Help Me Pick Some New Skis
 

Last year I returned to downhill skiing after 8+ years off. I spent the year on the bunny hill teaching my daughter, but now she's a the point where I'll be able to do semi-serious skiing more often.

So, naturally, I'm thinking of upgrading my equipment. After all, I'm going to be a worse skier than I used to be - I'm 15 years older and don't have the time to ski 30 days a year anymore. So it seems only fair that I get some technological assistance.

My current skis are among the last of the old-style straight-sided (conventional sidecut) skis, K2 "Extreme" in 195cm. These were K2's "all-mountain expert" ski back in the day.

What I wanted then, and still want now, are skis that will (1) hold fast medium-radius carved turns on steep slopes, (2) be quick-turning and not too stiff for the bumps, (3) be at least passable in crud, and (4) be tolerably stable at higher speed, but needn't be a GS ski or an autopilot cruiser.

I "think" this means that I want today's version of the "all-mountain" ski. After some reading, I'm thinking about the Volkl SuperStar 5 and 6.

Can anyone give me some advice? Do you ski the Volkls, or another ski that would meet my needs, that you can recommend? What ski length should I consider (I'm 200# and used to be a good skiier, hopefully I'll work my way back to "decent").

P.S. They have to look good on a 911 too.

Volkl 5 stars are great. Don't own them, but have skied them at various demo events. Being in the ski business, I can have my choice of product to ski on and I chose the Dynastar Legend 8000s. They are orange....so they might clash with the car....

I tried a few different skis while away over Christmas (one of the advantages of renting). Mostly I stuck to GS skis (like the Rossignol 9X), but they are pretty heavy and only average at short turns/bumps. Specificly with the 9X "Oversize", I thought it was fine in powder, but crud was not especially easy. Other people I was with had Bandits and they thought they were great. Mind you, I like going fast and not turning much (I'm lazy).

Tried a Volkl GS ski. It was... purposeful. This is another way of saying it was only any good for GS (but it was very good). At the other extreme, I tried some Stockli Snakes (a twin tip ski). Absolutely hilarious fun in powder/crud, absolutely scary at speed and on hard surfaces.

Second that, I've skied Volkl's for 20 years and don't think I'd ever switch.

But then again ski technology is so good these days you could hardly go wrong.

Check your local shop and see what "demos" they have to rent, costs a bit more but it's better than making a costly poor choice.

Mountains have lots of brands to demo as well and you have the ability to grab one set, make a couple of runs and swap em for another set.

That way you can try a few at the same time and get a real comparison.

Wait till the summer or fall and grab what you like from last years leftover stock at firesale prices.

Scott

GO with 5 Stars, I am a little biased as I work there. However, haveing tested a few skis here and there, you will not be un-happy. Don't forget about a new pair of Tecnica boots to go with them. :)

Rick,
What do you do for Volkl/Tec...?
I buy for TSA...

Buddy of mine lived on those extreems for years-loved them. He now skiis Line. However, on his last trip to Snowbird he demoed Rossi BanditIIIs. Despite being wide and short, he said they were amazingly versitile. He was skiing with some friends of his who were judging some a mogul competition in Deer Valley. They use the B3s and pretty much shred anything with them.

Just food for thought. I guess I would demo and then buy. I do LOVE Technica boots.

Atomic Beta CarvX 9.18

Try them all before you buy...but definitely try Fischer. You'll want an All Mountain Cruiser or Expert. Fischer Rx9 (109 shovel, 69 waist, 96 tail) is a "bigger" turn All Mountain Expert ski and the Rx8 (115-66-98) is a bit tighter turning - probably better for your comeback. Probably want something between a 170 - 180cm. Shorter is better these days. You're going to want new boots too because the skis nowadays need different input - stiffer side to side and softer forward pressure... Take some lessons - the new sidecut designs respond to a different technique then when you last skied seriously.

The 5 Star is awesome. This is me, demo'ing them last year at Beaver Creek:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1109636903.jpg

Porsche has a re-skinned version of the Volkl 5 Star that pops up on eBay frequently. Year old, but brand new versions, with Marker Motion bindings usually go for $400-$500:
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1109637359.jpg

I bought this used set for around $100 (based on the P50):

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1109637438.jpg

But as Scott mentioned, it is VERY difficult to go wrong these days. I've demo'd a couple of dozen skis over the past few years and really haven't found one that I don't like. The trick is to buy short enough skis! I'm down to 177 now and will probably go to a 173 or so next time around.

I've got a set of Salomon Crossmax 10's and I love them. I'd definitely get a set with the integrated bindings. If you haven't skied in 8 years anything new and shaped will be great.

John

Badcar,
Warranty for our big three, plus over see Nordica, Elan, Dolomite, Nitro.

O Yeah those "Porsche" skis look great! I suppose there is such as thing as taking the Porsche-love too far, but they would look good on the 911 . . .

Thanks for the advice everyone, and especially about the boots. I hadn't thought about changes in boots. Maybe my old Rossignol boots will have to go. I do need a cant adjustment in the cuffs, because I am naturally knock-knee'd, but I imagine that's a common feature nowadays?

Yeah, boots have improved as much as the skis. No need to wear those ultra-stiff racing boots anymore. A good all-mountain boot will do everything one needs (short of all-out racing) and be comfortable all day and you won't even need to unbuckle at lunch. Boots are much tougher to demo, but the need to demo is greater than skis. It just seems there are certain boot brands that fit certain feet and those that don't. I've been a Lange person forever. So, if there's a boot you've always skied, chances are the new versions will probably fit too.

I was a Lange guy too. Seemed like something changed in the late eighties. I then switched to Technica. Love 'em! I bought a pair of Nordica GPs when I broke my Technicas on a hard landing (stuck it though, the ski headed for base with the bottom half of the boot still in the binding:)) . The Nordicas felt great in the shop, but killed me on the slopes.

Demo!!

John - if you're knock-kneed its more likely you should be fitted with a custom footbed. This will recenter your knee over your foot and give a full range of edge to edge transition. Adjusting the cuff won't change the relationship of your hip, leg, knee, and foot to the sweet spot on the ski - it just centers the cuff around the lower leg. If the lower leg is at an angle (knock kneed) to the ski - you are still going to be riding the inside edge. Go to a real bootfitter, spend the extra bucks, and your skiing will be easier and more improved than you can imagine.

Actually, you should probably get new boots fitted first so your physical alignment doesn't affect your ski choice.... you can make a poor ski work with great fitting boots. But even a great ski will feel like crap with poorly fit boots.

I'm loyal to Rossis but lately every brand has gone into the hourglass shape and I'm not a big fan. It feels like it's hard to go straight. The shape skis seem to wander all over the place (like tramlining tires) and *want* to turn by themselves. While good for some, it's irritating to keep fighting the skis just to go straight. I can do my own turns, thanks.

So I'd recommend finding something w/ as little sidecut as possible, if you can. As for stability, 195 used to be right on, but now w/ new technology all the skis are getting shorter, almost taking the skill out of it. A modern 185 is probably as stable as your 195cm.

BTW, anyone (that lives near mountains) know a well-stocked retailer for Spyder pants?

Dave, I'd say you might have a boot alignment problem that is causing the skis not to run flat or you need to modify your technique slightly. I know I was accustomed to pressuring conventional stiff old-style race skis to 'de-chamber' them. It took a while to learn to be much more smooth, just tilt the skiis on edge and steer with both feet rather than just turning with a heavily pressured outside ski. Also, some of the very first shaped-skis I tried (8-9 years ago) tended to wander a bit at high speed, but there should be none of that with today's skis. OTOH, as long as you're having fun, who cares? :cool:

Salomon XScream Pilot Hots are fun and I just picked up a pair of
Atomic R:EX that are an all round fun and crud ski.

Free your heel, free your mind. Try Telemark.

john

LOL, thanks for support Kurt. You're probably right. First (and last) time I tried shaped skis was easily 7-8 yrs ago. Just didn't feel right.

I'm still happy w/ my slalom skis from mid '90s. Alberto Tomba's "vintage" slalom skis w/ *gasp* vertical sidewalls! :D

And yeah, I'm having fun but I don't know what I'll do when those get really chewed up. I'm worried there won't be many of such skis around any more... they are heading the way of the aircooled motors...

Next you'll probably tell me that they can make my "Purple Haze" XR9's easy to get into AND comfortable ;)

X-SCREAMS! they'll change your life!

I have a set of 200cm k2 extremes w/M-40s (i think) that someone can have if they want. I'm sure they would be happy to be off the hook they have been hanging on in my garage for the last 3 years.

(...and any of you fellows w/a pro-form want to help a brother out...?)

<i>And yeah, I'm having fun but I don't know what I'll do when those get really chewed up.</i>

hahaha .... I can fix you up. I've got a wall in my garage I refer to as the 'rack of shame'. I kinda hold onto all of my old skis .... Spaulding Squadra Corse Super G (210 & 215) and Downhills (223!), a few pairs of various Atomics from the 70/80s, Dynamic VR17s, etc. :)

I tend to hold onto my old skis too:

Head Std's - 210cm
PRE 1200's - 204cm
Rossignol 4G - 217 cm (Racing Stock!)
Atomic Super GS's - 215cm (also Racing Stock!)
Volkl GS boards - 210cm (can't recall model, bought the year prior to the shaped ski boom).

Haven't skied in 5 years though. Kids are getting to be the age to start them so this thread is timely for me.

Sadly I don't have a wall of shame-unless my Chubbs count:). I've had a lot of the skiis mentioned above though.

I usually demo a pair of skiis out in Vail. If I like them, I buy a pair and leave my old ones in the rack for some needy skiier.

My Kastle National Team Super Gs (213) lasted two seasons in the rack:).

Actually the boots that I liked the most were Hansons (remember them?) which just fit my narrow low-instep foot well. But of course those are all in landfills now.

I will look into the custom footbed. I have a hard time understanding how a footbed will correct a geometry problem of my lower leg and knee, but I've heard this advice before so I will heed it.

My old skis mostly linger on in the garage too. Besides the K2 Extremes, I have Rossi 3Gs and the orange/black Rossi STs enjoying a well-deserved retirement. But I am trying to simplify and will probably toss them one of these days, regardless of the memories that will go with them.

Telemark turns are lovely and graceful, but it just looks too hard on the knees, plus even the best telemark skiiers I've known still couldn't handle dropping into a steep chute or picking a path through big bumps very well.

Hansons? My only experience with them was at a summer ski demo at a local resort. They had setup this artificial ski hill of wood framing and a rolling carpet just outside of the ski shop. You would essentially ski in one spot as the carpet rolled beneath you! Well, Hank Kashiwa (Olympic skier and Pro Champion) was the Hanson spokesperson. He did some sort of demo and then they ask for a volunteer with small feet to fit in his boots (8 or 8 1/2 as I recall). So I got volunteered by my buddies. Squeezed into his experimental Hanson Competitions (they came up just below my knees and hurt like hell!) and skied the rolling carpet with Hank's boots and skis. That's my story! ;)

I've done those carpet things-they're a trip! I've also tried Hansons. Killer painfull for me, but some skiiers I knew swore by them. They usually were perched atop some Hexcels or The Ski. Another ski boot of that genre-Scott boots-more pain for me, but a significant cult following. The guys I envied the most had the two different colored Scott boots and The ski-likewise different colrs. Usually a bandana factored as well as a wine skin and the red, white, and blue aviator shades.

Ski ad trivia: Remember the Lange girl? (Yes-there were a few) I mean THE Lange girl-the one with the shorts and bent over in a crawling position. I dated her. Woo-Hoo!-My fifteen seconds of fame! Trust me-15 seconds was a long time with her. Dohh!:)

OH MY GOD THAT IS A RIOT! I forgot about all that, the wineskin, the bandana... Lest we forget the jeans tucked into a nice set of gators! Or vuarnet glasses! CB two colored pullovers.

(ok, I'll admit it...I had the Roffe pants that flared out from knee down and demetre sweater with pads on the arms...you guys know you did too).

joe 68 L

http://www.desciose.com/Advertisemen...otos/Lange.jpg

OMG! Where did you find that?? I've been looking EVERYWHERE for that pic!

Damn! I haven't seen her in more than twenty years. Good memories.

Believe it or not-she even looked better in person and was totally cool. One of my regrets that I let that one die on the vine.

Thanks for the memory jolt:).

As a young teenager, and skier, when that poster came out, it goes without saying that I spent much time staring at that image...

PS - And I really, really anted a pair of Lange's but couldn't afford them...

PPS - goto: http://www.desciose.com/Advertisements/AdPhotos/Lange.jpg for the page I got it from, did a google for "lange boots"...

ha ha great ad guys. made my day

http://www.desciose.com/Advertisemen...otos/Lange.jpg

It was weird how I met her. Some friends and I were j.d.a. and she's next to us at a stop light. She is so totally hot that I make an idiot of myself and start up a conversation-I HAD to. The light changes and we take off side by side (I'm in the passenger seat-she's driving). We keep talking from light to light. I have NO idea what I said to keep her interest, but I ended up asking her if she wanted to go party. She waved us in behind her and we followed to her apartment.

I had no idea who she was until I returned to her apartment later that night. I used her bathroom, and there it was-The Poster! It was framed and hanging on her door. Like most models, she had pictures of herself all over the place. I knew then and there exactly who she was.

Christ, I still got that poster taped to my bedroom wall ..... :D My wife doesn't care for it that much.

<i>"(ok, I'll admit it...I had the Roffe pants that flared out from knee down and demetre sweater with pads on the arms...you guys know you did too)."</i>

Yes, but did you have JetStix?

LOL! Yes! How could you "noodle" without them?:D

Lest we also forget Spademan bindings that held Scott boots to The Ski.

My first skiis were K2 Cheeseburgers with Besser safety bindings. God those sucked!

And pins! Lotsa pins from all the ski hills!

If you guys want some nostalgic skiing, if you're ever in the the Northeast, try Mad River Glen. Simply amazing atmosphere w/ very scenic runs. It's not big or wide open like the trails in the Rockies but it has that something...

https://www.vintageskiworld.com/imag...soft_thumb.jpg

The other popular Lange poster. She didn't do it for me as much as the other one.

I would love to get one of the other posters. This one is $125!

Guilty on all counts. Man, those were the days. :cool:

I loved the way Lange boots skied but damn they hurt until about the 5th run...or when your feet go numb. Switched to Raichle Flexon Comps...much softer boot but my feet were much happier.

I worked as a ski tech back then so everything was on shop form. Even made my own custom foot beds (highly recommended).