Which Race (ish) skis?

Hi all, I am looking to buy a new pair of race (ish) skis up to a limit of £400 ($800).

I race on dry-slope most weekends for uni and ocasionally do some snow racing (uni level, not FIS). I have a pair of 155cm Orions for thrashing on plastic but want to get a decent pair of skis that i can use for racing and piste skiing.

I impulse bought a pair of 156cm Atomic SL10s at the start of the year and used them for a day in Val Thorens and they were stolen. I loved the tight radius but were a bit short and twitchy underfoot.

So far i have been looking at:
Salomon Areo GT+ 162cm - 12.9m
Head iSupershape Magnum 163cm - 13.5m
Head Worldcup iSL CP13 160cm - 11.3m
Fischer RC4 Competition 160cm - 13m
Atomic SL12 165cm - 12m

I am 5ft 10", 70kg (11st)

Any sugestions?

Tom

What type of courses are you running ? slalom, real GS or modified GS ?

Does uni-level mean, any type of ski goes ?

What spec of skis are the people who do well in the races (you are in) using ?

Are the skis to do double duty, race and everything else ?

Trencher

Mainly slalom but also some GS as well.
Uni = University, so its a real mix of levels (and no hard rules on types of skis). Some people are ex-GB skiers and some are intermediate. I would rank me as advanced, but not expert.
The Elan SLX and Atomics or Fischers seem popular for most people.

Get the Fischers, without a doubt.

From my limited experience and what I've been told, for modified GS courses, there is a perfect radius and while you might get away with a slightly larger radius and good technique, a smaller radius will be slower.

My best guess (for a do it all ski)is that you need the largest radius/longest ski that will still work in a slalom course, yet be competitive on a modified GS course.

I have some Fischer SC skis, which are in between thier SL and GS. They are a fun ski, but not very aggresive. Atomic's GS9/10 are also an in between Sl and GS. They are a little stiffer than the Fischer SC and have a slightly larger SC radius for a given length.


I think you need two pairs of skis. On for SL / carving the groomers and one for GS / other terrain.
If you get both pairs from the same manufacturer with the same rail type binding system, you would only need one set of bindings, (at least to travel with).
It only takes five minutes to switch the binding systems between skis.

At least for me, if I'm going to race, I want to be on a ski where the limiting factor is me (and that's limiting enough), not the ski.

Trencher

The bloke in the ski shop in Sauze next to Scotch Bar, who races competitions throughout the season, skis on Fischer's and he swears by them. He told Skidaddle they were very stiff and aggressive, but by far the best buy for the money (699 euros).

Skidaddle didnt buy them.


Yet.

Your Head Magnum specs are incorrect.
the 163cm is 12.5m
and the 170cm is 13.5m

FIS regs slalom are 165cm - 13m
and GS is 185cm - =or> 23m

if you plan to race both slalom and GS you need 2 pair of skis.

But if you want a all round ski the Head ski you should try is the Magnum 170. You are slightly taller and heavier that myself and this is the ski I use.

However try before you buy. Don't waste that hard earned cash....

It's kinda important to explain that most adults in the US race in non FIS competitions. I'm sure there must be some non FIS racing in Europe too. Certainly sounds the case for smirnoff_skier. That's why all the manufacturers makes these non FIS compliant race skis

Trencher