 Poster: A snowHead
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I'm looking for some advice on which skis to take on an upcoming ski trip.
I'm an intermediate skier, who is pretty comfortable on blues and reds, less so on blacks. I generally ski on piste and haven't learnt to carve yet, but I'm open to trying new things too! I recently bought a pair of 2017 Black Crows Camox from gumtree, having read they are great skis from online reviews. But, when I went to get them serviced, the shop assistant advised me not to take them because, and I quote, "I won't be able to turn them".
The Camox has a 97 waist, which is pretty wide, though the reviews mention good turn characteristics for a ski of that shape (18m turn radius).
I don't know whether or not to sell them on again and buy some different ones, or to go ahead and give them a go!
The skis are 172s and I'm 185cm and 73Kg.
Worth noting, that I'd rather not rent them out there because I feel like renting will be throwing money away.
Any advice would be great!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Pfffft, you'll be able to turn then just probably not carve them. "carving" isn't the be all and end all of good quality turns though so I wouldn't worry.
I'd say give them a go. They're a little short for your height but as is often said the ski only knows how much you weigh and 73kg is there or thereabouts for a 172cm ski.
You'll probably grow into them as you improve as well, they're a cracking ski and perfect for your first forays off piste.
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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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This is tricky.
Personally, I think you should improve On Piste, until you get to a decent advanced level, before jumping on the BCs and heading Off Piste.....and the Black Crows aren't the best tool for doing that. The best way to do this and get the feel of Carving, is with a Piste Ski. This gives 3 options:
1. Keep your Black Crows and hire some Piste Skis.
2. Sell the Black Crows and buy some Piste Skis
3. Keep the Black Crows and buy some Piste skis.
- The BCs are right at the shortest end of the range for your current level - if you improve, they could well be a little on the short side.
- If you got the BCs at a great price, I'd be inclined to keep them, unless you can make a decent profit shifting them on.
FWIW. I would (probably) keep the BCs and buy some heavily discounted Piste Skis from the likes of Glisshop.
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@Jamamamut, skidding, i.e. not carving, those around on piste for a full week could easily cause you some knee pain that you wouldn't get on a pair of piste skis, it affects some people more than others. IME skis of that width don't cause me too many issues on piste if I am doing a reasonable proportion of clean carves but as soon as I start to have skid my skid my turns due to the terrain or conditions then I will start to get some pain and the experience will stop being particularly enjoyable. Even if you are lucky and your knees hold up fine, they are likely to feel very clumsy and excessively big on piste. This is an effect that much reduces with some speed but it doesn't sound like you're there yet. Therefore, unless you are going to somewhere with huge amounts of natural snowfall, basically Japan, I would definitely use something with no more than an 85mm waist until you're comfortable on all pistes and preferably carving your turns on the gentler ones.
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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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@Jamamamut,
I think you would manage to have a fun holiday on the Camox, especially if you have soft pistes. If the pistes are hard then not so much.
I do think they will make it harder for you to improve your on piste skills. If you care about that then I agree with OFB - buy or hire something more piste focused.
How many weeks per year will you be skiing? Are you sure that hiring will be throwing money away given that?
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+1 to what @jedster, said.
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@jammamut my son, who was probably about your height and skill level, albeit a good bit heavier and quite nervous was on a pair of Atomics of a similar profile (I forget the model) to those BCs in Glencoe about 18 months ago and was finding turning hard even on blues. By Christmas (and without the aid of ski lessons) he was on a pair of 173cm Volkl RTM 75is's and did the top of the bottom of the mountain in Galtur on blacks without stopping. Given they are in Austria, they'd be steep reds but they were pretty hard with a moveable layer of cannon snow in places and 660m of vertical drop in one go is an achievement for anyone who calls himself an intermediate unless they are pretty fit (and he's not).
Keep the BCs until you need them (or sell them for about what you paid for them) and buy a piste ski. I'd second Glisshop... they had good bargains in the previous year's colours this time last year and you can probably sell those on later without losing too much.
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Thanks all, that's so really good feedback, I really appreciate it!
I've decided to buy a pair of piste skis because it seems to make more sense for my level atm, also one of my knees is more than a little but dodgy so it sounds like they would be a bit more suited anyway!
I've found a pair of Salomon XDR 80s pretty cheap on ebay so think I'll grab them. Will also look to sell the BCs for what I paid for them, else I'm tempted to keep hold of them until I'm more comfortable on the slopes.
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