(FORTUNE Magazine) – Each year a slew of new high-tech ski equipment hits the market--and the cheapest route to ownership is now through the mail. This season, for instance, super side-cut skis have revolutionized the sport: The side of the ski has a pronounced built-in curve; when you put it on its edge to turn, the ski naturally wants to follow the curve, meaning quicker, easier turns. Now beginners can schuss down black diamonds sooner, and experts can go all day with less fatigue. Slopeside shops are selling out, but a crop of ski catalogues offer broad choices, great discounts, overnight delivery--and even, in some cases, the option to demo.

There are a couple of good reasons to shop for ski equipment by mail. Beyond some of the startlingly low prices, advanced skiers can find unusual racing, tuning, and training gear. For the average skier, unless you live near a sprawling resort, selection might be an issue, since your local ski shop doubles as a bait-and-tackle store in the summer. Catalogues offer easy access to an informed sales staff who can back up their advice with an extensive inventory. Better yet, most prices drop in early February, and according to our research, many places will even bargain. So don't be shy.

Here are a few of the best:

Ski & Snowboard Gear Direct, or SGD (800-353-7432), sells just about everything the recreational skier might need. The company carries a wide array of downhill and telemark skis by the like of Fischer, Head, Atomic, and Dynastar at discounts of 40% to 60%. (You can get up to 90% off closeout models, which are not included in the catalogue; check in at www.geardirect.com/sportsgear for an online list.) SGD will mount your skis and bindings for you; if you return a ski in good condition, it'll refund 90% of the price. Boots by Koflach, Raichle, and Dalbello also sell at a significant 40% to 60% discount. If they don't fit, you have up to 30 days to return them--so you can actually spend some time in them, rather than take the usual ten-minute pace around a store before buying. SGD also stocks hard-to-find backcountry equipment--such as Alpine-touring and fat-powder skis, snowshoes, and avalanche rescue shovels--as well as gadgets such as the Avocet Vertech, which has an altimeter, barometer, and speed meter. SGD also puts out an extensive snowboard catalogue, which offers 20% to 60% discounts on retail prices, as well as a closeout list for deeper discounts.

Michel Pratte Alpine Ski (800-641-3327) focuses on advanced skiing and racing equipment by Lange, Salomon, Rossignol, Koflach, Fischer, and Dynastar. While Pratte caters to the fast crowd, there are occasionally bargains too: The Fischer RC4 RS World Cup GS ski with equalizer plate, a top-rated giant slalom ski, sells for $520 (SGD's price is $575). The catalogue includes clothing--a Descente downhill training suit costs $330--and helmets, but you'll also find a section devoted to racing supplies, such as gates, racing bibs, and snow fencing.

Reliable Skiing (800-223-4448) puts out separate catalogues for Alpine sports, Nordic, and events supplies. Although the Alpine catalogue doesn't offer skis or boots, it does have the edge on specialty tuning gear. In general, this catalogue is aimed at advanced skiers, racers, and coaches; just reading through the tuning section is an education for anybody who has looked at the bottom of his or her skis with wonder. A Ski Visions base flattener, for example, is a palm-held tool that has a surgical steel blade that shaves both the edges and base to make the ski less grabby ($65; $85 for snowboards). Toko Wet Jet, a hyperfast synthetic wax for spring's wet snow, can be rubbed on slopeside ($98 for 20 grams). Reliable also has a good selection of tough-to-find race stuff like Leki World Cup Downhill poles, among the most aerodynamic available ($89).

Race Place (800-814-7223) specializes in race and tuning equipment as well. These guys have a lot of the little techy bits and pieces, like snow thermometers used for determining which wax to use ($7 to $13); deflex plates, which dampen vibration and add extra turning power by raising the boot up ($89 to $150); and trick-looking carbon-Kevlar Briko helmets to protect your brain during the abrupt termination of the airborne phase of your big fall ($250).

PSNY's catalogue-zine (212-645-9340) for snowboarders is far and away the most graphically hip; it mixes lots of up-to-the-minute gear with interviews of factory-sponsored pros. There are Santa Cruz XX series snowboards designed for lighter riders ($440), Morrow's top-end A1 bindings ($140), and Ultrafly's red-lens glasses--in case you want to look like a superhero with an attitude problem ($49). PSNY's prices tend to be 10% below retail.

Remember: Ski equipment is like fashion--the cost stays up only until next season's edition is released; then it's all downhill.