SkierX&twin-tip skis?????

Hi everyone!

Just a quick one - I am considering buying a new pair of skis this year but cannot decide which ones to buy.

I have been skiing since the age of 4 (now 22), raced a bit when in primary school, so I think I'm an advanced "oldschool" skier. Oh yeah, and I really like skierX racing! Although I sometimes ski in deep snow and jump whenever possible, I'm not sure that standard GS race skis are THE skis for such skiing.

As a matter of fact, I would really like to get into freeskiing (newschool skiing) - skierX, tricks and deep-snow cause I'm tired of skiing on groomed trails. The skis I'm looking for should be some kind of a mix between these 3 styles. I know that all these 3 styles require special skis (and that comparing them is like comparing a tractor, ferrari and a bus), but I'm a bit short on cash and cannot afford 2 pairs of skis, so the skis I am looking for should have to be a bit more all-roundish...

So-since there's a serious lack of snowparks here in Slovenia (now EU-for those who haven't heard of it), the best solution would be a ski that would be similar to a skierX ski (to perform well when there's nothing else to ski than groomed trails-when not skiing in deep snow or in parks), yet with twin tips (which are almost a must-I'm not sure you can land a fakie or slide on rails comfortably on skierX skis) and a bit wider for deep snow... Sounds like THE dream ski, aight?

Here in cannot buy any exotic skis (Armada,...) so I'm basically restricted to all the traditional, mostly European brands: Voelkl,Blizzard,Rossignol,Dynastar,Nordica,Head,Elan,Atomic,Fisher,Salomon and K2.

Since I race downhill bikes, I know this dilemma is the same as asking which bike to buy when you want to race downhill, bikerX and dirt-jump at the same time. However, I hope you can understand my situation and point me in the right direction. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated! Thx!

Oh-there's one more thing... I'm 184cm tall and weigh 77kg - which length should I buy? Thx one more time!!!

Word up from SLOskier!

You want twintips! Everyone thinks they are for the terrain park only, but twintips are great all-mountain skis unless you are looking to do serious downhill at speeds axceeding 70MPH. I've been skiing Dynastar Candides and Concept 178's for the past 2 seasons and I love them. I'm a little taller and heavier than you, but you would want to get something in the 175-180cm range...remember, you are losing a little edge contact because the tails are turned up, so a little bit longer is OK. Check out the twintip offerings from Dynastar, Salomon, or K2 and I'm sure you will find something you like.

I have to highly recommend the Salomon 1080's as an all-mountain twin-tip. The 4 or 5 year old 1080's I have are the only skis I've owned that I haven't managed to delaminate. I ski hard, jump high and bounce off rocks and trees in the glades on a regular basis, so they've been through a lot. I just purchased a new pair of 181s, waiting for them to ship from REI. Can't wait!