 Poster: A snowHead
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Hey guys,
before I introduce myself, please excuse any rule violates - I'm a noob 
Introduction
I'm a 30 year old and 180 cm tall skier from Europe and have skied a lot of place in Europe including Austria, France, Germany and Italy. I've skied since I was little and only had a few gaps within my skiing career (longest was approx. 5 years). My on-piste skills are (according to ski instructors) very good. Depending on the conditions off-piste my style can get quite sloppy (I start making some stupid mistakes).
My situation & Requirements
Currently I'm looking to buy my first pair of skis from a previous season, as I don't believe in shelling out large amounts of cash to get the latest and greatest of the season, because the small improvements aren't really worth it to me. To date I've always rented my skis - mostly premium or VIP category. As I'm venturing more and more into off-piste and "all-condition" skiing, I'm looking for a ski that does well in the following:
- Handles off-piste well
- good handling in deep powder snow
- good speeds on-piste, no a race carver speeds (I'm never the fastest on-piste, nor do I try to be, but I do want to "push it" if necessary)
- good stability and control on-piste including grip on ice patches
- good at short and middle turns, also I sometimes ski more aggressive - so it should handle that as well
- good reaction times when turning
- don't care to much about it's carving capability
As a rough guide the on-piste/off-piste % would be between 50% / 50% -- 60% / 40% and sometimes 30% / 70%. That probably doesn't help, huh? 
I was able to single out 3-4 skis for me: K2 Rictor, K2 Xplorer, K2 Crossfire, Head Monster iM 82
My research and knowledge so far
Basic differences:
Rictor (2010): 80mm underfoot, All terrain rocker.
Xplorer: 84mm underfoot, traditional camber.
Crossfire: 74mm underfoot, traditional camber
So, from what I understand the main differences in them is the width of the skis. Thus:
Crossfire is a trail specific ski for carving on groomed terrain.
The Rictor is more of an all mountain mix of groomed and ungroomed terrain. The Rictor does have some early rise or slight rocker to the tip to help with turn initiation and float in soft snow.
The Xplorer even more for soft and variable snow conditions but still will work on groomed terrain as well. Traditional camber.
Haven't had any experience with the Head Monster iM 82, but I'll definitely consider, if someone has had experience with them or could even compare them to the three ski from above.
Those are the "facts".
Expierience with some of these models:
K2 Rictor
I've skied the current Rictor model in St. Anton (Arlberg), Austria, which is world-renowed for it's off-piste skiing and hard slopes. Unfortunately I don't remember which size I rented (stupid me!). So I would take my experience with these skis with a grain of salt as I wasn't skiing for the past 2 year and had to warm up my skiing skills again the first 2 days. Plus, I was skiing quite some hard ski routes (which were very! challenging. Anybody that has been to St. Anton knows what I'm talking about ) and off-piste and the snow wasn't the best either.
K2 Crossfire
In Damüls, Austria I tried out the 2009 Crossfire and really like the skis, though I wished they would have had a little more grip on ice, but no biggy. I found the slopes in Damüls too easy for my liking so that could! explain why the skis handled so well.
So what's your experience with these skis? Any comparisons or suggestions for me? I've read some threads on these forums comparing the Crossfire with the Explorer, but still couldn't make my mind up I need to buy a pair before I go skiing in Les 3 Vallées
Thanks guys!
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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 Europeskier,
Have you thought about the Volkl Mantra? This will give you more flexibility for the off-piste forays....but gives enough rigidity for on-piste antics.
Your breakdown of the K2 range is correct. FYI - I have the K2 Apache Recon (2009) in my quiver and I find it a heavy ski to go off-piste with for a sustained period of time or if the snow is deep (I'm 181 and 96kgs)....Also, you may want to look at K2's backcountry selection. The rumour is that the 2010-11 range has been stiffened to make it more usable "on-piste"....but I'm not sure if this si a solution if you want to buy last year's model....(I tried the K2 Hard Side from 2009-10 and it was a bit soft on the pistes.
Hope that helps.....
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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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I've skied the Crossfire, owned the Xplorer and skied the IM82. I now have the K2 hardside.
If you want to get into more off piste then forget the Crossfire. I found them very fast and maneuverable on piste, very smooth and damp. They had great grip when i skied them, but not as good as my old Fischer AMC79s.
I skied the IM82s for a week at Sunshine and Lake Louise in Canada. They saw a lot of off piste action and coped with most things well. They were great at punching through crud etc and also liked to lay down big GS style turns on piste. A great all round ski and good fun off piste in the back bowls at Lake Louise. Never skied more than a few inches of very fresh powder, but they seemed to cope very well.
However, i'd take my old Xplorers any day of the week of the IM82s. Personally, i really like the damp, smooth feel of the Xplorers, and their ability to charge on a variety of snow conditions. They were very good on piste, excelled in a few inches of fresh powder but struggled a wee bit in anything deeper. They were a very forgiving ski with a nice moderate flex in the tip but solid underfoot for loads of grip. They were a bit heavy though.
I now ski the Hardside mounted with Barons. This is proving to be every bit as fun as the Xplorer, doesn't lose any of the turnability on piste but still offers loads of grip. It's an extremely versatile ski and the rocker definitely helps when the snow gets a bit tough, and i'd say the rocker is what helps it turn quicker than expected as well. It's a stable ski and likes to be driven. Not as hard as the Mantra and therefore a bit more forgiving when you want to take it easy a bit. Best ski i've owned. 
Not skied the Rictor, but if it's like the Xplorer, but with a bit of rocker thrown in to the equation, then i'd have no hesitation in grabbing them and giving them a go.
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