Any Skiers Here? Need New Skis

[Tony (admin)]

After ruining my parka I realized this black tar goo was coming out of my skis.  So I looked them up and horrifically realized my skis are 16 years old.  

I need new skis.  Not sure what to get.  I’m an expert skier and ski the groomers only when the snow conditions off trail aren’t good.  Love powder.  Any suggestions?

[GameForAnyFuss]

What percentage of the time would you say you ski groomers vs. not? 70/30? 50/50?

[Tony (admin)]

Depends on the time of year.  This week I’d be 75% or more in the trees or powder.  In spring when the snow sucks, 90% groomers.  So all-mountain is my guess since I don’t want to buy two pairs.

[GameForAnyFuss]

I’m an ex-racer, so my opinion on skis is somewhat tainted. I keep two pairs: One pair of powder skis for the deep days, one par of slalom race skis for groomer/mogul days…the slalom skis keep those days fun.

If I could only have one pair of skis, I’d go for something with enough sidecut to let you finish your turns on icy days (say, 16 meters or so), but with enough width to keep you on top in the powder. I’d also look for something with good edge grip so you can get away with a bit shorter ski. My single-ski choice would be the Nordica Enforcer in a 173 (I’m 5’10” 160 lb.).

[Tony (admin)]

I’m 2″ shorter and 40 pounds…. more.  LOL.   Expert skier though.  The wide ones look intriguing.  I’ll look at the Enforcer.  I just realized I’m friends with the president of Rossignol, so there’s that.

[GameForAnyFuss]

Yeah, so whether or not you know the CEO of a major ski manufacturer would be an important thing to understand before obtaining skis. 😉 Do you think he’d hook you up?

And while he’s at it, can you ask if he’s got a spare pair of these hanging around that I could have? Kthx.

[Tony (admin)]

I did send an email to him, but before I saw your note. LOL.  Not sure he’ll do anything, but gotta give it a shot.

[AZswayze]

I picked up some Rossignol Soul 7’s this season. My research indicated that they’re a great powder ski, but just so-so on groomers, so I was a little concerned, but took the plunge anyway. I’ve put five days on them so far, and have hit everything from groomed, to powder, to crud, to ice and they have performed nearly flawlessly. They’re fairly inexpensive too, which is always nice.

[Tony (admin)]

Thanks I’ll look at those.

[Anonymous]

I used to ski it all. Now I’m old and everything hurts when I ski, especially my feet. I still ski on Olin Comp SLs, 200 cm.

[GameForAnyFuss]

Wow…are you sure those are still street legal?

[Puget Ute]

My ‘new’ skis are old enough to drink. Salomon SL 207s. I used to ski ~200 days per year and was in instructor for several years, but it wasn’t until I moved away from Utah that I realized how nice it was to have a number of great resorts within a 45 minute drive. Now the nearest resorts are at least 2-1/2 hours away.

I still need to go up to Whistler.

[Summit Ute]

Tried to ski on my 1995 K2s last year and I loved the familiarity, but had no idea how much I would LOVE the new skis and boots.  I have 2 sets of skis that I use regularly.  My all mountain ski (Fisher Motive 95 Ti) capable off piste and excellent carvers on piste and Line Sir Francis Bacon for jibbing and screwing around on deeper days.  I would highly reccomend 2 sets of skis because you can take the set that fits your mood for the day.  I demo’d the Soul 7s and the K2 Shreditors before buying the Bacons.  Soul 7 definetly drives through crud like a beast but I didn’t have as much fun on them.  The K2 shreditors were the most fun in soft conditions, but are super flexible and on fast run outs they chatter like a mofo. Honestly you should demo a pair or 2 before you buy if you really only want to buy one pair.

[GameForAnyFuss]

I’m with you – if you’re going to invest in a hobby that costs thousands of dollars per year, why not make it a couple hundred more and get a second pair of skis? In the 90’s, when there was basically no difference between skis, having one pair was fine. But in this era of purpose-built skis, if you don’t have multiple pairs for the conditions/your mood, you’re really selling yourself short.

I’m currently on Head World Cup Rebels SL for my groomer/mogul days. Those skis might be the funnest disco sticks I’ve ever tried, until I get too tired to push them around, at which point I’m pretty much along for the ride. My powder skis are Blizzard Ones – bought them used (and already pretty trashed up) for $150. They are great powder/crud skis, and I don’t have to even care what I might run over. I don’t even try to turn them on groomers because they’re too bad at it – I just straightline them to the lift and then go look for more powder.

[AZswayze]

Good advice for some but I don’t think it’s necessary for everybody. I rarely stick to any one thing all day. Park City was my mountain of choice for the greater part of the past two decades. I would often start days up at Jupiter (bowls), then move down to Thaynes (bumps), and move on to groomers toward the end of the day. I’ve always stuck to one pair of all mountain skis, except for spring when I’d break out the rock skis. While it’s true that you’d sacrifice some performance depending on what conditions you’re skiing, it allows versatility in the moment.

Now, I mostly ski Arizona mountains where your choices are limited and you ski what you can get and just say thank you. I’d get bored skiing groomers all day, but my body can only handle so much crud. Because of this, a good all mountain ski is vital. I skied my old Seth Morrisons well past their prime and finally threw in on some Soul 7’s this season. They might not be as much fun in the park, but they handle just about everything as well as any of the more specialized skis I’ve ever owned (granted the technology has obviously greatly improved).

[Tony (admin)]

Radio silence from my Rossi connection. Boo. May have to go another route.

[Substiute]

Locally Level 9 usually have some great deals. A lot of the gear is a year old but all never used and good packages. They have a website so check them out.

[Tony (admin)]

Just realized there’s a little home-town ski shop I can walk to from my house. They have some new Fishers with a good sized rocker which I guess would be good for my off-trail and powder skiing. How are the Ranger 90 Ti’s? They have those on sale.