 Poster: A snowHead
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hi thinking of getting salomon pocket rockets for general skiing purposes good skier can do blacks but not at full tilt i am 6' 1" 100kg any other skis or advice on pocket rockets would be appreciated
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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colw, welcome to snowheads! 
they are plenty of people around here who'll be able to help you come up with a shortlist of skis that might fit the bill. a few questions first though:
have you skied Pocket Rockets and liked them?
how much of your time do you spend off-piste? I ask because the PR is designed to be a lightweight ski for deep snow and will be at its best in those conditions.
And I'd strongly recommend demo-ing skis in resort before you buy, try out several pairs to see what you get on with best.
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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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10% off time off piste mainly on piste 2 weeks a year skiing not tried pocket rockets before
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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frankly you'd be mad to buy them just like that. I'd never buy skis outside the resort - get a short list of skis to suit your general level and test them in resort. If you mainly ski on piste get something that'll suit that!
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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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Also - IMHO - Salomon are over rated marketing hyped mediocrity with wobbly tails! Look at Atomic, Rossi, Fischer, Head etc too! ... but mainly Atomic
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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I wouldn't get PR's for general skiing if the balance was 10% off-piste.
I would be looking at Head Monster 70's or 75's, or most Head's actually.
K2 Apache series and Dynastar 6200's and Volkl 724EXP are the usual suspects
on these pages, I think you will find. But definitely try before you buy..one man's meat etc...
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Agree with what JT says there ^. By all means try the Pocket Rockets but I reckon you'd enjoy more of an All-Mountain style ski like those above. Volkl 5 star and Atomic M:11 are also worth a look. And don't buy anything you haven't skied. Most resort hire shops will let you do up to a week's demo, you can take a different skis out every day and as long as you buy a pair at the end you won't pay for the week's hire. 
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Adam Holt, not sure about wobbly tails, but I've always found Sallies to be perfectly all right but not really excellent at anything. Skied PRs in Alta for a day (mostly on piste) and decidedly unimpressed. I guess in thigh deep pow they'd be OK, but not for much else. A lovely shade of metallic cobalt blue though which probably explains the popularity.
colw, test a whole bunch when you get there and make sure you get test costs rebated back when you buy. Rossi Bandit B1 (more on piste) or B2 (for more off piste) http://www.skisrossignol.com and Atomic Metron M:11s sound like they might be good thoughts http://www.atomicsnow.com
Just make sure you enjoy skiing on them whatever you buy!
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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.
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thanks for repies will check out your recommendations
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colw, welcome to snowHeads! The Pocket Rockets are really an off-piste, soft-snow ski. Unless you're looking to spend the majority of your time in untracked and cut-up powder, they will not be appropriate skis. There have been a few recommendations up here, and you'll find more by looking through the threads on this site. My personal recommendations would be the Fischer RX8 or RX9, the Elan S12 Fusion, the Atomic Metron:b5 or M:11, and the Volkl 6*, 5*, and EXP.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Fischer RX8 is probably the best choice for you; certainly not PRs if you ski mostly on piste.
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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.
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Yup - demo is the word. Once you find that you and a ski 'work well together' it will give you so much confidence to try new things Don't be put off too much by the description of skis as being 'expert', some still offer much to a wide range off abilities.
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colw, do not be afraid to demo LONG. Sometimes 5-8cm beyond what the clerk attempts to tell you.
I am just back after some only partially successful demo days, none of the Metron IX X XI, 4*/5*, Streetracer series at all available past 170-172 cm. (Specifically, the Metron IX and Streetracer 10 were entirely too short in 171cm/170cm for my 6' 95kg. ) In truth, I think intermediate (but sizeable/powerful) skiers are more vulnerable to having the ski too short as they generally tend to take them further out of the fall line.
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You know it makes sense.
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comprex, Must cordially disagree. I tried Metron M:11s in a 150cm - admittedly I'm 5'6" and a mere 62kg. But I used to always ski 203/207 and am looking forward to getting out the old 218s for the Inferno.
These skis are designed to be skied very short (at least the Atomics are) and you risk only having to put in too much effort if you buy them longer than you need. A chum of mine who owns a ski shop is 6' and probably around 95kg and he skis Metron M:11 and b5 in the 160 length.
Which I guess only reinforces that fact that you need to ski them, with different lengths available, to find ones you like yourself 
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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comprex, I've very surprised to hear you say this... What lengths did you try? I would ski all of those in the 162-172 lengths (although I weigh 180-185lbs, that's not that much different!). What did you experience that has you thinking that they are too short?
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Poster: A snowHead
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ssh, David Murdoch no specific objections to either the Metron X or 11. Both felt a little rubbery, but I was just after skiing Volkl's p60SL carvers (superb edge grip in 163cm!)
On Friday last, I had the 4*, Metron IX, and Streetracer 10, (168cm, 171cm, 170cm). Conditions were a bit quirky, but absolutely typical for Eastern Canada after several rains and then a big snow storm: blue ice base on most trails, interspersed with white-hardpack from snow cannon, and hemispherical mounds of fluffy non-cohesive snow, about 40-70 cm across, spaced 2-4m apart, blue ice between. Some windslab at the top of each run, comparable to the white-hardpack from the snow cannon.
4* (168cm)
Bump-to-flat-blue-ice transitions - superb! Tip could initiate a carve without punching through the fluff, bouncing or skidding through the tail.
Long-radius turns on blue ice - very good, very large sweet spot
skarving on frozen snow whales - very good
Flat blue ice- to bump transitions - Not so good. Tip would lock to radius of carved turn and punch -through- fluffy snow. This could be fixed by a bit of back-seating, but that got to be too annoying after an hour or so.
Metron IX (171cm)
Long-radius turns on blue ice - good at speed if weight is quite forward and inside leg is strong to edge. I had the inside knee far further outside with these than the 4*
Bump-to-flat-blue-ice transitions - not good at all. Tip wanders all over. I felt that a longer ski would at least allow -part- of the front of the ski to start carving.
skarving on frozen snow whales- good with weight forward, transitions very slow. There were so many extension-retraction movements here that I couldn't open the legs/knees/hips as much as on blue ice.
Flat blue ice- to bump transitions - superb. Really the justification for this ski's design. I skied these for 3 hours just enjoying this sensation. This would make a terribly good spring ski.
Streetracer 10 (170cm)
Long-radius turns on blue ice- modest. This ski was so light that any ripples or irregularities would cause the edge to leave the carved rut; I had to focus on really strong driving right at the boot toe. I really wanted a longer ski.
Bump-to-flat-blue-ice transitions - modest. This ski was just not it for me on ice. Kept wishing it were longer.
skarving on frozen snow whales - good. Toe pressure essential.
Flat blue ice-to bump transition- good.
Hope that helped.
colw, others, I do apologise if the above just isn't germane as you may not encounter anything remotely resembling those conditions.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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comprex, those snow conditions sound utterly hideous!
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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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comprex, I'd bet that at least part of what you experienced on the XI was tune-related. I don't think the length would have helped. In fact, shorter may have worked better (more weight per cm of edge).
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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ssh, quite possibly you're right - I had my 188cm Volkl p40 rockers out immediately after the Salomons and they did alright, but I keep those wickedly sharp. Perhaps my feet were just lazy up/down, I did have a crepe breakfast and poutine for lunch.
rob@rar.org.uk, 2 weeks of rain onto manmade snow followed by -15 and a blizzard 7am on the last Friday of school holidays. Take that along with 24hr snowmaking and no grooming -> you'll have very few happy snowboarders, I'll tell ya.
There were these two fellows with CMH Explosivs on the back side of the mountain, they floated without touching the ice, most amazing esp. with touring boots and Diamirs.
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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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comprex, going to be little controversial... given that slush and rubble (a large UK snow retail chain) mark the M:9 as a level 4-7 ski (scale from 1-10 with 1 = never skied to 10 = pro) and that you liked the Volkl P60 SL, maybe you don't need them longer, just stiffer and a bit more hardcore? the M9 is, I think, really a late beginners/early intermediate ski...
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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David Murdoch, I really tried to compare apples to apples, so I didn't use those two models on the same day.
I felt quite a bit intermediate on Friday as well (fatigue? food? drink?) and the crowded mountain meant I couldn't carry the speed or practice drills as I did before. I picked lower models in each line for a lower expected speed, as would quite possibly be reasonable even for someone far above me in skill. I fully expected to find true gems and not-quite-so within that category, especially considering modern cost, design, and manufacture standards. The odd sensation of being limited in demo sizes was new enough to me that I thought to share it, though as ssh rightly points out a tune can affect an impression of size. I hadn't thought of that during the day, and should have.
The comparison was meant to hold only for that day, those conditions and those 3 quite different skis, none of which was specifically tailored to the conditions though the 4* came very close. As it happened, it was quite a valuable experience for me in how to pick a ski for the day when none of the manufacturer categories specifically fit the terrain in front.
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colw,
don't go for pocket rockets, they are cr*p on piste (I've got a pair) and at a 100kg, 175cm is probably too short. 1080s could be a good alternative if you like Salomons.
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colw, so you want Pocket Rockets, you've not just been out in Courchevel have you ...
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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.
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colw, if you are 90% on piste, then forget the supernoodles. Now, if you want a decent pair of piste skis, I have a pair of Salomon 3Vs for sale. 176cm, which would be enough in that ski, as it is a LOT stiffer than 1080/PR, with Sally 912ti bindings on FIS race plates.
PM me if you're interested.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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after reading all this there is a loy of recommendations will check them out i like the look off the Fischer RX8 see if i can try some in resort before buying
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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.
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Well it's obviously time I showed up on this thread!! 
Let me introduce myself colw, I am the person who recently spent 4 days skiing 175 PR's on hard-pack piste, had them stolen and subsequently got... 175 Pocket Rockets.
I did try out many skis before I chose PR's, on and off piste and I thoroughly recommend u do the same but don't let that moody ol' bunch of hard-core-piste-bashers put u off trying out the PR's at least.
IMO, the PR acquits itself reasonably well on piste: OK it's hardly yer race carver slicing up the blue ice but neither is it the disaster that some folks (most of whom don't have them  ) make out. Off-piste, in any condition it is magic
The advice u have been given here seems to have all been based on your answer to one [simplistic] question: "how much do u ski off piste?".
A more appropriate question IMO would be : "how much do u want to ski off piste?".
Before I had PR's, I probably skied about 10% off piste too and hard work it was - now the pistes really just serve as entry and exit runs to lifts!
I rate PR's highly on new snow, deep snow, cruddy snow, crusty snow, slush, steeps and moguls: basically 90% of stuff that hasn't had a piste basher over it in the last few hours.
They make all this stuff easy.
U may well find 49 people who think PR's a rubbish for every one that thinks they're amazing (even my very own Mme.Brain isn't keen on them) but then, that's why the pistes are so crowded 
Ski them - then decide!
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You know it makes sense.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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I'm somewhat ignorant of the joys of off-piste: I tried to go off piste for a while with my Volkl P40 RCs last year and found it quite hard work - I would be interested to know whether getting something like PRs (or similar) would make it that much easier, or if a seasoned skier would find my RCs no problem? 
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Poster: A snowHead
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I'd say 'yes' on all accounts there AdrianV.
I found the whole off-piste thing highly traumatic for a while. A friend with whom I ski regularly, first got on skis about 54yrs ago and I'm convinced he could ski down anything on just about anything. He was always encouraging me to get off the piste but as soon as I did, I ended up on my head before long.
Then I tried some 1080's which seemed to help a lot, then when I got on the PR's, it made such a difference to my skiing that my friend begged to try them (he was on Bandit XX's at the time). We swapped the Bandits and PR's back and forth a bit and consequently both skied PR's the next day.
Later that week we tested out loads of skis but still both liked the PR's best.
With the occassional exception for a day here and there, I've skied PR's for around 4-5 weeks now and the technique I've learned (since I've been able to stay on my feet) now makes it possible for me to ski these conditions more successfully on less dedicated skis... it's still more fun on the Pocket Rockets though
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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u brain, thanks; that's given me some food for thought......
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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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lots of varied opinions food for thought and testing
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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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An old thread that I just bumped into. Well colw, did you get some PRs then? Can't wait to get back on mine for the first ski of 2011 / 2012 season. Okay so I also own some slalom and GS skis but provided there's some skiable off piste the floppy old PRs will be the ski of choice. I love'em, they excel for short turns in powder, so excellent for tight powder tree skiing and they are okay even on crappy piste.
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FAQ
...very good indeed 
