Help! Gear Questions

[riverc0il]

first, some links to reviews on current models. the first two links ask you questions then sugguest certain models and provide FAQs. the second two are straight up gear reviews.

http://www.techsupportforskiers.com/index2.htm
http://www.skimag.com/buyersguide/plus/ski_search.html
http://www.outdoorreview.com/jump^page^skicrx.aspx
http://www.consumerreview.com/categories/sports/categories_38.asp

my recommendation, demo! consider a good pair of skis an investment, and you don't want to invest in something you're not going to enjoy. most demo shops will put your demo dollar toward a purchase if you enjoy the ski. most ski areas offer 'performance' ski rentals too.

first, figure out what type of ski you want. what do you want your ski to do for you? pretty much every company offers at least one ski per catagory. are you looking for a cruiser, all mountain, bump, twin tip, race, etc. when you know what you are looking for, talk around. on here is good. better yet, go to a ski shop. or go to a demo shop and tell them what you are looking for. once you try a few pairs, you'll better understand what you are looking for and can narrow down your choices, then make a buy!

for me, i have last year's Volkl P40 Platinum (193), and i love them. they are a great 'everything' ski that loves speeds and and turning at speed. but i can also ski bumps, natural snow, quick turns, etc. without any problems. it's a stiff and heavy ski, great for aggresive the skier. this year's P50's are supposed to be similar, and their binding integrated Motion looks killer.

for size, the trend is shorter is better. most people i think generally fall in the 170-180ish range. again, try a few and see what's feels right for you. don't let someone else tell you what you should be skiing on, there are a lot of opinions out there, but the only one that matters is yours about how they feel while you ski.

cheers!
:beer:

 

[Geo]

Thanks for the links and the advice. I live in southern Arizona, on the border, and that makes it very hard to demo. On top of that, we have no ski shops in town and only a couple in Tucson which is 75 miles away. I've been trying to do some research on the net to at least get started. I've seen the P40 Platinums and they look like a good all around cruiser, sort of like my old Atomics. I'll get started on those links. Thanks again.

 

[riverc0il]

i dunno how it is out west, but here in N.E., demo shops are usually within 10 miles of the mountain... some resorts offer demo/rental of this years models at the mountain. you just have to get there earlier to handle the paper work and binding adjustment and lines.