 Poster: A snowHead
|
Having put close to 25 weeks worth of "sporty" skiing under my almost 10 year old Fischer Progressor 900s (aggressive piste orientated ski), I am starting to wonder how long they will last! With the only sign of age being a slight narrowing of the edge (they are kept razor sharp), a few witness marks from various base repairs and top sheet lift scuffs. In the past my previous race skis I felt the cores are starting to weaken and loose stiffness, but these are still going strong. In addition i do not feel piste orientated performance skis have evolved hugely in this time limiting the argument for replacement in search of the latest tech!
So how long do snowheads get out of their skis before they go to ski heaven / ski bench in the garden?
Last edited by Poster: A snowHead on Sat 1-04-23 9:45; edited 2 times in total
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
| Skiyeah wrote: |
Having put close to 25 weeks worth of "sporty" skiing under my almost 10 year old Fischer Progressor 900s (aggressive piste orientated ski), I am starting to wonder how long they will last! With the only sign of age being a slight narrowing of the edge (they are kept razor sharp), a few witness marks from various base repairs and top sheet lift scuffs. In the past my previous race derived skis I felt the cores are starting to weaken and loose stiffness, but these are still going strong. In addition i do not feel piste orientated performance skis have evolved hugely in this time limiting the argument for replacement in search of the latest tech!
So how long do snowheads get out of their skis before they go to ski heaven / ski bench in the garden? |
My Atomic vantage are beginning to delaminate, realistically I’m only going to get another 1 maybe 2 seasons out of them. But I’m probably going to buy a pair of piste skis as I need something that is easier on my knee, I’ll still keep the vantages and ski on both pairs but in my heart i know they’re on their last stretch before probably getting mounted in the museum of personal ski history.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
@Skiyeah, back in the day, I reckoned recreational skis would last around 120-140 days, or a full time season. Our last Volkl Mantras got over 360 days (not always big days).
SO broadly speaking, by my heuristics, your Fischers are probably close to end of life.
PS you might want to edit your thread title to be a bit more specific?
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
|
I am always worried about the bindings losing their grip. I recently had to modify the Din setting to 9 (from 7) for an older pair of skis after a detailed test recommended it
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
|
@drporat, do keep an eye on bindings with every service, and always do a "did I want my ski to come off there assessment" with every release.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
|
@under a new name, what determined end of life for you? Loss of rigidity? I have had two race skis Stockli Laser SL and Salamon Lab GS reach end of life through catastrophic core failure resulting in some rather radical camber on one of the skis!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I've had several pairs that I've retired when the skis sit flat on the snow, ie the camber had gone. The start of the turn gets to be harder work which you don't notice until you try another pair, the realise that you can actually ski. Foam cored skis seem especially bad at this to me. How long depends very much on what the skis are used for. Much more likely to destroy a pair used mostly offpiste, whereas a piste set will just suffer a long slow decline.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
@ski, I don't think it's the camber that's causing that problem, more a symptom of general core break down.
@Skiyeah, edges got too thin to sharpen!!
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
+ 1 for the Mantras. Best pair of skis I’ve ever owned. I’ve never heard of a modern ski breaking they just get worn out and lifeless. Skis probably last longer in Austria and the Dolomites because of the lack of rocks 
Last edited by You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net. on Sat 1-04-23 13:12; edited 2 times in total
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Off-piste skis go quickest because there is no way of avoiding all rocks. There is a limit to how many times you can repair them, especially by the edges. I try to do small repairs myself but if they go to the shop they get the bases ground flat and a few of those treatments and there is no base left under the foot where the damage tends to be worst.
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
| Quote: |
edges got too thin to sharpen!!
|
My dryslope race skis suffer this. Loads of life, but no edge 
|
|
|
|
|
|
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
|
| under a new name wrote: |
@ski, I don't think it's the camber that's causing that problem, more a symptom of general core break down.
|
The difficulty, of course, is how to recognise when they're too far gone. Loss of stiffness over time is on quite gradual and almost imperceptible unless you swap around between different skis. In some cases he core breakdown can be evident from the lack of camber - when they touch under the bindings it's quite obvious but also far too late.
| under a new name wrote: |
@Skiyeah, edges got too thin to sharpen!! |
I've only ever got to anywhere near this stage on one set of skis, some ex-rental FIS Head slaloms which were already half way gone before I got them, and which I had shop-serviced a few times as well, due to not having my bench setup and usable. There was still a couple of mm of edge left in the end but the base had a gouge which was beyond my best efforts to repair - just not enough depth to glue and P-Tex over and P-tex on its own would just not hold next to the edge.
Moral of the story is to avoid over-servicing, especially at a shop, where they may be tempted by the easy option of a base grind when a bit of time and elbow grease would get just as good a result without the loss of thickness.
| snowball wrote: |
| Off-piste skis go quickest because there is no way of avoiding all rocks. |
You're doing it wrong 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Chaletbeauroc wrote: |
You're doing it wrong |
On the contrary, no way to know exactly what is hidden under the snow surface.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You know it makes sense.
|
|
Tip .... never ski more than 5/6 weeks on a single pair of skis before selling on. This way you have relatively low level of loss and can change skis every couple of seasons if you are an average 2/3 weeks per year skier. Holding on to a single pair for decades misses the point of ski development and how ski design rapidly changes. Whilst skis may survive for years, sadly they are virtually obsolete in a couple of seasons.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
|
| skimastaaah wrote: |
| Tip .... never ski more than 5/6 weeks on a single pair of skis before selling on. This way you have relatively low level of loss and can change skis every couple of seasons if you are an average 2/3 weeks per year skier. Holding on to a single pair for decades misses the point of ski development and how ski design rapidly changes. Whilst skis may survive for years, sadly they are virtually obsolete in a couple of seasons. |
My favourite skis are 10 years old despite having plenty of newer pairs
|
|
|
|
|
|
Poster: A snowHead
|
Whilst there are continuous small improvements in ski design, @skimastaaah's idea of "obsolescence" after 2 seasons seems extremely exaggerated unless you are a serious racer. Personally I often don't like some of the so called improvements. Besides which the resale value drops sharply.
Mind you, the extra zap of a virgin pair of skis can't be denied.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
|
@BobinCH, you put it better and more succinctly (though you have clearly had more pairs of skis).
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
@ski, hah been there, used to do some dry slope racing and the smell of burning at the end of run in summer gave a good idea what it was doing to the bases and edges!
| Quote: |
Tip .... never ski more than 5/6 weeks on a single pair of skis before selling on. This way you have relatively low level of loss and can change skis every couple of seasons if you are an average 2/3 weeks per year skier. Holding on to a single pair for decades misses the point of ski development and how ski design rapidly changes. Whilst skis may survive for years, sadly they are virtually obsolete in a couple of seasons.
|
Not sure I buy into this, get nothing for second hand skis compared to new in terms of resale. Whilst the geometry for performance piste skis seems to have hardly moved at all in last 10 years. Seen a lot of change in all mountain skis and in off piste orientated skis in that timeline but not so much elsewhere.
Camber is an interesting point, will have a look at then when they are under the iron tmw!
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
My fave pow skis - from 2017 and 2013 (Spoons). I don’t think the latest ones are as good
Light touring skis have certainly improved - better performance at lighter weights
Doubt there’s much difference in a Stockli race ski in the last few years either.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
I rest my case ............. https://www.whitedotskis.com/
Please see their out of date and now defunct "Factory Outlet" skis going back to 2016
I had a pair of Whitedot "One" skis 2018, bought in 2019, sold them for much more than I paid in 2021.
Currently ski on Volkl Kendo's, 2021, total change of "Titanal Frame" and carbon tips for 2022/23
The 23/24 model now has - "Rocker - Camber - Small Rise" ....
Quote .. "Skis with a rocker in the tip, camber in the middle and a small rise in the tail are very versatile. The ski is easy to turn, and the camber under the foot gives the ski grip on harder snow. The tail is slightly raised, but it is not a like full rocker. This makes for a balanced combination of easy turning and carving, without compromising on stability."
Fortunately my Kendo's cost less than I sold the Whitedot's for, so these Volkl's will last a couple of weeks skiing more and will then hit Ebay. Funnily Mrs S. skis on 2015 Kastle 92's that have lasted the vagaries of subtle width variation, but retain bombproof construction.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
|
I did a tour of the Stöckli ski factory earlier this year and the question of how long should a pair of skis last was asked. The guy showing us around reckoned 30 weeks absolute maximum. (He also said that each pair of their race skis are used for one race only, which I hadn’t realised.)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
@jonm, Stöckli don't sponsor that many WC athletes, so yeah, I can see that, used for one race then used for training and practice. There are what, 16? 17? WC DH races? so that's only 17 pairs of hand picked skis to find 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
@jonm, when my Stocklis met the end of their life, there was no doubt when the front of the ski started to rock some rather extreme negative banana like camber.... Was gutted when they met their demise, but they had started to go very soft so had become a lot more mellow with age. Think they had a lot of wood in the core, I suspect my current fischers have a lot more composite materials alongside the usual wooden core
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FAQ
