 Poster: A snowHead
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Please be gentle with me. I realise I'm opening myself to all sorts of potential abuse and over-my-head technical gubbins by posting this!
Until the first  Hemel outing which I attended and tried a few different skis, I was of the opinion that the different species of skis wouldn't make much difference to me, I'm an intermediate piste bimbler who only goes skiing once a year at best. So with the cost implications, rental skis always seemed to be the best option for me. In Kitzbuhel 2008 I had Rossignol Attraction skis which I really liked. In Courmayeur 2009 I had Salomon Street Racer skis which were OK, but somehow I felt less confident with them. They turned, they had good edges, they just didn't feel hugely stable for some reason.
Anyway, fast forward to Hemel and it really opened my eyes at how different skis can feel so different. And how differently I can ski with them. That day I really liked the Scott Rosa skis best which bizarrely are a 'fatter' and more off-piste biased ski (apparently). I never ski off-piste. I don't even attempt scary black runs. I stay well within my comfort zone. Anyway, they are horribly expensive so I thought no more about it.
Then recently I have been twice to Tamworth. Firstly on the nasty rental skis (they really are nasty, no edges on an icy surface is quite a disconcerting experience). Then yesterday I borrowed some skis from snobunni's step-son. These were Head something-or-other and a vast improvement on the rental skis, but I still found they're really not the right ski for me. I'm not technical enough to know why, I can only say they felt a little 'flimsy' and 'flappy', but I certainly enjoyed them far more than the rental skis.
So then I got into Hemel demo mode and went and asked for some demo skis from Ellis Brigham. The knowledgeable chap there gave me Fischer Koa 78. He did say I seemed to be a bit of an enigma as the skis I seem to like don't really seem to match the skiing I do, but that a decent all mountain ski would probably suit me best.
I absolutely loved these Fischers. Just ask snobunni! I did not want to give them back!
And it got me thinking that I really really want my own skis. It doesn't make financial sense at all, but I just seem to get so much more of a buzz when I have skis that I really get on with. This is precisely how snobunni feels with her skis and I guess I want that feeling.
So, bear with me, getting to the end of the essay here, the upshot is I want my own skis. But not any old skis, ones that make me feel like those lovely Fischers did yesterday. Ideally I'd buy them, although a little longer than the 159 length I had yesterday. But at £400, that really does seem rather too extravagant.
Snobunni suggested that I may find something similar from a previous season's range at half that price. But this is where I need a bit of help. I have no idea what is similar. Is it just a question of finding something with similar dimensions? The Fischers yesterday felt very firm and stable, does this mean they are a 'stiffer' ski? Is something that is essentially an 'advanced' ski a bit overkill for someone like me?
Many of you really seem to know your stuff, so some advice would be greatly appreciated. But be gentle with me please. And don't get all technical without a nice layperson's translation.
Thanks 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Try:
Fischer Vision Vapor, Watea 78
Elan Pure Spice
Dynastar Exclusive Legend <might come as either flat or fluid but both words need to be in there.
You might also enjoy a Rossi Zenith 11, if the edges are nice on it.
Seriously, demo anything first. You won't be buying another pair for a long, long while.
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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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Hi there like you did EB in Glasgow and they gave me the Fischer watea , and like you I ski piste and stay with reds and like you!!! Also found them stable and still fun . More so than the piste skis. They are £325 with bindings and will be in the shops soon!! Just enough time for me to save the extra pennies that I didn't want to spend but feel it will be worth it in the long run!!.
Good luck. 
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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I've got a feeling Zoa are the women's equivalent of Watea in the Fischer range. The chap in the shop seemed to think I'd be better off with women's skis, but I'm not sure why (I think I asked this question before and it was something to do with weight and where the bindings are mounted?).
I think the issue I've got is finding previous season skis available at reduced price (probably via the internet, certainly doesn't seem to be anything via Two Seasons, Ellis Brigham or Snow+Rock that's not full price) that would be comparable to the skis I've tested/rented and liked. Howevere, there's unlikely to be an opportunity to demo anything other than full price skis at the shops located at the fridge(s).
Maybe what I need is an online ski comparison test? Motorbike websites are full of bike comparison road tests. Are there any people would recommend?
Also, websites selling discounted previous seasons ski equipment. I've only found the couple on fleabay (White Mountain, Skiwear4less), are there any others I should look at?
Is buying skis online via recommendation a bad idea given that my only reason for doing so would be to save money?
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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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queen bodecia, White Mountain is a conventional ski shop. They have some demo stock and the owner is also a coach at Tamworth.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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rjs, thanks. That's handy to know. They seem to sell a lot of old stock on fleabay.
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lynseyf, thanks. Looks like they ship to the UK for €25 so even the 78s work out £60 cheaper than S+R or EB and the 73s loads cheaper, although possibly too short for me at 160cm. I didn't think of European suppliers being cheaper with the rubbish exchange rate and shipping costs.
White Mountain have few bargains with previous seasons models, such as Volkl Attiva and Atomic She Devil. I'm not sure about twin tips, I love the look of them but they're probably wasted on me and they don't fit into racks, etc.
Does anyone know anything about either of these skis?
I'm off work this week and really should be PAINTING not cruising the internet for bargain skis, lol!
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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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Hmm. Found bargain ladies Rossi Bandit, Fischer Vision 73 & Vision Ivory too.
Must step away from the computer!
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I've been skiing on snow blades for the last year or two and was a nervous skiier due to a knee injury. This last season I had a private lesson, said yes to going down every horrible scary run and changed over to Rossignol VooDoo's and now I am a confident black run skiier. I've skiied the Attraxiion's before and they were okay, but the VooDoo's just seemed to perfectly fit me. They just felt like an extension of my feet rather than something cumbersome that I had to negotiate turning. The private lesson also helped with this as the guy was a very advanced instructor and just tweaked my skiing and pushed me.
I paid $600 for my set of VooDoo's toward the end of the season but it also included a 2 day Extremely Canadian Ski offer. Now that they are last years model and they have a new graffic i'm sure you'd pick them up quite cheap. I ski on the 155cm VooDoo's, i'm about 5'4" and about 59kg and this size is perfect.
They would suit you for both on piste and if you ever decided to go into powder for a bit they are great there as well. I've been hammering down runs and hiti a bit of ice in the middle of a turn and the ski's didn't even blink. They are stable, reasonably fast but not too fast, have great edges and are easy to turn.
Hope you find something you like.!!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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I found some for $479 on ebay US and 325 pounds on ebay uk, but in the UK they are called the Rossignol Bandit SC80's (US / Canada they are Rossignol VooDoo SC80??).
I think you could get a better deal an 325 if you shopped around.
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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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Thanks Satina, nice to hear how well you've got on with your skis. I've actually found some women's Rossi Bandits for sale online at a very bargain price of less than £200. I assume they are a season or two old so I wonder if the construction changes much over the years. I guess my next step would be to try and demo this year's version somewhere. Knowing my luck someone would go and buy the ones online in the meantime! They do seem to have similar measurement characteristics to the Fischer skis I liked.
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Hey queen bodecia, what colour are the ones online? Rossi had two types of bandits last year, the blue ones and the green ones. The green were called the SC80 I think the blue were 74's? The blue one's were cheaper than the green one's as they were more of a beginner/intermediate ski.
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You know it makes sense.
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| queen bodecia wrote: |
| lynseyf, thanks. Looks like they ship to the UK for €25 so even the 78s work out £60 cheaper than S+R or EB and the 73s loads cheaper, although possibly too short for me at 160cm. |
Really, honestly queen bodecia if you skied on them and you liked them that much then just go for it. Find somewhere else to economise.
Just my 2 cents.
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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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FlyingStantoni, much as I agree with your sentiment, she _didn't_ try the ones she wants to buy.
She wants something similar in feel but longer.
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Poster: A snowHead
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comprex, women ..huh....!!!! 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Added to which, I'm pretty sure that someone of my meagre abilities would not be able to tell the difference between different makes of ski in the same size/class. What I'm finding difficult is why there is such a huge variance in cost between skis. Is it to do with construction?
Am I right in thinking that I would find beginner/intermediate skis to be vague/wobbly? I realise it's definitely not worth buying skis that are 'beneath' my abilities so to speak, purely to save money. One thing I have noticed with hire and test skis is that I know pretty much within two turns if I like them or not.
Also, most retailers give width dimensions as well as length for skis. Judging by my response to test skis I seem to like them a bit wider than the purely piste skis. But I can't really work out why this is. I don't ever ski off piste after all. Is it just a stability thing? Or personal preference?
I realise I sound hugely unknowledgeable here but remember when I learned to ski we had two metre long skinny wobbly things. It appears the world has moved on a lot (and for the better) since then.
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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 wrote: |
FlyingStantoni, much as I agree with your sentiment, she _didn't_ try the ones she wants to buy.
She wants something similar in feel but longer. |
Fair point and something I hadn't spotted.
I would say, though, queen bodecia why - given that you don't ski off-piste and that you loved them then why you'd want to go longer?
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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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FlyingStantoni, the test skis were only 159. I normally ski on 165-ish as I'm a tall and heavy lass. I guess shorter skis make more sense in a fridge but the guy in the shop did say they were too short for someone of my size.
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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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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Thanks for that pam w, it does seem to be something of a minefield. You are a bit shorter and lighter than me, which would suggest I'd perhaps need to go longer, although I'm not really a speed freak.
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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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queen bodecia, Conrad sports are doing some jaw-droppingly good deals right now if you're ready to make the jump.
I'm heavier than Pam and I'm on 170 and very happy at that length - except schlepping them around. 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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can you get them in the longer length? if so buy em, you're worth it! trying to get something "close" to these (without testing) for the sake of a few quid (even up to 50% difference I would say), aint worth it. I'd rather pay 400 for something i loved than 200 for something i hated! Dont wory about the womens-specific thing, stiffness is often a difference (aint it just), but you've tried, you likey, so get em. Dont think the next length up would make much difference to the charecteristics for the same model (?)
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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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Try the Head great ones, they're 78 and my g/f got a pair last season they have have helped her skiing come on no end.
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Alexandra, I've not heard of Conrad Sports and I can only seem to find a German website not a UK one?
Colin B, thanks for the link, it says it's a 'freestyle' ski. I've already been warned off 'park' skis by the chap at Ellis Brigham. Apparently not right for the type of skiing I do. Is 'freestyle' the same as 'park'?
barry, assume you mean the Fischer Koa 78 skis that I loved at Tamworth? According to S&R website they come in a 167cm which I think is about the right length for me. My only issue is that £399 is a heck of a lot of money to someone like me who only skis for six days per year (plus occasional trips to UK fridges). I was just wondering if I could find something similar in a previous years' models for half that price.
papasmurf, they do look good but seem to be much the same price as the Fischers.
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You know it makes sense.
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queen bodecia, Yes I think so. It depends though as some are pretty well suited to general skiing too. I don't know though with those.
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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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queen bodecia, they are German cheap prices usually and ship to UK (OK £:€ is a bit cack, but still probably good price)
edit: and the site is mostly in English if you hit the right button
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Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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queen bodecia, I have been following your search for a ski with interest on this thread and others . If you are interested in the Rossi Attraxion I will sell mine, I was going to wait until after the start of the season and then fleabay them. They are last season's Attraxion VI Style, black, in a 162. That's the longest length in the Rossi women's Attraxion range, I am 5'7", heavier than pam w  and am happy with the length. They are a great ski, I liked them a lot, I skied them lightly for 2 weeks (shortish days due to small child), they have had the spyderjon treatment with side edge angles reset to 3 deg. I am only selling them because I am a ..now what was that term someone used recently? ...equipment whore or something! I fancied an Atomic ski, bid on it in Filarinskis auction and won it! The skis are too similar for me to keep both and the Atomic is a tiny bit stiffer and a tiny bit skinnier which I prefer. You are more than welcome to come and demo them at CFe if you like. PM me if you want.
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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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Ooooh sarah, you might just be my fairy godmother!
PM incoming!
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FAQ
). They are 163 I think. The red ones - horrible, really, with a silly mirror thing on the front. 
But they were an excellent buy for me. I am 5'5 (ish) and 10 stone (first thing in the morning 