 Poster: A snowHead
|
|
Okay, sorry for the long (first) post here, I'll try to be succinct. 63 years old. Started skiing age 2, racing at 5. Raced though college (all back East, training/racing on the ice at Whiteface). Then 8 years in Breckenridge, from '81 to '89, 4 years on the Race Crew, running gates almost every. Averaged probably 100 days per year. Always had at least 4 or 5 pairs of racing skis, SL, GS, SG, and DH. Always free skied on 200 or 203cm SL skis (depending on whether I was on K2's or Rossi's). Back then, a pair of totally broken down, foam-core, cracked edge, race-stock K2 slalom skis (usually got one good season of racing out of them) were fantastic powder skis. There really wasn't any such thing as high-perf all mountain skis, or fat ass powder skis. Spent another 10 years in the ski business (snowmaking equip. sales and service, and ran a little area for a few years.) Got married, moved to the SE and had kids. Maybe 3 or 4 times skiing per year, with an occasional trip out west. Started racing with a local ski club about 6 years ago, on my old KVC Comps. After a season of wise cracks at the start shack ("If that old man ever gets some real skis, we're in trouble"), I bought a pair of the longest SL skis I could find, 161cm Fischer World Cup SL to race on and possibly use for my everyday skis. Wrong!! I just can't ski on something that short, it's like the old Graduated Length Method poo-poo. So I bought a pair of Fischer World Cup GS skis, 188cm. (I bought both of these online, pretty cheaply, but still top of the line racing boards.) The GS skis are amazing on groomed stuff, some of the sweetest carving boards I've ever strapped on, BUT, they're 27m turn radius, so if I want to crank short turns, they're just not made for that, so you just slide them around, which sucks. Not sure I really get it - our old skinny 204cm SL skis could obviously crank short turns like a banshee, but were long enough to be stable at 60mph when you felt like letting them run. All these new boards are sooo singular purposed. I just got back from Utah, and obviously, trying to ski 188 GS skis in the trees is a TON of work, especially for this old geezer. A buddy let me borrow a pair of 180cm Blizzard Bonafides for a couple days, and they where almost like cheating, so easy to whip around the woods, but I wasn't super impressed at high speed on groomers, tips kind of flapping, even on edge. SO - I'm looking for recommendations! High performance All Mountain ski, probably 177 - 182cm. Great carver (for a guy who knows how to use it), that is also a beast in crud, chopped up stuff, wide enough to work for occasional powder days, but probably no wider than 96-98mm under foot. Maybe M5 or M6 Mantras? Fischer Pro Mtn 95ti? Nordica Enforcers? Any old racer dudes out there to give me some advise? THANKS!!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
|
I have a set of Mantras mounted for tele ---they certainly tick the boxes you want..
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
Nice ski life @oldsnowbear, chapeau to you.
I like that area of ski width 90~100mm for general purpose fun, extending down into piste performance and up into the softer stuff.
A standout ski, Kastlè FX 96 with "HP" denoted model if you want the stiffest as more metal layer. Sublime across such a broad range of condition, surface and speed. Older version FX 95 that may be available through secondhand channels etc as new these run a fair cost. They make a great fit for your requested interest, also very high quality layup and construction to last well.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
|
Kastle is a great shout.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
|
I am a bit younger than you at 56 but have raced on old straight skis. My everyday ski now is a pair of 165cm Fischer WC SL, they work fine for me but I have changed how I ski a lot from how I did on 204cm SL skis.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
@oldsnowbear, Welcome to SnowHeads 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Thanks for all the replies!! It's a damn shame that the manufacturers don't seem to do "demo days" like they used to - would love to spend a little time on a couple different models before deciding. Last week at Snowbasin Utah, there was a whole line of ski companies all set up with tents and demos. I zipped over there, but the whole thing was only for ski shop employees. I asked the Fischer guy, he said they very rarely do demos to the public - liability.
One more quick question - When I bought those World Cup SL skis 5 or 6 years ago, I also got a pair of top of the line Tyrolias, with riser plates. I'm not going to use those SL skis again, probably put them in the local ski swap next summer. But I'd like to put those bindings on whatever new skis I decide on. First - do any of you guys have riser plates on an All Mountain ski? Second - if the brakes on those bindings aren't wide enough for a 97 or 98mm ski, are the brakes changeable, or can I bend them out to make them wide enough? (Funny story - last week at Snowbasin we were sitting on the outside deck at the base lodge. There's a terrain park just above it. A kid crashed on the last jump and his ski came off and had a busted brake - when's the last time you heard someone yell "RUNAWAY SKI"?!?) Thanks again!
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
|
|
|
|
|
|
@oldsnowbear, We get to demo skis in Europe, some days are organized through this website.
I wouldn't take the plates off the Fischer skis, a buyer would expect them to be with the skis, though some of the current WC racers are using different plates. People don't usually put lifter plates like the Tyrolia ones on all mountain skis. You may be able to get wider brakes for those bindings, depending on the model.
Did you get any coaching when you started racing again? If I'm race coaching people it is easiest if they are on current SL skis as they don't need to be going as fast to make them work.
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
@rjs, I always liked the extra "leverage" I get from a riser plate, wondering why that same advantage wouldn't apply to an All Mountain ski?
Those SL skis were "new, old stock" when I bought them, and dirt cheap, so I'm not really concerned about how much I get for them, and really like the set up.
No, no new coaching when I started racing again - I'm in the southeast US, small hills and the racing we do is more like glorified "beer league" racing but still fun! I know the new style skiing using both skis to turn, as opposed to only laying on the inside edge of the downhill ski like we grew up with, has been around for a long time now, just might take this "old dog" a while to "learn new tricks"!
I'm also still sailing on 40 year old windsurfing gear... 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FAQ
