Wider All Mtn. Ski for Northeast

Rambo · Jan 19, 2011

Any recomendations? For a wider all-mountain ski that can handle all Northeast conditions... I do some late spring skiing in the soft deep slush so flotation is important.

Two skis I recently demoed and found to be wide enough to provide great flotation in the softer stuff, but also carved on the hardpack/ice are the Line Prophet 100 and the Dynastar Sultan 94 both at 172 cm for length. Both had turn radius of 17 m which is awesome for such wide skis. Found these 2 skis in the 172 length to be fast, stable and very nimble. (also demoed the K2 Aftershock in both 167 qnd 174 lengths but liked the Line and Dynastars better).

gmcunni · Jan 19, 2011

i skied the Kastle FX94 recently in a demo and really liked it. felt like it turned just as quick as my 84mm nordica.

bigbog · Jan 19, 2011

Some 80(mm)+ skis...with nice tip/tail flex = fun

Line Blend...but haven't tried yet, but have skied with one guy who has = loved it...
Prophet 100s flex nicely.
Fischer's Watea series has all the dimensions now...*but seem to have more sidewall than wayyy back in early years..y/n?
Blizzard's Atlas..
Don't know about its crud-able shovel but Liberty's Helix(105, ~20m TR) should be interesting to try, if one could find somewhere to demo....

marcski · Jan 19, 2011

I ski on Dynastar Mythic Riders...I think 2 years old now. Mine are 90 in the waist and I really like them as an all-around ski.

Hawkshot99 · Jan 19, 2011

The Line's ski very nice. A new ski coming out next year is the Rossi Experience 98. Skis very good, like a ski much narrower than they are. Also has a early rise tip to them. I demoed them in a 180(way bigger than i thought I should have been on, and loved them.

This is a guy I work with holding them.

SKIQUATTRO · Jan 19, 2011

the wife's line 90's are her go-to everyday , hardpack to pow ski....

Terry · Jan 19, 2011

I have been skiing the Line Prophet 100 for 2 and a half years now and haven't found anything that they won't handle. Awesome ski and when these wear out, I am buying another pair!

WoodCore · Jan 19, 2011

bigbog said:
$.01...some I want to get on........

Blizzard's Atlas..

One nice ski!!

andrec10 · Jan 19, 2011

Hawkshot99 said:
The Line's ski very nice. A new ski coming out next year is the Rossi Experience 98. Skis very good, like a ski much narrower than they are. Also has a early rise tip to them. I demoed them in a 180(way bigger than i thought I should have been on, and loved them.

This is a guy I work with holding them.

Are these skis as good as the TI80's from last year? If so, I cant wait to demo them next December at Hunter...

Hawkshot99 · Jan 19, 2011

andrec10 said:
Are these skis as good as the TI80's from last year? If so, I cant wait to demo them next December at Hunter...

I felt they were better. There is a ski called the Experience 88 which would be closer to the TI80. The 80 has been discontinued for next year. They were Rossi's version of the "cheater" race ski. Now they have a true cheater SL and GS ski rather than the 70TI and 80TI.

riverc0il · Jan 19, 2011

So basically the OP has been suggested pretty much every mid-fat production in the 90-100mm range. :lol: More info needed! Stiffness preference? Turn radius preference? How do you make your turns? Carving vs skidding preference? Powder preference? Tree or bump preference? How much groomer skiing will the ski be doing? Why do you need flotation for spring skiing??!??!

I rock my 79mm Legend 8000s for spring bumps! Fat skis need not apply for open to close spring bumps. My take any ways...

wa-loaf · Jan 21, 2011

A little narrower than some of the suggestions here, but I demoed the Solomon Enduro last spring and really liked it. 84 waist with early rise tips. Skied the 186 and it was great ripper and really flew through the spring slush.

puckoach · Jan 23, 2011

I have the Sultan 85, and they are delicious !

Rambo · Jan 23, 2011

riverc0il said:
So basically the OP has been suggested pretty much every mid-fat production in the 90-100mm range. :lol: More info needed! Stiffness preference? Turn radius preference? How do you make your turns? Carving vs skidding preference? Powder preference? Tree or bump preference? How much groomer skiing will the ski be doing? Why do you need flotation for spring skiing??!??! I rock my 79mm Legend 8000s for spring bumps! Fat skis need not apply for open to close spring bumps. My take any ways...

Stiffness preference = Medium flex (not to soft or to hard)
Turn Radius = Medium
Turns = Not true carved, some skidding
Powder preference = Looking for a ski wide enough underfoot to float in all the soft stuff, but will also dig the edges into the rock hard eastern ice.
Tree or Bump Preference = No Trees, No way, does not seem safe, I have seen younger people bounce off trees. Bumps - Not so skilled in bumps, just need a shorter ski (170-177) that isnimble enough tothrough a few bump runs if needed.
Groomer skiing = Looking for 40%Groomers, 60% Free Riding.
Love Warm Spring Conditions... But often when it gets up over 60 degrees the base is Wet, Heavy, and you sink down into this "Sierra Cement" sticky stuff with a drag on your skis... I find wider skis provide flotation on this heavy snow. Snowboards seem to just flaot up on top of this "Sierra Cement" stuff.

So I really like the "Dynastar Sultan 85" and the "Fischer Watea 84" BUT it seems from demoing the "Line Prophet 100" and the Dynastar Sulatn 94, you are getting a lot of flotation for the Spring Conditions (Sierra Cement) and they seem to carve really good on the ice... and i'm guessing if you take it easy they will get you through some bump runs.

billski · Jan 23, 2011

I am an older, not so strong anymore skier. I took my Atua/Watea 96 day after pow day hoping for some chop, but got some decent sized natural bumps and got the snot beat out of me. Very hard to maneuver. I went back to my narrower skis. The Autuas are a dream in 6"+ fresh pow and in chop. They are OK for me on groomers, but I don't spend much time on groomers. Good for wide GS turns.
For the sticky stuff, a decent wax above 32 degrees makes a diff for me.
That's my application. I know other folks ski differently as riverc0il implies.

riverc0il · Jan 23, 2011

I still don't understand your comments on the spring skiing. Like I mentioned above, I go skinnier for spring for bumps (79 underfoot, my skinniest ski). I know you said no much for bumps. But if its 60 degrees and you are sinking into the snow... its time to go home, no ski is going to make those type of conditions enjoyable. And buying a ski with that specific condition in mind does not seem advisable.

I don't quite understand your 40% groomer to 60% "freeride" designation. If you are not skiing in bumps and trees (and I assume no BC or off piste both because you didn't mention it and your other conditions wouldn't allow for it), I assume you are meaning 60% powder, loose powder, and packed powder. I don't even get that type of ratio if you omit mogul and tree skiing.

How about adding the Volkl AC30 or AC40 to a list of possible demos? Not sure if those are too stiff vs your preference. They'll certainly do what you want them to do: rip groomers, side of the trail fun, and good performance in pow, packed pow, and natural non-bumped snow. What conditions are you demoing in is another factor to consider.

Rambo · Jan 23, 2011

Current skis:
Volant PowerKarve 193 cm
Dynastar Intuitiv 74 - 188 cm
K2 Axis XP - 174 cm

These are great high speed cruisers. Not very good in the moguls though.

Skis Demoed last 3 or 4 years at Demo days at Greek Peak and Elk Mountain:
Rossignol Z9
Rossingnol R11 Multex
Salomon Fury
Elan 888
K2 Xplorer
Atomic Crimson Ti (169 cm)
Fischer Watea 84
K2 Aftershock
Dynastar Sultan 85
Dynastar Sultan 94
Line Prophet 100

deadheadskier · Jan 23, 2011

My 2cents

Either grab something in the mid-80s with the expectation that you'll be forfeiting some hard snow performance and some Pow performance

or buy 2 different pair of skis.

I ski a High Society Free Ride for the deeper days. 124-92-114. I think they're plenty good in anything up to a foot deep. Realistically how often will I need something to handle deeper snow than that in the east? Not very until I'm retired and can chase storms. I have an old pair of Rossi Powder boards that are I believe 115 underfoot for that rare occasion though. When I have to go across scratch to get to soft snow, the High Society's do well enough.

My everyday ski is a Rossi B2. 116-78-105. Never felt the need for anything beefier than them in spring snow. They somewhat suck on hard snow due to no metal or woodcore. I'll be looking to replace these at some point with a similar dimensioned ski that handles hard snow better, knowing I'll forfeit a bit of bump performance.

jrmagic · Jan 25, 2011

riverc0il said:
How about adding the Volkl AC30 or AC40 to a list of possible demos? Not sure if those are too stiff vs your preference. They'll certainly do what you want them to do: rip groomers, side of the trail fun, and good performance in pow, packed pow, and natural non-bumped snow. What conditions are you demoing in is another factor to consider.

I'll vouch for the AC40. I have used my friend's pair on occasion and you can really rail hardpack with them but you need to stay on top of them. At 85 or 86 underfoot you will have enough float for most eastern pow days.

Rambo · Jan 25, 2011

jrmagic said:
I'll vouch for the AC40. I have used my friend's pair on occasion and you can really rail hardpack with them but you need to stay on top of them. At 85 or 86 underfoot you will have enough float for most eastern pow days.

Good Tip on the AC40. Dimensions are listed as: 125-82-110. 82 should be just enough float, but nail the hardpack.

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