 Poster: A snowHead
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First post here so bare with me !
Im in the market for some new skis. Im 34 (male) and skied for 20 years and would consider myself pretty good and will tackle anything on and most things off piste (in good, fresh conditions). Ive got some of original Salomon X scream series from 1996 but the bases and edges are paper thin and I think theyve served their time ! They're 195cm which I know is way too long for carvers these days (Im 6ft, 13.5 stone).
I probably ski 50-50 on and off piste depending on conditions. Im one of the few people that still likes bumps too !
Im going to St Anton in a few weeks and am trying to decide whether to buy a pair online before I go and save some cash/hassle or try a few pairs when I get there and see what I like best before buying. Ive no doubt the 'local' prices will be higher than the online ones so not sure which way to go.
after reading various reviews, my shortlist comprises:
Rossignol Bandit B2
Dynastar 8000
Head Monster i. M 77 Chip
Nordica Hot Rod Nitrous
K2 Apache Crossfire
anyone have a view on any of these or any others and which they would recommend (or not) ? will these be readily available in an austrian hire shop or should I just take my pick and buy online and save myself the bother of trudging back and forth from the hire shop whilst everyone else is in the bar  ??
also, what size should I go for given my height/weight ? I was thinking 175-180 ?
thanks in advance for your advice,
Nick
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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nicka, welcome to snowHeads.
I think at some stage in recent months just about all of those skis have been given good reviews by contributors here, but I don't think any one ski stands out head and shoulders above the others by all reviewers. Although it's tedious, best to try as many of them as you can find to decide what your personal favourites are.
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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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nicka, Replace the B2 with the B3. The B3 will ski much better on the piste than the B2 will off the piste. 176/184cm Also look at freestyle/exhibition type skis, cool graphics, nice flex patterns, good turn radius, non too fat, non too thin. Aim for around 80mm waist for all mountain performance. This subject is massive, remember, there are no bad skis out there, just bad expierences with certain skis. Good luck and buy Wood. 
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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nicka,
Welcome to 
If that is your list, I would have the Stockli Stormrider XL on it as well.
For these types of threads you might want to search for one or two of the skis mentioned in the search facilty in the top left of this page, in the drop down menu..
And I would definitely try before you buy...no question..!!
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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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We bought our iM72s in St Anton in December. I'm sure there are other equally excellent shops, but we used Sport Jennewein who have a test centre at the top station on Galzig so you can chop and change without effort. Got to say they were very helpful
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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thanks guys. I already found the Jennewein store online and by sheer co-incidence a post from Martin Jennewein himself on another site recommending the Stockli Stormrider XL so will definately put them on my list !
They also have a shop at the bottom of Nasserein which is the nearest lift to our hotel so combined with the Galzig ski shop should make it a lot easier to test them out there. Will email in advance and see if they can put a few pairs aside for me.
thanks again and any other advice is of course most welcome !
Nick
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I'm similar Size/Weight and found 170 to be about right, tried various ones from 165 to 178 in Sestrier a few weeks back but was most comfortable at 170.
Hot Rod's are excellent. Although I didn't get to try any of the others due to poor availability.
Let us know how you get on.
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I can personally vouch for the Hot Rod Nitrous which I have just used for the last two weeks. I am 5'11", just over 12st and have it in 170cm. It peformed well everywhere and was especially stable in crud. I would describe it as a fast aggressive ski that is forgiving when you need it to be. Lot of fun.
One option is to head to a snowdome before your holiday and demo some of their skis. Ellis Brigham at Milton Keynes X-Scape have the B2s, the Hot Rod Nitrous and the K2 Crossfires, all of which are on your list. I demoed the Nitrous along with the Apache Recon at Milton Keynes before I bought, which made my mind up immediately!
There are so many good skis out there that I imagine you could get bogged down demoing skis forever. I would probably pick a shortlist of 4 or 5 and stick with it. Or alternatively just buy the Nitrous 
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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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definately test the skis first- but make sure that the shop actually has the same skis avaliable to buy as to test- I had some difficulties with this recently in Tignes.
I have about the same experience/attitude as you re skiing- including bumps- but am short and stout- same wt but 5'8".
I tried- movement demon flames- vgood and grippy- but I fell over in bumps and off piste and they only worker if I skied fast.
K2 public enemies- which for me were hopeless- no grip at all
K2 apache recons- ok
Dynastar 8000- v smooth but not as good as
1080 foils- which I really liked- much better grip then 1080s (now 1080 thruster)- good in bumps/ice/off piste/ going fast- and not so fast.
But what really surprised me was how different they all were- whichis why O'd now never buy a ski blind.
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edsilva,
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I have about the same experience/attitude as you re skiing- including bumps- but am short and stout- same wt but 5'8".
I tried- movement demon flames- vgood and grippy- but I fell over in bumps and off piste and they only worker if I skied fast.
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I can agree completely with the sentiment about the Demon Flames, but I loved the fact that they could pootle about at any speed, even on narrow tracks. I'm 165 cm tall, and could not be classed as stout!
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But what really surprised me was how different they all were- whichis why O'd now never buy a ski blind.
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So clearly, it's not just skis which are different, so nicka, make a shortlist and get testing 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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I know the advice is to demo/buy but I did read a post on here the where it stated the UK ski scene needs supporting ( which I agree with) and I did know what I wanted so I did buy locally Before I went skiing.
I checked with the ski expert in the shop, he works the local dry slope and spends a lot of time in the winter in europe instructing and he did seem to know what he was on.
He let me take lots of notes, I then came back home and hit the internet for reviews of what he had on offer and decided on these went back and got them.
My other thought about going to les arcs is where I am stoppping, its a little village so I would not think there would be a lot of shops so I would end up spending a lot of my time going to the shops instead of skiing.
My only concern I had was that I felt that a longer ski would be better for the last few trips. so I have gone upto a 170 without trying that length.
So the outcome ?
I'm back and am very happy with my choice.
From the first run I had no worries, there was no getting the feel for them as they skied beautifully. They really suited my style.
The only problem with them is the lack of good snow cover on this trip means I have more nicks and scrapes on them than I would have liked. A good service should repair all that.
The guy who sold them to me will have a shock, I only had them a week and the base looks like a 3yr old rental .
After that ramble what I would say is if you are sure you know what you want go for the best price you can, if you are still not to sure wait until the resort and demo/try first.
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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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Nick_C, Congratulations on your good fortune in picking the correct ski, based on some one else's view of how a ski performs. I recently demoed Dynastar Legend 4800 in Switzerland. Based on all the write up's I could find, they were top of my expectations for suitability list. After 3 days on a new pair, I hated them for lots of reasons, thank goodness I was not taken in by the write up's.
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Nick_C, you were very lucky . Different skiers have radically different experiences with skis. In case anyone else is reading, and at eth risk of being prescriptive, Try before you buy!
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You know it makes sense.
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| edsilva wrote: |
| ........K2 public enemies- which for me were hopeless- no grip at all............ |
Same here. Must work for some, though, I suppose.
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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 don't put it all down to luck I knew what I wanted, side cut length and style. The reviews were to check they were not dogs. After spending 5 seasons on lots of different rentals I knew what I liked and did not like. I also figured out if they were not spot on I could adapt to then but I did not need to.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Nick_C, to paraphrase a friend I made at Utah last week; take great care in choosing boots to get a good fit then customise them to make them fit even better. But you can buy nearly any ski as they all work well these days.
I was looking for a ski last week and was fairly sure I knew which one I would go for, I demo'd it first and liked it a lot. But I demo'd others too and ended up buying one that the reviews said would be too much ski for me.
My point, I could have bought that first ski quite easily and I would have been happy with it. But there may be other skis you like better, you'll never know unless you try.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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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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Nick_C, a fair point but I have often been surprised at what a ski is like compared to what it's supposed to be like - including advice of friends/"experts", etc. I have only 2ce bought skis I hadn't tried and in both cases they were cheap.
And there is no way on earth that I will believe (without considerable corroborating evidence) that you can tell what a ski is going to feel like by reading side cut.
Side cut, length, geometry, radius, etc. of course make a huge difference to what's going on underfoot but are hugely inter-related - and inter-related with things the manufacturers do not publish - longitudinal stiffness, torsional rigidity, (and how linear those characteristics may or may not be), et al.
I would be most surpised, humbled and deeply impressed if you can take a subset of those characteristics and genuinely work out what the ski will perform like in all conditions - and whether you'll like it or not.
Go on, prove me wrong...
I still think you were (mostly) lucky - but that's a good thing. You could have been unlucky!!
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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I will bow to your experience.
I do say I was lucky.
one last final thought.. would an average holiday skier (1 week a year) really tell if a ski is good or bad? whould he not think he is skiing poorly because he's not skied for a year?
BTW I'm not saying this about nicka but in general, how important is it?
**EDIT** I just realised the error in this statement. If your buying ski's your've taken more interest in what your skiing on than a 1 week holiday rental skier.
I'll shut up now
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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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| Nick_C wrote: |
| .. would an average holiday skier (1 week a year) really tell if a ski is good or bad? |
It's a subjective thing. If it feels good then it is good.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Nick_C,
You are the only one skiing it, you are the only that has to like it...!!
Not much else matters....
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JT,
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Not much else matters....
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Getting a bit Zen 
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snowbunny,
I'd rather have a Zag... 
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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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JT,
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snowbunny,
I'd rather have a Zag...
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Much more practical, back to normal then
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Nick_C, there are those who say there aren't any bad skis any more...
I will admit that I am terribly fussy about my skis. But then I'm quite particular about many things...
If you're inexperienced and only 1 week a year, you may have more on your mind? (Terror, confusion, hunger, thirst, etc...?). A friend of mine who is quite a good skier will say that she doesn't have a clue what they should feel like, so no strong idea whether good or bad.
At one extreme I have seen an infrequent, inexperienced skier complain all morning about their boots to discover at lunchtime that they were on the wrong feet...
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Nick,
Consider Volkl 5 star or 5 star, Atomic Metron B5, Head Monster, Nordica Hotrod, all are good multi terrain skis. The thing here is to be honest what is the real ration between piste and powder.
I use Atomic SXB5 which is theoretically a piste sk or skier cross ski over the past two years (28 days) I'ved used in in powder and on piste, they're great in both.
Bob
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