Opinions: Any chance "straight" skis will ever be mfr'd again?

#1

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11/12/09 at 7:01am

aDOOrondack
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Sometimes "old school" is rediscovered/reintroduced as new/trendy.
Any chance some mfr might someday offer a straight ski model again, for dinosaurs like me or skiers looking for something different?
The ski industry is big on new/trendy/gimmicks -so thinking it might not be out of the question.

#2

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11/12/09 at 7:08am

comprex
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Quote:

Originally Posted by aDOOrondack

Sometimes "old school" is rediscovered/reintroduced as new/trendy.

Or as "nordic"

anticooler than you

#3

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11/12/09 at 7:20am

aDOOrondack
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Exactly! Therefore maybe not so crazy an idea?

#4

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11/12/09 at 8:42am

comprex
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Not *completely* crazy I guess

, heck, someone still makes

16 foot longboards: http://www.lightningboards.com/longboards.htm

anticooler than you

#5

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11/12/09 at 8:54am

steveturner
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The only way to sell a lot of new stuff is to have something new to sell. It's not always new AND improved. Frequently it's just different from last year. Old fashions, old colors and old straighter skis will at some point be recycled with a slight twist that makes them a "new" idea.
Besides, some of us old folks who ski old style have more money to spend than the jumping off the cliff crowd that the industry is catering to today. Somebody is going to go after that market with an old Chubb dimensioned ski and make a few sales to folks they're missing today.

#6

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11/12/09 at 8:57am

Tog
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Shaped more like a 2nd gen shaped ski are these.

Hart F-17.
103 -66 -89 -same dimensions 175cm through 184cm which is the longest.
http://www.hartskis.com/f17.html

Volkl Wall
103 - 67.5 -92 in 175cm, the longest.
http://www.volkl.com/ski/competition/skis.php

I bet somewhere in Russia they're still making straight skis...

#7

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11/12/09 at 8:59am

Philpug
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GS Skis too.

Click. Point. Chute.

#8

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11/12/09 at 9:28am

MastersRacer
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Why do they have to manufacture them? They are available at many big box ski stores for $10 - $25 in the wrapper. Or they used to be. I only visit second hand stores these days. And they have plenty of old stuff, too.

#9

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11/12/09 at 9:29am

comprex
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Quote:

Originally Posted by MastersRacer

I only visit second hand stores these days. And they have plenty of old stuff, too.

Funny thing is, most of those are in girlie or jr sizes. Anything over 195cm: good luck!, at least in the places I've been.

anticooler than you

#10

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11/12/09 at 9:48am

Tog
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Pmgear Lhasa Pow: 39meter sidecut, 196cm
it's fat though, 140-112-122

http://www.pmgear.com/store/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=10&category_id=1&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=12

Stockli Stormrider DP Pro+
201cm 132 101 118
35.2m radius
http://www.stockli.com/main_stormrider/dp_pro+/

Can always have them made for you:
http://www.wagnerskis.com/
is just one place.

#11

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11/12/09 at 9:49am

davluri
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as big, wide, AND quite straight skis, Launchers and Straight=liners, they are currently in production. the notion that they ski fast without getting twitchy, swimming, or hooking up, and if you are at speed and have to start turning, they won't over-react to your edging. The difference between tip and waist can be as low as 20mm. (less?)

#12

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11/12/09 at 9:54am

aDOOrondack
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steveturner, you said "some of us old folks who ski old style" -your profile says you're on Dynastar 4800's and I checked the dimensions at 120-79-103. I assume you don't ski "old style" on those, so maybe I was wrong to think you ski old style? As far as I know there's no cruising ski currently mfr'd that can be paralleled edge to edge "old style"(?) I wish there was, so I wouldn't have to prowl EBay looking to risk buying "vintage" skis.

#13

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11/12/09 at 10:05am

aDOOrondack
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Quote:

Originally Posted by davluri

as big, wide, AND quite straight skis, Launchers and Straight=liners, they are currently in production. the notion that they ski fast without getting twitchy, swimming, or hooking up, and if you are at speed and have to start turning, they won't over-react to your edging. The difference between tip and waist can be as low as 20mm. (less?)

davluri, can you provide a couple examples of these skis that you said are currently in production? I'd like to check them out.
Thanks-

#14

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11/12/09 at 10:13am

retroEric
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I needed to remind myself about how straight straight skis are. I went out to the shed and measured my old K2 Extremes. They're 195s. (Hey, I'm only 5'6" 135 lbs, so they're long in a relative sense.:))

81 - 64 - 72 run through PMSidecutRadCalc I get a radius of 58.9m.

If someone really wants and old school side cut, I don't think 30m will cut it.

Now, I'll admit that I'm limited in my imagination, but for carving groomers, I just can't see how a modern GS ski with a 27m radius wouldn't be preferable to straight skis. Don't get me wrong, I skied the Extremes on groomers at Breckenridge just last year. I understand it's fun to make silly huge arcs down the mountain, but if you don't lay into a modern GS ski too hard, they'll pretty much do the same thing, with the advantage of doing it a lower speed so the ski patrol won't give you as much stink eye.

#15

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11/12/09 at 10:20am

comprex
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Quote:

Originally Posted by Tog

39meter
35.2m radius

Cheater skis, the lot of them. Whatcha got in R>60m, 60mm underfoot?

anticooler than you

#16

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11/12/09 at 10:36am

Morrison Claystone
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So, is a ski with a 30m radius a straight ski or a shaped ski? 35m? 25m? Where is the boundary? What makes one ski straight and another nearly identical one shaped?

If you can't ski, do tricks!

#17

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11/12/09 at 10:56am

Tog
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I'd say at least 50meters to be considered straight. Maybe 45, not much less.
Here ya go:
"Shape skis they basically know how to ski themselves..."

#18

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11/12/09 at 11:10am

MastersRacer
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Quote:

Originally Posted by comprex

Funny thing is, most of those are in girlie or jr sizes. Anything over 195cm: good luck!, at least in the places I've been.

I'll take a more analytic view at Recycle Sports and The Sports Authority the next time I'm in the North end of the county. I'll take pictures of stuff over 195cm.

Edited by MastersRacer - 11/12/09 at 11:22am

#19

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11/12/09 at 1:24pm

comprex
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Sweet.

I have a not-so-secret passion for 207cm Fischers.

anticooler than you

#20

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11/12/09 at 1:30pm

bob4snow
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WAIT, in a few years after our generation is gone and everyone forget that skis were 200 cm long and under 70 mm underfoot, some bright ski company is going to come out the the next BIG THING; long, straight and narrow skis. It will be huge and completely regenerate the skiing industry because you'll have to learn and new a special style to ski them.

Everything that goes around, comes around!

#21

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11/12/09 at 2:46pm

davluri
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recognizing the validity of several^^^^posts and a minimum of 50 or60 meter radius to qualify, I would say "not off the top of my head"

But I'm not sure the comparison flies as the straight skis of 20+ years ago were commonly skied with heal thrust and a lot of tail sliding to contol the radius of the turn. Rarely did a skier make a turn that was fully hooked up and resembled the turn that would come from the ski's shape.

So straight skis today: most of the pro model big mountain skis; Blizzard Kreitler Pro, Rossignol B-Squad (a few years back in the longer lengths), Dynastar Legend Pro Nobis, Nick Greener Pro, and so forth. Most companies make something straight, stiff, burly. Mantra, for example is not straight, and as a result many people left that ski (that had been straight-ish as the Explosiv) as it had a huge tip that took over when the ski was on edge.

Quote:

Originally Posted by aDOOrondack

davluri, can you provide a couple examples of these skis that you said are currently in production? I'd like to check them out.
Thanks-

#22

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11/12/09 at 2:52pm

sjjohnston
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Consistent with others, I'll define "old style" to mean (i) straight (greater than 50m sidecut radius, which is, indeed, accurate for older skis) and (ii) not fat (under 70 mm waist).

They could come back as mogul skis. Indeed, skis of roughly those dimensions are used as mogul skis, and actually work well for the purpose.

Other than that, no.

#23

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11/12/09 at 3:03pm

MastersRacer
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You just deemed my hart Javelin XXLs, HEAD STANDARDs, HEAD HRP COMPS and HEAD COMPETITION GSs, 10th Mt. Division woodies, RD BAD DOGs all not straight skis as they have a waist of over 70 mm, ranging from 71 up to 74mm, actually.

You need a new definition or I need a new collection.

The only skis that I own that would qualify are my 223 Skiloms, 210 Truckers and 210 Pheonixs. All double camber tele skis.

#24

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11/12/09 at 3:21pm

BushwackerinPA
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your pretty dumb and elitist at the same time for not buying new equipment.

There is nothing a straight ski does better than a modern ski, with that said there are some fairly straight modern skis out there.

Head Im103 40 meter sidecut
Atomic Thug 40 meter sidecut

again though retro grouches normally suck at skiing and glen plake usually skis moderately shaped skis now as well.

and agains old style skiing is lame and a useless skill its it not better in any way shape or form, its harder on the body, less effcient and more likely to get you hurt than newer skiing. The only reason to post this thread is to be elitist and stubborn.

"its not that you cant ski the bumps, its that you cant ski and the bumps prove it"

pbfootnit.blogspot.com/ <<< the start of something good!

#25

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11/12/09 at 3:45pm

Liam
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Quote:

Originally Posted by BushwackerinPA

your pretty dumb and elitist at the same time for not buying new equipment.

There is nothing a straight ski does better than a modern ski, with that said there are some fairly straight modern skis out there.

Head Im103 40 meter sidecut
Atomic Thug 40 meter sidecut

again though retro grouches normally suck at skiing and glen plake usually skis moderately shaped skis now as well.

and agains old style skiing is lame and a useless skill its it not better in any way shape or form, its harder on the body, less effcient and more likely to get you hurt than newer skiing. The only reason to post this thread is to be elitist and stubborn.

Is this tongue and cheek or did someone actually piss you off?? I was trying to figure which post this was a response to..did I miss someone claiming that buying new skis is dumb and elitist?

Looking for vintage skis-you should've come to our ski swap some one dug out a ton of old straights (a few still in their wrappers-at 5 bucks a pair, they still couldn't sell them (hell, I wouldn't take 20 bucks to take them off your hands!).

I don't think they're coming back.

Liam

#26

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11/12/09 at 3:53pm

BushwackerinPA
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Quote:

Originally Posted by Liam

Is this tongue and cheek or did someone actually piss you off?? I was trying to figure which post this was a response to..did I miss someone claiming that buying new skis is dumb and elitist?

Looking for vintage skis-you should've come to our ski swap some one dug out a ton of old straights (a few still in their wrappers-at 5 bucks a pair, they still couldn't sell them (hell, I wouldn't take 20 bucks to take them off your hands!).

I don't think they're coming back.

Liam

I am messing with old guy that is all. stubborn old people are easy to mess with.

"its not that you cant ski the bumps, its that you cant ski and the bumps prove it"

pbfootnit.blogspot.com/ <<< the start of something good!

#27

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11/12/09 at 3:58pm

MastersRacer
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Quote:

Originally Posted by BushwackerinPA

I am messing with old guy that is all. stubborn old people are easy to mess with.

which old guy? we're a little slow. oh, and dumb

#28

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11/12/09 at 4:02pm

Ghost
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They still make straight skis....
http://www.fischer-ski.de/en/products_ski.php?show=detail&id_product=18851

#29

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11/12/09 at 4:25pm

MastersRacer
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#30

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11/12/09 at 4:57pm

aDOOrondack
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Quote:

Originally Posted by MastersRacer

which old guy? we're a little slow. oh, and dumb

I'd say this old guy, based on the statement "The only reason to post this thread is to be elitist and stubborn".
That's OK, I expected a response like MastersRacers' a lot sooner.
I'm a "stubborn, dumb, elitist grouch that sucks at skiing"? That's a lot to assume, and you know what happens when you assume.

Celebrate Diversity!
I want to enjoy the sport my own way. It may not be your way, but why should you care?
Think how much fun it is to make fun of old dinosaurs like me on the slopes. You'll miss us when we're gone.
Respect your elders, sonny.

Cocky young hotshots are easy to mess with.

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