If you rent skis for a winter trip, or write about who rents them, this article shows how often women’s ski models are chosen: ten seasons of alpy.com booking data and 15 countries. Women’s ski gear is a growing part of what people rent, and the figures show how renters’ choices have recovered since the pandemic and where women’s skis are most popular.
One in five skis rented through alpy.com is a women’s model. In the 2025/26 season the figure was 22.1%, level with 2017/18 (22.0%) after a dip to 20.1% in 2021/22, the first season after the pandemic. Part of that recovery comes from a new women’s model we added to the range in 2024/25. Without it, the 2025/26 share would be about 20.7%.
One country has stayed ahead of the pack throughout. In every season we compared, renters from the Netherlands chose a women’s ski more often than everyone else combined.
What we counted
This comes from our own booking data, the rentals made through alpy.com’s partner shops in the Alps, not a generic survey or a third-party study. We counted adult alpine skis, leaving out kids’ mini skis and cross-country skis, and asked how many were women’s models. In this article, women’s ski gear means women’s ski models, because in 2025/26 no item other than skis carried a women’s label. “Country” means the customer’s country, not where the rental shop is.
What makes a ski a women’s model depends on the brand. One ski maker says its women’s and men’s lines differ only in graphics, apart from one lighter, softer model. One retailer’s 2014 guide describes well-designed women’s skis as lighter and softer, with the bindings mounted about two centimetres further forward. We haven’t compared the construction of the models we rent, so our figures describe the label, not the build.
The dip and the climb back
Women’s models as a share of skis rented
Bar lengths are drawn to a 25% scale. 2020/21, the pandemic season itself, is left out because there were too few bookings to compare.
The share peaked at 23.0% in 2016/17, eased to 22.0% in 2017/18 and slid to 20.7% by 2019/20. It bottomed out at 20.1% in 2021/22 and has risen every season since, reaching 22.1% in 2025/26.
The last two steps are not all customer choice. A women’s Blue/Bronze (3*) ski joined the range in 2024/25, and it accounts for about 1.4 points of the 2025/26 figure. Take it out and the share is about 20.7%, which is above the 2021/22 low but still short of 2017/18. The recovery is real, and it is partly built into the range.
Alpy Tip: You can update sizes and other details on your alpy.com booking until a few days before your rental starts, so you can book your gear early and adjust later.
Where women’s ski gear is chosen most
Women’s models exist in five of our ten ski grades. In 2025/26, where they exist, they are chosen often.
Women’s model as a share of skis rented in each grade, 2025/26
Bar lengths are drawn to a 40% scale.
More than a third of Red/Silver skis rented were the women’s version. Rookie, Champion and the other grades have no women’s model at all, which is one reason the overall share sits near one in five instead of one in three. Our guide to how ski rental grades work explains what the grade names mean.
How women’s ski gear compares by country
Women’s models as a share of skis rented, by customer country, 2025/26
All customers combined: 22.1%. Bar lengths are drawn to a 30% scale. *The US figure rests on far fewer bookings than the others, so it is less certain.
The Netherlands (26.2%) and the United States (26.9%) are level at the top, though the US figure rests on far fewer bookings. Sweden follows at 24.8%. Germany, Denmark, Belgium, the UK and Austria sit within 1.4 points of each other, between 22.4% and 23.8%. France and Spain share 18.0%, and Israel (16.5%) and Italy (16.1%) come last.
How much of the order is real?
Counting skis is only one way to measure it, and the middle of the table moves depending on the method. We also looked at bookings with exactly one pair of skis, and at the four grades that have always had a women’s model. The UK, for example, ranks 7th when counting skis and 10th on both of the other counts.
Two things don’t move. The Netherlands is first or second every time, at 26.2%, 34.2% and 25.4% on the three counts. Italy and Israel stay near the bottom on all three. Everything in between is close enough that we wouldn’t put weight on any single position.
The Dutch lead is not new
| Season | Netherlands | All other countries |
|---|---|---|
| 2017/18 | 26.1% | 21.6% |
| 2018/19 | 26.4% | 21.4% |
| 2019/20 | 24.8% | 20.2% |
| 2021/22 | 23.8% | 19.6% |
| 2022/23 | 24.7% | 19.5% |
| 2023/24 | 25.6% | 20.2% |
| 2024/25 | 26.5% | 21.3% |
| 2025/26 | 26.2% | 21.5% |
Women’s models as a share of skis rented. The pandemic season, 2020/21, is left out.
In every season we compared, Dutch renters chose women’s skis more often than everyone else combined, by between 4.2 and 5.4 points. They dipped along with everyone else, to 23.8% in 2021/22, and are back at 26.2%, level with 2017/18 (26.1%). The data can’t say why the Dutch lead. It also describes people who rent through alpy.com, so it speaks for our Dutch renters, not for Dutch skiers as a whole.
Picking skis for your own trip
If you are choosing between models, our guide to ski and snowboard boot fitting when renting covers how to get the right fit.
FAQ
What share of rented skis are women’s models?
About one in five. In 2025/26, 22.1% of the adult alpine skis rented through alpy.com were women’s models, up from 20.1% in 2021/22 and level with 22.0% in 2017/18. Women’s ski gear exists in five of the ten ski grades.
Are women’s ski rentals back to their pre-pandemic level?
The share is level with 2017/18 and just below the 23.0% peak of 2016/17. Part of the rise comes from a women’s Blue/Bronze (3*) ski added in 2024/25. Without it the 2025/26 share would be about 20.7%.
Which country rents the most women’s ski gear?
The Netherlands is first or second on every count we tried, at 26.2% when counting skis. The US is level at 26.9%, but that figure rests on far fewer bookings. Dutch renters beat all other renters combined in every season compared, by 4.2 to 5.4 points.
Which ski grades come in a women’s version?
Five of ten: Blue/Bronze (3*), Red/Silver (4*), Black/Gold (5*), Platinum (6*) and Diamond (7*). In 2025/26 the women’s model made up 36.3% of Red/Silver skis rented and 30.7% of Black/Gold. Rookie, Champion and the other grades have no women’s version.
Does this show how many women ski in the Netherlands?
No. It shows how often alpy.com renters choose a women’s ski model. It doesn’t count women skiers, can’t tell who wears a pair of skis, and covers only people who rent through alpy.com, so it is not a measure of Dutch skiers as a whole.
Where this leaves the numbers
Women’s ski gear now makes up about one in five skis rented through alpy.com, level with 2017/18 and helped by a new model. The Dutch lead is the one pattern that holds however we count.
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