 Poster: A snowHead
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I'm about to buy a pair of skis, and want something that I can get off-piste on but that will still perform on piste (particularly since these season so far is looking icy). I can only afford one pair, and I'm thinking Scott Missions are the way to go. I will try them in resort but interested in people's thoughts, and alternatives I should try. Thanks in advance for your comments!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Just spent a week on my 178 2010/2011 Missions - have them mounted with Marker Barons for day tours etc - skied on them all week with my Garmont Axon Touring Boots rather than my Alpine boots, a decision I regretted as this week was all about piste skiing.
Was trying to move away from old style skiing to more agressive carving and sort of managed it at times on the right pitch and snow cover, but lets face it I was never going to be getting super low and on both edges as per a skier on downhill / slalom skis and with stiffer boots.
That said I had a great week on them, as a one ski does it all - and that means from skinning up on day tours to deep powder ( which I did a lot of last year on my 2009 / 2010 Missions) through to almost wide style GS carving turns they are superb!
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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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Weathercam, thanks for the advice. I think I'm going to try the Missions and the K2 AMP Rictors as a narrower / more piste focused comparison and see how i get on. I guess it all comes down to how much off-piste I end up doing. I'm doing less and less snowboarding these days, hence the desire to get into the soft snow on skis. Cheers.
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I am in a similar position, also looking for the holy grail: the one ski that can do it all.
You might also want to look at Rossi S3 and Blizzard The One.
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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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agreed of another very good bit kit
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Thanks to all for the advice, looking forward to trying them out. If anyone can help with calling in the snow gods then please let me know! G
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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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greigt, good luck with them on piste - I know a very good, semi pro skier who thought Missions would be 'the one' but who very soon became disenchanted with the on piste limitations.
Looking at them in a lift line or whatever, they do look like a massive fat powder ski...
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brian
brian
Guest
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Too skinny, too soft.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| red 27 wrote: |
| Looking at them in a lift line or whatever, they do look like a massive fat powder ski... |
not when you're on them and the guy next to you is on Kuros or something!
I've skied Missions for a couple of years and really liked them. For Europe they can be a very decent do-it-all ski. They will of course lose performance on piste compared to proper piste carvers, and in some offpiste conditions compared to something over 110mm in girth. But they're easy to ride and that can help a lot.
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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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Last season I had some Rossi 185 Scratch Steeze's 140 110 133 as well as my 2009 / 2010 Missions - in the end I sold the Steeze's as I was skiing powder so much better on the Missions - yes they were easier and according to mates / guide I skied way better on them ( the Missions).
Further test will be when I do some day tours on them etc for sure heavier climbing up but I think coming back down will be way better than my Dynafit mounted K2 Mt Bakers
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greigt,
I went for Missions at the beginning of this season and have had them in pretty much all variants of snow (early season powder, crud, breakable crust, slush, ice, you name it!) and they perform superbly. Wide enough underfoot at 89mm (length 178cm) to handle anything off piste, but are very easy to get edge to edge on piste. I was very surprised how good they are on piste.
As with any all rounder there are compromises, however, if you are looking for something to ski the mountain, in my opinion I think you will be hard pushed to find better.
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You know it makes sense.
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Personally, having tried the Sultan 85 on icy pistes, I think the reality is whatever you get is a compromise, but if expecting icy or hardpack pistes, you really need to keep it under 85mm - now I'm considering the Sultan 80s, but currently using Apache Recon and these aren't all that different.
89mm waist is a wide ski. I wouldn't go that wide unless I wanted a powder ski with an occasional run down the piste.
The ski that really can do it all seems to be a bit of a myth. You're going to lose some performance somewhere - if you go for a wide ski you lose the piste performance, if you go for a narrower ski you lose the powder performance. Even a fairly narrow ski by modern standards at 85mm seems unable to really hold up on ice.
Sure, you can get a powder ski to work on the piste. You can get a piste ski to work in the powder. But I wouldn't want to spend a week on the 85s if the pistes were hard packed or icy, in the same way I wouldn't want to spend a week in powder on my Recons.
The Amp Rictor might be more of a 60/40 piste to powder ratio in my opinion, similar to the Recon but very slightly wider - if I was buying I'd be looking at this alongside similar width skis. What you describe above is what I'm after, but so far not convinced it exists. If anything the Rictor sounds closer to what you are after, but whether it will still perform in powder for you is hard to call.
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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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I am a great fan of Missions They do everything I want off piste - and are pretty good on piste, too. Mine are now a few years old - and I was wondering what I might replace them with. As the answer I came to was 'Missions' I decided not to.
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Poster: A snowHead
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| brian wrote: |
| Too skinny, too soft. |
Yeah but I'm a 70kg lightweight and love Missions, maybe they suit lighter people. Use mine on and off-piste, although they don't like hard-packed and icy pistes and are a bit slow edge to edge on-piste.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Monium, there's more to offpiste than powder - and it's in the non-pow conditions where the extra width really helps the most. FWIW, I'm not sure teh Sultan 80's would be better on piste as they are softer. I also found the 85's to be very good on anything other than sheet ice - and in those conditions I'd rather be offpiste anyway.
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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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| clarky999 wrote: |
| Monium, there's more to offpiste than powder - and it's in the non-pow conditions where the extra width really helps the most. FWIW, I'm not sure teh Sultan 80's would be better on piste as they are softer. I also found the 85's to be very good on anything other than sheet ice - and in those conditions I'd rather be offpiste anyway. |
That's my other problem - not sure if the 80s are going to be any better. The patchy ice was pretty scary on the 85s, one second fine and dandy, the next second struggling to stand at all, not just scraping on it, no grip to be had at all. On a freshly groomed piste I think they'd be ok, but anything approaching ice would be a concern for me on the 85s. I was hoping for something that genuinely would be a good ski for most conditions, what I found was a ski that was ok in most conditions on a slightly icy day - ok isn't a patch on the performance I was getting from the Recons on piste in the same conditions, so I'm still stuck with two pairs to cover the likely options on a trip.
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| Monium wrote: |
| .......so I'm still stuck with two pairs to cover the likely options on a trip. |
But that is the whole issue here isn't it, that people are looking for an all rounder, accepting there will be some compromise, such that they only need one pair of skis? The Holy Grail does not exist, but there are some pretty good efforts.
Much to the chagrin of my wife I have four pairs of skis which give me maximum flexibility, however, I do not have to lug them around all the time as they live in the chalet in France. I added the Missions to the collection such that I had a pair of skis that I could ski anywhere, without too much compromise, for those days when I don't know what I will end up doing. Also, should I ski away from "home" I only want to take one pair with me. As it turns out I ski them more than anything else as they perform so well. Not really had any issues on ice with them at all.
From the original post greigt falls into the one pair camp who is looking for the best compromise and feedback on a particular ski, we seem to be getting into perfect ski selection for differing conditions.
Bob
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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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greigt. Picking up on Ardoyne's point. I got a pair of Missions at the beginning of this season as my first pair of wider skis to begin venturing off piste. I was surprised at how well they carved and effortlessly handled jumping in and out of the soft stuff and crud. Flotation is fine for my weight and build. I'm 72kg and 5'7" and have the 168's. I don't find them soft for the level I am at (advancing intermediate). I enjoyed them so much on piste that I began to think that I could discard my 73mm piste skis but then it got really icy . . . . and the Missions struggled . . . as did my technique. They are great all round skis most of the time but they won't excel in absolutely every condition. They are fine on firm snow it's just the really icy stuff that was the problem i.e. frozen rain-soaked, compacted, snow. This shouldn't put you off as they are surprisingly easy to carve on piste for someone coming from a pistey background and great fun.
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folks, thanks for all the responses. I tested both the Missions and the Amp Rictors in Les Arcs. I really liked the Missions and was convinced after a day that I'd have them. But then I went to the K2s and really noticed a difference on the hard packed piste we've got at the minute. Alas no powder to compare in, but on balance I decided to go with the K2s - they are great fun (easy to turn, spin etc) and stiff enough to hold an edge on the ice. Hopefully i'll get to try them in powder later in the season and still be happy with my decision...........
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