Advice on new Skis for 2005/6 season!

[thrasherguy]

Hey whats up guys/girls im new to the forums

My dilemma is i need new skis for the 2005/6 season. The pair i am trashing is the 2004 Salomon X-scream Series 179cm . I busted a sidewall on them and could only temp. fix them for remainder of last season.

I live in MA so i will be skiing all northeastern mountains, mainly Sunday River, Attitash, Sugerloaf, and the other mountains on my allforone pass. I am six foot two, but only weight 165 pounds. I realized I made a mistake buying 179cm skis when i weight that little, but i had no problem with them because of my skiing style, which is aggressive.

The bindings I have on them i was hoping to re-use and i loved my salomons. (s912 i think they they are called) I am looking for a ski that will make me happy from groomers to glade to light powder to the terrain park. The X-Scream Series kept me happy in all areas. Some of the skis i was lookign at were the new 2006 salomon line, and the 2005 Scream Limited.

I am open to other ski idea, but I really liked my salomons and want to get the warrenty that comes free mounting salmon bindings on salomon skis.

Please give me a suggestion on what skis might be right for me, and why. Price is ALMOST not an issue, because i am a good deal-hunter, but stay away from the Xtra Hot 10s+

thank you for your help!

 

[riverc0il]

there are so so so many skis available is this range. i strongly advise doing an early season demo day and making due with your current junkers for a few days out. each ski company makes at least two or three skis for what you are looking for. any answers you receive to a general question such as you have posed will be met with wildly varying answers that will tell you more about what are the right skis for other skiers and less about what is the right ski for you. demo days are your friend.

 

[SKItheBOAT]

I would suggest highly going to a ski shop that you trust. Doing a demo is definately a good option, however i know there are many people out there who either don't live near enough to a ski area to wait and demo or are just to excited to do that. Go into a ski shop and tell one of the ski guys exactly what you posted here. Talking one on one with a person who makes their living working in this field is the best way to get you knew gear. Everyone skis different and different skis are made to perform differently. The ski thats best for me would not be the ski thats best for you. Go talk to people who know all there is to know, they get paid to make you happy. Don't be afraid to ask stupid questions either, the more you know the better off you will be. I know this because i work in a shop. Good luck and enjoy your new sticks.

 

[Greg]

Welcome thrasher! Please introduce yourself in the Introductions thread. Moving to Gear...

 

[riverc0il]

i gotta disagree with SKItheBOAT (welcome by the way to you both). maybe it is different in CO, but the further away from the mountains you live, generally the less reliable ski shop employees are about ski knowledge. look no further than ski market in the boston area. there are a LOT of exceptions to that overly broad generalization, but unless you have a ski shop nearby that has earned your trust, i wouldn't trust sales people to do you any favors. SKItheBOAT, i am sure you really know your stuff and you are really committed to the sport, it's equipment, and it's gear. but i have seen more than enough kids pushing gear they know nothing about to advise caution. people who are serious about purchasing new gear should find a demo day. they are likely going to be skiing at a mountain that offers one soon. check out the demo day thread for one near you.

 

[RIDEr]

Why doesn't the world all come to their senses and switch to SNOWBOARDING? :lol:

 

[thetrailboss]

Same suggestion as always: narrow down choices by going to a shop and demo, demo, demo!!!

Welcome! :beer:

 

[JimG.]

Definitely demo.

I wouldn't buy a ski nowadays without demoing it first. Buying a ski on someone's word just deosn't cut it and chances are decent you won't be happy.

If you can't demo, get by with what you have, or, as RIDEr says take up snowboarding :wink: :lol: .

 

[bigbog]

.....

..as mentioned thrasherguy, demo...there are a LOT of great skis out there...virtually every manufacturer has something interesting.
The X-Scream had a ~68-69mm? waist...if my memory isn't shot...
Ironically, this year's SKI & SKIING magazines' Gear Guides list skis that have received demo praises from real people(on message boards) as well...and the good thing is, I'll be willing to wager that most brands will be at..2 out of 3 big resorts' demo days...

 

[highpeaksdrifter]

Re: .....

..Ironically, this year's SKI & SKIING magazines' Gear Guides list skis that have received demo praises from real people(on message boards) as well...and the good thing is, I'll be willing to wager that most brands will be at..2 out of 3 big resorts' demo days...

Ski is naming Nordica Hot Rod Nitrous as their ski of the year.

 

[thrasherguy]

Hey let me make this easier actually. I do not want to demo and my skis are almost completely busted, so i want new skis ready for the first day my season pass goes into effect. :lol: Because of the similiar model / same company i do not deem it worthwhile or necisary to demo the skis.

I have decided on buying Salomons either from 2005/2006, probably 06. I have the s912 bindings on my old X-Scream Series.

The top two skis i am considering are the Scrambler Hot and the scrambler limited.(i can buy the scrambler hots without bindings online) Here are the specs comparing the two, please tell me what each stat means effecting its performance.

Scrambler Hot:
| Radius-17.5 | Size-174 | Weight-2990(g) | Midsole-783 | TailCut-106(mm) | TipCut-118 | Waist-77 |
Scrambler Limited:
| Radius-19.8 | Size-170 |Weight-??????? | Midsole-764 | TailCut-108(mm) | TipCut-114 | Waist-80 |

thankyou for your valuable time! :beer:

 

[riverc0il]

no knowledge of these skis, but based on sidecut alone, i figure the Hot would be 'turnier' or whatever since it has more sidcut. but why limit yourself before you have even demoed. you could be elimiting a ski you would like even more unknowingly by deciding what ski you want know instead of demoing first. hey, your money but nearly everyone here suggested demoing a variety of skis and for good reason.

 

[SKItheBOAT]

Hot vs. Limited

The scrambler is what replaced the scream series as i am sure you know. It depends on where you will spend you time on the mountain as to what skis to get. The hot will be a quicker carving ski because it has more sidecut than the limited. If you play in the bumps and woods more than you carve the limited will be better for you. You get more stability under foor from the wider waster. This also helps bust through crud and float more in powder. The limited will be quicker in skid turns which is how you ski woods and bumps. Either way the skis are both all mountain, its just one is a little more geared towards carving. The hot will give a little bit more responsive feedback from turn to turn as well. Both skis will be a blast so you won't be dissapointed with either ski!

 

[bigbog]

........

BOAT's assessment sounds pretty good...the HOT is carried by my VT boot guy's shop....he isn't into carrying dogs...so 8)

 

[thrasherguy]

thanks guys, now i am torn between them :wink:

As i said i live in NE and have a season pass to a bunch of big mountains, so I do glade and crud a lot. However i recently broke my neck and had surgury (begining of summer) and i might want to stay away from the glade for a while

I will look around for a place to demo thanks for all the advice. On a closing question,
besides local ski shops, amazon, and ebay, does anyone know well priced online dealers geared towards skiing?

 

[highpeaksdrifter]

thanks guys, now i am torn between them :wink:

I will look around for a place to demo thanks for all the advice. On a closing question,
besides local ski shops, amazon, and ebay, does anyone know well priced online dealers geared towards skiing?

Check out demos for sale, holy cow in this forum.

 

[normofthenorth]

Choosing the best skis for you

I bought used demo Salomon Scream Pilots at the end of the 2004 season after trying around SIXTEEN different pairs of highly-rated skis. Based on that experience, I'd make a few observations and suggestions:

• Salomon makes nice skis for my taste, and apparently for yours, too!
  
  It's worth paying for demos (rentals) if it gets you a pair of skis you really like/love.
  
  The difference between one pair of highly recommended skis (in your size) and another can be HUGE. Maybe a few degrees of binding ramp angle, different sweet spots, differing torsional and long. stiffness, different damping, etc., etc.
  
  Shaped skis are generally getting longitudinally flexier ("softer"), while keeping excellent torsional stiffness and great damping at speed.
  
  In my case, my fave skis (after ~14 pairs) were the Salomon Scream Pilot 10 "Hot"s. Then I tried the Salomon Scream Pilot 8s (a bit softer) and I liked them even better. So I figured "What the heck!" and tried the only top-level ski that was even softer -- the Salomon Scream Pilot Womens! Not only did I love them, I carved all the way from the top of Dave Murray Downhill to the top of Bear Paw (on Whistler Mountain) without stopping, for the first time in my life! So I bought the pair I was trying, and I still love them a lot!
  
  I solved the only real problem I had with the skis when I got my wife to agree to call their color "burgundy" instead of "lipstick"! :lol:
  
  Lots of places make it easy to switch rental skis during the ski day. I'd find one and do it!

 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

wow this thread is old..lol