Just wondering what are the thoughts on the independent shops? Are they better and any particular opinions on them?
Central Snowsports. Their main shop is at Winterhaven on the corner of Slalom St and Falls Creek Rd. Good gear and helpful, knowledgeable staff. Also the best place to demo and buy skis. Also consider Falls Creek Hotel or Koki. IIRC Halleys.was good for low end stuff, but I haven't had any experience with them for many years.
Depends what you're after. We hired from FCS in its first year and all the kids gear was new. Don't know how it is now. Every other year since, I get all our skis from Koki's - kids had racing boots this year (first wear) and good skis, I had demo skis and each pair was great (had the first ride on a few of them as well). My boots were bought from Yogi's.
For independents on mountain, can't recommend Halleys or Central Snowsports enough. I don't take my equipment anywhere but Halleys to be repaired. Central are great for boot fitting, decent ski demos and general higher end stuff.