Waist size...

[VTKilarney]

My advice, be honest about the type of terrain and conditions you will be skiing on and the type of skier you are. Skiers, like bicyclists, tend to gravitate toward what the elite uses, which is often not what is best for the non-elite. Another wrinkle is that a lot of east coast skiers gravitate toward a ski that is better suited for the Rockies.

If 95% of your skiing is not on powder days, don't get a ski meant primarily for powder, even if that's considered to be the "ultimate" ski and "ultimate" snow condition. For the vast majority of east coast skiers, my strong recommendation is a ski that is responsive and a very solid carver. It should make you confident in the typical New England conditions. Only until you have that pair of skis should you venture out and get something else to round out your quiver.

And don't be fooled by an "all mountain" ski if you are not truly an "all mountain" skier. Even if you were, anything with the word "all" in its title is going to involve compromises. I am not opposed to an "all mountain" ski, I just think that it is pushed on too many people as the best option.

Of course if you are a park skier, adrenaline junkie, etc. - your mileage may vary. Be if you aren't, be honest about that fact and don't those people, or their fanboys, talk you into something that isn't your best option.

 

[Tin]

So, did you get some real powder skis yet? Let me recommend the Head Boneshaker 191cm, I picked mine up last summer. Full sidewall, wood core, mild rocker, 146/125/135, ~11.5lb without binding, mount -1.5cm from the furtherst back line with 18-din FKS. Really stable jumping and dropping, and pretty manuverable in the woods. Of course, you're only going to want to ski these in 2-4ft+ deep mostly untracked powder, so you're going to need to know where to find powder. Great ski!

Motorhead? What's wrong they don't make an Indigo Girls version?

 

[Highway Star]

My advice, be honest about the type of terrain and conditions you will be skiing on and the type of skier you are. Skiers, like bicyclists, tend to gravitate toward what the elite uses, which is often not what is best for the non-elite. Another wrinkle is that a lot of east coast skiers gravitate toward a ski that is better suited for the Rockies.

If 95% of your skiing is not on powder days, don't get a ski meant primarily for powder, even if that's considered to be the "ultimate" ski and "ultimate" snow condition. For the vast majority of east coast skiers, my strong recommendation is a ski that is responsive and a very solid carver. It should make you confident in the typical New England conditions. Only until you have that pair of skis should you venture out and get something else to round out your quiver.

And don't be fooled by an "all mountain" ski if you are not truly an "all mountain" skier. Even if you were, anything with the word "all" in its title is going to involve compromises. I am not opposed to an "all mountain" ski, I just think that it is pushed on too many people as the best option.

Of course if you are a park skier, adrenaline junkie, etc. - your mileage may vary. Be if you aren't, be honest about that fact and don't those people, or their fanboys, talk you into something that isn't your best option.

Ok.................only an extremely small section of the skiing public is on elite level ski gear, under 1%. If you don't know this, you don't even know what elite level gear is.

I have an active quiver of around 15 pairs of skis, but if I had to have only one ski.......guess what? It would be an all mountain ski! Being on a carving ski is only good if you ski icy groomers at Jiminy Peak all the time, futher north and a carver is going to be a disadvantage.

 

[MadMadWorld]

Ok.................only an extremely small section of the skiing public is on elite level ski gear, under 1%. If you don't know this, you don't even know what elite level gear is.

I have an active quiver of around 15 pairs of skis, but if I had to have only one ski.......guess what? It would be an all mountain ski! Being on a carving ski is only good if you ski icy groomers at Jiminy Peak all the time, futher north and a carver is going to be a disadvantage.

I feel a Tom Skerritt monolog coming....

 

[Tin]

Good morning gentleman, the temperature is 110 degrees.

 

[Puck it]

Good morning gentleman, the temperature is 110 degrees.

 

[Scruffy]

Good morning gentleman, the temperature is 110 degrees.

What, are still doing Hot Yoga?

We could wax on indefinitely about the virtues of skinny vs fat skis, and as much as I love discussing the technicals of skiing and gear, I fear I'd bore myself to death with this crowd :lol:. I own skis with waist width between 64 - 120, and ski them all in the east, and west. Different tools for different applications.

For those fearing the fat, consider this: Both a mono ski, and a carving snowboard is ~200 mm wide. If they can be carved, your two planks ~100 each can too. Will they be as quick as a 64mm race ski? No. Will they hold as well on race course ice? Depends on the driver, but usually no; but if you're not racing, you probably don't care.

 

[VTKilarney]

Ok.................only an extremely small section of the skiing public is on elite level ski gear, under 1%. If you don't know this, you don't even know what elite level gear is.

I have an active quiver of around 15 pairs of skis, but if I had to have only one ski.......guess what? It would be an all mountain ski! Being on a carving ski is only good if you ski icy groomers at Jiminy Peak all the time, futher north and a carver is going to be a disadvantage.

A couple of clarifications:
1) I never said that many people use elite gear. I said that many people want to gravitate toward elite gear. Big difference.
2) I have no doubt that a skier such as yourself would choose an all-mountain ski if you could just have one ski. I also have no doubt that this would be a good choice for you. But I stand by my argument that for the most common type of skier (a non-expert who skis a few days per year), an all-mountain ski may not be their best choice. My point was simply that he should avoid an "all mountain ski" if he is not an "all mountain skier". (go back and you will see that I said exactly that... I'll wait... good...) I find it hard to believe that this would be contentious.

BTW, did Killington open first as you predicted?

 

[Scruffy]

... But I stand by my argument that for the most common type of skier (a non-expert who skis a few days per year)

What? Blasphemy!! Your common tourist skier from Texas maybe, not the most common type of skier. And where did Tin ( the OP ) say he only skied a few days a year? I still think you're wrong.. well I don't know .. first you have to define an All Mountain ski, the meaning has gotten sloppy as of late. For that matter, you need to define what you mean by "ski that is responsive and a very solid carver" There are a lot of solid carvers I wouldn't put an intermediate skier ( one who skis only a few days a year ) on. An intermediate level All Mountain ski would be a better platform for a weak skier.

 

[WWF-VT]

So, did you get some real powder skis yet? Let me recommend the Head Boneshaker 191cm, I picked mine up last summer. Full sidewall, wood core, mild rocker, 146/125/135, ~11.5lb without binding, mount -1.5cm from the furtherst back line with 18-din FKS. Really stable jumping and dropping, and pretty manuverable in the woods. Of course, you're only going to want to ski these in 2-4ft+ deep mostly untracked powder, so you're going to need to know where to find powder. Great ski!

So with your active quiver of 15 skis do you use these about two hours a season when your beloved Killington is blessed with 2-4 ft of untracked powder ?

 

[Domeskier]

So with your active quiver of 15 skis do you use these about two hours a season when your beloved Killington is blessed with 2-4 ft of untracked powder ?

Are you kidding? I bet HS is currently skiing 2-4ft of untracked powder left over from last season in one of his secret stashes!

 

[MadMadWorld]

Good morning gentleman, the temperature is 110 degrees.

Ahhh here it is...

 

[VTKilarney]

What? Blasphemy!! Your common tourist skier from Texas maybe, not the most common type of skier.

In 2006/2007 skiers averaged 11 days per year.


Having had 8 years off, I assumed that the OP was not returning as an expert. At least not yet.

 

[Scruffy]

In 2006/2007 skiers averaged 11 days per year.


.

I don't call them skiers. You need to at least double that to be called a skier.

 

[darent]

my powder skis are 65 underfoot, that way I get more face shots!!

 

[St. Bear]

So, did you get some real powder skis yet? Let me recommend the Head Boneshaker 191cm, I picked mine up last summer. Full sidewall, wood core, mild rocker, 146/125/135, ~11.5lb without binding, mount -1.5cm from the furtherst back line with 18-din FKS. Really stable jumping and dropping, and pretty manuverable in the woods. Of course, you're only going to want to ski these in 2-4ft+ deep mostly untracked powder, so you're going to need to know where to find powder. Great ski!

You win some, lose some.
It's all the same to me.

 

[St. Bear]

I don't call them skiers. You need to at least double that to be called a skier.

Ah shucks.

 

[VTKilarney]

I don't call them skiers. You need to at least double that to be called a skier.

That explains things.


.

 

[Scruffy]

That explains things.


.

There is nothing wrong with being a once in a blue moon skier. I use to golf 3 times a week years ago, I called myself a golfer then. I get out a couple times a year now, if that; I no longer call myself a golfer.

But nice deflection from your argument of the right ski for these said sometime skiers is a carver.

 

[deadheadskier]

In 2006/2007 skiers averaged 11 days per year.


Having had 8 years off, I assumed that the OP was not returning as an expert. At least not yet.

You would assume wrong. Tin rips. Did so right from the start of last season.