Demo Results, Looking for suggestions

A snowHead

I demoed skis last week at SugarLoaf Maine and wanted to give y'all the following update and maybe ask you a few more questions.

I think the chattering I am getting is a flaw in the way I am skiing so I am not entirely blaming the ski (that is what started a lot of this) It mostly happens when making a very tight turn to control speed on something steepish with hardpack underfoot Here is the list of what I tried and how I felt about them.

Current Ski is a Watea 167 84mm underfoot. I am 6' and 165lbs. I don't consider myself overly aggressive and can ski pretty much anything on the mountain. Bumps and woods are the most difficult for me.

Rustler 9-180 Pretty quick ski edge to edge and never felt like alot of work, pretty easy to make quick movements. A little bit of chatter when I did a really sharp turn on hardpack.
Rustler 9 186- Felt pretty similar but seemed like it did chatter a little more on me than the 180s when I checked up speed on hard pack.
Enforcer 94 - 186 Ski felt completely glued down to the hardpack to me. Did not feel like it had a speed limit I was going to reach. Maybe a little chatter on a hard speed check, but much more damp and the chatter was more than likely me.
Volkl Kendo 88 177- This ski felt pretty quick edge to edge and didn't feel overly heavy. It seemed like it was pretty easy to smear a turn quick if I needed to. Still a little chattery and definitely didn't feel as damped as either of the Enforcers I tried.
Enforcer 88 172. Felt much easier to turn then the 186 94. It felt close to an upgrade of my Watea but probably with more dampening and more edge hold. I think they were a little heavier and maybe not as quick in the woods or as quick to turn as the Watea.
Rossi Hero 173. I wanted the Enforcer 88 in 179 but it was out. I didn't run this one down sttep hardpack but it seemed like as much as I wanted to turn it, it was going to turn. I think I just did a tote road run on this one. It was fun but I don't think a daily driver.
Volkl Blaze 94 172 - I took this ski in the glades and down hardpack. This one seemed to chatter the most on hardpack but was also the lightest (I think). It was a blast in the woods. I feel like it was very easy to get the ski to "swivel".

Of these the three I liked the best (each for a different reason) were: Rustler 9 180, Enforcer 88 172, Volkl Blaze 94 172

Honestly the fun factor of the Blaze surprised me. The fact that it felt so light made me want to try the Kore 93 even more. What do y'all think? Where do the Kore 93s fall into this? Any other suggestions, I have seem some encouraging stuff about the new Rossi 86.

Thanks
T

A snowHead

No idea about any of these. I'm on the West Coast so don't think I even have any skis (that I ever use) that are narrower than 108 wink

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

@obsessed, hmmm,

165lbs is not very heavy (and skis don't know how tall you are). I am thinking (as commented before) your 167 Wateas are defo way too short but a leap to 186 is probably too long. I'm 60 kgs and ski off around 175 for my dailies (but I have done quite a lot of skiing). Problems in woods are often to do with the trees. Bumps are natures way of telling you that your technique needs improvement (it's not that you can't ski bumps, it's that you can't ski and etc.)

That said, I'm not convinced that (on a modern ski) going longer than required is helpful. My alpines are 173 (down from 177) and could have happily gone 180 but the extra length reduced "reactivity" with no added benefit.

"Chattering", if you're referring to what I'm thinking of could be a combination of not enough edge angle with too much pressure. Someone referred to it as "brutalising" the ski. So ... add more angle. Maybe.

IMHO, Blaze probably too short and ski probably aimed at a little lower ability than you're seeking. On length, I think you should be looking around the 180s. Otherwise, really doesn't matter what reviews say, you're doing the totally right thing and trying lots. And ultimately, the right ski is the one you like best snowHead

Help!!

Demo Results, Looking for suggestions

snowHeads Forum Index >>> Equipment Reviews/Questions