New skis

[marge]

Can anyone give me any advice on skis? I am a blue/black skier who has always rented (have my own boots) and just gone in and told them my info and they picked out something for me.

I'm looking for a pair of decently priced (cheap) skis to get me through the next few years. I do ski double black from time to time but that is rare. I just don't want a ski that's going to puke out on me when I do it.

Advice about what to look for or even a link to something would be incredible. I'm not even opposed to buying used.

I'm looking for something in the 160 range or maybe even as short as 157.

We do ski out west but we're going to be doing some more skiing in Michigan (ice skiing :smash: ).

Thanks for any tips/advice/help you can give me. I just don't know what to look for.

 

[koreshot]

Before the Fischer RX8 (heard its a very nice ski) suggestions start flying, it would be helpful if you could tell the community some more about yourself. There a bunch of good skiers here, skiers that really know their gear that will guide you well, but additional info would help. Things like height, weight, how aggressively you ski, shorter turns vs. longer turns, bumps or no bumps, how quickly you are improving would help i guess.

 

[marge]

Before the Fischer RX8 (heard its a very nice ski) suggestions start flying, it would be helpful if you could tell the community some more about yourself. There a bunch of good skiers here, skiers that really know their gear that will guide you well, but additional info would help. Things like height, weight, how aggressively you ski, shorter turns vs. longer turns, bumps or no bumps, how quickly you are improving would help i guess.

Thanks.... I'll introduce myself. My name is Marge. I'm almost 37. I've been skiing since I was a teen but not very regularly. My brother moved out west a while ago and that's when I got back into it after quite a "hiatis". I hate skiing in Michigan. When the snow is nice the crowds are horrific and I hate waiting in line for 1/2 hour to ski for 5 minutes on a makeshift garbage dump (what most of our "hills" are out here).

For the past few years I've been traveling to the west one to two times a year and just getting all my jollies in a few short days. :smile: It's well worth it though.

SPECS:
I'm approximately 5ft9, weigh 200 pounds. I'm not truly aggressive but I have been known to take a few doubles in my time (last year at Steamboat I skiid their "notorious" double black and lived to brag about it). :beer: I am really comfortably on blues and greens bore me. I like wider turns but also like some snappy, sharp curves as well (until I tire out). Bumps are negotiable and VERY limited (I like to bail out as I really suck at them but SO want to be good at them). I'm improving at a VERY slow pace as I only ski one to two weeks a year now.

I'm hoping that will change as my daughter is now skiing and I don't want her to surpass me (she's 5). This will be her third year on skis and we're hoping to do more around here as I know she'll be a much better skier even if she just skis the garbage dumps (actually we're hoping to head up north to the better ones). :-D

So that was probably WAY more than you wanted to know. :lol: Thanks again for any info. We're heading to WinterPark in a couple of weeks so I'm hoping to get something before we go. If not we'll just wait until end of season this year and see what I can find. Although at teh price of rentals they will pay for themselves shortly!

Thanks!

 

[koreshot]

Welcome, and thanks for the info, makes recommending skis easier. I forgot to mention that I don't know a whole lot about skis , in particular carving skis, but there are a bunch of very knowledgeable people here that should be able to assist. Just hang in there and someone will post some suggestions.

My only suggestion is that, used skis are definitely a good option, given that you don't spend a whole lot of time on the snow.

 

[marge]

I found a few that I'm interested in. Anyone have any "yeah or neh"??

http://cgi.ebay.com/Salomon-Womens-...5042296QQihZ005QQcategoryZ21246QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/Fischer-RX-8-FT...ryZ62182QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/Salomon-womens-...4228295QQihZ005QQcategoryZ58363QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/Salomon-Womens-...5042296QQihZ005QQcategoryZ21246QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/Fischer-Vi40-Wo...5165027QQihZ005QQcategoryZ58363QQcmdZViewItem

 

[jimmer]

marge

for sure go with a womans ski. i can recomend afew that some of my friends ski. the atomic balance 11 is nice, k2 has a nice line of chick skiis,as does volkl. but your best bet would be to demo some high end skiis to find out whats best for you . most mts have demo days and are kinda fun to try all the new skiis. judge for yourself only you no whats best for you.one other thing todays skiis are ment to be skied short, so go a little shorter than normal. happy hunting, have fun ouy there. jimmer:lol:

 

[andyzee]

My wife has these: http://cgi.ebay.com/Salomon-womens-S...c mdZViewItem Loves em. other then that, I've heard nothing but good things about K2s Luv line, may have a bit of trouble finding a bargain on these though.

 

[bigbog]

........

Demos with a lesson for you both (out West)... just might find a stray, bad habit somewhere....and will only enhance your experience when skiing together.
Epicski's Review forum is often interesting. Among the posts of the nitpicking urbanites are some very good instructors/skiers.

 

[hrstrat57]

Before the Fischer RX8 (heard its a very nice ski) suggestions start flying, it would be helpful if you could tell the community some more about yourself. There a bunch of good skiers here, skiers that really know their gear that will guide you well, but additional info would help. Things like height, weight, how aggressively you ski, shorter turns vs. longer turns, bumps or no bumps, how quickly you are improving would help i guess.

RX 8 is not just a nice ski, it might be the perfect eastern ski, depending on sizing it properly of course. The three position railflex setting lends it nicely to unisex applications. The RX 6 could also be a choice for this skier. The nice thing about either is if you buy em and don't like em you can likely dump em on ebay without loosing any $$$.

My wife has volkl gammas and loves em, but is nowhere near as aggressive as this skier sounds......I have 2 lady friends on the k2 burnin luv and they both sing while they ski"hunka hunka":wink: ..........but good luck finding a pair and prepare to part with huge $$$. I know nothing about the rest of the luv series. My daughter has volkl attiva ac1's again probably way too tame for this skier....higher end attiva models might be suitable.

Volkl pink star(gamma supersport) from a couple years ago can still be found, I have one lady friend(former racer) on 161's and she loves em......

Hopefully some other ladies will chime in here.....

I have ski'd RX 8 in 165 extensively, own the 170 and just picked up 175's. Easy to ski, versatile, yet capable of extremely high performance when asked. Just a killer product IMO.

Marge, you should demo of course, but that is appearing to be increasingly difficult this season.......