[dendrite9]

Skis matter, I'd say the best thing you can do is ask for advice at a good shop while being realistic about your skill level, how much you can ski, and how much you might improve. Try not to be too proud and say you are just going to ski powder, be realistic about the conditions you are likely to ski in. There are some decent sites to ask as well. You likely can find a used pair of good skis instead of buying new if you prefer.

Also don't forget about boots. They can be hard to fit and find a good pair but the effort is worth it. You might not care immediately and skis are more exciting to buy, but your boots are how you use the skis and bad boots can make it hard to get better.

It seems like after a decent period of experimentation many skis currently are just good, especially in the intermediate range. I don't know much about beginner skis but depending on what you learn on the next step up from rental skis will feel like a significant improvement.

After that, there is a lot of feel and style that determines the skis you might use. I have probably 10-15 pairs because I hold on to my worn out, broken skis instead of throwing them away. I figured out what characteristics I like for where I ski and a couple common conditions. Some people like long, straight skis, some are happy with shorter noodles, part of that is style and part of that is where the skis are used. Some people care a lot about weight.