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All Mountain Ski's 90 - 99mm? What width? What ski?

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
I'm reading and watching a lot of good reviews about the Head Kore 93 / 99 although the 99 might be a bit stiff. Similarly the K2 mindbenders seem to be universally praised this year particularly the 99. Some people like the QST 99 - others say it's very average indeed. I love carving and like a lively ski with plenty of energy and rebound in the turn. I thought the volkl mantra felt pretty dead and boring but perhaps it was just maintained badly and was too short for me. I also liked the whitedot altum 94 but it was perhaps a bit soft - this gave it crazy pop in the turn but at the expense of composure. Really fun though. I did notice a big difference in piste performance between 94 and 104mm.

Blizzard Brahma 88 seems to keep cropping up too but might not be wide enough for powder and I keep hearing it's a very demanding ski which might not suit me. People have a tendency to go for the more advanced ski thinking that it is the objectively better ski and will get more slope cred. However those skis are only 'the best' skis if you have the ability to get the best out of them - if not they can also be a pretty average to bad ski for yourself. You wouldn't believe how many complements I get on my G9s - I'm not saying they are too advanced for me (although who knows?) but they are quite specialist and of limited versatility. Generally rated as 10/10 on piste and 0/10 off piste amongst reviewers. Maybe because of that experience of these 68mm skis in powder it's pushing me to want skis that are too wide and i'd be absolutely fine with 90mm? After all they will be much wider, lighter and have much more rocker than i'm used to. Perhaps I would have an easier time advancing on a less demanding ski - I'm not sure as I don't own one. Perhaps a less stiff ski makes it easier to get forward and improves posture to some extend? The tough part is working out what fits your ability and that's quite subjective. I kind of want it to feel easy, natural and fun rather than tough and demanding - but without being too weak and leaving me quickly growing out of it.

The Nordica 93 or 100 seem popular although I don't love the graphics. The main purpose of getting new skis is to help me out in powder but to use for everything. Then there's the vantage 90 and 100 too. I suppose if I got something like the 90mm I could justify having another ski at around 110mm like the K2 mindbender 108 but then that's more cash. People seem to say that to really have an amazing time in the powder 110+ is what you want which might leave me feeling a bit unimpressed with 90s or 99s when the powder comes. That would leave me with a 3 ski quiver 70mm ski, 90mm and 110mm ski. The black ops 98 could be an interesting wildcard to help me bring some freestyle to the party a get me into some jumps and grinds. Also to add to the list - Black Crows Daemon seem to be really well rated for everything although i've not tried a full rocker ski.

I'm not really sure what length to get for the Austrian alps. Last season I skied a lot of piste, ice, plenty of moguls, lots of crud and wind affected off piste and also some powder. Everything really. I'm an new instructor and i'd prefer to place myself conservatively in terms of ski ability - i'd say a good intermediate rather than advanced or expert. Incidentally, I thought I was advanced before I went down the ski instructor route so my estimation of my own skiing has reduced dramatically despite the training, exams and experience gained. I'd say I tend to ski faster than most and charge hard compared to recreational skiers but then not compared to experienced instructors.

I currently ski the Atomic G9s which I do love them but they're only really good on piste and they're not the easiest to work with and can get tiring being quite stiff and heavy. I've heard a stiff and heavy wide ski can be even more of a tiring handful though if you're not careful and choose above your ability. I'm 180cm and 94kg.

I currently spend 95% plus of my time on the piste but i'm looking to improve on my weaker areas such as powder, off piste, tree skiing and moguls. So hopefully during this season I'll be skiing more 70/30 up to 50/50.

Skiing all day nearly every say for months on end is exhausting for the knees so I also need to bare that in mind when it comes to width I guess.

Ah the complexities of ski gear!
Thanks for listening to my ramblings!

Pete


Last edited by Poster: A snowHead on Sun 17-11-19 7:30; edited 1 time in total
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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If you can afford them, Stöckli 95 are utterly awesome. Failing that, try Atomic Vantage 90 Ti. The ones you've mentioned all sound fine too.

But trust me on the Stöcklis.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
telford_mike wrote:
If you can afford them, Stöckli 95 are utterly awesome. Failing that, try Atomic Vantage 90 Ti. The ones you've mentioned all sound fine too.

But trust me on the Stöcklis.


I'd consider them. Expensive but I don't mind spending that much if it's truly worth it. After all i'm definitely going to get the use out of them after all. I perhaps got the impression that they might be an unforgiving difficult ski but perhaps not. Is the top sheet very durable being metal? My G9s which I learned on took plenty of top sheet hits. I'd like it if it was still looking good after a season.

I'm not sure about length - I find my current skis lack a bit of manoeuvrability and they're 177 but then again it's a different ski so hard to compare. I'd either go for the 184 or the 175 in this ski. .
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@Powder Pete, take a look at the Faction Dictator series. The 1.0 is 85mm and 2.0 is 96mm. Lots of fun and have good edge grip on piste while they are a strong free ride ski with pedigree out of Verbier. I am 178cm tall I skied the 1.0 in 180cm last season in all conditions found in PDS including some warmer slushy days and morning freeze both on a and off piste and loved them. They are quite stiff but not overly so but rewarding when skied hard. Didn’t get the opportunity to try them in deeper fresh powder so can’t really comment. I have just bought a pair of 2.0 96mm/179cm with shift bindings for the upcoming season in optimistic anticipation of powder days and can’t wait to try them.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Another vote for the Stöckli SR95.
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Powder Pete wrote:
telford_mike wrote:
If you can afford them, Stöckli 95 are utterly awesome. Failing that, try Atomic Vantage 90 Ti. The ones you've mentioned all sound fine too.

But trust me on the Stöcklis.


I'd consider them. Expensive but I don't mind spending that much if it's truly worth it. After all i'm definitely going to get the use out of them after all. I perhaps got the impression that they might be an unforgiving difficult ski but perhaps not. Is the top sheet very durable being metal? My G9s which I learned on took plenty of top sheet hits. I'd like it if it was still looking good after a season.

I'm not sure about length - I find my current skis lack a bit of manoeuvrability and they're 177 but then again it's a different ski so hard to compare. I'd either go for the 184 or the 175 in this ski. .


I am 180cm and 80kg, I have 184. There’s a lot of rocker so 175 will likely have insufficient edge contact on icy steeps.
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I wouldn't worry too much about being able to drive a bigger ski, especially if you've passed instructor quals and with your heigh/weight. I'm not setting the world alight as a skier but use a 102mm wide ski as my daily driver and absolutely love it on and off piste. I use something wider still if we get a decent powder day here in Cham.

Bit surprised at the suggestions of the Stockli's as while they may be "good skis" they don't seem to fit your brief at all? They are very stiff skis requiring an aggressive approach.

Any of the other skis mentioned will prbobaly be fine but there's no substitute for testing. Regarding Black Crows, the Daemons are very surfy. Super easy to turn but you don't really get 'pop' with a full rocker ski. Of the Black Crows range I'd point you towards the Camox at 97mm underfoot or even the Navis at 102mm (incidentally, this is what I ski). They both have a good amount of rocker at the front for easier turning off piste but also traditional camber to give energy in the turn on piste.

At your height and weight I'd definitely be going 180cm +
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The Stockli are hard to compete with....but if you want something cheaper:

Volkl Mantra M5 (more on the damp side)

Head Kore 93 or 99 (more on the playful side)

Dynastar Legend X96 (more on the Damp side)

I think you are looking at a Ski Length of 180 185.
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Meltus wrote:
I wouldn't worry too much about being able to drive a bigger ski, especially if you've passed instructor quals and with your heigh/weight. I'm not setting the world alight as a skier but use a 102mm wide ski as my daily driver and absolutely love it on and off piste. I use something wider still if we get a decent powder day here in Cham.

Bit surprised at the suggestions of the Stockli's as while they may be "good skis" they don't seem to fit your brief at all? They are very stiff skis requiring an aggressive approach.

Any of the other skis mentioned will prbobaly be fine but there's no substitute for testing. Regarding Black Crows, the Daemons are very surfy. Super easy to turn but you don't really get 'pop' with a full rocker ski. Of the Black Crows range I'd point you towards the Camox at 97mm underfoot or even the Navis at 102mm (incidentally, this is what I ski). They both have a good amount of rocker at the front for easier turning off piste but also traditional camber to give energy in the turn on piste.

At your height and weight I'd definitely be going 180cm +


I do think i'm quite an aggressive skier but not the fittest. I tend to charge at things rather than taking the slow relaxed approach. I therefore get tired quite easy working skis hard. The stormriders might not be as stiff as you think - it shows the flex for the 2020 model here -
http://youtube.com/v/NpggAEix4W4?t=2940
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@Powder Pete, you already have piste skis, and will be in AT the whole season, right?

If so, and you only want to buy one new pair, skip the all-mountain-piste middle ground and get something around the 110mm mark. 90mm isn't going to change your off-piste game - you need at least 100mm for that. 100mm is still gonna be noticeably worse on piste than your piste skis, so no point in setting that as a limit. Of course a 3-pair quiver would be better - piste, ~90-100mm, 110mm+ - if you can justify it and find the cash. Second hand?

Rossignol Soul and Super 7 are fun and pretty-idiot proof, so I don't think you'd go wrong with either of them, and would likely find yourself reaching for them whenever the snow is soft (they'll be more fun than your piste skis in slush too, for example).

Where in AT will you be based?

I live in Innsbruck and ski mostly across Tirol. I'm about 175cm and 70kg, and fairly average in terms of ski ability. My skis range from 183cm and 107mm to 194cm and 135mm, but I spend most of the time on 189cm and 114mm. I am thinking about adding something around 100mm to for more technical touring and to hopefully make firmer pistes more fun though.
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Hi Clarky, yes I've got some 68mm Redster G9s in 177cm. Great on piste carving - not great for everything else and pretty exhausting. I wanted a pair of skis that I can just take as a default for all conditions. A go to do it all where you can attack whatever is there with confidence whether it's on piste or off, crud, powder, moguls or piste. I figured 2-3cm extra underfoot with 90-100 would be miles better than that I currently have in the powder and off piste especially with the rocker and lighter weight too. I'm not averse to ending up with 3 pairs. I thought i'd try the 90-100 first and see if I find them enjoyable off piste and then decide if I think it's worth going wider or not.

Yes I believe the Rossignols are pretty good soft snow skis and they're not badly priced either.

I'm going to be based in Saalbach this year. Probably skiing in Zell and Kaprun plenty too. Would be good to meet up this season!
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@Powder Pete, nice! I used to teach for Fürstauer in Saalbach a few years back. Fun resort for sure! Not sure if I'll be over that way this seaosn but will shout if I am.

You can find a 100mm ski to do most things well, but there will always be compromise. Something like the Nordica Enforcer 100 would be great for crud, moguls, piste etc, but the fairly traditional shape doesn't feel so surfy and playful in powder as skis like the Rossis (or Salomon QSTs) - which in turn aren't as good at performance carving on former pistes or smashing through crud.

Yeah, either would be a lot better than your piste skis offpiste. Personally, for a whole season, I'd find a way to get two pairs. You don't really lose anything by buying last season's or second hand.

If you prefer to try with one new pair, Saalbach is a playful mountain without many real steeps, so I'd err on the playful side for the 2nd set up.
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Quote:

I'm 180cm and 94kg


Enforcer 100. Big boy size - at the minimum go with the 185. I am 14 kilos lighter than you and find the 185 very easy to handle. You could probably get a steep discount on the 193 right now. While that may be too much ski right now it probably wouldn't be at the end of the season.

@clarky999, is right that there's a compromise and some skis may be better than others at different things but at your height and weight, I would head for something with metal in it that's more of a charger. You are just going to overpower much of the softer and more playful end of the ski rack.
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
DPS Wailer 112RP. With a 15m radius you’ll struggle to find another ski that is as much fun on piste and off. Foundation if you want an easier ski which is what I’d recommend based on your comments (and it’s much cheaper!) Alchemist if you want it stiff. There is now a 100mm version also 15m radius but I’d go for the 112. I had the 112 Foundation and now have the 124 Alchemist and even that still works ok on piste!
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gorilla wrote:
Quote:

I'm 180cm and 94kg


Enforcer 100. You could probably get a steep discount on the 193 right now.


Snowfit have 1 pair of 2018 Enforcer 100 in a 193 for £299

https://www.snowfit.co.uk/nordica-enforcer-100-ski-2018.html?id=102763436
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 Poster: A snowHead
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That's a good deal on the enforcers. I don't think i'd want bigger than the 185 - I was thinking high 170s low 180s. I currently ski my G9s in 177 and they aren't the most manoeuvrable although tough moguls are doable.


Why the 112 DPS over the 100? Seems pretty wide - would definitely be cool for powder though.

If I went with a 2 ski solution should i get a 110+ and a 90? An 99 for a one ski solution?
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@Powder Pete, key thing here is that at your stats you are going to overpower a lot of skis, especially if they are too short. If you take something that is too short into powder,, you may not get sufficient float and, you may start seeing the tips dive.

That said, the 193 enforcer is probably too much ski right now but probably wouldn't be at the end of the season.

Regarding width, if you are skiing off piste almost all the time in Europe then something from the 100-110 width class with a touring binding will be fine most of the time. You already have a piste ski for when the off piste is not good.

Given that you already have a piste ski, I would not bother with anything in the 90-99mm range. It won't ski off piste as well as a wider ski and it won't carve as well as your piste skis. I have a vantage 90, which I use for piste skiing and it's great but I don't have a narrower ski.

So, I would be looking at something in the mid 180s length wise with fairly beefy construction, an 18-low 20s radius and, if bought second hand, a frame touring binding. At the thinner end, I would look at the Blizzard Bonafide and the Enforcer. I'm suggesting those as they are stiff skis with metal that will be good in a range of conditions. There's a lot of choice at the 108 width point. Few bad skis there but you want something that's not too soft and is capable of being driven hard. Look at www.blisterreview.com and eBay and see what comes up. Best of luck.
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Powder Pete wrote:
If I went with a 2 ski solution should i get a 110+ and a 90? An 99 for a one ski solution?


One ski solution @99 for powder and piste is a real compromise and you’d be missing out on a lot of fun on 100+ powder skis (if there’s the snow for it). Camox 97s and DPS 106s skied most last winter (daily driver), then 112s, then 124s only a couple of times and a single failed outing on 138s

You can compromise with a single ski but it’s a whole lot of fun on wider in the right snow.
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Powder Pete wrote:


Why the 112 DPS over the 100? Seems pretty wide - would definitely be cool for powder though.



Because the real fun is off piste where you want the extra width of the 112. And they are both 15m radius so the 112 is still fine on piste. The DPS Wailer 112 is a ski that makes everything easier which is why it has been so popular.

You don’t need an extra 90mm ski with this solution.
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As indicated by some of the previous contributors the ski you needs depends mainly on your weight/height. The wider ski will give you some floatation in the powder snow.

I think the width of your hips should also be taken into account when choosing ski width. If the skis are too wide in comparison with your hips then you will find it harder keeping the skis "flat" or the inside edges of your skis will be too close.

I am 5ft 7" and 70Kg. I am happy skiing deep powder with a 166cm long ski, width 120/91/106mm (91mm under foot), 18m turn radius.

I don't float on top of the surface of the snow. The snow is over the top of my ski boots when I'm skiing deep light powder.

The geometry of my skis are also fine on hard packed pistes.
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telford_mike wrote:
If you can afford them, Stöckli 95 are utterly awesome. Failing that, try Atomic Vantage 90 Ti. The ones you've mentioned all sound fine too.

But trust me on the Stöcklis.


Is Stöckli 95 that good? I have heard some good reviews about it before and I'm thinking of whether to buy it or the Atomic Vantage 90 Ti. I wonder if there are some reviews on them, like some in-depth reviews like this one I saw, American Standard VS Kohler Toilets when I was finding some toilets earlier.


Last edited by You'll need to Register first of course. on Thu 12-12-19 20:25; edited 1 time in total
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Old Fartbag wrote:

Head Kore 93 or 99 (more on the playful side)


Just a quick one to say that the 93 and 99 are very different skis. The 99 is much more ski, and 'playful' is not the word I would use to describe it. It's a pretty stiff hard charging ski, but manoeuvrable because it's light. I skied it back to back with the 93, the Enforcer 99 and Mantra M5 and much preferred it (I bought a pair). The stiffness and reduced tip rocker means it isn't as easy or fun in deep snow as something like the Soul 7HD, for example, but if you want to be able to ski pretty hard on and off piste, it's a great ski.

(I've skied a few bunch of the skis the guys reviewed in the vid above, and I think their views are pretty accurate, FWIW)
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turbosmurf wrote:
Old Fartbag wrote:

Head Kore 93 or 99 (more on the playful side)


Just a quick one to say that the 93 and 99 are very different skis. The 99 is much more ski, and 'playful' is not the word I would use to describe it. It's a pretty stiff hard charging ski, but manoeuvrable because it's light. I skied it back to back with the 93, the Enforcer 99 and Mantra M5 and much preferred it (I bought a pair). The stiffness and reduced tip rocker means it isn't as easy or fun in deep snow as something like the Soul 7HD, for example, but if you want to be able to ski pretty hard on and off piste, it's a great ski.

(I've skied a few bunch of the skis the guys reviewed in the vid above, and I think their views are pretty accurate, FWIW)

Yes, an important clarification to make. I haven't skied it, so your feedback is much more relevant. "Lighter and more manoeuvrable" certainly sounds more accurate. It will undoubtedly have a different feel to the more heavy weight offerings, from the likes Nordica and Blizzard.
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@FinnSnow,
Quote:

Is Stöckli 95 that good? I have heard some good reviews about it before and I'm thinking of whether to buy it or the Atomic Vantage 90 Ti.


I haven't skied it but one thing to take account of with Stocklis is that the construction (handmade, woodcore, titanal layers) makes them long-lived which goes some way to justifying the outlay.

I still ski my 2005 stormriders a few days every season and they are still bloody good.
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Of those that are recommending Stockli Stormriders what width should I be choosing for the Austrian Alps as an everyday ski - 88, 95 or 105? Do you think they're a very demanding stiff ski that will easily tire you out? What kind of length?
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My thought would be:

70/30 (On/Off) - 88 (186)

50/50................95 (184)

30/70................105 (188)
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@Old Fartbag, Would agree. Just bought a pair of Enforcer 88s with the plan of taking them off piste 'sometimes'. However, I've been skiing for forty years and a bit of experience helps to the extent that they might be a lot of fun off piste.
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@Powder Pete,

You're going out for a season to teach skiing!

You will probably be teaching on piste nearly all of the time. Therefore buy a "forgiving" piste ski that isn't too hard to turn.

Try out other skis in differing snow on and off piste until you find one you like and then you can buy them as a non piste ski.

Why have you specified "Austrian" Alps?
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You know it makes sense.
Powder Pete wrote:
I wanted a pair of skis that I can just take as a default for all conditions. A go to do it all where you can attack whatever is there with confidence whether it's on piste or off, crud, powder, moguls or piste.

This criteria and when you said "I'll be skiing more 70/30 up to 50/50" suggests to me you want an upper 90's wide ski.

I don't think you want two pairs unless you are going to have full on off piste days rather than a mix.

More skis = more storage/transport/servicing and more decisions. Might not be a problem to you but worth thinking about....
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The Enforcer 110 gets good reviews, I have the very old 98s. But if you want fun off piste don't discount the Bent Chetlers at 120mm, I ski all winter in the Austrian Alps and really the only skis I need are those and a pair of slalom skis for piste days.
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Old Fartbag wrote:
My thought would be:

70/30 (On/Off) - 88 (186)

50/50................95 (184)

30/70................105 (188)


Sounds like i should be looking at the 88 at the moment then but might be able to grow into the 95 during the season. At the moment i'm probably a 90/10 skier. At the end of the last season I just started to get into the off piste. My goal of the season is to increase my off piste skills - get better with powder, try some tree skiing and get better with moguls. So I'm looking for a ski to help me progress rather than make life difficult.

@scarpa - I've never skied anything above a 105 and that was only for a few runs. Are you perfectly happy on piste with 120mm? Do you tend to do dedicated piste days and dedicated powder skiing days? I'm more looking to do a bit of both during the same day so that's where the compromise comes in. I'm not ruling out getting a set of dedicated powder skis between 110-120 but for now I want something that is going to be very good for everything rather than amazing at 1 thing. I've heard very wide skis can put quite a strain on your knees and skiing for months on end daily even on thin GS skis started to take its toll after a while.

@Layne Yes I think upper 90s would be good as long as piste performance isn't impacted too much. I've skied a mid 90s ski before and felt it performed quite like the kind of skis i'm use to on the piste. Once you start getting over 100 it feels a lot different. You're right about maintenance. I'm currently looking into buying gear to maintain my own skis and it seems like it's going to cost £200-300 for a decent set up. My bag will take 2 skis. 3 ski's might not be doable - I'm not sure.
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Powder Pete wrote:

but for now I want something that is going to be very good for everything


This doesn’t exist. Every ski is a compromise. If you go middle of the road you will get something that works across the conditions but doesn’t excel anywhere. This makes sense if you only have one pair of skis and ski a bit of everything but may be questionable if you have multiple skis and want to target a specific goal (eg getting into off piste skiing). It sounds like you want a go everywhere ski, in which case a Stormrider 95 is probably a good choice - 19m radius, relatively stiff and lively to enjoy on piste but light enough to be manœuvrable off piste. However this is not a ski that will excel in soft snow (where the real fun is)... That is why, given that you already have piste skis, people will recommend you wider, rockered skis like DPS, Bent Chetler for example as there is nothing like riding skis like that when the snows been falling!
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Well maybe 'very good' was a bit ambitious- 'relatively good at everything'. A lot of reviews and reviewers talk about 1 ski quiver skis and skis that do everything well. Are they greatly exaggerating?

Probably what I want is two skis. A go everywhere ski that will be much more versatile - say I want to do some piste, some side off piste, some moguls. Perhaps there's some limited powder or the off piste is chopped up refrozen cement.

Then I want a powder ski for when the snow really comes. Do you think 105-110mm like a mindbender 108, Stockli 105, Soul 7 etc would cut it for that kind of ski? A lot of reviews suggest it would in the alps / east coast. Or am I just settling for ok for the sake of more flexibility again? I do worry if I go too wide i'll end up with a ski i'll barely get to use.

With the DPS I notice a large price difference between the F and A models. Which model are you recommending?

Thanks
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@Powder Pete, probably you do want 2 pairs. I run Blizzard Bonafides (98mm) as my single ski. Mostly because it is very capable on piste inc. bumps and very capable in the kind of "mixed" off piste I usually find myself on. Mainly as until the end of last season I had a 9-5 and was usually only in Cham at weekends - which don't always coincide with fresh, light snow.

If I was or could be skiing every day, which at the moment it looks like for the coming season Happy I may find myself trying out some wider things. (Or maybe not as a priority is to get touring and budget is not unlimited).

But I learned to ski powder on 203 GS skis...
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
@Powder Pete, The sH classifieds has Head Titans for sale - maybe a more versatile daily driver than your G9s.

Black Crow Altris there too. https://blisterreview.com/gear-reviews/2016-2017-black-crows-atris if it suits for your powder ski.


This may be a cheaper way of finding out what you like/need.
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For me you need a separate powder ski if you regularly have days when you ski exclusively proper powder otherwise you just need a one ski quiver.

So if you are skiing in the Alps the question is how does "the snow really come" and how often are you able to ski it.

As uann says if you have a job that means you always ski when you get time off or you a punter then one set of ski's is the way to go.
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Powder Pete wrote:
Well maybe 'very good' was a bit ambitious- 'relatively good at everything'. A lot of reviews and reviewers talk about 1 ski quiver skis and skis that do everything well. Are they greatly exaggerating?

IMO no.

But I did learn to ski on and off piste on old style ski's in the early 90's.

I currently have Cham 97 and ski piste, moguls, side, slush, crud, pow when it's on offer. Often all in one day! And I manage. Undoubtedly the pow would be better with ski's 15cm wider but then the rest of the day(s) would suffer.
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Powder Pete wrote:
I wanted a pair of skis that I can just take as a default for all conditions. A go to do it all where you can attack whatever is there with confidence whether it's on piste or off, crud, powder, moguls or piste. I figured 2-3cm extra underfoot with 90-100 would be miles better than that I currently have in the powder and off piste especially with the rocker and lighter weight too. I'm not averse to ending up with 3 pairs. I thought i'd try the 90-100 first and see if I find them enjoyable off piste and then decide if I think it's worth going wider or not.

Yes I believe the Rossignols are pretty good soft snow skis and they're not badly priced either.

I'm going to be based in Saalbach this year. Probably skiing in Zell and Kaprun plenty too. Would be good to meet up this season!


Is this ski for teaching on or for you taking out on "off days"? How many of those do you think you'll realistically get in a season, when you are not working?

I'm similar in that I thought I was a "good" skier until I took my BASI exams! In up to boot deep and even in Scotland crud then my goto Volks Codewall Speed L which are 74mm underfoot were fine.

How old are you? I'm 52 and had 110mm powder skis that I did find hard work on my knees when the snow was harder, I've "dropped" down to the Whitedot R.98 which I think will do the job based on the 2 days I've used them for so far!
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
kitenski wrote:
Powder Pete wrote:
I wanted a pair of skis that I can just take as a default for all conditions. A go to do it all where you can attack whatever is there with confidence whether it's on piste or off, crud, powder, moguls or piste. I figured 2-3cm extra underfoot with 90-100 would be miles better than that I currently have in the powder and off piste especially with the rocker and lighter weight too. I'm not averse to ending up with 3 pairs. I thought i'd try the 90-100 first and see if I find them enjoyable off piste and then decide if I think it's worth going wider or not.

Yes I believe the Rossignols are pretty good soft snow skis and they're not badly priced either.

I'm going to be based in Saalbach this year. Probably skiing in Zell and Kaprun plenty too. Would be good to meet up this season!


Is this ski for teaching on or for you taking out on "off days"? How many of those do you think you'll realistically get in a season, when you are not working?

I'm similar in that I thought I was a "good" skier until I took my BASI exams! In up to boot deep and even in Scotland crud then my goto Volks Codewall Speed L which are 74mm underfoot were fine.

How old are you? I'm 52 and had 110mm powder skis that I did find hard work on my knees when the snow was harder, I've "dropped" down to the Whitedot R.98 which I think will do the job based on the 2 days I've used them for so far!


I'm not worried about that - i'm teaching about 2 months in total and off for 3 months - so most of December, January, March, end of April if snow holds out - Teaching over Christmas, February and April. During teach time I might get a run or two in the morning and one after and one day off a week. I'm 34. There's nothing wrong with my knees - just a general aching and stiffness in the mornings after that much skiing. I did possibly tear one meniscus in the gym last summer but that was fully healed by the time the scan came and It caused me no problems last season.

I did get a few runs on the Altum 104 and 94. Such a huge difference for 10cm (plus camber/rocker differences) - 94s were much more pistey and energetic (wild). Perhaps too much so - I may have been over skiing them. I enjoyed both though. I'd need longer on the 104 to know if i would like it long term rather than just a run or two.


Last edited by You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net. on Wed 20-11-19 11:21; edited 1 time in total
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 Ski the Net with snowHeads
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@Powder Pete, this is worth a read.... https://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=120844
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