 Poster: A snowHead
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Just finished a ski trip to Zell am See, Austria, and have had a bit of an eye-opener as far as my skis are concerned.
I have used hire skis on most of my 10 trips. I am still a fairly excrable skier, can get down most things but not with great style or grace.
Some trips, I have done better than others, depending on conditions, but also it seems with the skis I have been given.
Till a couple of years ago when I bought by own boots and skis.
The boots are great, fit well, fasten up well, no problems there.
I bought a set of Lusti Radical skis through a friend, which were OK at first, but seemed a bit on the long side, still I persevered, and went on a few more trips. My skiing seemed to come to a bit of a halt. I was finding them to be difficult to carve with, tough in bumpy/icy conditions, then on this trip, my family seemed to race ahead.
Until today, when on a whim, I hired some shorter, more flexible skis, just for a day, some Atomic Race STs.
Even the hire shop, remarked that these long, stiff skis were not suitable for me.
Well my turns were better, and faster, I wasn't left behind, I could parallel ski better on steeper/icier/bumpier slopes.
Instead of having stiff skis, that height wise came up to my chin, that I had to haul round every turn, I had a set that came up to my middle chest, bounced, bent, flexed, and responded, and turned my skiing around.
So I'm asking here, anyone got any recommendations for a good ski, not too pricey, for someone 75 Kilos, not to hot a skier, who just wants to keep up with his family, not too fast, but nice carving.
I tell you, jumping onto these shorter, more flexible skis, was a revelation.
Turned me into a skier, rather than a liability
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Sollophonic, am I missing something? Why not get a pair the same as the ones you hired? As you clearly liked them and got in with them?
Please note I am not and expert and don't own my own skis, thought about it for years but don't go enough and often at either end of the season where conditions aren't great I have quite reguarly thought "I am glad these aren't mine" when I felt a rock scrape the undersides which I hadn't seen due to a very thin covering of snow or where there have so many small stones I could't avoid scraping on something.
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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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Sollophonic, Don't listen to any recommendations for a particular ski on here. Hire some different skis and when you find the ones you like best, buy them. As NickyJ says, if you liked those Atomics - why not buy a pair ?
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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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Sollophonic, Not sure the Atomic was softer but is a very lively slalom ski, buy a pair.
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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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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Wordbird, I've never seen skiing look less cool.
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Cool or not, I wish I could ski that well!
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Sollophonic, there's something about Zell... When I went there a couple of years back they gave me (180cm 75kg aggressive skiing male) a pair of 158cm Volkl racetigers - and I loved them!
Some sort of micro-ski-micro-climate thing going on there
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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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Why would you want to do that and wreck your gloves 
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my gloves would take it.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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meh, that may be an extreme example but carving is what it's really about. Unfortunately most recreational skiers think 'cool' skiing means fast downhill in a straight line. Sad but true
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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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Sollophonic, the Lusti is almost certainly softer than the Atomics. Big difference in length however...
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I don't understand why you don't just continue hiring skis? I have two pairs of skis my first were very long and stiff, second a nice pair of atomics, actually I should sell them because they are gathering dust in the attic. I started hiring skis when my dh wasn't happy with his and wanted to find the best pair to suit him on the slopes so he went to the ski shop and hired a different pair each day until he found what he liked, it was the same price , the guy knew what he wanted to do. When we factored in the effort of carrying our skis to a resort ( flights charge extra) and waxing and edging etc. We found to get there and hire is the way for us. I book a pair of five stars , walk in with my boot in my hand, fix the bindings and off I go, always new skis, always top quality and no lugging skis to the airport and from the airport. I don't think I will buy any more skis. If I lived in an area where I was skiing all the time It would be worth while but otherwise the hire of my skis is so handy. I noticed too that the head skis I got this year were very light, and seemed a lot more bouncy, I hated handing them back.
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You know it makes sense.
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It does depend how often you use a pair of skis. I reckon the break even point with carriage and servicing of good skis is something like 5/6 weeks and I aim to get a seasons's equivalent so 18/20 weeks before I sell on so clearly makes sense to purchase for someone who skis regularly but I agree for the annual holiday skier does not make sense to buy. The benefits are being familiar with the ski and some people just like owning skis.
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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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Hmmm - in that vid it looks like they're on slightly longer snow-blades. 
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Poster: A snowHead
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If you were struggling to turn the skis that came up to your chin (this is a typical length recommended for beginners) the issue is not with skis but with technique. You are not likely to improve on skis that only come up to your chest. Get some lessons instead of buying a new set of skis. Your current skis are fine. Learn to finish your turns and turn skis by using their shape, not forcing skis to turn.
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FAQ
