Advice on Skis

[Frost]

Hi,

I'm looking for some advice on which type of ski I should be looking for. I've been looking for sometime now to upgrade my skis (mine are about 12yrs old) and the customer reps at the local sporting goods stores when I ask them questions give me a blank stare.

I just started sking again after taking 10 yr break. (parabolic skis were just coming out when I quit). I would have rated myself an expert skier when I stopped skiing but now I would say I'm just an advanced skier given the time off I took. Back in the day I would be the mountain skier that was looking for the virgin power, climbing into the back country and sking the trees. That was then, now I'm lazy. I will only ever be sking the groomed runs, on occasion through some nice power, mostly taking on the intermediate and black diamond runs.

That is why I need some advice on skis. The equipment has changed alot in that time and I really have no idea why brand/model of ski I should get, how wide at tip and tail they should be, length, what type of turn radius and flex I should be looking for. Hell, i'm not even up on the lingo anymore, nor the detailed numbers that so many people quote (eg. 100mm under foot, 13m turning radius, etc) and don't know what I should be concerning myself with and what i should. I'm a fan of Volki, Salomon, and Rossi skis but not necessarily against anything

Can someone give me some advice on this?

Thanks
Frost

 

[gmcunni]

Back in the day I would be the mountain skier that was looking for the virgin power, climbing into the back country and sking the trees. That was then, now I'm lazy. I will only ever be sking the groomed runs, on occasion through some nice power, mostly taking on the intermediate and black diamond runs.

Welcome Frost. I can't (won't) offer gear advice as i'm not really that knowledgeable but I'll offer you general skiing advice. Unless you suffered some kind of injury I'd wager you will revert to your old habits. I too took off several years of skiing. I came back feeling like I'd adopt a more casual attitude and style but the opposite happened. I ski more difficult and more challenging terrain now than i did in my 20's.

In the beginning I demo'd a few skis to get a feel for the new style and I ended up going with a Volkl all mountain ski. They have served me well for several years.

 

[andyzee]

Atomic Nomad Dark Star or Crimson in a 178 length. For more aggressive skiing go with the Dark Star, layed back, Crimson. Any doubts you can demo, but there should be no need for that.

 

[riverc0il]

My advise would be to go to Evogear.com's used section and pick out something in the lines of an expert level carver or mid-fat. Get something cheap, get back into the swing of things, get used to the new equipment, then you can define what you like and don't like about the modern ski design and go from there. Any specific ski recommendations based on your description are complete bunk. There are hundreds of possible skis out there, new and used, that would fit the bill for you. Any one of them could get the job done. So I say get what ever you can find dirt cheap that is of a level that matches your experience (sounds like you took it seriously before taking time off) and go from there. I suggest a carving ski since you indicated most of your time will be on groomers. Consumer level race skis are another option. Mid fat if you are at all interested in powder or non-groomed runs on occasion. But if you plan on groomers only, no reason to get a mid-fat at all.

 

[bigbog]

...

The narrow, shorter carvers are fun but remember that by afternoon...with the somewhat increased number of skiers of today, you're going to have some changing conditions(in some locales)....The more narrow carvers will possess more diversity in longitudinal stiffness..and length does possess a lot of difference in performance for given weight. Mountain shops often stock what works well...but lots of today's skis can do all but powder well.
The Evogears..etc. are terrific...
$.01

 

[Geoff]

I suggest you get some performance demos and take a private lesson. The technique is different for shaped skis. You roll your ankles to initiate a turn and you don't need to press forward in the boot to flex the ski to make it arc. You roll the ski up on edge and it does all the work.

You don't give your height & weight and you don't say anything about your overall strength/physical conditioning so it's tough to suggest skis.

Most advanced skiers will want something in the "all mountain" or "mid-fat" category that works equally well on groomed hardpack and ungroomed & powder. What you will find is that the ski makes it much easier to venture off the groomed terrain so you'll be spending more time on the ungroomed than you think. This is the sweet spot in the product line so every ski manufacturer makes a good ski with several different permutations for flex patterns & widths. The differences are usually fairly subtle.

 

[Frost]

I have taken all your advice and started demo'ing skis and I'm so glad I did. I've tried some Rossi's and now a part of Salamon X - Tornado's. My God, those were freaking aweful skis'. Those Salomons were like have bricks on my feet, I've never ski'd on something so heavy before. I top of that on piste runs' at high speed they were very loose and I could feel them lift.

I'll keep trying skis and let you all know what I find in the process.

thanks!

 

[mattchuck2]

Demo skis might feel a lot heavier than they would normally because Demo bindings are heavier than Regular bindings . . .

I'm a big fan of the Salomon X Wings (10, Tornado, Fury) and the Rossi CS80 or CX70 for the East. Since you also listed Volkl, try the AC50 if you're looking for something with a little more girth.

 

[Mildcat]

try the AC50 if you're looking for something with a little more girth.

Now that's a heavy ski.

 

[Philpug]

Boots first and foremost. Go to a real ski shop, get set up with a real bootfitter and take care of the boots first.

 

[skidmarks]

I suggest you get some performance demos and take a private lesson. The technique is different for shaped skis. You roll your ankles to initiate a turn and you don't need to press forward in the boot to flex the ski to make it arc. You roll the ski up on edge and it does all the work.

I agree that lessons are going to be key. You don't want to get back into the "shwing of things". Wide skis with deep sidecuts require modern technique to ski well. If you're finding skis heavy it may be that you're working them too hard and not really carving. What were your old skis? Did you get new boots too?

 

[SkiDork]

I'd wager you didn't like the Tornado-x because you weren't skiing them right. Thats actually a nice ski but you have to learn how to use shaped skis to realize it.

 

[gmcunni]

I'd wager you didn't like the Tornado-x because you weren't skiing them right. Thats actually a nice ski but you have to learn how to use shaped skis to realize it.

can't vouch for the tornado-x but agree 100% about learning how to ski the new skis. i still recall the first season i came out of retirement and started skiing on shaped skis. very very different and strange. skiing them "flat" made them feel very unstable. keep them on a slight edge and WOW they work great. i came off 195 cm "straight" skis and was trying out 170 cm shaped. until i got them on an edge i thought i was going to kill myself.