SAM Magazine-McLean, Va., Nov. 5, 2010-About one-third of all skiers and riders on the mountain are on rental equipment, according to rental shop operators who took part in the 2010 Rental Equipment Survey conducted by Snowsports Industries America (SIA). Increasingly, those customers are looking for high-end demo equipment. As a result, more than a third of rental establishments are increasing their budgets for high-end demo equipment this year.

The SIA survey is sent to all retail/rental and resort/rental operations in the U.S. and Canada. This year, the survey asked specific questions about trends in high-end demos because core consumers on the SIA Consumer Panel indicated they tend to look for that type of equipment, usually when they are traveling by air to snow sport destinations.

At present, high-performance demos are not a big part of the rental scene. SIA found that 55 percent of all rental operations devote 10 percent or less of their inventory to high end demo equipment. But for nearly 10 percent of rental operations, performance demos make up more than 40 percent of their inventory.

And the category is sure to grow. Nearly 40 percent of rental operators believe that demand for demos is increasing, compared to just 7 percent who see demand shrinking.