 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi,
Anyone skiied the Blackdiamond Hello 95, the VOILÉ HYPER V6, dps tour 99, solomon mtn 95 or any other light touring skis that 95-100mm underfoot. They are for alpine touring and ideally stable at speed in deep snow but also able to handle steep hard pack/crust and all the other snow you encounter when high up in the alps.
Would love to hear thoughts and comparisons.
Cheers
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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 have the Black Crows Orb Freebird - 91mm underfoot but an astonishing level of grip on icy pistes. If those are too narrow, there are wider skis further up the Black Crows range.
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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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Blizzard zeroG 95s for me - 1250g per ski (178) and they ski really well - superlight for touring; great in the powder; carve really well on piste.
The only drawback which you'll find with any lightweight ski/boot combo is that their lack of weight(inertia) means that they do get thrown about a bit in chopped up hardpacked snow - I can really feel the difference compared to my all-mountain piste skis (Salomon Sentinels) which are same length & sidecut but nearly twice the weight and blast through anything 
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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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I have Black Crows Camox Freebird. 98mm waist. Lovely and light for touring, reasonable torsional stiffness - hold a great edge on hardpack and windscoured/ icy summits, remarkably good for fast carving, and super fun in the powder. Used them for touring in Scotland, Alps, Norway and not found them lacking anywhere - if I did less resort skiing they'd be an ideal 'quiver-of-one' ski.
However, I do also enjoy a fair amount of skiing on and off-piste off the lifts, and totally agree with geoffers' comment about inertia and weight for those more typically lumpy and chopped up areas - which I why I have also Black Crows Navis (Full-Fat, not Freebird).
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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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FWIW I would consider what you are wanting to do?
If you are doing all day hut to hut touring then I would consider a light ski.
If you are skinning to get to good snow then there is nothing like a bit of weight for stability and coping with cruddy snow.
I made the mistake of buying a light binding /ski combination but while skiing down after a skin my entire brain was always screaming 'I wish I was on my Enforcers'!
I now realise that the weight of the boot (and frame binding if you have one) makes much more of a difference as this is what you are primarily lifting. You are sliding your skis if you are doing it properly, which has less of a weight impact.
I now have Shift bindings on my Nordica Enforcers and am delighted with the combination.
I have friends with super-light expensive stiff carbon skis who moan about getting chucked about on the way down.
If you intend to skin all day then that is where you are finding your joy so super-light skis make absolute sense.
If like me you skin for better skiing then I definitely wouldn't compromise on the best ski for the downhill.
Don't let anyone tell you that there is no skiing compromise with a light ski.
This may help....
https://blisterreview.com/gear-reviews/ski-reviews/saving-weight-on-your-backcountry-ski-setup
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| jamesbrocklehurst wrote: |
Hi,
Anyone skiied the Blackdiamond Hello 95, the VOILÉ HYPER V6, dps tour 99, solomon mtn 95 or any other light touring skis that 95-100mm underfoot. They are for alpine touring and ideally stable at speed in deep snow but also able to handle steep hard pack/crust and all the other snow you encounter when high up in the alps.
Would love to hear thoughts and comparisons.
Cheers |
I had previously considered the DPS 99 (as I liked the 112 Wailers) but the price is keeping me off them, and maybe the 5-point shape not ideal for touring? Also, aren't they heavier than the MTN 95?
I looked for a while at the MTN 95 and the Zero G 95 and I ended up with...the Head Kore 93. Beefier ski for just a bit more weight. However, my use case is different. I was looking for a do-it-all ski to use on piste, off piste and for some tours (with Dynafit Beast 14s on them). On longer tours I'm taking my Whitedot Ranger CL 108s with even lighter Dynafit Radicals. You could consider the Whitedot R.98 Carbonlite as an alternative to the ones above.
So there you go, instead of helping you reduce your target list, I just increased it by two extra skis!
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Thanks folks. Great feedback on a range of skis. For more background I have a set of 7yr old dps walker 112's that have been my quiver of one but their days are numbered after too many base repairs.
I am now looking to get a lightweight touring set up and a more beefy sidecountry setup. I live 2hrs from the alps so ski a lot although not enough. I am not sure it is possible to ski 'enough.'
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I ski the DPS Cassiar 95 Pure when touring. Very light. Gets thrown around in crud/chop, though, but has a nice float to it. Mine are a few years old and they are beautifully made, but very expensive for what they are, frankly.
I bootpacked today, taking my old, battered and well skiied Whitedot Preachers (non carbon) today. They were better in every way on today's sludgy, chopped up snow than the Cassiars. As someone else has said, when sliding, weight of ski is not as important as you may think, actually, although the very wide shovel of the Preachers would be a bit annoying, I think. My friend was skiing the Whitedot R109 on a touring setup today, and they performed brilliantly.
 2019-02-13_07-31-37 by baconrashers, on Flickr
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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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@jamesbrocklehurst, the skis you asked for feedback on are all reviewed as very good touring skis with a little bit of backbone (as compared with some of the really light skis like the zero g and whatnot.
I ended up with a pair of Salomon MTN 95's. They had a reputation as being a little more forgiving than the Zero G. Salomon opted for 150/200g more per ski to add a bit of stability. I am in permanent need of stability and forgiveness. I like them an have managed to ski some fairly serious (for me) ground on them. Before buying I would love to have been able to try the Voile.
I opted to make up for the bit of cushioning provided by the slight extra heft of the Salomons by fitting Dynafit Superlite bindings.
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Superguide 95 or Whitedot R98 if you want them a little stiffer and more solid.
@Harry Flashman, kudos for bootpacking with the Preachers. There’s a pair in my spare room right now and they weigh the same as a black hole!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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My view is that you want three pairs (for your offpiste skiing and touring). Something really wide, but lightish for stupidly deep days (think Salomon MTN 115, DPS the wider models, Zag Bakan, etc.). An everyday workhorse around 100-105 underfoot that goes everywhere and a 90-ish underfoot touring ski with very light bindings for your longer tours in the spring, hut to hut skiing, etc. Think K2 Wayback 88, Volkl VTA 88 lite, Zag Adret 88 paired with lighter Dynafits or Plums. My 2 cents.
As a disclaimer I am not a charger, so factor that in.
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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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| Scarlet wrote: |
Superguide 95 or Whitedot R98 if you want them a little stiffer and more solid.
@Harry Flashman, kudos for bootpacking with the Preachers. There’s a pair in my spare room right now and they weigh the same as a black hole! |
Well, I'm recovering from an ACL graft, so needed the exercise!! They are indeed heavy old things - which makes them efficient crud busters, as well as a decent workout aid...
Last edited by And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports. on Wed 13-02-19 21:25; edited 1 time in total
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Salomon MTN 95s look very good. I'd personally go a bit heavier on the ski, and get a light binding. Something like a Black Crows Navis freebird and an ATK crest, maybe the Solis if you are a stronger skier/ doing steeps.
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You know it makes sense.
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@jamesbrocklehurst, have a look at the kastle tx 98 , I was very impressed with the dh capability of this ski , I’ve always been a fan of kastle skis , and apart from the classic mx88 this is the best ski I’ve been on , it’s light 1.3kg super stable , I’ve paired it with a tecton binding and a Fischer travers boot , and it’s a game changer for me in terms of 4-6 hr plus ascents
But as said above this sort of set up is overkill for lift served shorter days and for that the shift on you fav all mountain ski is the way to go
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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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| Quote: |
I am now looking to get a lightweight touring set up and a more beefy sidecountry setup. I live 2hrs from the alps so ski a lot although not enough. I am not sure it is possible to ski 'enough.'
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I have R108 with beast for sidecountry / short tours. I've used them hut to hut and they are too much ski for that for a variety of reasons. I'm also in the market for a light set up but would go ~88mm waist (superguide 88 or zero g 85) rather than 95/98. For long skinning days in traditional late season refreeze conditions I think a bit narrower is superior for skiing as well as for skinning. You don't miss the width in spring snow and the narrowness is a virtue when in icy couloirs, traversing neve etc.
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