Somebody gave me some free skis - can I make them work for me?

Hi,
I got a gift of some used Dynastar Supra Omega skis. They appear to be 195 in length if I'm reading them right. Nice Salomon bindings. The boots are "Lange" and seem to be a good fit.

I'm 6'0" tall and an intermediate skier.

I took these skis out for a test run for a few hours and while I was getting down the mountain okay, I was a bit unstable and fell a couple of times also. I can't blame the skis altogether since I'm out of practice and the snow conditions were poor.

So what I'm asking is, from people who really know equipment: I can see these are not "shaped" skis. Are these skis obsolete? When were they made? And am I doing myself a disservice by using them? What type of skier are these particular skis designed for? What are the strengths of this ski and what are the weaknesses?

Money is tight but I will buy a different used ski if I feel it will make a big difference.

I have a big 3-day ski trip coming up and I want to have a good time, not have white knuckles the whole way down or falling and unstable. I really don't have a good understanding of how a type of ski can affect the ski experience (although like most people I've found a good shaped ski, even rented, to be very easy to handle).

The fact that they are 195s bothers me a bit because I've been told that longer skis are harder to control, but on the other hand, I'm sure that length is a relative measurement and depends what sort of ski you are using.

I'm a casual skier and until now have rented skis whenever I needed them. Obviously that is not ideal and I'd like to settle in with one particular set of skis so I can improve and not always spend half the day adjusting to different skis.

Any advice, comments or suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks.

If they're straight, they're obsolete. If they're that old, the bindings may be out of spec and could cause problems. With time and money both being obstacles, I'd stay with rentals.

You don't want boots that are "big" and skies that are long. For your trip I would go with rentals to make sure you have the right equipment. If I were you I would buy new boots from a good bootfitter and buy a new\used pair of demo skies. Lots of deals this time of year. Good luck!

Not big boots, Lange boots. The boots fit like a glove!

ahron said:

Not big boots, Lange boots. The boots fit like a glove!

Click to expand...

Ok...You just don't want your foot to move around in the boot.

for a good time

Do youself a favor and ditch those skiis. Rent from a ski shop around where you live and get a decent pair. From the sound of it you dont ski often. You can rent the latest and greatest ski and in the long run save yourself a lot of money and have quality equipment to use. As long as the boots fit and are comfortable keep those.

sigh. deep down I know you're all right.

I guess a once-a-year ski vacation is not the place to cut corners on gear.

Way too long and definitely too much ski for you.

Also bindings may be partially frozen (rusted or dry) which can be very dangerous.

If old enough, those Lange boots may be a COLD boot.

The bindings look brand new, to be honest. very smooth mechanism and they worked well. No signs of wear whatsoever.

The boots feel great as well. I've worn far worse.

Believe me, I wouldn't have gotten on those skis if they appeared to be beaten up or rusty, or the bindings looked anything but fully functional.

They skis look like they were well cared for.

The only question is whether I can handle a ski of that length or if it would be prudent to do so. Maybe it would be worthwhile for me to keep them to "grow into" them.

I would ski more if I had my own skis in the first place!

I was making plenty of quality turns over the weekend on these. Were they harder to turn than shaped skis? Sure. That said, I've been spoiled by shaped skis over the past few years. I learned skiing on straight skis, after all.

The couple times I fell over, I caught an edge on the uneven, dense, wet spring snow. Where I'm going this weekend is all fresh and packed powder, a whole different experience.

I'm not arguing, I just want to give the complete picture. I am still probably going to rent skis this weekend.

If I weren't married and could make my own financial decisions, I wouldn't skimp on gear, believe me. But I can't justify major ski gear purchases with our household finances what they are. As it is I'm going on this ski trip on a free plane ticket I got for getting bumped from a flight last year and I'll be staying in a hostel.

I don't know how old those boots are, but if they are more than ten years old you should ditch them too. The plastics get brittle with age and it's not unheard of to have the bottom of the boot break away in the binding while you are skiing. :-o

I'd know how old the boots are if I knew how old the skis are.

Does anyone in the biz know when Dynastar produced the Supra Omega series?

Again, the plastic seems solid. I've seen brittle plastic boots and these aren't there yet.

If they are straight, you are looking at close to ten years. If you are going to invest any money on equipment start with the boots.

The bindings are Salomon Driver 797s if that helps figure out the vintage

Well, the "Driver 797" is still on the indemnified bindings list, meaning that ski shops would still service them. The skis... old. I did Google "Dynastar Supra Omega" and found one retailer who had them listed for $20, which is truthfully $20 more then I'd ever pay for them.

As for whether or not you should use 10+ year old skis. Goodness knows that there probably isn't a drop of useful wax left on their bases. Getting them tuned up at the shop would cost you far more then they're worth. There's a reason straight skis have disappeared. They take far more effort to turn then any modern ski, and anything short of perfectly groomed slopes required real expertise to handle. Just get rentals from one of the local shops in the town of wherever it is you're going. People turn old straight skis into furniture these days -- maybe you can sell your Dynastar's to them and pocket $5 from the deal.

I'd keep the boots for the time being. You say they fit reasonably well, so you might as well keep them. They'll certainly do as well, or better then, any rental boot you might wind up with.

here's a question for you - do rentals come waxed?
I was always under the impression rentals are "beater" skis and are abused.

I will probably keep the boots, bindings and poles and ditch the skis in the end.

Another question.
Could anybody do me the favor of going to the New York craigslist website and search for "skis" in the "for sale" section and tell me if there are any deals to be had on skis that would be appropriate for me?

Renting skis for three days would be over $40 and if I could just apply that to a modern pair of general purpose used skis, that would make a lot of sense.

I'm really confused about what I should be skiing on because I am not a beginner skier, nor am I an expert. I think I've been holding myself back by not skiing enough and using random rental skis.

I appreciate the comment about the boots, I can understand how ill-fitting boots can be impossible to ski well on because of balance issues, but I'm really happy with the way these ones are fitting, so I'm looking for skis, basically.

Thanks again.

http://newyork.craigslist.org/que/spo/287351750.html

http://newyork.craigslist.org/lgi/spo/287959528.html

http://newyork.craigslist.org/brk/spo/287676456.html

ahron said:

here's a question for you - do rentals come waxed?
I was always under the impression rentals are "beater" skis and are abused.

I will probably keep the boots, bindings and poles and ditch the skis in the end.

Click to expand...

It depends where you get the rentals from. If you rent from the ski area itself, then I'd guess "no". If you demo from one of the shops in town, then (in all likelihood) yes -- they're trying to sell you skis, and they want you to like them so that you'll buy them. Most shops will grant whatever you've paid in rental fees towards the cost of the skis should you decide to buy them. They're trying to unload inventory so they'll probably be willing to give you a serious price break.

How about these bargain basement PowerKarve Titaniums?
I can use the bindings from the Dynastar.

http://newyork.craigslist.org/lgi/spo/287663575.html

ahron said:

here's a question for you - do rentals come waxed?
I was always under the impression rentals are "beater" skis and are abused.

I will probably keep the boots, bindings and poles and ditch the skis in the end.

Click to expand...

go to your local ski shop near your house and rent skiis. Tell them you want the demos. They will pull out a pair of 07 skiis all tuned up and BAM you are on your way.
Should cost you about 100 bucks for the three days you need them.
Then if you like the skiis when you get back make the guy an offer. Take off the 100 bucks you speant on the rentals and you could have good skiis pretty cheap.

Better option just retuen them and repeat next year when you go. That was you always have the best stuff