Me: Advanced skier, 5'11", 200lbs
Where: At Stratton VT, Dec. 20-23. Lots of snow and cold temps. No crowds due to bad driving conditions and cold temps.
Watea 84, 176cm: WOW! Great ski. This ski replaced the B3 in my quiver. Light, lively (yet stable), and very manuverable. These were my first few days on this ski and they made me very happy. There were soft bumps on some trails (especially Liftline)...I was getting some tips from bump-skiing friends and the Wateas were perfect for me in the soft conditions. These are a no-brainer excellent choice for a mid-fat with a soft snow bias. The best thing about them was that most of the time I was not thinking about what ski I was skiing-the skis were just handling whatever I was doing, and everything was working.
Elan Ripstick, 170cm: The last day was cold with most of the soft snow packed into groomed runs. I bought these as a hard snow ski (2006 model, $325 shipped new with bindings from Mile High Athletic in August!), but was happy using them on "packed-powder" last Tuesday. Very fast, very quick edge to edge. As some have already mentioned it is a SL/GS hybrid. Very easy to mix up turn shapes. They had a very high "fun factor"...I could get a lot out of this ski without supreme effort at all times. Skinny underfoot (66), so I wouldn't take it out after new snow, but it seems to be perfect for hard snow cruising at places like Stratton and Okemo.
Bootglove: I had cold toes the first few days that made my feet uncomfortable. Toe warmers did nothing to help. Purchased Bootgloves at a shop. I was amazed at how well they worked. They claim to add 20 degrees and I can't dispute that. My feet felt great when I used them. They work. Get them if you have issues with cold toes. Try them on your boot before you buy-the sizing chart recommended a medium for my boot size, but a large fit better.
A great ski trip and 3 winners added to the gear collection.
Where: At Stratton VT, Dec. 20-23. Lots of snow and cold temps. No crowds due to bad driving conditions and cold temps.
Watea 84, 176cm: WOW! Great ski. This ski replaced the B3 in my quiver. Light, lively (yet stable), and very manuverable. These were my first few days on this ski and they made me very happy. There were soft bumps on some trails (especially Liftline)...I was getting some tips from bump-skiing friends and the Wateas were perfect for me in the soft conditions. These are a no-brainer excellent choice for a mid-fat with a soft snow bias. The best thing about them was that most of the time I was not thinking about what ski I was skiing-the skis were just handling whatever I was doing, and everything was working.
Elan Ripstick, 170cm: The last day was cold with most of the soft snow packed into groomed runs. I bought these as a hard snow ski (2006 model, $325 shipped new with bindings from Mile High Athletic in August!), but was happy using them on "packed-powder" last Tuesday. Very fast, very quick edge to edge. As some have already mentioned it is a SL/GS hybrid. Very easy to mix up turn shapes. They had a very high "fun factor"...I could get a lot out of this ski without supreme effort at all times. Skinny underfoot (66), so I wouldn't take it out after new snow, but it seems to be perfect for hard snow cruising at places like Stratton and Okemo.
Bootglove: I had cold toes the first few days that made my feet uncomfortable. Toe warmers did nothing to help. Purchased Bootgloves at a shop. I was amazed at how well they worked. They claim to add 20 degrees and I can't dispute that. My feet felt great when I used them. They work. Get them if you have issues with cold toes. Try them on your boot before you buy-the sizing chart recommended a medium for my boot size, but a large fit better.
A great ski trip and 3 winners added to the gear collection.
