10/24/09 at 5:44pm
EpicSki
›
The Barking Bear Forums
›
Skiing Forums
›
Ski Gear Discussion
›
Race Ski as a toy, SL or GS?
Hey There!
Thanks for checking out our community! We've got lots of great stuff going on around here... why don't you create an account and join the fun? Why?
Race Ski as a toy, SL or GS?
10/24/09 at 8:05pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Muleski 
None whatsoever, and I didn't mean to suggest that at all, and apologize loudly if it sounded that way. I was speaking to a "wider audience" as some people were suggesting that it's just great to rip around on a SL ski at SG speeds, and I could not disagree more with that thought.
I think I understood your original inquiry the right way, and I still think that you'd have more fun on the SL's!
Sorry if I sounded off-base. I would just hate for somebody else to read this, think "Wow, WC guys ski on SL skis at 60mph", and decide to try it on a Saturday with 10,000 of their friends, risking blowing ACL's, head injuries, and all sorts of bigger issues through a possible collision.
My comment about your not being a WC athlete was to try to get some focus on what you were asking, which I think was "do you think either of these might be kind of fun for me to mess around with?" Again, just my $.02, based on a 55 year lifelong involvement in competitive skiing. I think the SL's, they way you'd use them could be a lot of fun. The GS, not so much.
Based on what I've read in a few of those 20K+ posts, nothing but respect.
Don't take the cash and buy the rims. Won't you get the rims anyways?
Sorry,
MS

None whatsoever, and I didn't mean to suggest that at all, and apologize loudly if it sounded that way. I was speaking to a "wider audience" as some people were suggesting that it's just great to rip around on a SL ski at SG speeds, and I could not disagree more with that thought.
I think I understood your original inquiry the right way, and I still think that you'd have more fun on the SL's!
Sorry if I sounded off-base. I would just hate for somebody else to read this, think "Wow, WC guys ski on SL skis at 60mph", and decide to try it on a Saturday with 10,000 of their friends, risking blowing ACL's, head injuries, and all sorts of bigger issues through a possible collision.
My comment about your not being a WC athlete was to try to get some focus on what you were asking, which I think was "do you think either of these might be kind of fun for me to mess around with?" Again, just my $.02, based on a 55 year lifelong involvement in competitive skiing. I think the SL's, they way you'd use them could be a lot of fun. The GS, not so much.
Based on what I've read in a few of those 20K+ posts, nothing but respect.
Don't take the cash and buy the rims. Won't you get the rims anyways?
Sorry,
MS
No worries. I took the SL's. I will say the only time these will see snow is early day when the snow is hard and the trails are empty. I will respect them, because a ski li this as soon as they are disrespected, they will bite you. I have no intentions of skiing these at 50MPH (or even close) I got these to lay out 12.5M railroad tracks before lunch.
And Noof, I am taking donations for the fund to get me more time on snow.
Click. Point. Chute.
10/24/09 at 9:03pm
Phil split the difference and hop on some Head Supershape Speed in a 177cm. about a 15m radius. A SL& Gs all in one!
But since it is not RACE STOCK, hop on a pair of i.SL RD put a 3 degree on the side and hold on to your hat!
10/25/09 at 5:25am
Quote:
If your going to keep them at slalom speeds, there's no reason you can't ski them all day...Originally Posted by Philpug 
No worries. I took the SL's. I will say the only time these will see snow is early day when the snow is hard and the trails are empty. I will respect them, because a ski li this as soon as they are disrespected, they will bite you. I have no intentions of skiing these at 50MPH (or even close) I got these to lay out 12.5M railroad tracks before lunch.
And Noof, I am taking donations for the fund to get me more time on snow.

No worries. I took the SL's. I will say the only time these will see snow is early day when the snow is hard and the trails are empty. I will respect them, because a ski li this as soon as they are disrespected, they will bite you. I have no intentions of skiing these at 50MPH (or even close) I got these to lay out 12.5M railroad tracks before lunch.
And Noof, I am taking donations for the fund to get me more time on snow.
.if you can

10/25/09 at 5:46am
Click. Point. Chute.
10/25/09 at 8:44am
Now you have to get a pair of super tight fitting 4 buckle overlap plug boots to optimize your SL enjoyment. Just kidding!
10/25/09 at 2:28pm
10/26/09 at 7:09am
- Joined: December 2008
- Location: A bit here a bit there, but mostly chasing skiing WC around the...
- Post Count: 228
My vote goes to GS skis, even if I'm too late :)
I agree with all of you guys saying SL is safer way to go, but I can say at least for me, that GS just makes more fun. You can still ski race stock GS skis (27m radius) on public course. But to be honest, I was actually worried a bit about this. I changed my old and a bit too (ab)used GS skis (21m radius) for new ones this year (Fischer RC4 WC GS), and I wasn't completely sure how 27m radius will do on open course... I was actually asking for women GS, but somehow ended with men skis. Well last weekend proved there's nothing to worry about... at least for me.
On last Friday, Tiefenbach glacier (glacier on other side of Rettenbach where Soelden races were held) was pretty crowded, since half of Rettenbach glacier was closed because of preparation for WC races, and I didn't have any problems with it. You can still ski perfectly fine. Sure from time to time you have to finish turn a bit earlier then you would expect, but most of time, you can easily avoid other skiers.
But it is true, 27m skis are A LOT faster then old 21m skis, and if someone has problems with it, it's best thing to avoid them. I, on the other side, like this, so that's reason why I ski GS skis most of time. SL skis are just not as much fun as GS are for me. But that's me, so it's useless to expect someone will tell what can bring more fun for YOU.
I agree with all of you guys saying SL is safer way to go, but I can say at least for me, that GS just makes more fun. You can still ski race stock GS skis (27m radius) on public course. But to be honest, I was actually worried a bit about this. I changed my old and a bit too (ab)used GS skis (21m radius) for new ones this year (Fischer RC4 WC GS), and I wasn't completely sure how 27m radius will do on open course... I was actually asking for women GS, but somehow ended with men skis. Well last weekend proved there's nothing to worry about... at least for me.
On last Friday, Tiefenbach glacier (glacier on other side of Rettenbach where Soelden races were held) was pretty crowded, since half of Rettenbach glacier was closed because of preparation for WC races, and I didn't have any problems with it. You can still ski perfectly fine. Sure from time to time you have to finish turn a bit earlier then you would expect, but most of time, you can easily avoid other skiers.
But it is true, 27m skis are A LOT faster then old 21m skis, and if someone has problems with it, it's best thing to avoid them. I, on the other side, like this, so that's reason why I ski GS skis most of time. SL skis are just not as much fun as GS are for me. But that's me, so it's useless to expect someone will tell what can bring more fun for YOU.
10/26/09 at 8:42am
"Asps - very dangerous - you go first"
Sallah
Sallah
10/26/09 at 9:32am

That's gonna give me nightmares for the next week...
Pilote Custom Skis. Skis for you.
10/26/09 at 9:39am
That'll work. I'd say hard snow will bring out the best, but just go ski them wherever, you might be surprised. Slalom skis have a lot of sidecut and pretty fat tips, so they're actually not bad in powder, and I like SL skis in the bumps. I have two pairs of race stock Atomic 165 SLs (one last year's, one this year's with the D2..) and I mostly keep them for training, racing, and free skiing on clean, hard snow because I don't want to take a chance on hitting a rock. But they'll do fine in a range of conditions. I also have...get this...a pair of 165 Dynamic VR17 slaloms, and no, I don't mean the old school skis, these were actually made in 2005 by Atomic and branded Dynamic. They were selling for something like $70 a pair at Gart's two seasons ago, and I should have gotten two or three pairs. They're not really beefy enough for running gates, but they're fairly soft and have a really fat tip, with an 11 meter radius, and they're a stoned groove for a go anywhere ski.
Having said all that...I Strongly Advise you to save your money and make your next skis GSs. A 185 GS ski with a 27 m radius, is, I agree, a huge ski for most of us, even in a course. I got two pairs of race stock Atomic GSs last year, 186 cm, 27 meter sidecut, and they were just too much for me. I could actually get them through a full length Masters training course, but it was an incredible amount of work, and I just didn't feel like I was able to finesse the turn the way I wanted to. Note that I heard that a bunch of the men's field, at the 2009 Val D'Isere WC GS, which had a lot of offset, were using 186s. So I dropped down to a race stock Atomic 183 cm, 25 meter sidecut GS, which is basically a women's WC GS ski, and the problem was solved. You can even go with a 175 or 180 beer league GS, with a 19 meter sidecut, or somegthing like that...but IMHO, that ain't really a GS ski.
And it's a wonderful thing to find some clear air space, strap on a pair of real GS skis, and let 'em buck. And after you've done that...well, move on up the scale. I have two pairs of Atomic 201 SGs, two pairs of Atomic 205 SGs, and I just got a pair of 210 Atomic SGs for Masters DH races. And I'm here to tell you that skiing on any of those things...on a fenced-off race course, that is...is about the most fun you can have with your clothes on...

Having said all that...I Strongly Advise you to save your money and make your next skis GSs. A 185 GS ski with a 27 m radius, is, I agree, a huge ski for most of us, even in a course. I got two pairs of race stock Atomic GSs last year, 186 cm, 27 meter sidecut, and they were just too much for me. I could actually get them through a full length Masters training course, but it was an incredible amount of work, and I just didn't feel like I was able to finesse the turn the way I wanted to. Note that I heard that a bunch of the men's field, at the 2009 Val D'Isere WC GS, which had a lot of offset, were using 186s. So I dropped down to a race stock Atomic 183 cm, 25 meter sidecut GS, which is basically a women's WC GS ski, and the problem was solved. You can even go with a 175 or 180 beer league GS, with a 19 meter sidecut, or somegthing like that...but IMHO, that ain't really a GS ski.
And it's a wonderful thing to find some clear air space, strap on a pair of real GS skis, and let 'em buck. And after you've done that...well, move on up the scale. I have two pairs of Atomic 201 SGs, two pairs of Atomic 205 SGs, and I just got a pair of 210 Atomic SGs for Masters DH races. And I'm here to tell you that skiing on any of those things...on a fenced-off race course, that is...is about the most fun you can have with your clothes on...

Quote:
Originally Posted by Philpug 
No worries. I took the SL's. I will say the only time these will see snow is early day when the snow is hard and the trails are empty. I will respect them, because a ski li this as soon as they are disrespected, they will bite you. I have no intentions of skiing these at 50MPH (or even close) I got these to lay out 12.5M railroad tracks before lunch.
And Noof, I am taking donations for the fund to get me more time on snow.

No worries. I took the SL's. I will say the only time these will see snow is early day when the snow is hard and the trails are empty. I will respect them, because a ski li this as soon as they are disrespected, they will bite you. I have no intentions of skiing these at 50MPH (or even close) I got these to lay out 12.5M railroad tracks before lunch.
And Noof, I am taking donations for the fund to get me more time on snow.
10/26/09 at 10:36am
Wow - That Phil is ripped!
"Asps - very dangerous - you go first"
Sallah
Sallah
10/26/09 at 11:03am
Now on Mondays.
10/26/09 at 12:57pm
10/26/09 at 4:52pm
10/26/09 at 4:59pm
The whole skiing this is just so I could nail down that big hair conditioner contract. THAT'S where the big money's at.
Click. Point. Chute.



