Narrow sidecut 'shaped' skis - different than older slalom skis in powder??

I purchased the Volkl Superstar slalom skis late last season (04/05 model, the red ones). They have a narrow sidecut. 175cm length. I'm an Eastern skier who figures to rarely see power/junk so I wasn't concerned about all mtn. or powder performance. Then this AM I get to try them out in real powder - some medium weight stuff that fell on our development here in Chester, NY. Got a dozen turns in in my neighbor's front yard slope - and I was astonished at how good these skis were in powder. And it wasn't hte easiest powder in the world - not as light/dry as what I've skiied out west. My old Rossi 4S slalom skis would have been hooking and diving like crazy - but these seemed to float rather nicely - no problems whatsoever.

Is that because the current shaped skis have wider tips? Are the narrow sidecut shaped skis generally better in powder/junk than the old straight skis? That was my distinct impression.

Just about anything you get now, even relatively "straight" skis like a bump ski, are wider and more shaped than the old straight ski technology.

So, just about anything you buy now will perform better in POW than those older skis.

As Pontiac says, "Wider is better".

>> just about anything you buy now will perform better in POW than those older skis.<<

That's what I figured. Hey, I bet the powder in Dutchess Cty was as good as it was here. We got 11-12" in Chester (Orange Cty) as measured in several spots in my front yard. Whew. Big dump for early Dec. in the Northeast. We're going to get slammed this winter. So says today's WSJ.

patentcad said:

>> just about anything you buy now will perform better in POW than those older skis.<<

That's what I figured. Hey, I bet the powder in Dutchess Cty was as good as it was here. We got 11-12" in Chester (Orange Cty) as measured in several spots in my front yard. Whew. Big dump for early Dec. in the Northeast. We're going to get slammed this winter. So says today's WSJ.

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Yeah it was very good quality POW...low water content, very cold. Wish I could have blown off work to ski it.

sidecut doesn't really matter so much as width. any of today's wider skiers with be light years ahead of older skinny skis.

also, the supersports (4 star, 5 star, or 6 star?) are not slalom skis. the slalom ski of that vintage was the p60 i believe (or p50 perhaps? can't remember which year was the switch). the supersports were designed for high speed ripping with width enough to get decent float on pow or crud. far far from a true powder ski. great skis though, i am actually in the market for a really cheap pair of t50 supersports. iirc, the width mid-boot on the supersports was around 70mm. you want to float and rip up some powder the modern way, you gotta get up to 80-90 mid-foot width and then you'll totally be all

oh word, the red one's were the 5 star. great ski!

Steve- my last skis were 205cm Rossi GS skis (the purple/black ones from ten years back) and these Volkls @ 175cm just blow me away with how superior they are to anything I ever skiied. I demo'd a few shaped skis last year including the Rossi B2/B3, and they weren't on the same planet as these boards. Amazing skis. They hold on bulletproof hardpack/ice like nothing I've ever experienced. To find out they also can work in powder was really another revelation. Amazing gear to be sure.

REALLY looking forward to skiing this year. We'll do a few hours at our little backyard hill (a local hill called Mt. Peter in Warwick, NY) on Sunday AM. Monday will be my first real day of skiing this season @ Hunter Mtn. with some pals. Should be great. This 12" snowfall is really kicking off the season here in NY.

patent - If you like the Volkls, try to demo the Unlimited AC3 (successor to last year's 724 EXP) - 74mm waist. Never tried the 5/6*, but the 724 EXP was a blast to ride. In fact, the AC3 will likely be my next ski. Probably as close to an East coast "all mountain" as you can get.

I ski the 6star and absolutely love them. Unbelievable edge grip, good in crud, not bad in powder, but pretty stiff for moguls. I have just started trying to play around in the moguls so I don't know if it is me or the ski but I struggle in them. Overall I am very happy with the 6 stars!
:beer:

yea, the B2/3 seems more like powder only boards from my demo of them. maybe someone less tall/heavy would better use them on groomed, but i have heard a lot of other folks say the same. the 5 stars are definite rippers! the supersports are far superior to the unlimited/724 series of skis for groomers and acceptable in pow whereas the unlimited/724 have the edge in natural conditions in volkls line. glad you found a ski that really works for you!

Never had 'shaped' skis before last March. But I've been skiing since I was 8 - and I'm 48 now. But I had a five year hiatus due to a big back pain circle jerk (far too long a story). But I'm skiing again, and back into bicycle riding/racing- so I'm in MUCH better condition than I was in March when I last skiied - and 40lbs + lighter. So it should be a blast when I start skiing again tomorrow and Monday.

I ski for fun - and ride/race bicycles for exercise. Obviously the riding is my fitness thing, and I get a kick out of people asking me about the 'exercise' I get from downhill skiing. I tell them that for me skiing is purely recreational - and that in my sport you get a workout going UP hills. I have to remind them that in skiing your uphill locomotion is provided by a detachable quad : ). At any rate the bicycling - and the weight room regimin I employ starting in November to get in shape for the coming bike race season - is fantastic training for downhill skiing. So after 7000-8000 bicycling miles and 6 weeks in the gym I'm certainly ready for the slopes in December. The fitness level needed for skiing is not a problem for me : ). And of course that makes it MUCH more fun.

New gear, new body - 40 years of skiing experience - sounds like the right ingredients for a fun season. Now if I only had about $20K for a few trips out west and some chopper skiing... oh well. At least I have the joy of skiing with my wife/daughter. Didn't have that when I was single. Fortunately I got plenty of powder days in prior to 1995 ....