and width).

I personally use all-mountain skis which are, well, good in most conditions because I typically ski in the Midwest with trips out west. If you frequently hit powder and/or live near a mountain a pair of powder skis may suit you well either alone or as a compliment - don’t over think it too much.

I highly highly highly highly recommend taking lessons next time you get to a real mountain. They are well worth the money. I usually do a tune up lesson to start the season the first time I get out west.

I’m not sure what your budget is and your ski frequency is but if you ski a lot I’d spend the most money you feel comfortable spending and buy a great pair of boots. Rent skis for a while if you need to. Then get a pair of skis. Don’t skimp on boots. Don’t buy cheap boots. Get them fitted at a ski store by a professional. Boots make/break your ski life.

Tl;dr

Buy an expensive pair of boots, it matters. Pay for lessons. They matter. Arcteryx jackets? Not so much.

[hintymad]

Speaking of lessons, I envy the kids who can join teams in those ski resorts, and the team coaches are usually regional or national medalists, who know how to drill fundamentals into kids. Adults are not so lucky. I tried many coaches or lessons offered by either ski resorts or by some ski schools. The coaches somehow could not convey exactly how one can go from pizza to parallel ski then to carving and finally to short turns. Yeah, they would give instructions like big toe small toe, lean forward, keeping upper body angular and etc. What they failed to do, though, is pointing out exactly what a series of drills that one can do to make progress.

[tafda]

Highly recommend "Breakthrough on the New Skis" by Lito Tejada-Flores for an explanation that makes sense of what to do on skis. It's not an easy concept to communicate and comprehend, and much more important than any equipment at an intermediate level. More or less any set of all mountain 80-95mm width skis with correctly fitting boots will work until you're skiing off-piste.

https://www.amazon.com/Breakthrough-New-Skis-Goodbye-Interme...

[hd95489]

You can’t verbally describe body motion is not with. The reason you do the drill is to get the motion down. It could take 200 times or 2000 times before you get there it’s very variable. The same way I can’t really tell you how to balance in one leg, but I can offer tips to break down the motion into more practiceable chunks