The ultimate Ski and Equipment thread.

[unclebilly]

For my sons skis, we poked around online, found an ok deal then went to the shops looking. The shops were way more expensive than amazon and one salesman told me that the amazon deal was the deal of the century and to just buy it.

I know Solomon boots used to fit wide which is what I needed. My feet have never been sore in them. If you get cold feet, you can get Lycra booties that cover your boots to block the wind in the chair lifts.

[billybek]

If you are going up to the mountains, check to see if there are any ski demo days going on.
Nice to try some different boards before you make a decision. Late in the season, there may be some deals to be had too...
Been sick this weekend. One of the few weekends my son and I haven't been up.

[bugstrider]

Originally Posted by Daves911L

Oh, yeah, I like my old body bags too. I get a lot of scornful laughs. But I'm cozy and dry on powder days.

You have to post a pic of those bad boys.....



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[bugstrider]

Originally Posted by billybek

If you are going up to the mountains, check to see if there are any ski demo days going on.
Nice to try some different boards before you make a decision. Late in the season, there may be some deals to be had too...
Been sick this weekend. One of the few weekends my son and I haven't been up.

Thanks! I will be sure to see if there are any demo days happening.

Also hope you feel better soon. Sux being sick, especially with the crud going around this year...... nothing to be messing around with. We have a very dear friend who’s little girl is in the fight of her life right now in the children’s hospital near Denver. Docs told her 6 to 12 more months in the hospital..... not including the past 4-5 months. Very scary stuff....sorry, tangent.




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[bugstrider]

There might be hope here in River City



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[Mike Andrew]

Looks like it is worth a visit. Plan to spend a bit of time fitting if you do buy boots and, likely, a second visit after you ski them for a tweak or two. I was at the shop for about 2 hours for my last pair of moldable boots.
Also looks like they have a selection of demo skis for you to check out, at least the brands that they carry. As noted in my earlier post, ebay is your friend once you decide on a ski. I buy all my skis on ebay and typically pay about 50 - 60% of retail which is substantial $ when looking at $1200.00 retail prices. While I buy the previous year's skis, about the only changes are the graphics barring major innovations.
Big believer in skiing on the cheap.

[billybek]

Just as a counterpoint, I don't begrudge anyone trying to make a little money from me when selling equipment. I do have a problem if they try to make a LOT of money from me though!
I sometimes spend a little more at a family owned shop in town because I get damn good service from them.
In my opinion, using a shop to size up and select equipment without any intent to purchase from is the equivalent of stealing their time.
I typically wait until late in the season to purchase equipment when it is on sale.

[bugstrider]

Demo set #1




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[billybek]

My ski buddy has those and likes them.
How are you liking them?

[bugstrider]

Originally Posted by billybek

My ski buddy has those and likes them.
How are you liking them?

I like em, although my experience with new modern skis is extremely limited.

The wife took her first lesson in years and it was a good one. I didn’t hang around to watch. I took this on her last run of the day before we headed down the hill.


It was a small victory for her today by the big V

Then she promptly displayed a graceful recovery as she caught an edge. She stayed up though, which I was surprised by the hysterical laughter coming from her.




I gave her her space while I went exploring with the demo skis. After her lesson finished up and we had some lunch, I swapped out the demo set for another of similar design, Rossignol. Although they were shorter but they still were in the “range”.



Now I am unsure if the quality of the snow had something to do with it, but I felt as if they were a little squirmy coming down the slopes. The Rossi’s are still great skis,. Just in my experience today, the Volkl nudged them out of the lead by a hair. Temps warmed up and it got a bit slushy in areas. In an attempt to be fair, I attempted to hit the same slopes with the same aggression/style levels. So I’m sure that had an impact on my experience.

At the end of the day, I probably would leave the Rossi’s on the shelf and prefer the Volkl’s. At least for now......


In all, another great day, especially since the slope is 42 miles away.

Cheers

[bugstrider]

Originally Posted by billybek

I sometimes spend a little more at a family owned shop in town because I get damn good service from them.

I agree 100% on this point. All I ask in return, sound advise, good service, fair pricing, although I know it’s harder for the small shops to compete with the big box chains and the Internet. So getting personal attention when selecting and fitting boots is some thing I am willing to invest in.

That being said, the moment I detect deception and a line of B.S. being threaded out as truth, game over. So I will be bouncing off the info as I get it to see if it passes the smell test with you guys.

Along the lines of small business, this is the exact reason I spent a little extra coin on the CocoMats for the wife’s CRV, our new to us 2015 Chevy Volt( they now have the patterns because of our car) and soon to add them to the 78 SC Targa. Small business is getting harder and harder, that part is obvious and I am just a lowly CA state employee.

Cheers


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[Mike Andrew]

I agree with frequenting small businesses even for a bit more $ if the service is there. I do so regularly. Small shop in Bessemer, MI is my current boot & tuning guy and use a suburban shop for other stuff and have bought 3 or 4 pairs of boots from them over the past 10 years.
However, when they offer demo skis, they are making a profit for the demo use and at the end of the season when they sell them. If you want new skis and find them on the net, ask if they can match that price. If they can, or are close, buy them. Demos can also be a good deal if they have not been filled with Ptex because of abuse by people who treat them differently than their own skis.
Glad to see you are trying various brands to see what you like. I love my RTM 84's but there are lots of other skis out there.

[bugstrider]

So, after seeing this little nugget.

Decided to take a mental health ski day, in the name of science by comparing two more different types of skis. After a good storm rolled through, I had to hit the slopes.


My first set of Demo skis, Völkl Kendos, they performed very well and supported my earlier thoughts from last Sunday’s demo day.


Good conditions to try them out. It’s been years since I skied in a snow storm like today. Very cool and I actually was hitting runs that were free of previous tracks, and with 8-10” of Virgin snow.....SCORE!!!!



After a few hours, I swapped them out for a set of Rossignol..........again. Same but very different.



At the end of the day, I REALLY!!! Liked the SKY7 HD’s. They were very responsive, lite, easy to push through the moguls and stable on the flats, even after thrashing my legs on the first set. Yup, I really pushed my personal ability/boundaries trying to see what I could do with the skis.

I guess the plan worked since I am now walking around like a drunken sailor.

Cheers

[bugstrider]

65” in the last two days!!!!!
If roads are open, it’s gonna be off the hook...... although, the freeway is currently closed for avalanche patrol




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[bugstrider]

Yup, we’re idiots.....what the media is playing up as a March Miracle, back to back epic storms have finally made their way into the Sierra’s here in CA.
A couple of good storms provided us with the much needed snowpack we need for the inevitable fire season we will face this year.

This morning we got up and left to hit the slopes with every Tom, Dick and a Harry that also thought it a grand idea to enjoy the fresh powder. Knowing that the roads were unpredictable due to the heavy snow, threat of avalanches, CalTrans doing their best keeping the roads clear and chain control, including inexperienced drivers in Subaru’s that think they can still drive 90 mph and draft off each other in known icing conditions. Then are shocked when they are stuck in a snow drift. My inner Boy Scout kicked into full gear. Needless to say we were prepared. But I had rather have it and not need it rather than need it and not have it. With all of that, a 45 mile drive that normally takes a hour, took 2.5 hours. I look at it as an experience. Like visiting Disneyland on Christmas Day. Everyone should experience it at least once in his/her lifetime.



Stopped due to avalanche threats

But finally made it and on a new demo set that ultimately kicked my butt.


These are quite a bit wider than the SKY7’s so I was looking forward to trying them out. Let’s just say what my mind thought I was capable of was drastically different from reality. I head up to my test route and off I go. I inadvertently too a wrong turn off the groomed trail thinking it was one un-groomed run I ran last week. Have you ever known that you choose poorly 1.2 seconds after you commit yourself? Yup, that was me. I literally got my arse handed to me today by the run and the demo skis. I basically got myself into an insanely steep run in waste deep powder. My skill level was not even remotely up to the challenge, but I survived. It felt like I just went ten rounds in the ring. My technique was off, I was unbalanced not to mention an embarrassment to all skiers worldwide.

I had a difficult time getting a clean edge on the groomers and let’s not talk about the mini moguls... after fighting them for a couple of hours, I swapped them out for the SKY7’s again. I did better but I could tell my earlier exploits affected the rest of the days performances.

Another great day, however I’m going to bed.............

BTW, they do exist.......

[Geary]

Some ski brands now offer Magne Traction edges, which allow you to still carve in near ice conditions.

[bugstrider]

Thread bump.

This past year has been a busy one. Work, home. The addition of 2.5 grandkids has not really left any time for extra curricular activities. I have not put any research into proper ski gear and in-fact, earlier this month was my first ski trip of the season.

Today, I stopped by a local thrift store and just could not pass on these. At $7.75, I figure I could not go wrong. I just finished adjusting the bindings and the bottoms could use some fresh wax. If they suck then I can drill them to the inside of the hangar as decorations.

Thoughts?




I know from my demo days, I am leaning towards an all mountain ski and zeroing in on the Völkl Mantra or Sole7 series. The demo lengths have ranged from 165-171CM at the shop so I am still trying to figure that part out. It’s vastly different from the days past. Technology, amazing developments in the sport.

[billybek]

They look like a slalom cut.
should be good for tight turns and bumps.

[billybek]

Heading out to the mountains in an hour to do some skiing with my son today.

[CurtEgerer]

Hello, my name is Curt. I used to have a problem:



And that was just the ones I recently sold. Here they are being hauled off