 Poster: A snowHead
|
I only buy new skis every 15 years or so and the time has come for A GREAT LEAP FORWARD
.. having paid 1/3 the purchase price of some Dynastar GS skis for a weeks rentals in 1987.... the following year I acquired a pair of day-glo pink Volkl Cad Comp Pros (Renntigers for the cautious) .. and very nicely they went with my yellow and green Nevica snow suit :¬) . Lovely skis, but increasing weight (mine) and decreasing stiffness (theirs) finally consigned them to dry slope use.
Those pink beasts should not have worked off piste, but they seemed to do so and over the years I left the pistes behind ending up about 13 years later at La Grave with a spanking new pair of Salomon X-scream 9s ... which have now served me well for the last 15 years .... and what is more will be accompanying me to Tignes next week (where I shall be the only person in the ski queue with a pair of 187s ... which still seems short as the Volkls are 195s - and the rental dynastars 205s).
So things have moved on: planks are short, rockers are high, wide under foot is here to stay (a recent return to La Grave had me on the longest AND narrowest skis in the village whilst my three strapping sons got put on K-2 Coombacks which were like a snow board under each foot).
Rental skis seem pretty good value these days and with skis getting so specialised, maybe its become best to leave the Xscreams and the Volkls in the garage and rent what's needed for the prevailing conditions and resort. Ie a weeks piste skiing in Tignes does NOT need a pair of coombacks but they're fantastic on a powder day.
So, for a week of mostly black and red pistes with as many excursions into the rough as possible ..... what should I be looking to try out from the rental places?
(PS age=52, weight = 77kg, ability = once advanced, now good technique but fading fitness and strapped up knees)
Your advice gentlemen and ladies is most welcome.
Ta
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
'once advanced, now good technique but fading fitness and strapped up knees'
Love this. the older I get, the better I was
|
|
|
|
|
|
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
|
@narran,
| Quote: |
.. and very nicely they went with my yellow and green Nevica snow suit :¬)
|
as no change in the ski wear has been mentioned, surely the answer is some suitable coloured skis to match the clobber 
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
@narran, great post by the way, as @cameronphillips2000, has noted, its kind of evocative and poetic 
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
|
"once advanced, now good technique but fading fitness and strapped up knees'" -- sounds like me !!
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
We could start a geriatric kit thread here. I'm only forty three but unfit, overweight and dodgy knees. I changes my skis a couple of years back and had the following thought processes:
I want them to be light -for carrying about resort more than anything and so I can get mine and my wife's pair in a 15 kilo flight ski bag
I want them to turn without much effort
I want stability at speed
I want them to be effortless in heavy terrain as the planet seems to be warmer than 20 years ago
I ended up with Salomon Aero GTs which I love. I think they've been replaced by something better now.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Hey such a fast response .... even if my question isn't answered much, the crack is good!
Yes .. LIGHT is great, I always liked the Dynastar Verticals, tho a bit soft for the piste. Those K-2 coombacks weigh a LOAD.
PS: Andy1234: the Nevica ski suit is stored in the loft - but I think I should get it out for an airing .... soon. I'm a little bored with the black powder dungarees and black tenson mountain jacket to be honest. One of my kids says I should resurrect the Volkls too as they must class as "pure hipster" now (what ever that means).
PPS: Allbob .... I must have been quite good once. On my first La Grave visit, my guide said I was "the second best english skier he'd skied with" .... think that's called "damning with faint praise"! and to be honest, they hadn't been open long 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
..
Last edited by After all it is free  on Sun 25-01-15 15:19; edited 1 time in total
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
|
Yes .. LIGHT is great, I always liked the Dynastar Verticals, tho a bit soft for the piste.
Mine are hybred which means they are stiff and light - I think.
PPS: Allbob .... I must have been quite good once. On my first La Grave visit, my guide said I was "the second best english skier he'd skied with" .... think that's called "damning with faint praise"! and to be honest, they hadn't been open long [/quote]
They know how to get a free lunch...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
@narran, if you're only on piste, probably a cheater GS ski, about 80mm underfoot. Difficult to find a bad ski these days 
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
|
any examples of useful "cheater GS skis" ? Hoping to stray into the soft now and then (plenty of nice "short cuts" in Espace Killy) so something that will cut crud as well as carve corduroy would be good.
|
|
|
|
|
|
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
|
I was punting about on a set of Elan GSXs a couple of weeks back. Obviously very happy on piste but they had a few forays off-piste as well. Main issues were when the snow condition changed rapidly.
If you started in powder and stayed in powder, no issues - If you were jumping around on wind blown stuff, no probs either. When you'd do a run that was a mixture of a bit of light powder, bit of hard, bit of deep powder but you couldn't tell if it was light or not etc.., then they became more interesting as they'd not get good initial float and they'd just dig in.
They were relatively skinny so it's no surprise really.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
... that's wide compared to my x-scream 9s (which were fattish all mountain skis in their day)!
I tried some Atomic Nomad Crimsons a few years back which seem to be a similar shape and behaved similar to your description, though maybe a bit floatier. Turned so fast I never got any rest ... very good, very tiring.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You know it makes sense.
|
Yeah - as timlongs agrees (his company supplied them for me) you need to work them and if you get a bit lazy they'll let you know.
I enjoyed them.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FAQ
