 Poster: A snowHead
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I’m pretty old school when it comes to piste skis - we have quite a few sidewall 69 and 70mm waist piste skis in the garage. Nice edge grip on water ice and hard pack. But then I was charging around on some park skis at Christmas in chop and crud and reminded myself that the 86 waist really relieved the impacts on my knees as I went over bumps into troughs, and generally floated more rather than crashed through things. I have some 76mm RTMs which are nice, but I have just bought some Volkl 90mm waist skis on the basis of reviews - generally regarded now as ‘relatively narrow, for piste action, mainly…’ (according to East Coast US skiers). Being in the UK at present I have not had a chance to put them to the test on hard pack and ice. I also have a choice of buying some 95mm Volkl park skis or 81mm (to replace some tired ones). These will mainly be used in park laps and up and down the prep’d hill - we have other much wider skis for icing sugar forays, which don’t see piste action. But which to go for? What is a sensible front side waist width these days? I am mithering….
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Armada Tracer 98 - only ski you need.
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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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Try Stöckli Stormrider 88, you'll never look back. Perfect on piste or in the chop.
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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 like 80-90 for on piste skiing in the spring. It's slightly too wide for the morning but a much better compromise skiing wetter snow in the afternoon. If I skied more on piste in mid winter it would be in the 70-80 category.
Off piste wise I have skis between 99mm (touring) and 118mm (skiing from lifts/short walks)
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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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^^neither the Tracers nor the Stormriders are what you want for park laps though!
@valais2, it would help if you said which Völkls you are looking at and maybe clarify exactly what you want them for a bit more concisely? It sounds like you want an all mountain ski for fairly equal amounts of time in park, piste and tracked out offpiste?
If you take out the crud I'd say <85mm. If you expect to ski lots of crud and chop on them then 90-95mm may be more reasonable.
I very much doubt it was the wider width that "really relieved the impacts on my knees as I went over bumps into troughs", more likely the skis were softer and had rocker or at least early rise tips.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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All good points Clarky.
Just bought: 90mm waist Volkls are nos Kenja - 2019 90mm ones, I am 168cm tall and 60kg - which means I can match female or youth spec skis, a useful thing in opening up choice. Waiting to get them mounted up with some Wardens. As you probably know, the Kenjas are one stiff ski with full titanal sheets - they are the pre 'frame' model. Made in Germany, jolly nice.
I am looking at some Revolts 2020 (95mm - rockered - symmetrical twin tip) and some Bash 2020 (81mm flat - non rockered trad camber - slightly directional twin tip). Would take a late decision on whether to get them mounted centrally or slightly back as 'all mountain'.
Interestingly, I have narrowed the 'less bashing to my knees' to the waist width - I don't think it's other factors - the skis I was using are some very nicely made old 86 waist Salomon Suspects - trad camber, sidewall skis, quite stiff with the weird carbon stringers, warden 13 bindings...what do you reckon? Definitely much less thrashing to knees on a porridge and crud day, as well as on boiler plate and death balls days.
You said
It sounds like you want an all mountain ski for fairly equal amounts of time in park, piste and tracked out offpiste?
And that's bang on. I have heard that going beyond 85ish actually puts far more pressure on your knees when on hardback...And I can't establish whether that actually is true, biomechanically and medically. Also I do not want a scary ski which washes out the moment i get onto icy bits. It's not that I think I can get a carving stiletto in an all mountain twin or regular all mountain, I just don't want to go too wide, and wind up with something which is an unpredictable git on piste.
And you know that great photo of the Grom in Grimentz when you kindly published it and his donation of long hair to medical charity? Well he's done it again since, and raised 600 for the charity as well as donated the hair. And now he's slightly taller than me and nicks all my gear...
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