Atomic M:11 skis & Tecnica Diablo Fire boots - first take

[badskier]

After renting skis for a while I finally bit the bullet and decided to buy some of my own. I'd rate myself as a low-medium intermediate skier.

A couple of weeks ago I tried out Volkl Supersport 5-star 168cm skis - my brother's favorite skis. Absolutely hated them: I couldn't stay forward on them, couldn't turn properly and generally didn't feel confident on them. Went down to the ski shop and they graciously allowed me to swap them for other skis - Atomic Metron 11's 162cm.

Talk about a night and day difference - my confidence in the skis was 1000% better, I could stay forward on them, could turn on a dime and they were great both in the morning when it was icy and in the afternoon when it was slushy.

So much so I decided to buy them and a complete ski gear setup. Wound up getting Atomic Metron 11's and Tecnica Diablo Fire ski boots. Skied on them this past weekend and all I can say is "wow"! The boots are definitely significantly stiffer than any of the rental boots I've tried, and they seem to help me with controlling the skis in general.

If anyone is looking at buying some all-mountain skis I'd highly recommend taking the Atomics for a test run. For that matter, I'd also recommend the Tecnica boots .