Which "next ski" for confident intermediate.

A snowHead

Hi all,

As the title says, I'm looking at the possibility of upgrading my skis this year, firstly a bit about me..

Male, 32 yrs old, 5' 8", 12 stone. I would describe my skiing as confident intermediate, by which I mean I ski parallel all the time, can carve reasonably well, can do short radius turns with pole plants and am happy with fairly steep pistes. Given the opportunity, I like to turn the speed on for a short burst but realistically my thighs can't hack it for too long!

At the moment I have some head peak 72 (2010/11 model) that were my first owned skis. I am pretty happy with them and find them nice and smooth, not too much hard work and they don't seem too flappy as the speed increases. Far better than rental. However, I feel that in the last year my technique has improved somewhat and in time I feel I will outgrow the Head's. A friend of mine who is a beginner, just starting parallel turns has said he'll buy them if I upgrade. I have been looking at the following as possibilities, based on a mixture of marketing material, video reviews and the Fall Line gear guide:

K2 Photon or K2 Impact

Dynastar 75 or 80XT (some confusion here about what is reviewed and what some shops actually sell)

Atomic smoke or smoke TI.

Head peak 74 (so basically next model up to mine but with all the flow ride tips etc.

Rossingol zenith z72 (heard good things, reckon they turn really well)

I realise these aren't all at the top end of things but please read below and you will see why I don't think I need to go too much higher than I;m at now.

Some things to bear in mind ........

1. I do not do vast amounts of skiing. I ski roughly once a month at the local fridge( as part of a club so it's cheaper and better tuition for my kids. )
2. At present, our family ski holidays are only to Scotland (so mixed snow conditions might be a factor? we might go further afield in time but it will still be family and friends orientated)
3. Even when in Scotland, my kids are only young so I won't be disappearing off for any length of time blasting around.
4. True off piste doesn't feature in my plans at the moment. I like piste skiing but accept that more of an all mountain ski is better to keep options open and also allows for variable snow conditions, such as poorly prepared pistes, bare patches etc. Also, if there's a bit of fresh at the piste sides, I'd probably go and play in it.
5. Freestyle - forget it!
6. I have no designs on getting so good that pistes bore me and need to be throwing myself of cornices and touring all over the place!

So therefore I'm maybe looking for something more relevant to my current and proposed skills over the next couple of years. Nothing too big, stiff, fat (ooo err!) or expert.

If your still awake, thanks for reading!!

A snowHead

If you are mainly skiing in Scotland I would advise to stick to more of the all mountain ski end of your selection as we rarely ski freshly prepared pistes like you find in Europe, I ski a 98mm ski as my everyday ski and find it considerably harder work skiing my skinny skis (76mm) when it's slushy which is quite often, I try not to ski when it's icy.

Sorry I don't know about any of the skis you mention though but to be honest I don't think there are many bad skis made so once I have decided what type of ski I want (width, sidecut etc.) I usually just see which one I can get a decent price on and buy that.

If you aren't wanting a ski straight away K2, Line and Volkl have had demo days at Glenshee for the last few years and Whitedot have had demos at Glencoe, Cairngorm and Nevis I think. It's nice to try some "different" skis you may end up liking something that you wouldn't otherwise have picked because of marketing.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

I have last years photons and was a great ski to improve on. Think they have made them a bit wider this year. To be honest with you though I was probably in your position last year and am already trying to punt my photons for a more advanced ski. My advice would be go a bit more advanced and slightly longer rather than play it safe. Maybe the impact or even the next ski up.
K2 are always well priced but if you want to pay a bit more maybe Scott neos(tried the 2012 and loved them) movement jam(not tried but quality ski by all accounts). Think both are about the 86mm mark.

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Thanks so far... I dont have a chance of demoing really as although we holiday in Scotland, it's a 7 hour drive...

Roscoeh, out of interest, why do you think you now need more than the photon? Have you improved so much more in the last year, or are you now looking towards a more specialist ski (off piste for example). What were your opinions of the photon? I know I sound like I'm reading a bit more into this than might be necessary but I think that if I can get this next ski right, I wont need / want to change it for a long time.
Like i said, I don't do huge amounts of skiing but I enjoy what I do and i just want to make sure that if I do upgrade, it won't be to something too demanding whilst at the same time not too lacking.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

shootingmike, might be worth testing some skis?

There are some ski tests organised by Ellis Brighams happening at various domes round the country - details here

I'd suggest something versatile (probs an all mountain ski) that would allow you to ski all conditions given you'll be facing those on piste in Scotland (sometimes all in the same day lol Wink

). Personally I'd look at offerings from Fischer and Atomic in the first instance but that's personal preference.

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Thanks roga, I'm assuming your the same roga from winterhighland??

I have just missed out on the local EB snow dome test day. Out of curiosity, why Fischer or atomic? I guess they've served you well in the past?
From Internet research, the k2 photon and the atomic smoke ti get sound enough reviews....

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

After all it is free

shootingmike, never something to suggest to someone who wants new toys, but...

One tactic might be to wait until you know you're outgrown the current Heads and can articulate what it is that they're doing / not doing that you want to change. If they aren't too flappy at speed then I'd wait until you can ski consistently fast enough for their floppiness to be a problem.

If you do want a change then, personally, I'd go for something unashamedly piste-oriented *. The sizes underfoot you're looking at are ideal and, personally, if you can't demo then I'd just go for whatever is the best value.

* This is on the basis that your kids are young enough that you've got another 3-4 years of poolting around with them. In 3-4 years time the landscape will have changed completely..

Good point. Although I know that my skis are only aimed at "easy piste cruising", to be honest,i can't say there's anything i specifically find wrong with them at the moment. The other thought I had was to wait until February when we're up in aviemore and see what's reduced. When we went up this year, the was the model above my skis for sale at the same price I paid for mine...

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It was because I improved a lot faster than I thought I would, and I am looking to do a bit more off piste skiing. The photon is a great ski, forgiving and stable. It carves really well and handles most of the terrain you describe really well.

They do not handle crud/chopped up/off piste snow very well, or maybe this is just me. If you re sure you will not want to upgrade again then it may be the ski for you but the impact is only 80mm underfoot and I would say this would give you a bit more room to improve without sacrificing on piste ability.

I have them up for sale if you want to buy them there is an ad in the for sale section of this site, they are 163cm long.

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

Since you were on Head Peak 72s and quite liked them, have you considered the Head Supershape iMagnums?
Those are similar dimensions to the Peak 72s but with higher performance.

Or if you want a ski with similar performance but slightly wider for a little more float when you venture into powder I'd highly recommend the Head Supershape iTitans (170cm would probably be a good length for you). The Titans were one of the skis I was on last season (I reckon I skied around 120-130 days on that particular ski last season so have a decent idea of how they handle). They were great for ripping up the pistes, decent in the powder and I loved the low turning radius.

Judging by your requirements you'll stay mainly on-piste but want something which would still suit for future off-piste adventures so the Titan sounds like a good match. That is mainly an on-piste ski with dimensions which could deal with off-piste if you choose to.

This season I'll be on new Magnums myself but also have other pairs for powder days, however if I only could buy one pair of skis I would go for the Titans. As always best to demo if possible.

Help!!

Which "next ski" for confident intermediate.

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