 Poster: A snowHead
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Hello all,
This is my first post here so please be gentle. I am off to Whistler next month, I'm currently considering getting some Whitedot Directors at 168 but i am unsure if A I need them or B if they are right for me.
Im a fairly short guy at 5,3 and a half(half is all important) and I'm about 60KG. I have done about 14 weeks skiing and can ski down most piste runs but I am now starting to get the itch for some Off Piste/bowl action.
I currently have a pair of K2 Impact at 160cm which are great but I am not sure how they are going to behave off piste hence why I was looking at the Directors. I have never skied a full rockered ski before - I think the skis I have are about 30% rockered at the tip.
Will there be much difference between the full rockered Director and my K2's?
How have people found when moving from a traditional ski to a full rockered ski?
Will the Directors be too much ski for me based on my experience?
Sorry for the long post and all the questions!!!
Any advice would great.
Thanks
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Rent/demo a few pairs while you are out there. If you've never skied this kind of ski you have to at least try something similar before taking the plunge, ideally try that exact model if you can. I once bought a pair of skis based on reviews and advice... never again, now I will only buy once I've demoed them.
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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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Rockered skis make things easier and more fun - offpiste at least. My sister skis the Directors no problem, she's an ok but not brilliant skier. I doubt you'd have too many problems. You want the size up though, especially for an offpiste ski...
Unlike sah, I've never demoed any ski before buying, yet have always got exactly what I wanted... There's plenty of info on ski characteristics out there, you jsut need to define exactly what you want, then find a ski to match it (TGR is a good source of relatively unbiased reviews, btw). Of course if you can find a demo without too much hassle, you may as well.
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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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Thanks for the speedy replies!
I demoed the K2's I have at Tamworth a few years ago but thought it would be pretty pointless with a ski like the Director. I think will try and see if any rental shops in Whistler stock them.
I was thinking about the 168 because i thought it might be more manageable on Piste as well as Off.
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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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Benjamint, I'd try them to see if they are for you. I found they ski well as a powder ski 'in the snow'.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| Benjamint wrote: |
I was thinking about the 168 because i thought it might be more manageable on Piste as well as Off. |
178 still isn't exactly long and unmanageable, especially with the rocker. Extra length makes a big difference in the soft stuff too.
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Benjamint, the Directors ski very short, my wife who is 5'5" has moved from a 169Preacher to the 178Director, she is a competent but not aggressive skier.
There is now a Whitedot Canada facebook page, send them a message about a demo.
Let us know if you have any problems or further questions.
Best of luck with picking a new ski, lots of great kit out there.
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I think you would find a 168 rockered ski to short as the amount of contact would be really short and when in deeper snow you wouldn't really get the full benefit of skiing a rockered ski the point of which is you can ski a longer ski due to the short contact on piste and the stability of a longer ski in soft snow.they really do ski easier than you think so try and demo then choose the size but is say 178 for your hieght.
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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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| clarky999 wrote: |
Rockered skis make things easier and more fun - offpiste at least. My sister skis the Directors no problem, she's an ok but not brilliant skier. I doubt you'd have too many problems. You want the size up though, especially for an offpiste ski...
Unlike sah, I've never demoed any ski before buying, yet have always got exactly what I wanted... There's plenty of info on ski characteristics out there, you jsut need to define exactly what you want, then find a ski to match it (TGR is a good source of relatively unbiased reviews, btw). Of course if you can find a demo without too much hassle, you may as well. |
How do you know what you want until you've tried it though? If you've only had 1 pair of skis and never skied a rocker ski or a softer/wider ski you won't know if you like it. Rocker does help off piste, but on piste a ski like this might be a surprise (I really liked the pair of Coombacks I tried last week, even on piste, so a surprise in a good way, but not what I expected... I'm glad I demoed them because I wasn't convinced before:-) ).
And trying a few different skis is part of the fun anyway, then you can bore people on the internets with your advice like I do 
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sah, I know how I like to ski (and how I want to ski in future), and what sort of performance and characteristics I want from a ski, so I geek out on internet research, reading endless reviews, watching videos, etc to find what I want.
Obviously in a perfect world you could demo anything you're interested in without much hassle, but I'm yet to find a shop that stocks even half the brands I'm interested in, let alone has demos of them all in the right size!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Benjamint, 178 not 168.
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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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I second the recommendation to get a demo somehow...even if it might be a slightly longer version than you might eventually purchase. It will give you a good feel for it.
I rode the Director a while ago...here is a link to the review:
http://www.exoticskis.com/forum/default.aspx?g=posts&t=202
The folks at White Dot are very friendly and helpful...great crew willing to help skiers find the right model and length.
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I have been touch with the guys at Whitedot and their Canada Facebook page. The customer service has been first class, getting back to me in no time at all. Very impressed already!
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I think you would find a 168 rockered ski to short as the amount of contact would be really short and when in deeper snow you wouldn't really get the full benefit of skiing a rockered ski the point of which is you can ski a longer ski due to the short contact on piste and the stability of a longer ski in soft snow.they really do ski easier than you think so try and demo then choose the size but is say 178 for your hieght.
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Definitely a good idea demoing them as I have never skied that type of ski before. I have organized to demo a pair of Directors at 178 cm (thanks for the advice) in Whistler when I'm out there.
Thanks for the all the advice.
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You know it makes sense.
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I don't know if you'll find this helpful at all, but I've just come back from a week skiing a pair of Directors for the first time (I bought them in the sales at the end of last season and had to endure looking at them for 8 months before being able to try them out). They are my first pair of "fatter" skis, I've been on some Fischer cold heats for the last four years.
I thought they were absolutely great! They made a huge difference off-piste, incredibly smooth and easy to ski on, but I was also very pleasantly surprised by how good, fast and stable they were on piste too. I would definitely recommend them to anyone...
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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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Benjamint, you should have a great demo day in whistler good amount of varied terrain,have a good trip.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Benjamint,
I was in Skis and Bikes (Snowcovers or whatever they now call themselves) in the marketplace at Whistler last week getting my Redeemer Carbonlites and Ragnoroks mounted up.
They said they are demoing Whitedots, but were planning on only having the Preacher, which I think they already have. I was talking to their buyer guy and suggested that they should also have the Director in as a demo since for Whistler imho it is a better choice of allround ski (well actually they are both probably good all-rounders, but have probably a slightly different skiing type bias, but for the sort of skiing I do a lot of in Whistler the Redeemer is the way forward, but a slightly narrower version ie the Director would be good on some really no soft snow days).
Ping them and get them to get onto the whitedot guy to get you the Directors in to Demo.
[edit - oh see you already have it sorted!  ]
Last edited by Poster: A snowHead on Fri 25-01-13 15:44; edited 1 time in total
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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and as others have said go longer.
My Redeemers (both normal and Carbonlite) are 190 and despite the extra girth and length, are very easy to ski everywhere. I'm 5'9 and just a teensy smidging (or 25!) heavier.
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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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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| midgetbiker wrote: |
Benjamint, the Directors ski very short, my wife who is 5'5" has moved from a 169Preacher to the 178Director, she is a competent but not aggressive skier.
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I'm a little shorter then your wife, but probably a little stockier too, I love my 169 Preachers, as a matter of interest why did she prefer the Directors?
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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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| On the rocks wrote: |
| midgetbiker wrote: |
Benjamint, the Directors ski very short, my wife who is 5'5" has moved from a 169Preacher to the 178Director, she is a competent but not aggressive skier.
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I'm a little shorter then your wife, but probably a little stockier too, I love my 169 Preachers, as a matter of interest why did she prefer the Directors? |
She likes an 'easy' life.
She has now switched allegance to a proto ski I asked her to test (given that I'm on crutches) which is scheduled for release in the 2014/15 season.
Fickle eh!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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do you really want a ski with a turn radius of 27 Metres? you may want to look at the Preacher (Green) ski
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skimottaret,
RattyTheSnowRat stars in "Totally Ratical" the new movie from "Sod it - I've forgot the camera again" productions!
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Do you really want a ski with a turn radius of 27 Metres?
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said the Daily Mail
"Whhhhheeeeeaaaaaahhhhh?!?!" said Rollercoaster Review.
"Another bloody freeriding movie?" said SnowHeads Sunday Spectacular
"Beacuse in the couloir there's nowhere to turn ........"
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| midgetbiker wrote: |
| (given that I'm on crutches) |
What have you done to yourself!
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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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A bit off topic (but, hey, this is an off piste question so I guess it's allowed).
As a shortie myself I generally find that whilst I can quite happily ski the longer skis I really hate carrying anything much longer than I am tall. Short of hiring a ski caddy and abandoning my feminist principles, I can't see an easy way of getting the skis around when I'm not actually using them. How do other people deal with the practicalities?
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Nay, Rossi S series.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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CH2O, how would you say the preachers compare to the S series in terms of stiffness? when I have seen people on em the rossis look a bit flappy to me but the preachers seem more stable...
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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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Flappy = unstable now? 
Rockered tip and tail on hardpack generally means a bit of flappiness unless your ski is exceedingly stiff and damp (or "dead", to put it another way). Doesn't actually make a hell of a lot of difference to your skiing. The Preacher doesn't exhibit flappy tips because it is a conventionally cambered ski; that says nothing about its stiffness or stability.
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| skimottaret wrote: |
| do you really want a ski with a turn radius of 27 Metres? you may want to look at the Preacher (Green) ski |
Why not? With this sort of ski though the radius doesn't really tell you very much about how it'll ski, or turn, other than it'll be less hooky when making turns of any size than a ski with big sidecut (my 190 skis with a 26.5m turn radius are MUCH nicer/easier to make short turns [and bigger than radius turns for that matter too] with than my skis with an 18m radius, aggressive sidecut = wants to make turns the same size as their sidecut, subtle sidecut = more freedom to decide size of turn for yourself).
On ungroomed snow, can anyone think of a single scenario in which you WANT a big, deep sidecut? I honestly can't...
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You know it makes sense.
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Serriadh, fair enough i stand corrected
clarky999, 5' 3" and 60 kg doesnt really sound like a good match to me but always worth a demo....
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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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skimottaret, My sister's smaller and light and does fine with them, they seem pretty easy to chuck around - it's not like with a trad shape that's designed to ski at it's radius, much of the ski has no sidecut, so easy to scrub out/pivot for tight turns. My sister never approaches 27m radius turns anyway.
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Poster: A snowHead
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I think the Preacher has a 2m Tip and skis like my neighbours back door.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| sah wrote: |
| Rent/demo a few pairs while you are out there. If you've never skied this kind of ski you have to at least try something similar before taking the plunge, ideally try that exact model if you can. I once bought a pair of skis based on reviews and advice... never again, now I will only buy once I've demoed them. |
This, 110%
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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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Harry Flashman, weeeeell, I'd have agreed up until the last trip.
I went from a ski with traditional construction to a ski with much more rocker/early rise both front and rear. It took at least a day to get used to. if I'd demo'd for an hour or two, or even half a day, I wouldn't have bought them.
Now I think they're great.
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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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| Mosha Marc wrote: |
Harry Flashman, weeeeell, I'd have agreed up until the last trip.
I went from a ski with traditional construction to a ski with much more rocker/early rise both front and rear. It took at least a day to get used to. if I'd demo'd for an hour or two, or even half a day, I wouldn't have bought them.
Now I think they're great. |
Agree with this 100%, the move to rocker can take some adjustment, especially tip & tail rocker.
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