 Poster: A snowHead
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Ever been embarrased swoping rental skis?
I rented some ski kit the other day, but I insisted on something a bit "top end".
I wanted something that I could ride on and punish the hill, I wanted to gracefully & silently carve arcs with precision & flair.
I had rented a pair of Head Super Shape Magnums a few weeks ago and had a ball with those so I wanted something similar.
The guy handed me a pair of
Head worldcup rebels i.race at 170cm
They were the right colours to match my jacket and pants so I thought all would go well.
Within 5metres I was on my Rs! They just caught me out big time.
I took them on the drag lift and got out on the hill. Those naughty skis would just not behave themselves.
I had to take them back to the rental shop and explain the skis were just to good a ski for me.
I felt like I was grovelling through a whole plateful of humble pie.
In the end he sent me off out with a pair of "Apres Ski" skis in 150cm.
I could almost feel they guy saying, "I'll teach him to come here and say he can ski"
So I had a miserable afternoon skiing like a clown on a pair of "Rossignol Famous 10" at 150cm.
I found out later that these are girlie skis and I weigh in at 90Kg.
I felt I could not grip and carve, I was just surviving.
That taught me.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@DrLawn, TBH the i.Race is the detuned ski, so maybe one little grade up from the Magnum and shouldn’t have had the effect you describe.
Sounds more like a dodgy edge tune to me...
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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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@DrLawn, So they swapped you out those 170s for something a lot smaller and significantly more flexible?
Sounds like the tech was having a bit of a giggle, tbh
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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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Does sound like the guy was taking the p... Probably seeing if you would react when he gave you 150 length. What did you get in the end?
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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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I think you need you understand your ski requirements a little better 
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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And paying attention to the ski market.
Although, that said, while I’m sure Klammer never once one on skis branded “entertainer” there are a bunch of WC racers on skis and boots branded “Hero” 
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I left a pair of Salomon 24hours (a nice easy ski) and boots in the cellar with my daughter when they lived in Zug a few years ago.
But they have spent 3 years in Singapore since. So the boots have disappeared, but then we found that the binding from the Salomons have got lost too 
If I'm on my own skis these days I would use Kneissl Black Stars or Salomon Enduro XT800
I think I asked for it when I arrogantly took the i.Race, I've never had a problem with so called race skis in the past.
I was expecting them to be just a de-tuned racer, but I think they are a bit more than that, they had quite a thick plate under the boot, and I just didnt have the time or the courage to find the sweet spot.
The problem is, when you go into a rental shop, they don't always have what you want and they don't have the time or the patience to waste time on some lowlander who thinks he knows how to ski, when they have a shop bulging with families that they are trying to get sorted. They don't really like you delving into the racks yourself trying to eek out the best and newest kit.
So how are you supposed to find your requirement or market.
I sometimes look at ski reviews ... then I realise ...It was me who wrote them after a couple of trips down Hemmel Fridge 
When I went to Tignes a few weeks ago, it was not love at first sight ....
I went to the shop were Dadmin had crafted a terrific deal, but I took whatever they gave me in the morning back in the afternoon. But the 2nd pair were pretty dull as well.
I went to another shop that had really good gear (but a lot more expensive) that's where I found the Magnums, brand new, never been used. Of course I loved them.
But being the tart I am I took those back on the last day as we were getting shed loads of new snow, and I wanted something so I could play in the deep stuff a bit.
This time they fixed my up with another pair of brand new skis ...
Salomon XDR 800ti This was just the day for them, soft new snow down the sides of the piste where I was able to pretend I was skiing in powda. So much lighter and easier than my own old Salomon Enduros, I dont know what they would be like at speed though as you could not really see where you were going.
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@DrLawn, I loved the Magnums when I hired them in Jan...though the edges could have been sharper.
I own some Atomic SL11, with a substantial riser plate...but they are still very skiable - you just have to pay attention at the helm when pushing on. Sounds like you had a frenetic tune (being kind about it).
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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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I suspect that they were Salomon XDR 80Ti's (80mm underfoot. Blue/Black with small flashes of yellow?).
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@DrLawn, nah, i.race is a bit like GT on most saloons. Wider wheels, spoiler, go faster stripe.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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i learned to board on a skate banana 
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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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Vaguely related so will chuck it in anyway....
My mate hired a pair of skis in Les Menuires one year. Can't for the life of me recall what they were but he managed to get about the mountain on them. We ventured over to Meribel one morning and once on the Rhodos gondola he suddenly proclaimed "oh my ski binding does not look right". Upon closer inspection the brake was barely hanging on and despite our best efforts at the top utilising all the tools on the binding adjustment point we could not reattach it. I made the decision to remove the brake completely which left a piece of metal sticking vertically upwards from the binding mid point. We managed to get his boot back in the binding by forcing the piece of metal down with a screwdriver whilst he pushed down with his boot. Under the strict instructions to not fall over we made our way back towards Les Menuires. My mate was extremely worried about how the ski hire shop would take the news that one of their ski's brakes had "fallen apart" and he spent ages rehearsing his patter to explain the situation. As it turns out the brake was the least of his worries as the ski tech immediately noticed that he had also managed to rip a sizeable part of the ski's edge off at some point. I was hiding at the back of the shop creased up with laughter while my mate got a lecture about looking after skis properly ! 
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@GeorgeVII, That's right, Blue and black with flashes of yellow.
@Old Fartbag, I would like to think it was spooky tuning, but perhaps I'm just rubbish.
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You know it makes sense.
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Many years ago (in La Clusaz iirc) , I was in the hire shop queue when I heard the guy ask if anyone wanted the 2metre skis ? A silence fell upon the shop until I piped up ' yeh, i'll take them' . (in my cool, matter of fact voice )
Now at 5'8'' 2m skiis were obviously to long for me (and my capabilities) but I was going to win the 'pissing competition' in the lift queue. ( Now of course its who has the widest ski !)
Well things didn't go well and while I found I could turn reasonably ok one way the things had a complete mind of their own the other way.
After i spent the day moaning my wife said I was just going to have to return them and hope they still had a shorter pair in. And eat some humble pie !
After taking the now much hated things off I chanced to look down the length of each ski, one was flat and straight as expected but the other had a v pronounced twist along its length.
I remember a feeling of elation, announcing that it had been the skis all along and not my questionable abilities.
I returned to the hire shop and told them that the skis were defective and could I please swap them, and I would take a shorter pair pls.
The look and eyes roll said it all as a pair of 175s appeared and were fitted to my boots. They seemed indifferent to my claims of the 2 m skis being twisted and I noticed they went straight back on the racks for some other idiot to try.
But a lesson learnt ! 
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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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As a very new skier, I hired a pair of general all mountain skis for the week (not knowing anything about skis at this point in life). It was a busy week in resort, and all the hire shops had clearly all gone and bought the same skis at the start of the season. I don't remember what they were but I just remember that clearly every single holiday skier in the resort was basically on the same set of skis, just in different lengths.
So anyway I skied them for the first day and all was OK. Second day, the afternoon was a bit iffy but the morning was fine, so I wondered if it was just me. Then Wednesday morning I couldn't ski well at all and in falling over I pre-released in a very minor trip. At the time I didn't know much about bindings either so I just went to the rental shop, and asked how come my skis have stopped performing properly.
Ski shop bloke takes one look at them and says... well maybe if you were on your skis you'd be OK, but these are 10cm shorter than yours, the bindings are at 3 rather than 9 (hence the pre-release), and they're not even rented from this shop!
The restaurant had numbers on the ski racks so I'd been sure I'd picked my own skis up. The bloke who'd ended up with my skis (and me his) had already returned my skis to the shop (his observation skills clearly being better than mine, he noticed the 10cm difference in length), and subsequently explained that he'd moved mine out of the number in the ski rack they were in, and put his in their place, because he wanted to be next to his friends. 
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Poster: A snowHead
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Summer on a glacier and I hired some Head junker snowboard with that plastic edging stuff round the tip and tail... Oy! The SHAME! *shudder*
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