 Poster: A snowHead
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Now i need some of your highly rated snowhead advice.... I have been skiing for a total of 4 weeks (2 weeks in my early teens) then not again until i was 20 and 21 with uni and absolutely love it. As i will have graduated by this summer and starting a career in this economic climate may not be the easiest of options ive decided to do a season. I have my own boots which i bought before the last time i went skiing, and improved my skiing no end (Fischer Progressor 100), so now i want to purchase some skis. As i can really only afford one pair of skis i want a 'jack of all trades, master of none' type of ski i.e all mountain.
Ive been looking along the lines of head im 78, 82. Movement spark, yakajam, Scott Neo.... you get the idea... (open to suggestions).
Now the question i ask is, when should i buy? I cant afford to buy at this moment in time, but come end of august, september time i should be able to. Will there still be 08/09 skis availible at discount prices at this time? When do the new 09/10 skis come in stock? Can anyone highly recommend any skis?
p.s Im 5'11'' (just) and about 80kg give or take a few.... Have only really skied on piste, but the few times ive been off piste successfully ive absolutly loved it, cant get enough of that lovely floaty feeling.... and i like skiing fast....
Thanks in advance.
Rich
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Twitchy87, Yup there'll be 08/09 skis still available next season. They'll be a little harder to find but just do some googling and you'll find the relaive sites. Filarinskis and conrad sports are usually worth a look.
The 09/10 skis will start to hit the market from August i think but if i was you i'd look at this season's because the exchange rate is going to make next seasons gear a lot more expensive in pounds.
I'll not start reccomending particular skis because there's plenty more on here who will do it better but there's my tuppence worth
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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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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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My apologies for the prev post without breaks. The mobile interface i'm using is a bit limited w.r.t para breaks 
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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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I wouldn't advise going over a 75 waist otherwise, as a newbie, you may well run in to difficulties getting them on edge when things aren't so fluffy and nice.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Twitchy87, I use the Neo which you mentioned. It will go anywhere. It likes to be skied hard and put on its edges on piste. It devours crud and floats well in powder. It is a true all mountain ski. Ex-rentals on sale at Edge2edge I'm your size and weight go for the 176. It skis short and I found the 168 felt too short. They are a little narrower and stiffer than the Missions and Punishers. The only place i struggled is on steep ice but I'm not good at skiing steep icy stuff (its next years aim to cope better with it). There are a few to be got at good prices.
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| Alexandra wrote: |
| I wouldn't advise going over a 75 waist otherwise, as a newbie, you may well run in to difficulties getting them on edge when things aren't so fluffy and nice. |
Don't agree with this - if its a one ski quiver and for a season something 85-90 ish would seem to be a better choice if not going the whole hot to a proper midfat. (Caveat assuming male non-midget)
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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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twitchy87, I would certainly recommend the scott crusades - 92mm so "proper" midfat, doing a season you will get to grips with them pretty quickly and you won't believe how much fun you can have in the pow with them. They destroy crud /chopped up stuff, pretty good in deeper stuff and hold an edge well on the pistes. Great all-rounders IMO. If you don't start the season on something like this, you'll be wishing you had by the halfway point...
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I'm with Alexandra on ski width.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Ref: ski width, I think keeping low 80s/high 70s could be a good compromise to be going forward with especially as so many of the 'all-mountain skis' are falling in to this category now. I definitely wouldn't rule out the im82s or skis only slightly over the 80 mark.
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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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Twitchy87, I'd imagine you've still got some basic technique improvement yet to go and could probably do with spending a fair amount more time this season on piste. If you're fit, sporty and a fast learner you could well progress quicker than the average, but I'd still say that for your height/weight no wider than 80mm would be a sensible decision overall. Fat skis will hold you back on piste and that's where you need to be to learn solid fundamentals that'll ultimately take your skiing further. BTW I don't believe there's a consensus for what is meant by terms like midfat - to some they're between piste and fat, to others they're a way of saying that skis that used to be regarded as fat should no longer be, with WC slalom soon to be performed on obese skis an' all. 
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112mm
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You know it makes sense.
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| FlyingStantoni wrote: |
| I'm with Alexandra on ski width. |
Me too and modesty aside, I'm tidy on a pair of carvers. Your at the top of your game if you can rip edge to edge on anything over 80mm.
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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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| slikedges wrote: |
| Fat skis will hold you back on piste and that's where you need to be to learn solid fundamentals that'll ultimately take your skiing further. |
Exactly! Good solid fundamentals on piste - then if he gets a few powder days he'll be able to handle his skinny planks - OK, not brilliantly but I believe it's sounder than the other scenario. There's no reason why you can't take skinny planks off-piste - just maybe not so much fun if you're 15 stone and it's 3' deep.
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Poster: A snowHead
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I dopn't think anyone's denying that a skinny ski would be better to learn fundamentals but IMV if I was buying 1 pair I'd go fatter and rent or borrow some std piste skis while I got up to speed. My understanding is that many shops are happy to supply deeply discounted rentals to seasonnaire workers in exchange for referrals. I assume the OP is reasonably young and if relatively athletic doesn't need to be constrained by the "I've been got 10 weeks of skiing under my belt and am confident on reds but not blacks mentality" as experience during a season is truly cumulative.
That said if you start off like a bag of spanners you'll end up like a bag a spanners as plenty of Brit seasonnaires are evidence of.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Yeah if you're doing a season, I'd probably buy the skis that i wanted to be using by the end of the season, and then just rent and do some lessons the first week or so of the season to get skilled up if required.
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FAQ
. Loving these skis so far. They are sold as 'all mountain', and a bit fatter than your avg starters. Fine in powder so far, although i've not tried them on really deep stuff yet. Guessing they should be good for a lot more than i've tried. Only complaints are they didn't feel that great on crud and found myself struggling on some really gluey slush i came across at Thredbo last year. But i'm still learning, so hoping that improvements in technique will overcome some of those probs.
