How managable are FIS skis

A snowHead

Hi,

I'm about to purchase a new pair of carvers, I've recently skied a few race replica carvers Fischer RC4 WC Pro and a few from Rossignol, I found them to be a lot of fun but not really that challenging, I would've like to have got my hands on a pair of FIS skis to test but I just couldn't find any, how much more difficult are they to ski, will they be as much fun or just a pain?

I was thinking about getting the Stockli Laser SX 185cm?

Thanks

A snowHead

They seem to vary year on year, when I bought my Head Race Dept GS skis there was a big difference between the RD and normal consumer versions, heavier and much stiffer but I love them, a lot of people did not.

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

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Try before you buy.
My daughter who is an excellent skier hated her Salomon Lab FIS SLs, found them very hard work.

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I'm with what jogi, says..

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Note that hardly anyone stocks a true World Cup ski so trying before you buy may be difficult unlike the non RD skis which are widely available.

In my case mine were from Ski Bartlet in the UK who are probably the most kowledgeable race ski shop in the UK.

For what its worth true RD skis if you can handle them are a very different beast, they will perform especially well on hard packed and icy pistes, but they are not so good on heavy wet snow. The opperative words here were "IF you can handle them" as jogi, says "because for skis like this, you should pretty much know yourself, without someone on forum telling you, if you are capable of skiing them or not. If you don't know this, then I'm pretty sure you are not."

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Specialk, how tall/heavy are you? Ability?

After all it is free

easy, on the whole, stay away from Super G and DH boards unless your thighs and space to turn have their own moon!

Specialk, from owning both Rossi race carver skis (r18m) as well as the previous FIS ladies equivalent (r>23m) I'd say the biggest difference is the sidecut. Perhaps that's obvious, but my point is they're not some monster that will throw a decent skier off the piste, you either ski harder and faster to carve properly or just skid more, and they skid comfortably with loads of grip. I personally would only select the FIS skis for GS training, but a bigger faster skier with plenty space may enjoy them for recreational skiing.

You may wish to enrol in a GS training camp to fully enjoy them wink

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Thanks for your help, I'm pretty sure I can handle them just want to make sure before I commit to buy, not sure id be able to test before I get them, unless anyone has any ideas.

@Spyderjohn I'm 182cm and 90kg, I'd say I'm a fairly good skier, I own a pair of stockli rotor 84s r23.7m they're brilliant on anything other than boiler plate, where they lack accuracy and edge hold, when travelling at speed.

@Balernostu, I'd love to try my hand at to skier x, does anywhere do camps for this?

Cheers again

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As others have said if you don't know yourself then probably better to get the detuned version.

This is not to say you can not ski on the RD FIS ski's just you are probably not yet able to get the best out of them. You will need to be an Athletic/aggressive skier ( choose which or both apply ). Do you want a ski that you find hard to really drive and power through the turn and end up skidding the turns more?

Can you carve a turn from well above the fall-line and follow it through, can you adjust pressure mid turn, feel the snow through your feet. Do you understand and feel the difference being forward neutral or back on your ski's. Do you have to think about your body position when skiing or is it just second nature. These and many more questions need to be answered before considering full out FIS gear IMO.
Or should I say you would not need to ask the questions because you would know already.
So if you don't understand the above or only some of it then why spend extra money on a FIS ski when the model below will hopefully help you answer these questions.

The only exception I see to the above is if you are on a limited budget and moving towards L3 BASI and hopefully the Euro Test you may not understand everything just yet but will do soon and can not afford another ski in 1-2 years.

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Specialk, it's a bit like the "can I afford it?" Question...

If you have to ask...

You know it makes sense.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

Can anyone help me with the comparison?
When I bought my stockli stormrider xls in 2006 they were described as being built like race stock GS skis (construction / stiffness) but with an extra 10mm under foot. Now they are 174 with 18m radius so obviously are a bit easier to manage around a piste than current FIS designs. But that aside, was the original statement about being very similar to race stock hyperbole or reasonably accurate?

A snowHead

A snowHead

jedster, my understanding is that the build quality and design are similar to the race skis, but adapted so no, I don't think's it's hyperbole. Mighty fine skis, all of them. The DP Pro was quite a beast. Like a DH ski but fat.

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

jedster, cant comment on the 2006 models but when I was skiing with guys on current Stockli Laser SX they are never as stiff as the full blown GS ski. I would say a good comparison is between "cheater" GS and FIS spec would be the Head ISpeed and the GS RD, the RD's are definitely stiffer but manageable. As BalernoStu says it is more about getting used to the bigger radius, once you are comfortable on 25M ish skis how you deal with the stiffness then is down to how much you are able to pressure them at speed. I had some Proper WC raceroom numbered GS skis that I sold as I couldn't bend em.. they were loads stiffer than any FIS retail skis. .

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balernoStu, ummm, a. it was somewhat (I thought clearly) tongue in cheek and b. I'd expect an excellent (expert?) skier to be broadly aware of what they can ski on. But not to worry.

I can identify as I bought some FIS SL skis some years ago as I wanted, not so much the challenge, but something more fun for those days when one is stuck on piste. Worked rather well.

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Ah, that's why balernoStu, you're on the girly ones snowHead

After all it is free

balernoStu, you need some SuperGs. Clearly.

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under a new name, I'll leave those for athletes and nutters Very Happy

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balernoStu, no, really, they are surprisingly skiable. Probably not for fridges though.

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"jedster, cant comment on the 2006 models but when I was skiing with guys on current Stockli Laser SX they are never as stiff as the full blown GS ski. I would say a good comparison is between "cheater" GS and FIS spec would be the Head ISpeed and the GS RD, the RD's are definitely stiffer but manageable. As BalernoStu says it is more about getting used to the bigger radius, once you are comfortable on 25M ish skis how you deal with the stiffness then is down to how much you are able to pressure them at speed. I had some Proper WC raceroom numbered GS skis that I sold as I couldn't bend em.. they were loads stiffer than any FIS retail skis. . "

Thanks skimottaret. That sounds right to me. I've never had a problem bending the stormriders and I don't ski silly fast. I have to think that full bore race skis require more work!

I would imagine that there is another component to this and that is the surface being skied on; FIS skis are very stiff, which is going to require significant force / pressure to get the ski to perform (bend). Obviously the skier's weight, length of levers, speed of skiing are all factors, but the harder the surface being skied on is also a massive factor. The reality is that very few of us spend our time skiing on injected snow, let alone travel at the speeds that FIS racers travel at to create the same sort of forces.

Also, can you squat 2 x body weight? wink

You know it makes sense.

abd, they are not that hard core. I regularly ski (admittedly shop bought in some cases) FIS SL 165, GS 183 and 191 and SG 203. I'm 5'6" and 60kgs bloke.

No worries. Lots of fun.

Mind you, when I was still using a gym, I was squatting 2x bodyweight, but that's not absolutely that heavy wink

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

Specialk, pukka race skis are wonderful if you are on a race prep'd piste and have the skills to use them. Even the over the counter racers are condition specific and technique required. Fine for short bursts but unless you are physically in terrific shape you'll just be a passenger within an hour or two. Unless you are focused on ballistic speeds and existing high skills nuance, you are daft to even consider even commercial race department kit.

I love going fast and I love lot's of different conditions, to be able to go to anywhere on the mountain and still have a tool that will take me to the bottom and not kill me on the way down. The market is flooded with good tools that have extraordinary abilities over a huge range of condition.

Of course if you're just going racing . . . . wink

A snowHead

Masque, not true. & I find my FIS GS rather nice for off piste spring snow.

A snowHead

abd, under a new name, anaerobic strength is no measure of aerobic capacity on the trip down the mountain. wink

edit: under a cow pat, you are being condition specific again rolling eyes

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

I found the standard SL skis stiff enough for me, Atomic double deckers and SL race skis (just club racer oriented) from the same firm. Saying that, I did use the SLs off piste quite a lot in everything from frozen crust to 12 inches of fresh. I would like to think of myself as being physically in terrific shape though Toofy Grin

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Masque, your point is? Other than you don't like being disagreed with?

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under a new name, "horses for courses"

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Masque, your earlier comments are not strictly true, I use a set of Head RD GS skis, but I'm not imensly fit yet I can happily use them all day, even more strange is that I wear a pair of Rossignol Soft 1 Ski boots something that no sensible person would ever do on those skis, if you asked the experst it would be the equivalent of driving a race spec Ferrari whilst wearing fluffy bunny slippers ! However ..... The boots are the best fitting I have ever found for my awkward shaped feet with massive calf muscles, this means I don't get feet ache so can ski for much longer, it also means that the skis move precisely how I want and secondly those imense calf muscles of mine (along with the matching thigh muscles) can lift over 250Kg each and keep doing so, those skis combined with the boots give my skiing a level of control that I've not had with any othe ski/boot combo, they also perform incredibly well on piste even when it gets hard and icy boosting my own confidence. They're not great in hevy snow or slush mind you, but then neither am I.

Now I should point out that the combination is wierd and the skis are very heavy, so heavy that a friend who's a professional ski instructor and former (a long time ago) World Cup ski racer remarked on it but for me they are the perfect choice, they are very unforgiving though so you need to be a confident skier, in general I fall maybe once in every 3-4 weeks of skiing usually because I catch an edge on something I can't see, I think if I were less confident or had less ability the skis would be too much for me

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D G Orf, nice skis. snowHead

After all it is free

D G Orf, Your boots are not that strange a choice. If you are skiing arc to arc then most of the force needed to bend race skis should be directed straight down.

I only use FIS skis. I don't use ones equivalent to those the OP is thinking about very often though, my everyday skis are slalom ones, I don't often feel that there is enough space for 27m GS skis.

under a new name, Just realised, I could be read as taking the piddle out of you . . . I was . . . just a tiny bit wink

I'll expand a little; Race department and to a lesser extent the punter FIS race skis are designed for a specific purpose, snow condition and for people who are going to and prepared to drive them properly in training and 'even' in racing. There's nowt wrong in taking them anywhere or in any conditions but if you're going to do that you are going to need to be both highly skilled and superbly fit . . . see, I'm being nice about you wink

. . . but if you're neither of those and just thinking 'coo, I wonder what FIS standard skis feel like' then all you're doing is buying a supersize condom to take on a first date.
D G Orf brings up an interesting point. As I recal he is a very tall and powerfully robust gentleman with mmmmmmany years of experience. He could bend a scafold board without breaking sweat, so yes he will be very happy on a ski that most of us would think of as an unresponsive girder.

The point I'm making is that there are MANY skis that are both superb carvers and still able to float in the backcountry. They can cut through crud and shave the ice on a glacier. The OP is just talking about 'carvers', unless he wants them to focus on race technique with skis that have been deliberately fooked about with by the FIS or are Slalom focused and will need some serious dedication to get the best out of them . . . but that's not indicated in the OP.

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Guess I just bought a super sized condom! I could not pass up a pair of 190cm 2015 Dynastar FIS world cup GS skis plus look bindings for $230! They look like just what I am looking for in a modern ski. Minimal side cut and skinny. Look just like my current Dynastar S9 Coupe racing skis and I will be using them with the same old school technique. Would not be surprised if they feel exactly the same. Plus I got a cool ski from the Sochi Olympics!

Help!!

How managable are FIS skis

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