New Skis

I'm posting this in here because I didn't want a deluge of ski recomendations from everyone. Esspecially those who are brand biased. And the fact that quite a few of you guys have skied with me and know my physical attributes and skiing style.

I'm going to get back into some recreational racing this year. A few bar leagues with some old friends as well as making a serious attempt to dominate my age group in Nastar. Hopefully, if things go good, maybe some serious stuff around my area.

I don't really have a clue what I want to ski on. Lengths, sidecuts, brands etc. I've got some friends who own ski shops who can get me all the demos I want and will for sure try many of them and then decide but i'm hoping I can start with some suggestions from you experts here.

Why am I getting into racing again? It's something to keep me interested in between the powder days and bump days when the conditions aren't great. Which is often here in WNY. I'm not bored with skiing but miss that adrenalin rush when there are no steeps, chutes and backcountry runs available.

So, any ideas?

Nordica has made some impressive gains in quality lately. Try this slalom ski
http://www.nordica.com/site/ski.php?site=1&lang=1&id=6

It's a great ski to compare others against.

Lars, I know your skiing, and I know the venues you'll be racing in, so here ya go. 

NAR has a combination of slalom and GS races.  For those races you'll need a slalom ski for sure.  I would say for a guy your size a 155 would be fun to drive.  Some of the Masters guys out here run on 155s to ease the work. 

Now you may want to have other boards for NAR GS and NASTAR.  Some of the NAR GS's, like over at Bristol, will have course sets a full blown GS ski will work in, but many will be a challenge to arc to arc a FIS cut GS ski through.  Also your NASTAR hill is pretty flat, but I believe they sometimes put turns in it that would tax a purebred GS ski.  There are cheater GS skis that have more sidecut that would work well in some of the GSs you're going to encounter. 

So your choices are:

- A slalom ski for everything. 
Hold onto your hat in GS, it's going to get hairy.  Perhaps even dangerous. You could always use some of the skis you have now for GS if they have a larger radius and longer length than your slaloms. 

- A slalom ski and a cheater GS ski.  
The cheater will get you though any NASTAR  or NAR race with ease, though you may find it a little squirrely in some of the more fast and open GS courses. The cheater GS has a sidecut in ranging somewhere in the vicinity of 16-19 meters.   

- A slalom ski and a true GS ski. 
With this option you'll never be under skied in any GS race, but you'll be fighting to make the turns in some of the tighter sets.  You could use your slaloms for the tighter turnier courses, but they won't be as fast as a cheater GS.  If you went with this option I'd search for a shorter version of the older 21 meter GS skis.  Go with a 176-182cm ski.

- A slalom ski, a cheater GS, and a true GS.
Covers all the bases, of course.  You'll never see a course you won't have an equipment answer for (until you start doing speed events).  Just depends if you want to make that kind of investment.   



OK, now where to get them:

EBAY is a great source, and now is a perfect time.  Racers are selling off their last years stuff to get new boards.  There's often plenty of life left in them, and you can get them for a song.  Skis, binding and plates for $350 is common. 

Any current model Slalom will work for you, but to get 155s you'll be buying them from a woman.  Guys have 165 minimums regulations.  Not a problem, in fact could be a good thing.  Less harsh wear. 

For a GS with a 21 meter cut you'll have to get an older pair, but there are good ones still out there.  I actually have some in my personal stock here. 

Cheater GSs will cost you more, and be harder to find.  No boat load of spoiled kids selling off their last years stuff in that type of ski. 

Ski brand is not so critical. If you have a brand you fancy, and can find deals on them in the sidecuts and lengths I suggested, fine, but the size cut is the more important factor. 

Oh,,, and you've got to get a suit if you want to be competitive.  Seriously.  In NASTAR it means 5 handicap points.  That's huge.  Ebay for those too. 
Edited by Rick - 11/5/09 at 1:58am

Thanks for the advice and also for the pm's from some others. I appreciate it.

Should be a fun year.

 Lars I really really enjoyed skiing on the Head WC iSpeed last year. In the 180 it's an 18m radius. It's not the fastest ski I've ever been on, but it works great on those NASTAR type sets. If you need an SL ski too, I think the Rossi SC70 is a great ski for recreational racing.