EpicSki  ›  The Barking Bear Forums  ›  Skiing Forums  ›  Ski Gear Discussion  ›  IQ TEST: IS THERE REALLY ONE PAIR OF SKIS THAT WILL DO IT ALL?
Forum Nav More Forums | All New Posts | New Thread

IQ TEST: IS THERE REALLY ONE PAIR OF SKIS THAT WILL DO IT ALL?

#31
Rating: 0
10/19/09 at 8:59am
  • Joined: May 2009
  • Location: Breckenridge, CO
  • Post Count: 1,258


Quote:
Originally Posted by sunpeak View Post

***Mastersracer*** I have about 200 pair in the barn....it really would make a nice fence...and no painting needed.
"my assignment, and I accept the challenge",  is to try Elan 888's, Mythic's, Ice nomads, gotama, and stockli vxl...and maybe mantra's....by Valentines I will have a small ski rack and and a longer fence :-)

A photo of the skis would be greatly appreciated in More Retro Memories... Even if it is after the fence building. There is a shrine to skis in AK that might give you some inspiration; its in the thread MRM.

Mudfoot makes a good point about ability and mindset being more important. No ski will make up for that.

I'm not up on the latest models; if I look at them, I'll want them. I find out what works by talking to people with intersting skis on the lift. No chance of pulling out the wallet while I oogle the goods. If I had to choose a single ski from my quiver (which ranges for 161cm 13m SL skis to 180 cm 130-110-120 sidecut skis and everything in between), I'd choose my K2 Hippie Stinx: 169cm 130-95-120 sidecut twin tip. Its a tele ski by design, but any ski with those numbers would be about right. It is fat enought to float on most powder days. It is short enough for the trees and to hop turn down any tight chute. Twin tips make it easy to push the tails when needed. When sharp, the will rail on early season man made snow with ease. A little longer wouldn't hurt except for tight trees, one of my favorite on mountain escapes from the public.

MR
Export to Wiki
#32
Rating: 0
10/19/09 at 9:18am
  • Joined: December 2007
  • Location: The Bull City
  • Post Count: 12,042

IQ TEST: IS THERE REALLY ONE PAIR OF SKIS THAT WILL DO IT ALL?


This isn't an IQ test.  This is a good test of overall ski technique vs. desire to excel.

I skied a one ski quiver GS ski for many years.  I had many years experience skiing competitively and teaching some.  I ended up using my GS ski for Midwest hard-pack and ice bumps, Western powder and trees, and Northeastern everything with success..  I never felt outgunned by the conditions or other skiers on the same trail or back bowls. 

That said, I'm sure having a bump ski on spring days, having a SL ski on more leisurely days skiing with slower folks, etc.. might have been nice but not necessary.  They didn't really have many powder specific skis on those day so any GS skis were pretty ideal for those conditions.  Today's diversity of ski types, side-cuts, and waist sizes makes the one ski option considerably less optimal..

That said, If I had to go back to a one ski quiver I would go with a radius (19-ish)  longer length (186) cheater GS type or all mountain ski since I ski mostly hard-pack.  If I skied more powder and trees I'd go with an 80 or 85 waist like the K2 Extreme or others already mentioned.

I'd rather be skiing
 
Export to Wiki
#33
Rating: 0
10/19/09 at 9:19am
  • Joined: October 2009
  • Location: Orcas Island Washington
  • Post Count: 30
Mudfoot the only thing I would add is that the chairlift bull wheel turns on dollars and the newer shaped skis have put put a whole lotta folks on the "regular" list and shortened the learn/progression curve.  Of course Mr Burton's gorillas haven't hurt either the cash register either.  At Sun Peaks I think Nippon Wire (Owners) have put $240 million into Tod Mt and I don't think our asian pals would do that without the returning crowds...half of whom would have quit and gone to the hockey game if they had to ski what you and I learned on....long african spears with a bent tip :-)

NO FRIENDS ON POWDER DAYS

Export to Wiki
#34
Rating: 0
10/19/09 at 9:23am
  • Joined: February 2004
  • Location: Durango
  • Post Count: 2,580
Sunpeak:

No argument that the newer skis make things easier, but they also offer more multi-demensional options that make skiing just one a more attractive option.
Export to Wiki
#35
Rating: 0
10/19/09 at 11:26am
  • Joined: July 2002
  • Location: Toronto, Ont
  • Post Count: 6,433
Stockli XL or AT.
Export to Wiki
#36
Rating: 0
10/19/09 at 3:37pm
  • Joined: October 2009
  • Location: Orcas Island Washington
  • Post Count: 30
Thanks E I appreciate it SP

NO FRIENDS ON POWDER DAYS

Export to Wiki
#37
Rating: 0
11/9/09 at 10:39am
  • Joined: January 2001
  • Post Count: 2,570
Originally Posted by sunpeak View Post

Hey Garry I am old but not broken.  Ski all over the hill and like the powder days (BC interior) probably a 30%/70% skier.  5'11" 190#. I am not easily deterred by terrain and skied patrol in St Moritz just after the first computer came out. 

Always thought k2's a bit too soft, Salomon xtra hots a bit too stiff, Rossi's bandit XXX close but no lift in the soft, We go to Sun Peaks at xmas and come home when they throw us out in April so mostly lite fresh with some glazed donut days and always a run thru the trees.  Wax regular so don't really need more speed. I am coming down..210,200,185,177 last. 
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by GarryZ View Post

It sounds to me you could use two skis. An all around ski that can venture into powder around 80 to 90 in waist and some powder boards like the new Gotama or wider with some rocker to help keep the tips up .

The Bandits are a nice ski indeed and have similar cousins available. I like the 8800 for an  all purpose ski and bought some Stockli VXL's to replace them which has a softer tip and tail for trees and bumping. The Mythic Riders replaced the 8800's and are fairly stiff though. Check out the Elans around 80 to 90mm mid . There are a couple good choices that I came close to purchasing.

Around 100 you have lots of choices. Bro softs that aren't really soft are a good everyday ski for soft snow and when it starts to set up but don't have a lot of sidecut. 
Do you want something turny ?  Then look for lots of sidecut. Maybe the Mantra is one you should look at . 

 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Posaune View Post

 By your screen name I figure you ski at Sun Peaks frequently.  Of the skis I've tried, the Elan 888 (88 under foot) might be just the one you're looking for.  In my experience at SP there is not much deep powder,  but the snow is cold and often soft when packed.  I've skied there on some pretty hard days as well.  The 888 can ski powder (not the best, but it works pretty good) and can also ski packed snow well.  They like to go fast but can be skied slow and either carved or skidded depending on need.  They have that Elan damp feel, but not at the expense of performance.  

For skiing the soft stuff at Mt. Baker I have other skis, but I used the Elans about half of the time last season.
 
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by sunpeak View Post

Uncle Louie, I know that there are different skis and different sized screwdrivers for a reason.

 I do know that a Ferrari and a pick up are needed to handle the different tasks as well.  All I am trying to do is simplify my life.....you know I ski only one place and I like all parts of the mountain and in all different types of snow....I'm just trying to find the right size of swiss army knife for most situations. 
...
"my assignment, and I accept the challenge",  is to try Elan 888's, Mythic's, Ice nomads, gotama, and stockli vxl...and maybe mantra's....by Valentines I will have a small ski rack and and a longer fence :-)

Try the Stockli VXL, that really could be your ski. It's similar to the Elan 888, Philpug or GaryZ or someone could explain the differences. I tried it last year at Big Sky. I'm about your size and skied it at 179 with a Vist Plate on it. (Speedlock something)
It's the first ski I've been on in a while where I wanted to buy it right there. Loved it more than many of the much wider skis I was on that week. Did not want to give that one back, and kept making excuses to hang on to it.

It's damp but gives good feedback, very stable at speed and will carve amazingly well even with it's realtively long radius sidecut. Totally inspires confidence in cruddy cut up powder. I was actually seeking that stuff out.  Skied couple runs with it in deep powder gumbo mix off Lone Peak. Loved it. We did not have ice to try it out on, but it's probably quite good on that too.
I vastly preferred the VXL to the Scott Crusade I was trying at the time. (Lou had these skis, so we didn't have to bring them back to a shop) The Scott was 94mm underfoot and had lots of side cut - maybe in the 16m range?. The VXL would carve much better in my opinion, even with it's sidecut of 21m. It probably wouldn't do as quick of a short turn, but then it didn't have the twitchy, light feel of the Crusade either. The VXL was quite amenable to bending it for shorter radius turns, it is not overly stiff at all for a skier 170+lbs.

If you've always liked race skis then this ski really could be the one you're looking for. Probably would also want a plate on it. Might want to try a slightly longer one, but that 179 really was great all over. The only downside was the weight. That was one beefy setup. It's best for going downhill, not up.

Fun, fun, confidence inspiring ripper.

If you really want to mach schnell on the powder though, you want something a lot wider. If you're intent on skiing moguls all day, maybe something lighter. 

Edited by Tog - 11/9/09 at 10:57am
Export to Wiki
Forum Nav More Forums | All New Posts | New Thread
EpicSki  ›  The Barking Bear Forums  ›  Skiing Forums  ›  Ski Gear Discussion  ›  IQ TEST: IS THERE REALLY ONE PAIR OF SKIS THAT WILL DO IT ALL?