 Poster: A snowHead
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Hey, first post here so be nice!
I'd like some advice on buying my own skis. I'm a level 6-7 skiier, who wants to keep progressing and fine tuning my technique whilst also exploring more of the mountain. I'd say I will be spending about 70/80%-30/20% on/off-piste for the foreseeable future, just while I learn the ropes and build up my confidence and skill. I enjoy carving and skiing at reasonably high speed, but also quite like to play in the crud and the sides of the piste. I spend typically 1-2 weeks a year on the mountain, but thanks to a great deal I have with my workplace I get several free lift passes a week at the local 'fridge'.
I'm 5'11, 63kg (138lbs), so quite light and not really strong enough to muscle about a super hard, stiff ski, but I guess I could give it a go!
So far I've had a look at the Rossignol Zenith z72/z76, Atomic Smoke, several of the K2 AMP range (mainly the charger, shockwave) and I'm getting quite lost with the sheer amount of skis to choose from! Could anybody recommend me any skis, or give me some helpful advice? Any help would be greatly appreciated, 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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Hi
I can only comment on the A.M.P skis as I have skied them all, the Charger is a great carver, it has a titanal metal plate throughout to get power onto those edges when carving, and is stiffer. Combine this with the Speed Rocker, and it carves on rails, but I would say on pisted runs. It handles crud and hard snow (if a little twitchy when bumpy) but on groomed runs is like a bullet. It is one of my favourite piste biased skis after the Head Titan.
The Shockwave is a good seller because its a great price, but it gets to that price by loosing the titanal or any metal midsheet, relying on fibres instead, and it looses the wide binding that the Charger has, which helps drive power over the edges.
If I was a similar skier to you, with the aspirations you have I would pick the A.M.P Rictor over the Charger as it has a slightly wider waist, and a tweaked rocker making it suitable for the odd venture off piste as you develop. You would need to develop your skiing over the long term to get the best out of them but they will ski fine now, and grow with you.
Other skis to look at (That I have skied as we sell em) would be the Volkl AC20, it is a good progressive skier, carves well, and can dabble off-piste between the runs a little but is more of a piste ski like the Charger, or one I am really getting a good vibe about from other skiers is the Dynastar Sultan Legend series. I have skied the 80 and the 85, the 80 is a great all conditions ski with enough waist to mess around off the sides, the 85 with that extra 5mm of waist and upgraded binding/mount plate gives you a more versatile ski that I would put up against the Rictor, and got to say I found easier to ski from the first turn, giving a bit more confidence.
Looking at the other skis you suggest, the widths determine that these again are piste biased. Others will shoot me down and say that to ski off piste you have to have fat skis with 85-90mm+ waists, but for dabbling we always advise to go 80mm or a bit more if you want some float, but still want something that is easy to carve and develop your skiing with.
Hope that helps
ScottyDog (Insomniac)
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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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Thanks, that's been really helpful. I think the best option for me is to demo as many ski's as possible, and just get a general feel for each one. I will try the A.M.P. Rictor (If I can find a pair, I think EB do them?), but my worry was that with a 80mm waist width it might be a bit too wide for me, making it harder to get edge to edge and carve as I'm quite light. Will this not be a problem?
Also, do you have any advice on ski length? Does somewhere between 166-172cm sound about right? Again, thanks for the help!
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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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I have the rictor, I'm about 5'7" and only 60 kg ish, v nice ski. I'm off to the 3V this weekend, ill let you know my thoughts when I have tested them properly as only tried them in the dome so far! 
You can try them at EB no probs.
Edit - should also say I have the 167 and I'm somewhere between intermediate and early advanced!
Last edited by You need to Login to know who's really who. on Tue 1-02-11 15:46; edited 1 time in total
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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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80mm isn't that wide any more. Positively at the piste end of things, definitely no issue edge to edge. My Recons are 78mm and I can't imagine going any narrower than that - the Rictors I think are the new Recons. A good all rounder, though not great in deeper powder they get by on the sides of the piste.
Check the length in the shop, K2 had/have a weird system of measuring length - my recons are marked 160cm but are actually closer to 167cm, check if you buy 170s that they actually are 170. A quick check in S&R or EB will confirm.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Agree with Monium, should be no probs with 80 mm waist. My 167 are def not longer than stated either so suspect they have changed their measuring system?
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Gareth: Good luck mate, have fun! Let us know how everything goes.
Monium: Apologies, I'm new to ski buying so sorry if I sound like a tool. I'll bear that in mind regarding the K2's.
I'm very concious about buying a ski that's 'too good' for my level, or one that I can't handle. All this advice is really helpful, much appreciated.
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| Monium wrote: |
| 80mm isn't that wide any more. Positively at the piste end of things, definitely no issue edge to edge. My Recons are 78mm and I can't imagine going any narrower than that - the Rictors I think are the new Recons. A good all rounder, though not great in deeper powder they get by on the sides of the piste. |
The Rictor has the new "All terrain Rocker", would be interested to know how much difference this rocker really makes to offpiste and onpiste conditions. K2's do measure different (tend to be longer than marked size of other manufacturers) although shouldn't one should go shorter with a rockered ski?
Size/width isn't everything  e.g. 80mm waisted ski to someone with 63kg could give as much float as 100mm for a really heavy skier.
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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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Right, been trawling the internet and spoken to various skiier friends (a couple of whom work in EB and S&R), and have been recommend the Atomic Blackeye ti, the K2 Rictor and the Dynastar Sultan. Thanks for all the advice!
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Any of those 3 will do a good job 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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I'm of a similar ability to you but 6'2 and more like 95 kilos and have just purchased some K2 Rictors. I will admit that u wasn't able to try them out but researched as much as I could and spoke to some users of similar size/capability last weekend whilst skiing. I WAS going to go to Tamworth on Thursday to try them but came across some for nearly £70 cheaper than anyone out there so I pulled the trigger.
All the research I've done point to this being a great 50:50 ski though and I looked at everything from magazine reviews, YouTube reviews and as I mentioned, I spoke to people skiing them.
I'm off out to the US in a couple of weeks and will happily post how I've found them if that isnt too late?
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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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Nope that shouldn't be, that would be really helpful mate! Just doing what you did now, finding out as much as possible about each ski.
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Dynastar Sultan 85 - better both on and offpiste than the old 80mm waisted Legend 8000's it replaced (well, better at carving on piste, the L8k's were better for short pivot turns). I haven't skied the Sultan 80's but I'd be concerned the lack of metal in them negates any on piste improvement the narrower waist might make compared to the 85's.
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You know it makes sense.
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So just got back from my US trip and experienced a wide variety of conditions from hard pack to death cookies to bumps to glades and powder to lovely groomed runs. The Rictor excelled in all of them. I wont say Im the most advanced skier but I felt 100% confident skiing all of the runs that I came across.
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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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| bluemoon17 wrote: |
| Right, been trawling the internet and spoken to various skiier friends (a couple of whom work in EB and S&R), and have been recommend the Atomic Blackeye ti, the K2 Rictor and the Dynastar Sultan. Thanks for all the advice! |
I'm at a similar level to you and was set on a pair of Sultans until three different ski techs recommended the Blackeye Tis over them - in one case, despite the fact that he had the Sultans in stock, but not the Blackeyes.
I took their advice, bought the Atomics and haven't looked back - just back from four weeks in Whistler and they were superb. Like you I'm quite light (72kg) and although they're fairly stiff, they're not hard work at all - easy to turn and surefooted over just about anything. I've posted a more detailed review here: http://www.snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=74137&highlight=
That said, you'll not go far wrong with the Rictors, every third person in Whistler was on either them or Salomon Lords, and I heard nothing but good things about both.
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