Looking for Recs - Next Set of Skis

[SBO]

whats up folks. been skiing the east coast avidly all my life and will continue to do so for hopefully years to come. for context, my home mountain was previously Ascutney (RIP) and am now a bit nomadic with preference for Okemo/the beast (south vermont) and stowe/sugarbush (higher up).

after years of wheeling around a set of salomon X wings (circa 2011) i moved on to dynastar M pro 90s on warden bindings (186 length) which i really like for being springy but they are definitely stronger on tail than tip. i am looking to expand the quiver and currently looking for recs / assessments as i am 6'2 250 lbs (in my early 30s) and athletic with a very physical skiing style so i absolutely punish my skis and the M pros are proving a little too chattery when hard charging. right now i am assessing brahmas (know the anomolys are coming out but dont care because 50% off), enforcers, and atomic mavericks.

strictly a downhill skiier (no freestyle). apologies if i am posting in the wrong place.

 

[Newpylong]

Do you just hard charge groomers? If so it's hard to beat Enforcers. However I switched from them to the new '23 Nordica Unleashed 98 last year because honestly I got sick of how heavy they were and unforgiving off piste. I also was able to snag them without bindings for $365. I consider myself a strong skier at 215lbs who grew up racing.

 

[SBO]

appreciate the reply. the sales guy at my local shop did try to pitch me on the leftover 23 unleashed 98s. i want to say they were around $330 without bindings- gotta love July sales. to be perfectly honest, even though i have skiied my whole life i have paid very little, if any, attention to ski tech / models and use cases which compounds my decision making problem.

no, it wouldnt strictly be for hard charging groomers- perhaps that automatically disqualifies the enforcers? do you find the unleashed 98s on the stiffer side of all mountain? i appreciate the flexibility (good in most situations) and "rebound" of my M pro 90s, just dislike the lack of higher speed stability on groomers and fact that i can't "bully" the front ends very hard like i want.

 

[Newpylong]

I would best describe them as forgiving and playful in all conditions. I would not call them stiff however I was pleasantly surprised of how stable they were at high speed on hard pack. I basically don't get out enough to have a ski for every condition and wanted a true one ski quiver and think I found it. I was skeptical at first with them being a semi twin tip but I think they just added that because it is such a versatile ski to begin with. Don't want to overly stear you towards them but they're definitely worth a look. I figured at $300 and change if they don't work out, oh well.

 

[xlr8r]

Do you just hard charge groomers? If so it's hard to beat Enforcers. However I switched from them to the new '23 Nordica Unleashed 98 last year because honestly I got sick of how heavy they were and unforgiving off piste. I also was able to snag them without bindings for $365. I consider myself a strong skier at 215lbs who grew up racing.

Similar story myself. I have had Enforcer 93s for about 5 years now, but just picked up Unleashed 98s this offseason. I demoed them out in Utah on a groomer day at Snowbasin not even knowing anything about them and found them to be better at carving than the Enforcers. Less pointy, and more swooshable. I was able to get a pair and get some new griffon bindings mounted for about $425 all in. Too good a deal to pass up. Will have to see how they perform in powder, crud, and glades. I had a lot of powder days this year on my Enforcers, and found them to just be too tiring after a while due to their weight.

 

[SBO]

appreciate the insight and replies. sounds like at ~$450 all in the unleashed 98s might be worth a shot. i was looking at enforcer 94s but feeling how heavy they were did give me pause (ozs become lbs and all that). i know the brahmas are super well know and loved but might be too similar to my M pros (which i do really like, dont get me wrong, but i want to try something new and different that might be better for my style).

 

[deadheadskier]

Also heavy, but Volkl Kendo should get a look. They're dumping them like crazy right now because they are being rebranded as the Mantra 88. Same ski though. I picked up a set this spring for $365. I also own the Mantra M102, which I love. Haven't tried the Mantra 96

 

[jimmywilson69]

I'll throw in the Elan Ripstick. They have a "black edition" that is bit stiffer, but nothing like an enforcer. I have the non black edition and it is a true 1 ski quiver. I'm shorter and less weight than the OP, but my buddy has the 106 and is similar dimensions and loves them. He also skis an enforcer and loves that too.

as always if you can do a demo that is best...

 

[Internet Ski Pro]

Do you just hard charge groomers? If so it's hard to beat Enforcers. However I switched from them to the new '23 Nordica Unleashed 98 last year because honestly I got sick of how heavy they were and unforgiving off piste. I also was able to snag them without bindings for $365. I consider myself a strong skier at 215lbs who grew up racing.

i feel the same way about the enforcers. Great frontside ski for my home mountian, where on any given weekend morning, theres an hour of some nice flat cord, and then everything will go to shit, but the enforcers do well for me in those 2 conditions, however, like you, its not my first pick on a western ski day with 50/50 groomers and trees. i like to go with something with a little less camber for smearing turns. I like the enforcers for firm groomer edge hold, havent found a speed limit, and they will bust through crud like butter, but i wouldnt consider it the most playful ski ever. i might look a little closer at the unleashed, i have been on the enforcers for many years now.

 

[SBO]

hmm interesting. ive heard good things about the kendos but i dont think my guys stock them and they seem to be pretty darn close to the enforcers. since i spend 90% of my time front side on east coast mountains and due to personal and professional obligations i am sadly more on a schedule vs chasing storms these days so sometimes i just gotta take what the day gives me.

enforcer 88s or 94s seem like they might work nicely for me. i certainly have the size and weight to move them around even if they are quite heavy. as would the unleashed 98s. for the two who chimed in with experience, have the unleashed cut through the crud pretty well?

 

[JDMRoma]

I would best describe them as forgiving and playful in all conditions. I would not call them stiff however I was pleasantly surprised of how stable they were at high speed on hard pack. I basically don't get out enough to have a ski for every condition and wanted a true one ski quiver and think I found it. I was skeptical at first with them being a semi twin tip but I think they just added that because it is such a versatile ski to begin with. Don't want to overly stear you towards them but they're definitely worth a look. I figured at $300 and change if they don't work out, oh well.

Yes would agree with that as well, I added the 98s to my quiver last season. Nordica redsigned the old SoulRider 97 into the Unleashed 98.
Believe they used some of the Rocker profiles of the Enforcer 104 frees with less metal. So not as hard a charger as the Enforcers but more playful.
I had the SoulRider 97 for about 6 seasons as my daily, retired them when I got the unleashed
so far Im loving them. Basically did the same thing bought them last july online and bought Pivots at a local shop.

 

[Internet Ski Pro]

hmm interesting. ive heard good things about the kendos but i dont think my guys stock them and they seem to be pretty darn close to the enforcers. since i spend 90% of my time front side on east coast mountains and due to personal and professional obligations i am sadly more on a schedule vs chasing storms these days so sometimes i just gotta take what the day gives me.

enforcer 88s or 94s seem like they might work nicely for me. i certainly have the size and weight to move them around even if they are quite heavy. as would the unleashed 98s. for the two who chimed in with experience, have the unleashed cut through the crud pretty well?

i did ski demo Kendos before the enforcers. i would say very similar. I ski the enforcer 100's. i have never skied anything enforcer related under 100, and i have no reason to think i would. Me personally i dont think i will ski anything under 100 again, i feel like its the sweet spot for me, and i wouldnt even consider 88's, and i go back to when the K2 public enemys were "wide" at 85.

 

[Newpylong]

hmm interesting. ive heard good things about the kendos but i dont think my guys stock them and they seem to be pretty darn close to the enforcers. since i spend 90% of my time front side on east coast mountains and due to personal and professional obligations i am sadly more on a schedule vs chasing storms these days so sometimes i just gotta take what the day gives me.

enforcer 88s or 94s seem like they might work nicely for me. i certainly have the size and weight to move them around even if they are quite heavy. as would the unleashed 98s. for the two who chimed in with experience, have the unleashed cut through the crud pretty well?

I did not notice a tangible difference in behavior in crud with the Unleashed vs Enforcers. That's a good thing I think. The others can probably add more.

 

[SBO]

I did not notice a tangible difference in behavior in crud with the Unleashed vs Enforcers. That's a good thing I think. The others can probably add more.

yeah, thats a very good thing. thats a primary reason i would select enforcers over unleashed that would be negated.

going to go pull the trigger tomorrow on a pair. might come down to which pair (unleashed or enforcers) they are most motivated to move ill let you all know what i choose. nice little forum you got here!

 

[deadheadskier]

i did ski demo Kendos before the enforcers. i would say very similar. I ski the enforcer 100's. i have never skied anything enforcer related under 100, and i have no reason to think i would. Me personally i dont think i will ski anything under 100 again, i feel like its the sweet spot for me, and i wouldnt even consider 88's, and i go back to when the K2 public enemys were "wide" at 85.

Are you a western based skier or only skiing one set of sticks vs a quiver?

I think I pulled my M102s out of the closet 5 times last season as a primarily NH based skier. Vast majority of my days for the past five years I'm on Head iRally at 77 under foot. I bought the M102 because they were rated / reviewed as the highest performing ski in the category for carving and edge grip. They pale in comparison at those attributes compared to the iRally. The physics of wide skis just aren't there for it.

And I was an early wide ski adopter. I was on a 110 as my daily driver living in Stowe in 2000. Yes, super fun in powder. But there's just so little of it in the East, my purchases are biased towards hard snow performance above all else.
I'll get my typical 40ish days in next season and the split between my three pairs will be something like

iRally - 20-25 days
Kendo - 15-20
M102 - 5

 

[jimmywilson69]

It depends on the ski and the skier DHS. Many of my local friends who can hang anywhere up north or west are on daily drivers in the 95-100 range. We aren't worried about making perfect race turns and we get by plenty well with the often shit conditions we have in PA. My Ripstick 96 has been an amazing 1 quiver ski for me in PA, up north and out west.

 

[drjeff]

Are you a western based skier or only skiing one set of sticks vs a quiver?

I think I pulled my M102s out of the closet 5 times last season as a primarily NH based skier. Vast majority of my days for the past five years I'm on Head iRally at 77 under foot. I bought the M102 because they were rated / reviewed as the highest performing ski in the category for carving and edge grip. They pale in comparison at those attributes compared to the iRally. The physics of wide skis just aren't there for it.

And I was an early wide ski adopter. I was on a 110 as my daily driver living in Stowe in 2000. Yes, super fun in powder. But there's just so little of it in the East, my purchases are biased towards hard snow performance above all else.
I'll get my typical 40ish days in next season and the split between my three pairs will be something like

iRally - 20-25 days
Kendo - 15-20
M102 - 5

Fully agree DHS!

I have WAY too many pairs of skis in my quiver (there I said it! ) everything from a 67 to a 118 underfoot, full camber to full rocker, 165cm to 198cm, 12.5m radius to 28m radius), and 98% of the time, I'm on something in the 80-85 range underfoot with a little bit of tip rocker and180/5 length and in the 15 to 18m range (I'm about 6'3" tall) and I'm a vey happy camper on most any surface the East throws at me. If it's truly glacial, or a real powder/Spring mush day, then I"ll grab something a bit more specific for those conditions

 

[deadheadskier]

Yeah, I'd pull my 4th set (Nordica GSM pistons) out of the bag on the boiler plate days if I didn't feel the need to keep the edges fresh for race nights.

I ended up buying the Kendos because my thought that I could pair down my quiver didn't work out. I thought I'd be perfectly happy with the 77 and 102 options for all of my rec skiing. Used to regularly ski a Steadfast at 90. Turns out the M102 aren't quite quick / snappy enough for some of the things I like to do and the iRally not floaty enough. So, the Kendos fill that gap.

Only thing I don't have is something 110 and up for the ultra deep days, but given I might see 1-3 days like that all season if I'm lucky as a weekend warrior, I'd just demo if I really felt I needed it. I doubt I ever do. The M102 is wide enough to work for me in that especially since I've trimmed down to 5'8, 172#. I don't need more than 102 to hold me up.

 

[Cobbold]

DHS,

just purchased a pair of head e original skis, skied head e rally skis two winters ago at Andermatt sedrun ski resort, liked them a lot, skied a lot on shaggy brockway ‘s 80, they are equals to head e rally’s ‘s at least to me they are. A lot of great skis out their.

 

[SBO]

welp... early birds got the worm. by the time i came back they were totally out of my size in: enforcer 88s, kendos, and unleashed 98s. still had enforcer 94s and maverick carbons in my size.

i think my move forward here might be to rebind and revive my 2009 x wings (174s, 73 underfoot) for hard pack/ice days, run the M pros for normal conditions, and maybe snag the 94 enforcers as a wider option unless i can find some kendos on sale.

comments and talk of sub 90 underfoot probably being the best suited for east coast applications was a good "reset". crazy that so many places only stock flat skis 88s and above with anything under that being a package with bindings which i'd prefer not to have since i hold onto skis for so long...