 Poster: A snowHead
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What does this mean?
If a beginner or intermediate got into these, would he suddenly be doing 200km/hr downhill and kill himself? Obviously not, so how the the testers arrive at these ratings?
I can see it is a ski for groomed pistes only, because it is narrow in the middle. But a lot of skiers do only that.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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It means it’s a stiff ski that someone with a lower ability level will struggle to turn because you need to put a lot of power in to bend it. So yes, they may well find themselves out of control, going faster than they would like and ending up in a heap.
It is possible to obtain a similar shaped ski which is more suited to the requirements of an intermediate skier. Ski testers at the industry tests will generally be very good skiers who have tested a lot of different skis and so can rate one against another confidently.
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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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Yeah the quick review I found suggests that they are basically for people who can ski race skis but want something a bit more day to day. So the question is do you feel lucky punk?
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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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Having used the Progressor 8, 9 and 10 models which preceded these several years ago from when I had maybe 6 weeks of experience, you don't have to be an expert skier to use them, but you do have to either be fairly heavy or powerful to generate the required force to bend them. I was recommended them because at 5'6" and 90kg (rugby and martial arts background), I needed something stiffer than the basic kit they would otherwise have given someone of my height and experience at that time.
On the plus side, I noticed a huge difference in responsiveness and stability at speed, and it was moving to these that got me carving rather than skidding turns. The more I pushed them, the more solid my turns became, and the confidence they gave me was huge.
On the negative side, a 60Kg skier who hasn't yet learned to carve will probably feel (and be) totally out of control on 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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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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The F17 is the basic Fischer ski for those who've made it off the nursery slopes and can now manage parallel turns, the F18 is for those carving and working the ski at speed, and the F19 is for those who want to hoon around at high speed and carving every turn on every surface. You don't say what your experience level is, which is the main driver for the choice.
Fischer also do the RC4 race range, which you should avoid until you know you can handle them, plus an all mountain range which all have "MT" in the name, which are similarly not suited to what you are probably doing at the moment.
If there is no particular reason to stick to Fischer, there are lots of other options out there which are ideal for beginners or intermediates either as a rental ski or to buy. You won't go wrong with Fischer, but they're not the only option and everyone has a different opinion as to what makes a good ski (or more properly what makes a good ski for them).
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The review is for the "top 10 best piste skis" - now define "best" and also defined "best for whom". Best for experts or keen skiers who read magazines, or best for beginners? They're not going to recommend a ski which is ideal for beginners to early intermediates because very few of their readership comes from that demographic.
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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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The best thing to do is read some reviews of intermediate piste skis online. Look at the kind of skis stocked by the hire shops where you are going on holiday to, or ask them what they stock. Find out if you are allowed to swap skis during your hire period. Draw up a short list and try as many of them as you can. You will quickly get a good idea of what you like and don't (which will probably surprise you). If you get an especially helpful hire shop you can ask them to suggest skis with more of the points you like.
I have done this once or twice and it is the absolute best way of choosing skis. Nobody can tell you what you will like best. I have found the turn radius of a ski to be a good start point, followed by the dimensions, then the manufacturers description of what you might like to do with it!
I don't have my own skis as I fly and don't think that the price of carriage plus the cost of buying skis is worth it. I can always find something in the hire shops which is perfectly skiable plus, if you get a gnarly powder day(s), you can swap them out for some more appropriate tools if the mood takes..... I have been skiing for nearly 40 years and find this works best.
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As @Klamm Franzer says, try as many as you can. If you are going to a snow dome as a warm-up or refresher before your trip, investigate the demo fleet that the retailers have on site. You can try some there and see how they compare, with no obligation to buy. Once you know what you like and what you don't, it will save you some time if you are hiring, but my experience is that the hire shops vary in terms of what they stock, and I bought skis after about 5 years simply because the hire shops rarely had what I liked. I ski with @Klamm Franzer annually - I still maintain that having your own is worth it, and he still maintains that it isn't 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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When people say that a ski is hard to turn or needs a lot of power to turn, does this mean you have to put more pressure on the outside ski to achieve a given turn?
What about turning slowly, when you first get going at the start of the piste? Is that hard to do also?
I do read the ski reviews but they are full of the same sort of language as hi-fi reviews have been ever since the CD caused the bottom to fall out of the hi-fi market 
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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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| Peter Stevens wrote: |
When people say that a ski is hard to turn or needs a lot of power to turn, does this mean you have to put more pressure on the outside ski to achieve a given turn?
What about turning slowly, when you first get going at the start of the piste? Is that hard to do also?
I do read the ski reviews but they are full of the same sort of language as hi-fi reviews have been ever since the CD caused the bottom to fall out of the hi-fi market |
It means you have to be skiing them properly to get therm to perform. Weight in the right place, good technique. An "easy turning" ski will turn for just about anyone with whatever hack technique thay choose to apply.
A performance ski might only come alive at a certain speed/power and below that be a bit of a plank. But if you have the basics of the turn right they will still move at slow speed - it's not like skis are binary things that either turn or not turn, despite the marketing gobbledegook they all ultimately use the same physics and good technique will make any easy to use.
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FAQ
