New ski questions

A snowHead

Hi all,

I've managed to hold off on buying any new skis since 2004/5 (if memory serves) so I think I'm due a new set! I've been on a pair of 163 Head 2005 Monster I.M 75 Chips at which have served me pretty well with an admittedly limited frame of reference. Probably not the easiest thing to drive when I'm being lazy but lovely underfoot at high speed, for a given value of high speed, but I#ve had the impression I'd like them to be longer for a while. I'm 170cm and 75kg but pretty athletic. I've read countless pages trying to determine what level I'm at and can never come up with a satisfactory answer in my own head but essentially I've averaged a week or two every year for about 17 years and (since 14) and don't struggle much on piste unless the conditions are terrible. That said, I'm bloody useless at bumps and pretty poor off the side of the piste (occasionally further afield) when I have a bash with the bloody snowboarders I tend to holiday with (I blame my wife) despite particularly enjoying it.

Which leads to the crux of the question.

I'm thinking about getting a pair of decently fat skis, the Rossignol Soul 7 180 stuck out more than anything else though the Whitedot Director 178 also appeals. I'm hoping to find somewhere in Courchevel where I can demo the Soul 7s when I head out there in March. In general, what would you say are the main things to consider when getting something different from piste bashers, particularly moving from a pretty stiff camber ski to longer fatter rocker? From next season onwards I'm expecting that the missus and I can go for trips with a lot more (or full) instruction into better off piste etc. but if I did plump for something like the above and took them on a week with friends where it was mostly on piste would they be really bloody annoying or right enough? The option to switch back to the Head Monsters might be there but trip dependent I might not have the baggage.

Also, where do you tend to do demoing? It makes sense but for something like the whitedots that presumably aren't around that much do most folks just bite the bullet? Annoying I don't live in Leeds any more I guess...

I'm sure I'm forgetting something but dinner is about to burn. Any help much appreciated!

EDIT: Thinking more about it, would I be better off with something like a Whitedot One? Given that there isn't likely to be any deep powder in my life for a while would something at around 90mm underfoot be a better option that gives me enough float for playing off the side whilst still chugging along at a nice pace on piste?

A snowHead

Soul 7s are very easy to ski on. I love mine. The good thing about them is that they will carve at speed on hard piste (but are a bit soft for real experts at super high speed) and predictable when transtitioning from skid to carve - so good for skiing slowly with less good skiers (like my partner). While Rossi sell them as 80/20 off-/on-piste. I am with American reviewers who rate them 50/50. Use the search facility on SH and Google to find out more about them.

Don't expect any ski to make you an expert on the side of the piste - it needs dynamic technique (i.e. skier-generated flexion/extension rather than leaving it to the skis gripping on hard piste).

Help!!

New ski questions

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