 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi all,
I've just started my second season skiing and it's going well. I have nearby access to a resort with plenty of off-piste glade skiing and I've just started skiing double-black diamond.
Currently I own a pair of Salomon QST 85 (171cm) which were a great ski to learn and progress on. They're perfect for days when the snow is less than favourable and I just want to lap the blue or black runs.
I am finding however that as soon as I head out in the glades to play around, I sink. If the powder is even remotely deep, I sink and cannot turn without significant effort. 85 at the waist is definitely a little thin. (although I also take responsibility for my own ability as its new territory for me). I want something I can really advance in, take back country, ski those untouched glades, and improve my powder skiing with. I also want them to be a little playful so I can feel confident on small drop ins and kickers.
So, with the above in mind, does anyone have advice for the type of width/length I would need to be looking at. I don't want to get too over excited and buy a pair at 118mm just to find I literally cannot control them at my standard.
I am 126lbs (57kg), 5'7" (171cm). Something like the ON3P Kartel 116 / 108? What length is ideal, 176cm or 184cm?
I hope I'm not asking too much, just a little advise can go along way 
Thank you all!
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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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@ceryski, an intermediate level friend of mine has just gone from 97mm to 116mm (Rossi Super 7) and it has helped his off-piste skiing massively! He is 5'6", 70kg and is on 172cm skis, I'd say at 57kg, 176cm is at the upper end of ideal for you, go wide for the float and keep the length down for ease of use........
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^^^ +1
Have a look at the solly qst 106 , could be a great choice as it’s still fun on piste as well as being so good for the deeper snow , the rossi is a great choice too
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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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Soft and rockered - DPS wailer 112 Foundation, Rossi Soul or Super 7, Armada JJ or similar - 172 or 176cm at your size
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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@ceryski, a question that might be more pertinent for the right answer, are you male/female?
Though does not always matter as most blokes determine what their OH's ride 
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Good question, females should be on shorter skis because they're not so good?
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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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@Scarlet, my OH has very strong views about ladies skis and choice, or lack of etc hence I asked the question.
And she gets very animated when guys basically tell their OHs what skis that they should have.
She skis Nordica Santa Anna's which have had good reviews, she used to have the 100 and now uses the 110's at 169 as her one ski of choice for powder and winter touring.
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Hi @ceryski, I would suggest a few lessons, it maybe "easier" to ski powder on fatter skies but the fact of the matter is a ski of 85mm is absolutely sufficient fo effective powder skiing. Once you got the techniques sorted you could experiment with fatter planks.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| Weathercam wrote: |
She skis Nordica Santa Anna's which have had good reviews, she used to have the 100 and now uses the 110's at 169 as her one ski of choice for powder and winter touring. |
Do hers have the built in fence finding GPS navigation that the pair @scarlet demoed did?
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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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@ceryski, where do you reside?
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@Charliee, no doubt powder can be fun on skinny skis. But why make life harder than it needs to be. If fatter skis make it easier, then why not use that advantage? Doesn't mean there's no need to improve technique as well but suitable skis could make the progress faster (and more fun).
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You know it makes sense.
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Agree with this. I'm a lightish guy (74kg 185cm) and bought women's K2 remedy 112. They have a lot of tip and tail rocker and a bit of camber underfoot. I thought they were the exact same as the mens shreditor 112 when I bought them, but turns out they're a bit softer. They flap about a bit on firm pistes, but can still be made to carve arcs. I'm relatively new to off piste and I've skied them for four weeks in Hokkaido and a powdery week in Italy. They are so easy to ski in powder and I think the softness helps in tighter trees. I pretty much just look where I want to go and don't think about what my skis are doing. I previously had 98mm skis which were unrockered and a bit stiffer (but not stiff stiff). The K2s are so much more fun in deep stuff. I think it's the rocker profile and softness that makes the difference more so than the width.
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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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Hey sorry I missed all these. Went away for a bit.
So I'm a guy. Just, a smallish one.
@mgrolf I agree with making my life easier, but @Charliee is also on the money with that one too. I'm looking for lessons at the moment. Someone to take me up the local mountain and fix my technique in the powder.
@HammondR I live in Vancouver. My local mountain is Cypress Mtn, (which honestly, has terrible/no powder the majority of the time). However Whistler Blackcomb and Mt Baker are in easy driving distance if I get up an hour earlier, and big white is on the agenda at least twice this season so I have plenty of great options for west coast snow.
@Scarlet I think 106 might be good for me the Solly QST 106 would be a great one, especially as I get Salomon discount through working for Arc'teryx last year, however I don't like how flat the tails are on them. I'd want something with a slightly higher rocker. Rossignol Soul 7 seems like a really good option. So many people have them. I saw some really nice Faction skis at my local shop this week that I would like to take a closer look at.
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Poster: A snowHead
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@ceryski, The Soul 7 would be a great choice, that said, my ski of choice from my quiver is the Faction Candide CT3.0 at 108mm underfoot, fantastic shape, real easy to ski and holds a good edge on piste.
I ski them in 182cm, strong off-piste skier at 73kg, so maybe the 176cm would be right for your weight/level? 
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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 also wouldn't get hung up on the low tail on the QST 106, I've also got the Quest 105 which is a similar shape and skis great! Got my tele bindings on those, but skied them for a couple of seasons with alpine bindings, if the price is right........
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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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Would dodge the Kartel's at your level, the 116's are relatively heavy, have quite deep rocker profiles and are skied off a much more progressive mount than you're currently riding. I'd go for something quite soft and quite light. Also don't be put off by waist sizes - you'll only be breaking them out on deeper days and you'll find a ski that floats far easier to control in deeper snow than one which will submarine on you. Can afford to go longer as I'm assuming at your level you're not looking to get into any steeper/more technical/tight terrain.
QST 106 would be a reasonable option, I'd be tempted to go for the 118. Slightly more freestyle orientated ski that could work for you would be the new bent chetler 120 - very light are also very well behaved on piste.
As you're stateside you also have the option of buying from any of the big indie brands out there. Moment, ON3p (if you opted for a softer/lighter layup), Prior skis (whistler based), Sego etc. Newschoolers/TGR have more to say on those brands and are a pretty good source of knowledge.
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Just one thought.
IMO. As you are light (as in 55 - 65kg), then you don't "need" to go as wide, to get Float...as say someone of 90-100kg. Then it comes down to design features that help with float.....and how much you will be using the skis On Piste.
I'm light (64kg), and find Scott The Ski works well, both On and Off....given it's a more playful ski (as opposed to stiff/damp), I went for a 180 (which is longer than I would have gone, if using, say, a Blizzard Brahma).
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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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@KenX Faction Candide CT3.0 are looking like a good choice for me right now. Will I want something a little softer? I see they come up as mid-stiff range. I wonder if the stiffness will reduce how playful they are? Also with regards to the low tail I like to play around with riding switch out of kickers and find the low tail to be a little troublesome on the QSTs which really was my only concern. But it's not an essential component to buying my next pair.
@asharpe64 thanks for the heads up on the Kartel's. ON3P are still high on my radar so I'll check the others. Maybe Wrengarde 108. If I can find something at 108 in ON3P (that isn't too heavy) I think i'll have a winner. Otherwise @KenX mentioned the Factions which right now are top spot!
Still, top thing for me besides new ski's is going to be some lessons in powder.
Thanks for the input so far everyone. A great help.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@asharpe64 thanks for the heads up on the Kartel's. ON3P are still high on my radar so I'll check the others. Maybe Wrengarde 108. If I can find something at 108 in ON3P (that isn't too heavy) I think i'll have a winner. Otherwise @KenX mentioned the Factions which right now are top spot!
Would take the Kartels over the Wren's as a beginner - Wren's are the more demanding "burlier" ski out of the two.
I've not skied it yet, but if you're looking at faction the new prodigy 4.0 is generating a lot of good noise.
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They do a manufacturer demo day up at Whistler every so often, I had a great time there a couple of years back trying things out. I'd get up there and try a few skis before you buy...
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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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Yeah but then it starts the question of whether you mount them at Full Asbo, Midlife Crisis or Zimmer Frame mount points. I note @midgetbiker went for the latter.
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I agree with Charliee. 85mm underfoot are certainly not skinny skis and should be more than wide enough for anyone to learn to ski powder.
I think the correct technique is more important than equipment.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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My Faction 108's work fine for me on the piste, would I recommend them for someone to learn carving???.......
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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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You know it makes sense.
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Hard to beat the Rossie Soul 7 for a first freeride ski
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yep, what I was going to say
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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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Just to add - both my kids have used Rossie Saffron 7 (essentially a Sky 7 with flowers on) which is IIRC 96mm in waist but basically similar shape/rocker to Soul. They were both ~40-50kg at the time and found they floated like a boat at 162cm. My 14 year old daughter is still on them and has been asking whether she should be skiing something longer (she is about 164cm tall now) but I can't see any evidence she NEEDS the extra surface area yet. They are both pretty good skiers though.
I suspect you'd find Soul 7 in 172cm would be plenty of ski for now although you'd cope with 180 and it might give you more room to "grow" as a skier.
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Poster: A snowHead
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| ceryski wrote: |
@Harry I didn't know Whistler did that! I'll make note of the next one and head up for the day.
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I hope they still do it - it's really fun and all the manufacturers were erally helpful. I believe it's on Blackcomb mountain somewhere?
I went looking for powder skis, but ended up falling in love with Head's iSLRD FIS racing sticks. I subsequently bought a pair for the next season. Still have them (currently out here in Morzine with me for the season) and if I am honest, they are my favourite skis out of the many pairs I have collected over the years!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Great recommendation. I'd add the Whitedot Preacher (my first freeride ski) to this list, but the Soul 7 is cheaper and frankly just as good, with a nicer rocker profile. I didn't like them at first, finding them a bit smeary - but actually, that's exactly what an easy to ride freeride setup should do for you! I found the stiffer Whitedot just a bit better on piste than the Soul 7.
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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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| Quote: |
I didn't like them at first, finding them a bit smeary - but actually, that's exactly what an easy to ride freeride setup should do for you!
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exactly
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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FAQ
(I'm guessing Cerys might be female...)
