Father Christmas has been rather good to me this year. Not only has he delivered me some nice new goggles but has also left me a voucher for some nice new planks.
But what to buy. So with a membership approaching 70,000 I thought I would ask you all for your advice. I know buying skis is subjective but there are just so many to choose from.
Criteria...Male, 62, 72Kgs 179cms, fit...ish, high intermediate level but not keen on moguls but like a bit of off piste. Enjoy cruisy turns but no aerobatics due to age and wish to stay alive.
On my list so far
Head Rev 75
Nordica Fire Arrow 74
Salomon Enduro 750
Salomon BBR series...like the ski not the price.
Add your thoughts to my shopping list please.
Thanks and ALL have a great New Year. Roll on Feb!!
What skis should I buy?
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Started by Bald-eagleman in Ski Hardware 26-Dec-2012 - 4 Replies
Bald-eagleman posted Dec-2012
Carving leaves me all on edge
Edited 3 times. Last update at 26-Dec-2012
OldAndy
reply to 'What skis should I buy?' posted Dec-2012
I will be brave and start the ball rolling on this one....
Probably won't get you to any specific models but maybe type of ski. And I will use myself as an explanation.
:D
What do you want from skis you buy?
How long should they last you?
How many weeks do you ski per season?
What times of year do you usually go?
When you are on skis can you equate the ski construction to how they ski for you?
I haven't owned skis for years, can't be faffed so I hire, but I do like to give some thought to what I want as planks. One key area is ease of and enjoyment of the skiing and in my view ski choice is absolutely central to this.
All mountain seems to suit me best as, like you, I enjoy the option of going where I feel like with some hope that what I have under my feet will make the experience enjoyable.
For this reason I look for a compromise ski which seems sensible.
On my recent holidays I have had......
Salomon X wing Ti - too piste orientated and the ones I had were probably a bit short. Absolutely fine on well groomed piste but useless after a bit of snow and on the chunky stuff.
Dynastar Legend 85 (or could have been Sultan Legend?? 2010 ski anyway) which had a bit of rocker and were longer than I had become used to. Wonderful!! Skiing spring conditions in Tignes at Easter, held well on the early ice and great on the mid day slush.
BBR 8.9 @176cm (I am 177cm ish tall) - looked and felt huge at first but I adored these skis. Because, I could pootle along on them, but put them on the edge and they were fast and stable. Rocker and what have you meant that they were well behaved on bumps and that huge nose just bashed over and through soft stuff delightfully.
Then a pair of Nordica Fire Arrow (green ones, which I believe were the top of the Fire Arrow range last year). Absolutely fine but didn't have the sparkle and zing of either the Dynastar or the BBR nor the versatility.
The reason I have gone through this whole story is to try to show my experience of different types of ski and why this year I am hiring something........
Medium width underfoot - 85-90mm
Rocker and camber - for versatility.
Short turn radius - coz I like short turns
Quite long - over 170cm certainly. Because I have found that this gives me a better ride for the way I ski.
And BE - this is what I would do if I were choosing to buy. Narrow down to the ski geometry that I know I like and then try out a few if possible before thinking about anything like price and model.
Your thoughts of ski seem quite diverse and I am wondering what you have skied on recently? Those you have got on well with and those you have not enjoyed? Maybe you need a ski that will help you in those conditions where you tend to struggle more or want to explore?
Probably won't get you to any specific models but maybe type of ski. And I will use myself as an explanation.
:D
What do you want from skis you buy?
How long should they last you?
How many weeks do you ski per season?
What times of year do you usually go?
When you are on skis can you equate the ski construction to how they ski for you?
I haven't owned skis for years, can't be faffed so I hire, but I do like to give some thought to what I want as planks. One key area is ease of and enjoyment of the skiing and in my view ski choice is absolutely central to this.
All mountain seems to suit me best as, like you, I enjoy the option of going where I feel like with some hope that what I have under my feet will make the experience enjoyable.
For this reason I look for a compromise ski which seems sensible.
On my recent holidays I have had......
Salomon X wing Ti - too piste orientated and the ones I had were probably a bit short. Absolutely fine on well groomed piste but useless after a bit of snow and on the chunky stuff.
Dynastar Legend 85 (or could have been Sultan Legend?? 2010 ski anyway) which had a bit of rocker and were longer than I had become used to. Wonderful!! Skiing spring conditions in Tignes at Easter, held well on the early ice and great on the mid day slush.
BBR 8.9 @176cm (I am 177cm ish tall) - looked and felt huge at first but I adored these skis. Because, I could pootle along on them, but put them on the edge and they were fast and stable. Rocker and what have you meant that they were well behaved on bumps and that huge nose just bashed over and through soft stuff delightfully.
Then a pair of Nordica Fire Arrow (green ones, which I believe were the top of the Fire Arrow range last year). Absolutely fine but didn't have the sparkle and zing of either the Dynastar or the BBR nor the versatility.
The reason I have gone through this whole story is to try to show my experience of different types of ski and why this year I am hiring something........
Medium width underfoot - 85-90mm
Rocker and camber - for versatility.
Short turn radius - coz I like short turns
Quite long - over 170cm certainly. Because I have found that this gives me a better ride for the way I ski.
And BE - this is what I would do if I were choosing to buy. Narrow down to the ski geometry that I know I like and then try out a few if possible before thinking about anything like price and model.
Your thoughts of ski seem quite diverse and I am wondering what you have skied on recently? Those you have got on well with and those you have not enjoyed? Maybe you need a ski that will help you in those conditions where you tend to struggle more or want to explore?
www
Snow dance !!! my snow dance on youtube
Finn
reply to 'What skis should I buy?' posted Dec-2012
Take a look at Volkl RTM series skis, the 77 model is a pretty good ski. Big fan of the original vertigo motion & AC series skis but the full rocker on the RTM makes these skis a bit special.
Finn
Tony_H
reply to 'What skis should I buy?' posted Dec-2012
Volkl get rave reviews
You should be looking at skis min 80mm underfoot really. Something like the atomic black eye, blizzard bushwhacker, or my personal favourites the Scott neo.
You should be looking at skis min 80mm underfoot really. Something like the atomic black eye, blizzard bushwhacker, or my personal favourites the Scott neo.
www
New and improved me
Edited 1 time. Last update at 27-Dec-2012
Lilywhite
reply to 'What skis should I buy?' posted Dec-2012
Try demoing a few pairs if you can. FWIW I'm a fan of the bushwackers on pretty much everything and contrary to what I was expecting loved the BBRs except when running flat at speed on icy piste where they felt squirrelly but they were way fun in the crud and fluffy stuff. I'm not a fan of volkl, I find them too stiff, however you sound technically better than me so you might get more out of them. -)
Edited 1 time. Last update at 26-Dec-2012
Topic last updated on 26-December-2012 at 22:07