Johnny’s Ski and Board House

This is a great place to rent local ski equipment for the day. It’s less than $ 30 per person and the workers are very friendly and enthusiastic skiers. There’s even maps of the different ski slopes. They expertly give you the right sizes and what I found most helpful was they know the closing times of the peaks. I came in close to 3 wanted to rent some skis for the day and he told me that the slopes closed in less than an hour. Very helpful!

Awesome service and Johnny is the best … Personally took care of us and made sure we got everything taken care of…

Service was quick and friendly. We rented boards and helmets. We ended up getting stuck in terrible traffic (3 miles in 3.5 hours) and they stayed open after hours for us to return our gear.

Found this place while we were vacationing in big bear. Very cute family owned business. Everyone was very friendly and helped us get our kids snowboard and boots quickly. The prices were very reasonable and they made a real effort to fit my youngest daughter (she’s tiny) for her gear. Nice to skip being herded like cattle in the resort rental lines! Def will go back to them when we are in big bear.

Why does this place have such a low rating?! Prices for rentals are very reasonable, privately owned by Johnny, who is very knowledgeable and friendly! He might seem a little shy but he’s very genuine. I have stopped here couple times and will continue to do, he’s always a great help.

This place is awesome the guy that works here is super nice. Small homey feel makes me feel good spending money here! Thanks for the help

Johnny is awesome. I came here on a whim because I was supposed to get kayaks from Cabins4Less but they were terrible so I saw Johnny’s spot and walked right in. He provided a tandem kayak on the spot for my boyfriend and I. It was a top quality kayak that was clean and he also gave us nice life jackets. The prices were reasonable and he was very accommodating. He took the kayak to where were we going and then picked it back up for us. He also gave us an additional 15 – 20 minutes from what we paid for. I would recommend this spot for anyone that wants good fun!

Don’t waste your time coming here. We saw people at boulder bay park returning the kayak rentals with one of the employees from this place. We asked the employee how much it is for a kayak rental and if our dog could some with us. At first, he was really nice and said we could. He even shared his experience with taking his dog on a kayak. He quoted us $ 15 per hour, so we were already sold. He told us where his business was located at. After grabbing a quick meal, we headed over to Johnny’s. My bf went inside to process the rental and he comes back stating that he was completely rude this time around. Long story short, the employee raised the price to $ 15 per person not per hour. He also pointed my bf to another kayak rental down the street (poor business practice to shun your customers away). Lastly, he told my bf as he walked out the door that «I figured you wouldn’t get the dog on.» Excuse me, but F*** that. Obviously we came here because we decided to bring our dog on and when are you ever going to get business with kayak rentals other than the spring/​summer season. Getting business is better than no business. If he feels like one hour is a waste of time then maybe he shouldn’t be working there. I’m sure he’ll be happy if his customers rented from the place down the street instead of his own store!

The Mrs wanted to do Kayak on the lake. After shopping at nearly all the Kayak rental offerings in Big Bear we chose Johnny’s. Kayaks and gear are in good shape for rental gear and the prices are fair. Good service (Johnny himself) Good orientation/​instruction and directions. The neat thing about Johnny’s is that they deliver the kayak where you want to paddle. Great conversation with Johnny after our session. I will be back to rent snowboards in the winter and Kayaks/​SUPs in the summer. Thanks Johnny!

I’ve been going to Big Bear every year for the last 5 years. This year was my first time going to this particular store– it was close to where we were staying. At first, the staff was very welcoming and quick to help. I asked to rent boots, pants and a board for me and my kids– the person helping us told us that they didn’t rent boots, but that they had them for sale ($ 35+). I was surprised, and he saw my face. I told him that I’d been renting boots and what not for several years. He then became very rude and pushy and told me that no stores in Big Bear rented boots, and told us we would have to buy them any way. Wrong– went down the street to where we usually go and gave them our business.

Super-​friendly, quick, helpful service. Open late to pick up your equipment the night before. Dakota even helped me to my car. I really appreciated the great service during the busy holiday weekend, and will be back!

This place is a crap whole, the people are rude and the equipment is shotty. My boyfriend and I were in Big Bear over the weekend and he rented a board, boots & pants from here — BIG MISTAKE! The guy who rented the equipment to him didn’t run his board through the waxing machine before leaving the shop so when he was trying to go down the mountain it was like having a stomp pad on the bottom on his board, and his butt was wet within the first 15 minutes in the snow because the pants he rented were total crap! When we went to turn the gear in, he told the guy, «I don’t know if you guys retire pants or not but these probably should be because they’re not waterproof anymore.» And the employee ACTUALLY SAID, «they’re crappy pants. What do you expect when you rent them?» I used to rent pants every time I went snowboarding before I bought my own gear, never from this place, and NOT ONCE did my butt get wet! Then he had the nerve to give my boyfriend a freaking coupon for next time. Yeah, right. Like we would ever go back there!

Prices are comparable to all of the other shops in town ($ 24 for snowboard and boot rentals).The owner is a real nice dude who took the time to make sure we were renting the proper gear and setup. Only reason I gave 4 stars is because some of his other workers were not nearly as nice as him (to be specific, the guy who we returned the boards to was pretty rude). Overall we had a good experience and got 10% off our order for checking in. Will return.

Suzie Q’s Fun Fact:
In the 1860s, when skiing first began to evolve from a rudimentary form of snow transport into a leisure-​oriented pastime, skis were 12 feet long (versus today’s roughly 5 feet).
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Johnny’s is just one of many ski rental places in this part of Big Bear Lake. You may actually find better deals closer to Snow Summit ski area (though this seems counter-​intuitive). But since it was close to our hotel, and was recommended by its proprietress, we thought, «why not?»
Picking up our skis, boots and poles was quick and painless. The staff was friendly and helpful, and there was virtually no wait. While we weren’t there to buy anything, we saw a good selection of ski/​board wear and other stuff too.
Dropping off our equipment (at around 6 pm on a Saturday night) was another matter entirely. Chaos would be too kind a word. The cash register was unmanned, and there was only one guy in the equipment rental window with a line of 15 people waiting.
Because we were ignored — obviously — in favor of the waiting patrons, we just muscled our way to the side of the rental area and dumped our equipment. The poor clerk, to his credit, finally noticed us and gave us our deposit slips back.
In terms of price/​value: We paid around $ 25 for our ski package, including a 15% discount with a card that hotels give out (if you don’t have the card, ask for the discount… they’ll probably give it to you anyway).
We later saw signs closer to Snow Summit advertising $ 17 ski packages, but you never know whether that’s really the price you’d get when you walk in. So Johnny’s is a pretty good bet, as long as the lines aren’t long.

I haven’t actually stepped foot in this establishment, and probably never would. I called to ask if they would buy my used skis and the guy on the phone was SO rude, and then he hung up on me. It was a simple question… jerk. All you had to say was no.

Great time, we rented a 2 person kayak. We were first-​timers kayaking and to the lake. Would come again and try paddle boarding too. Mike rented the kayak to us and he was very friendly.

This place is amazing. We rented two two seater kayaks around 10 this morning. The guy who helped us at Pleasure Point Marina was SO nice. The prices are so affordable. Our total was less than $ 50, and the guy that helped us gave us 10% off and didn’t make us show our coupon. We ended up coming back late because my daughter and her friend were having a hard time navigating their kayak (they’re 11 and 12 years old), but they were totally OK w/​it. I love this place and we will definitely be back next year!

It’s a great rental place. The cheapest you could find from the town and it’s great quality too.
He also have used product for sales that you could consider. ^_^

This is based on my mom’s recent experience, but she doesn’t use Unilocal :)
I’m working for the summer in Big Bear, she comes to visit and wants to kayak on the lake. I call the big marinas for pricing, but a guy at the Big Bear Brewery recommends Johnny’s to her.
She said the staff was helpful, kind, and even took a photo of her with her kayak when she asked. Even when she came back in a little early she said they told her she still had time left on her rental, and was she sure she didn’t want to go out for another 10 or 15 minutes?
She had a blast, and didn’t have to worry about a thing. Thanks for taking good care of my momma!

What? No other reviews???
GREAT kayaking rental house. Launch sites are near pretty much where you should be in Big Bear. Friendly staff, cheap rates. Good gear. Will for sure go back to again!