 Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I think it's down to personal preference and the snow conditions that you are going to ski.
If mostly skiing on piste, I like a narrow waisted, stable and lively ski.....I loved the Magnums, but on a high speed schuss, their shape made them a little shaky and frenetic.
If the slopes aren't crowded, I like a more GS type ski, so I can crank up the speed in longer turns.
If doing a mixture on/off, then something in the 90s.
If you want to try a big ass mountain ski, then 100-110 under foot.
In this game, it's horses for courses, so try a different variety of options when out there....and if you ever decide to buy, get something that is suitable for what you are likely to ski over the years, rather than what you would like to ski. The reality of a week or two a year, is that striking knee deep powder on your hol, doesn't happen very often.
Last edited by Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person on Fri 27-01-17 12:07; edited 2 times in total
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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?
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I should probably add that I consider myself to be around Level 7 on the inside out scale.
| Inside Out Skiing wrote: |
Level 7
Intermediate
I can ski all reds and get down most blacks as well, providing they're not too steep or bumpy. I may have tried skiing just off the side of the pistes. |
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@Old Fartbag, Cheers for the reply! I think i'll have a chat in the shop and see if they're open to a bit of a chop and swap throughout the week.
I think I'll try and get something a little longer as well.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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The length you get is determined by:
- Weight
- Ability
- Where you are going to ski
- Preference
- Speed you ski
- Design of the ski...how much Rocker
- Construction of ski
- Height.
On piste, 170 should be ok, but too short for an All Mountain ski and much too short for a Freeride ski.
One thing to decide is whether you like a playful All Mountain ski from the likes of Scott, or a damp ski from the likes of Blizzard.
Last edited by Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do. on Fri 27-01-17 22:56; edited 1 time in total
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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On piste for a chap who is 6 foot 1 and 90kgs, i think 170 is v short. Very very short. I'd suspect thats why the heads felt squirrely at high speed.
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Height is one of the least important factors... the skis don't know how tall you are and the variation due to body mass distribution, v-a-v everything else is, IMV, inconsequential.
If you are skiing mostly 100% on groomed pistes I don't see what advantage overall width gets you. It just introduces castor force against your edging.
Different skis of more or less identical geometry can feel wildly different.
Construction and rigidity (longitudinal and torsional) can be more important than length. e.g. all male WC slalom skiers are on 165s.
Try lots, swap them around.
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| coddlesangers wrote: |
| On piste for a chap who is 6 foot 1 and 90kgs, i think 170 is v short. Very very short. I'd suspect thats why the heads felt squirrely at high speed. |
It depends on the construction, but on balance, you are right.
I got into my head that the OP was an Intermediate, which I suspect is not the case with 20 wks experience....so longer could be better
I found the Magnums squirrely on a fast schuss but stable in a turn....most 13m radius skis don't like going straight in a hurry.
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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.
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Wider skis can be better all rounders if it suits your style I believe. More stable platform allowing you the option of blending carving and pivoting and greater heft to blow through chop. Even on an indoor slope a SL ski can get exposed when it comes to trucking through the mounds of sugar snow that accumulate.
Oh and 100- 110 isn't a big ass mountain ski for someone 90kg+, more like a true all mountain. Wouldn't recommend them for predominantly pistes though.
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| under a new name wrote: |
| Height is one of the least important factors... . |
We still agree, but it is still a factor.....and I certainly agree with the rest of the post.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@Dave of the Marmottes, maybe a little, if it was me looking for a general ski with a strong piste bias I'd probably look around 80-85mm with a GS-ey radius. Just to help with the end of day melt, etc. as you suggest.
Pure firm smooth groomers though? SL all the way...
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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.
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| Dave of the Marmottes wrote: |
Oh and 100- 110 isn't a big ass mountain ski for someone 90kg+, more like a true all mountain. Wouldn't recommend them for predominantly pistes though. |
In the context of what the OP is trying/has tried and the terrain he is likely to ski, it could be seen to be (using his terminology)....but I agree that in relation to what is currently available to the dedicated powder skier, it isn't.
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When we skied a unpisted black over Christmas my missus on her newly acquired all mountain ski's commented that it was the first time she noticed a real difference to her old ones. Like my 2/3 year old Dynstar Cham 97's they are heavy, quite wide and robust without being really stiff. With modern tech these ski's can still "rail" and turn pretty good but they are a bit more rugged and robust for piste skiing. I suspect over time you've become much more of a driver and so will appreciate this, more expert level, type ski. I am 196cm and nearly 100kg, do ski off piste but I am much older than you. I always take the longest ski available. I think my 97's are 186 iirc. So I would imagine you would be around 180, certainly not 170.
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You know it makes sense.
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| Layne wrote: |
| I think my 97's are 186 iirc. So I would imagine you would be around 180, certainly not 170. |
Agreed...and even when I (probably wrongly) underestimated the OP's ability, I stated that 170 was too short for an All Mountain ski, for someone of his size.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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I knew what the op is saying about how good something feels, sometimes you get on something that just feels right for you.
I'm almost exactly same weight and height and really like that 90mm spot for a general all round ski. I've got an old favourite pair that are 190cm long but with quite big and soft shovels so they probably have a more effective length on piste of closer to 185/180cm and they just feel so natural, extending from alot of piste and right off into soft with a combination of float from the width and wide enough tips so you can relax and they'll not catch you out.
As I said, sometimes you just get something that's right in the sweet spot for what you're doing, I wouldn't ignore that.
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Poster: A snowHead
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@letsgetpiste, most skis come in a range of lengths which are suitable for that category of ski, but that doesn't mean there is a direct equivalence to the length of a ski in a different category. So a 170cm piste ski is not going to be equally suitable as a 170cm all mountain ski, nor a 170cm off-piste ski.
I think your first priority should be to decide what category of ski you are looking, then decide what length of ski within that category. If, as a guideline, if you are average weight select the middle length if you have a choice of 3 or 4 sizes for that ski. If you are above average weight (because you're taller than average or enjoy an extra pie or two) go for the longer length; lighter than average go for the shorter length. If you like to ski very fast go up a size; if you are a bit more cautious go down a size. Trust the ski's designers to decide the length rather than a notion of a particular size of ski which is suitable for you regardless of what the ski is actually designed for.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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To the OP - I just had my first real snow test of a pair of 2016-17 Scott Reverse (AM, modern design, tip & tail rocker, 85mm waist I recall, 14m radius) which I bought after the Oktobertest, wanting to upgrade my existing 'intermediate to advanced' but old piste carvers (70mm waist, generally older-dimension thinner tips and tails, 11.2 radius, and technically an inferior constuction, less wood core, more composite, not sidewall etc but have more overt camber).
Very interesting to compare the 2 skis, still not had enough time on them to give a definitive answer, and not had a chance to go back to my old skis again yet: but my general thoughts after a few days -
a) I want more and more skis  - and need to go skiing a lot more too;
b) there's no way that I can take abroad with me as many skis for different conditions as I want to own  ;
c) I love slalom-style carver skis, and I love edging and short turns, but there's various conditions and slopes where I don't feel as confident on them as I'd like to (speed, interestingly, not being one of them);
d) I think that I really like the AM-style Scotts (wouldn't call them 'playful' though), but it's required a slight change in technique and they definitely perform differently. Inspired a huge amount (more) of confidence in general on steeper ground, offered a lot more ease of control, can be a damn sight faster once the ground is steeper (but didn't seem to like tame flatter stuff), coped with deeper stuff better, did very nice longer/rounder turns (whether truly carved or not I don't know, but felt good), didn't feel so nimble or easy to edge, definitely needed more pivot/skid than edging (duh!) and don't give me what I'm used to on hardpack and ice (but I'm still getting used to them and no massive complaints) - and they also seem surprisingy reactive to underfoot disturbances (e.g. uneven ice balls, very crusty courderoy, etc). But a great all-round ski (but then, I didn't feel that my old ones were bad either).
None of the above is surprising, really, and I don't really know what I'm concluding here, except that they are different skis and I like them both, each in their own way, and now I definitely want some more real performance short radius piste skis as well (yet to try and compare my new race-spec slaloms, but I think that I can guess what they'll be like!), but I really like the AMs when conditions are suited to them and... Yeah, well - as many have said above, it's all horses for courses, and different skis have different constructions and cores, so there's a lot more to it than just waist dimensions too.
So, yes, go try lots of different skis and see for yourself. Can never try or have enough!
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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?
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@Old Fartbag, @coddlesangers, @under a new name, @Dave of the Marmottes, @Layne, @ski3, @rob@rar & @Grizzler, thank you so much for not letting my post die in a pool of insignificant tripe!
And thank you all for your advice, recommendations, teachings and understanding!
There is still clearly a lot for me to learn and the common vein in all your threads is telling me what my mind already was. Keep trying different equipment until I can refine it myself.
I've been reading posts on here long enough to know that this was probably the case, but maybe this was my time for the reality slap!
So... I think I'm all packed. I'm off to Birmingham airport for about 4am (if anyone's there for a pint) and I should be in Italy by mid morning. If all goes well, I could be on the slopes by lunchtime.
I'll come back and let you know how I got on!
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Have a great trip....and let us know what you end up using and whether you like them.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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@letsgetpiste, definetely have a chat with the ski hire shop, any decent shop should let you change skis if they aren't completely sold out. By trying some skis out you'll get a feel for what suits your style etc.
Perhaps try a stiffer/longer sub 80mm ski and then something in the 80-85mm width and see what you think? If it's rock hard, icy pistes I'd stick under 80mm though!
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FAQ
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