Intermediate/Advanced Ski

Has anyone tried skis in this category, I was looking at entry level advanced skis, I found them a little stiff, I tried the Elan Magfire 10, and Rossi Z9's. Has anyone tried Volkls AC2's? If anyone in this tough to find skis category (inter/advanced) let me know what you have tried, or purchased.

Thanks,
Zamboniman

Z5's and Magfire 8's? Just seems like the obvious direction if you found them stiff but good.

zamboniman said:

Has anyone tried skis in this category, I was looking at entry level advanced skis, I found them a little stiff, I tried the Elan Magfire 10, and Rossi Z9's. Has anyone tried Volkls AC2's? If anyone in this tough to find skis category (inter/advanced) let me know what you have tried, or purchased.

Thanks,
Zamboniman

Click to expand...

I usually like Salomons (and haven't tried the new ones yet), but I liked the Atomic Metrons a bit better than the Rossi Z9s. The Metron M9s are quite a bit softer than the Rossi Z9s. I ski more like Advanced/Expert, but I like a softer ski, and I liked the Atomic M9s a lot. Mostly in great soft (groomed and ungroomed) snow, in Whistler late Jan early Feb, during the most incredible snow week I've ever seen -- 5' of solid fresh!

Norm, hello to a fellow Canadian/Ontarian, thanks for the input, just to let ya know, I live in Midland. I think thats avenue for me to is a softer ski, have you skied any Dyanstars or Volkls?

Thanks,
Trevor,
aka Zamboniman

I've demoed a few Dynastars over the years (though not recently), and I never found any I liked at all. I did try one of the fancier Volkls two years ago -- the Super-something with the binding mounted to internal rails, but not the top-of-the-line one with the piston -- and it was in the pack of also-rans that lost out big-time to the Salomons. There was nothing awful about any of them, but I didn't find them nearly as much fun or as reliable-predictable as the Salomon Scream Pilots. K2s and Rossis and Atomics and maybe Heads lost out then, too, and maybe a few other brands. I did enjoy the Rossi Bandits (esp. B2s), maybe about as much as the Salomons, but I couldn't get any edge-hold on them on the one slick ("Western icy") spot we had that week, on the narrow runout to the Big Red chair on Whistler Mountain. They seemed to be well tuned, so I figured those skis just don't hold well. (I've since read some reviews praising the Bandits for edge-hold, so I'm a bit puzzled about that now.)

Maybe you can buy my 2006 Volkl 4 Star (175cm) next week?

I'm an intermediate skier and wound up getting Atomic Metron M:11 - love them. They carve easily, are stable for me and work well both in soft slush and icy conditions. So far I've skied them 3 times and am headed to Killington this weekend for more fun with them. Definitely try them or the Atomic Metron B:5. For comparison, I didn't like the Volkl supersport 5 star - for some reason (my lack of ability, maybe the skis were too long: 168cm vs 162cm, maybe the boots I had weren't stiff enough, I dunno) I wasn't confident on them, and couldn't turn easily. On the same day, on the same mountain, in the same conditions, I was much, much happier with the Metron 11's.