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What you're fighting against here is the equipment triangle. It goes for pretty much anything, and it goes roughly like this:
Cheap, Durable, Good - Choose 2.
You can get a pretty 'nice' ski for not much $ these days but don't expect it to last long. Likewise if it's cheap and durable, it's probably going to be lifeless and boring - think rental equipment. And finally if you want it to be a nice item that lasts a long time, you can expect to pay plenty of cash for it.