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Lightweight Skis

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Hi, my girlie currently has a pair of Salomon Scrambler 33Ws and finds them very heavy (both to carry and on her feet). Does anyone have any ideas on what would be a good choice for a lighter pair of skis (possibly with a narrower waist) that would be easier for her to use? She's been skiing for 2-3 weeks and can confidently parallel turn with good technique. Any ideas would be appreciated. Tah
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lightweight skis .... salomon... it's too easy.......... Very Happy
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Atomic R9s are under 3kg in 180cm.
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Thanks. ise, being a little naive, do you mean that Salomons are light or that they're so heavy that anything is lighter? Please enlighten the stupid one...
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I refer to myself being naive of course.... Very Happy
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Might be worth looking at touring skis generally - lots of people use the R9s as suggested by Davidof but there are even lighter ones out there. Only downside - you'll probably need to get them on the Continent if you want a decent choice although you could buy online at somewhere like Telemark Pyrenees
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Sharkymark, ise was referring to the belief among some "hardcore" skiers that because Salomons are very popular with Brits they are for lightweights who can't ski, can't drink... Confused

To answer your question, I would have thought that in general Salomons are lighter than say Atomics, but the bindings make a big difference. If you really want to compare weights of skis the manufacturers websites should help, and you can find ski reviews at the magazine sites etc. But if your girlfreind has really only been skiing for 2 or 3 weeks and already owns skis then it seems crazy to buy more so soon!
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heavy skis, have their uses. I find they are much better at holding a line, especially when plowing through crap like sludge or ruts. if, as plake says, your gf has only been siing for three weeksn, I'd advise at leasta week or two more on these skis as she may find that she becomes used to them
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Sharkymark, My new Atomic B9 PulseW -feel very light in comparison to my old skis which were Rossi Bandit er..Lite. Salomons are heavy generally IMHO Cool
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Plake, I geddit now...gf went to Cardiff Uni: she can drink like a fish

Cheers for all the advice. I'll relay it back and wait with baited breath to see what she decides to do...
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Sharkymark, is she picking up the inside foot in turns? 'F'so, then perhaps not a lighter ski but one with a shorter turn radius?

What does she weigh and what length is she skiing the Scrambler 33 W in?
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comprex, as far as I'm aware, no. She's 10st and skis 150cm
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Sharkymark, I have some Rossignol Saphir skis that sound like they'd be just the job. I ski 150's too. Light, easy to turn.
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Bindings weigh a shed load. Is she using rentals upto now? That adds a load more weight. Cant see that much weight saving to be had other than that. And as for skinnier underfoot DONT DO IT!!


wouldnt compromise choice of ski just because its heavy when carrying it. Or is it because she makes you carry them!!
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2plank, bindings don't tend to have such an effect on turning a ski though, because the weight it close to the center of the ski.
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 Poster: A snowHead
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Tell her to hit the GYM!!! Get in shape to ski. Not ski to get in shape.

What level skier is she? Dynastar makes some really excellent skis and are quite light.
My dynastar legend 8000's are lighter than my scratches and my pocket rockets and they are an advanced to expert ski being that light!

My wife has been riding Dynastar agyl's , very light ski. But she is going to move up the 06 Rossignol B2W bandit.
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Sharkymark, The heavyest part of the ski is the binding. Teach her to Tele... Twisted Evil
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I'd agree with the other voices that say that the weight is in the bindings - I used to have Scream Pilots but the binding is so so heavy. Got Stormriders now in a longer length and they're much lighter.


Stay away from the Salomon Pilot style bindings if you want a light ski.

Cheers

BB
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Sharkymark, I'm in the same sitation as your girlfriend. I'm about the same weight too and have had trouble finding skis light enough. People who aren't lightweight don't realisehow much trouble heavy skis are. rolling eyes

I've tried skis that men I ski with love but find them too heavy (atomic metrons, salomon scream extra hots). I'm not a particularly wimpy, weak person but these skis are all a bit hefty.

I have a friend (who's shorter and lighter than me) who got some Salomon Scream 8's (womens skis) which she really likes. I might give them a go. Cool

I'm skiing on some old Atomic C:9.18s which are in need of replacing but all the girls had these a couple of years ago because they were great for learning to ski on (on-piste). They're a solid ski but then all on-piste skis are a little bit weighty so they don't flap around so much when you're going over 2mph.

I'll be watching this thread with interest. snowHead
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Quote:

the weight is in the bindings

My girlie skis, (Rossi Saphir something-or-other) have special girlie bindings too. If you're only 8 1/2 stone, you don't need monster bindings.
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Sharkymark, My missus (a comfortable red & occasional black runner) is on Volkl 320 Gammas & loves them. They're certainly not heavy.

Your girlie may notice the weight when carrying but she shouldn't notice the weight of skis while actually skiing - if she does then a lesson is called for as she's probably lifting her inside ski. A bit of weight adds stabilty when blasting through crud etc were a lighter ski will be more easily deflected.

I ski on mega heavy Atomic Metron b5's & you just don't notice the weight of them when skiing.
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spyderjon,

I agree that weight isn't a factor and can actually help blast through stuff. I used to like light skis as I felt they were easier to jump round. It just wouldn't be a consideration now as the benefits of a weighteir ski outweight the light factor for me..

The only issue should be carrying them as her goal should be to get the ski weight to work for her.
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spyderjon wrote:
Your girlie may notice the weight when carrying but she shouldn't notice the weight of skis while actually skiing - if she does then a lesson is called for as she's probably lifting her inside ski. A bit of weight adds stabilty when blasting through crud etc were a lighter ski will be more easily deflected.


Sorry spyderjon but I'd disagree that you don't notice the weight of your skis when they're on your feet. I thought I had really tired legs when trying the Atomic metrons but when I switched back to my own Atomic C9.18s they felt all light and jumpy again. I have a problem carrying any skis around. I even know someone (female) with joint problems in her right elbow from carrying around skis too much. Men and women's anatomy is just not equivalent. wink

I would say I'm at a slight diasvantage though because I have a wide-ish stance because of the alignment of my skis/boots wasn't initially right. If you try standing on skis and jumping with your feet slightly further apart, you'll notice how it's more difficult to get more air into your jump. My alignment was adjusted mid-season this year by getting the soles of my new ski boots planed so I could ski in a narrower stance (skis hip-width rather than wider than that). Because of this lighter, jumpier skis probably helped my skiing. snowHead
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I think spyderjon's point is that if you're skiing properly, the skis shouldn't be coming off the ground, nor should you be pushing them around too much. Hence, weight oughtn't to be too relevant while you're skiing. (An obvious exception is jump turns, but there are very few circumstances where these are necessary)

I agree that heavy skis are a pain to carry around when you're not skiing
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How about short radius turns Arno (moguls, steeps)? It's hard to do them with a pair of lead weights on your feet, however slippery the lead weights are. Smile

I realise short turns require your body to be correctly positioned above your skis but you also need a bit of muscle action too.

It's not that carrying skis around is a pain so much as it's hard on your body. I have awful trouble carrying skis around as compared to my other half who seems to have no trouble at all. I think it must be the weight of the skis relative to the muscle-mass in the upper-body of the person carrying the skis that defines the effort and strain involved.

On the other hand, I know plenty of women who have no trouble lugging skis around. I'm just a wimp. wink
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How are you carrying your skis?

If you put them over your shoulder, with the tips forward, and the front binding behind your shoulder, then carrying them just involves holding the tips down with your hand. Your skeleton should be taking most of the weight. It is, as far as I'm aware, the most efficient way of doing it.
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WTFH, my shoulders are too bony. It makes marks on my skin. I think I need an 80s jacket with shoulder pads. wink

I also find that that method of carrying skis requires a lot of weight to be applied to the front of the skis. Since my arms aren't that long and not too heavy, this is difficult unless I go shopping and buy some nice piece of clothing to use as a counter-balance. Very Happy
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Wear The Fox Hat, In my experience, it is where the skis sit on my shoulder (tips down) when carried, that causes bruises. Salomon Pilots for me are the worst culprits because the extra weight magnifies the pressure on the shoulder. They balance ok on my shooulder, but dig in. Worst is Salomon rental skis with the long tracks on the bindings (more weight). I say bring back Joan Collins style padded shoulders jackets snowHead
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Snowy, you do not need to take your skis off the ground for short radius turns. you need to get more of an angle on the edge. similarly, in moguls the whole idea is to keep your skis on the snow as much as possible
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Arno,
Quote:

Snowy, you do not need to take your skis off the ground for short radius turns

I don't think she is suggesting that you do. But in horrible, lumpy, sticky snow, you do, according to Warren Smith (name dropping here!) need to use "thigh steering" ie use your thigh muscles. Muscles being the operative word. If you haven't got them, you find it difficult (in my case almost impossible rolling eyes ) so the less weight you have to shove through the grotty stuff, the better.
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 Poster: A snowHead
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maggi, i'd say heavy skis are often an advantage in grotty snow like that - they don't get deflected so easily
i agree it's hard work, but i'd say it's the snow, not the skis
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Quote:

i'd say it's the snow, not the skis

I'd say it's the skier Laughing
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Arno wrote:
maggi, i'd say heavy skis are often an advantage in grotty snow like that - they don't get deflected so easily


I used to have K2 Axis X Pros. They were heavy, but they were great as "crudbusters" - cut through the lumpy stuff.
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A lot of modern skis are very heavy if you don't/can't sling them over your shoulder.
But generally heavier skis shouldn't hinder skiing as they are more adept at cutting through gunk.
If the user gets tired they are probably using too much energy getting them off the ground.
It is a fallacy that most jump turns require big leg strenght, the emphasis should be getting the ski and the terrain
to do the donkey work. Easier said than done, I know,
But I can understand why a 2-3 week skier would want a light ski and in this case I would think she is right.
As to what that ski might be for women, I don't know..... Might be best to work from a light binding to get the conbination she desires.
Hire bindings will be heavier than their fixed counterparts..!!
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Thanks for sticking up for me maggi. Very Happy

Arno wrote:
Snowy, you do not need to take your skis off the ground for short radius turns. you need to get more of an angle on the edge. similarly, in moguls the whole idea is to keep your skis on the snow as much as possible


You're right Arno - you don't need to take your skis off the ground. You just need to unweight your skis. Jumping is just an exaggerated form of unweighting. Razz

I also agree with you snowbunny about skis and carrying them. Perhaps my atomics are more uncomfortable on my shoulder because they have 2 ridged bumps running along them. My salomons have a flat top and are much easier to carry. snowHead
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Snowy, I just bought some Atomics! Perhaps I could sew some shoulder pads into my jacket just in case I need them next winter wink
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maggi wrote:
But in horrible, lumpy, sticky snow, you do, according to Warren Smith (name dropping here!) need to use "thigh steering" ie use your thigh muscles. Muscles being the operative word. If you haven't got them, you find it difficult (in my case almost impossible rolling eyes ) so the less weight you have to shove through the grotty stuff, the better.


You'll incurr the wrath of Warren if he spots you lifting the inside ski - I know, I've been there. You will probably fatigue faster with heavier skis if you are 'foot steering', even if you are not lifting the inside ski. The idea behind Warren's 'thigh steering' is that, irrespective of your individual strength, you are using you're larger more powerful muscles/femur for steering rather than you're less powerful foot muscles/ankle joints etc when 'foot steering'. Hence my comment re lessons rather than lighter skis.
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Sharkymark, Another major factor to consider is the 'swing weight' of a ski.

Swing weight is affected by the amount of material out near the tips & tails of the ski relative to the skis length. All this affects the moment of inertia (if my schoolboy physics is correct), ie how easy they are to turn. So the longer & wider the skis the higher the swing weight.

Just because a ski is heavy in weight (mass) it does not necessarily mean that it has a high swing weight. The Atomic Metron's are such a ski as although the tips & tails are wide the skis are approx 20cm shorter compared to other skis of equal performance. This is exactly why Metron users don't notice their heavy weight (mass) when skiing. You also don't notice the weight of the skis when carving as the steering is controlled by edge angle & pressure rather than pivotting etc.

Edit 30.7.05 - as quoted by ssh on Epic: "Actually, given that the weight of the Metrons in concentrated in the center of the ski (binding location) combined with their relatively short length, the swing weight is no different than any other ski. When they are on my feet I don't even notice their weight."

Good park & mogul skis will therefore have a low swing weight. Lower swing weight skis are also therefore easier for beginners who tend to have their weight a bit too far back, who will be foot steering/pivoting & have a tendancy to lift the inside ski.

So if you're shopping for new skis for your girlie ask the stores for low swing weight models to try.

With regard to her not being able to shoulder carry her skis. I suggest getting one of those 'ski quiver' type things which is basically a length of webbing with a wide shoulder pad in the middle, a cup type holder that the tails slot in at one end & a loop at the other end that goes around the tips. You then simply sling the skis over your shoulder. It then rolls up in your pocket when not in use. A fellow snowHead I skied with earlier in the year used one & swore by it.

I always carry a backpack so when I carry 'Foxy style' my skis rest on the backpack strap. Although for much more than a five minute walk to the lift I'd have to use the carry straps on my backpack as the b5's are mega heavy.


Last edited by After all it is free Go on u know u want to! on Sat 30-07-05 14:57; edited 2 times in total
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Sounds to me like their are a bunch of wooses!!!! Stop complaining, stop being a pussy, and get your fat ass in shape! Or eat some damn food for your boney shoulders! Hit the gym , jog, get in shape then they wont be so heavy woosey! Toofy Grin Toofy Grin Toofy Grin Toofy Grin Toofy Grin Toofy Grin Toofy Grin Toofy Grin Toofy Grin Toofy Grin Toofy Grin Toofy Grin Toofy Grin Toofy Grin Toofy Grin Toofy Grin Twisted Evil Twisted Evil Twisted Evil Twisted Evil Twisted Evil Twisted Evil Twisted Evil Twisted Evil Toofy Grin
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huckingfellers, Ass, well in shape, thanks, shoulders bony because there is no fat on them only muscle, due to gym sessions Cool
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