J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by Neiltoo

Switch_meister wrote:"A new and even more big-mountain focused twin inspired by Seth Morrison. This ski is a new direction for Seth’s pro model ski designed, tested, and approved for his style and approach to skiing. "

I haven't skied on them so I'll keep my comment to the marketing blurb - If these skis are indeed designed for the 'style and approach to skiing' of Seth Morrison then i guess they are designed for steep(45 deg+) and deep (bottomless) and skiing really fast with few turns.

Is that the sort of skiing that you spend most of your time doing? - if so then I guess it's the ski for you. )


I don't have one favourite ski, despite what ski companies and magazines say, there isn't (and probably never will be) one ski which does most things well.

I've kept away from this thread 'till now cos I sort of thought that no matter what I said people would think "Well, he would say that wouldn't he" because I sell ski jackets.

What I would say is there is a lot of 'apple and orange' comparisons going on. People are comparing some really awful brands with some really good ones (in terms of quality of materials and manufacture)

If you want to see why you pay more for some brands than others then go to the manufacturers web sites and look at what they are made of.

As is often the case, value and price are rather different concepts.

Different people have different needs when it comes to their ski clothing but the title of the thread is "The best ski jackets?"

My needs from my ski clothing?

I was in Tignes a couple of weeks ago, the weather was very mixed, -18 up top and very windy one day, +14 in the sun lower down on another.

I wore the same layers (exactly) every day, whether exerting myself or sitting still on a lift I was never too hot or too cold. That is the sort of performance I expect from the 'best ski jacket' There are a number of brands that provide such performance, none of them are cheap, but as with most things - you get what you pay for. :-)

Eggman wrote:Hi, interesting thread have always skied, but have been on hols with a boarder, if their a mate, their worth the wait!

...or its worth investing the time to try and gently tempt them back from the dark side )

I just can't make up my mind about helmets.

The following is a quote from the New York Times:

“The situation is sort of mixed,” said Jasper Shealy, a professor emeritus at Rochester Institute of Technology who has been tracking skiing and snowboard fatalities since the 1970s. “We’e now at the point where roughly half the population wears a helmet, and we’ve seen no difference” in fatalities.

But helmets do seem to make a difference in the head-injury statistics: Mr. Shealy’s own research found a 35 percent reduction, and he said that other studies had found as much as a 50 percent reduction in head injuries.

“Typically, in the scenario that results in death, you need something more than a helmet to save you,” Mr. Shealy said. Referring to helmet-wearing, he said, “Where it really comes into play is if you fall into hard-packed snow, and that can turn a serious head injury into a minor injury.”

Helmets have been shown to protect the heads of recreational skiers traveling at a rate of 12 to 17 miles an hour, but typically not at higher speeds.

That last sentence makes me wonder.

Some interesting statistics in the full article :here

Trencher wrote:These look really nice. Orage make some great gear, though normally it's very pricey.

You don't see much Orage gear in the UK (it's a Canadian brand) but I do agree that its really good quality.


Amanda - Protest make a brown(chocolate) ladies glove, cant remember the model but I'll check when I get to work tomorrow. We stocked it but its sold out now.

I use these for spring/summer skiing

http://www.webury.com/store/Briers_Leather_Gardening_Gloves.html

Not exactly a 'ski' glove though :D

Both of these accidents are very sad.

From what I have read on the net there is nothing to suggest that Ms Richardson's accident/illness actually had anything to do with skiing although I guess it will be proved one way or the other eventually.

Having just come back from Tignes, I'm surprised that there are not more accidents like the one reported in Alp d'Huez.

Every year it seems that more and more skiers spend more time skiing at speeds way in excess of what their ability would warrant.

I came to 3 conclusions last week.

1. I should get a helmet
2. I feel way safer off piste - away from skiers mentioned above.
3. Really wide skis are like a bike with stabilisers, eventually you will reach a standard where you don't need them )

steverandomno wrote:

The problem is that these decisions are made by intermediate/advanced skiers who have forgotten the fear factor of being a beginner. Also, the marketing dept are likely to put a stop to any upward reclassification of a key connector that would potentialy discourage beginner skiers from choosing the resort in the first place.

I have always wondered if resorts ever employ/consult the odd beginner on their saftey crew. It might give them a unique insight into the world from their perspective.

Although I'm sure that marketing comes into it - Val d'Isere comes to mind :D That 'blue' run back into the village from Solaise is only a blue cos it needs to look on the piste map as if there is an easy route back home. )

Having spent years teaching on snow I'm pretty sure that instructors are in a better position to determine the grade of a run than the beginners they are teaching. After all they spend hours/days picking the easiest route down a piste for their charges.

The thing that makes that Solaise blue run that I mentioned particularly tricky for some is not its steepness as such or its width but the fact that it 'falls' in 2 different directions at the same time. This makes turning in one paricular direction very scary for those of a nervous disposition.

I think that by and large most resorts get their grading about right but there will be an exception or 2 in every resort.

Neat Advert!

olive wrote:I would avoid dry slopes personally, I had six boarding lessons 3 years ago before I went on my first ski holiday and the difference is very noticable.

On a dry slope you need to put more effort into turns has the surface is harder, so when you go on to snow you tend to over turn on your board and end up falling, and it also wrecks the base of your board.

I dont know much about snowboarding but would I not be right in thinking that you would have fallen over a lot more had you arrived on the snow never having boarded at all? :D