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

yeah I am well aware I am pussy in bumps field and there is alot of improvement to be made. and yeah touche' forum thread like this make my head spin but also tons of fun to post in :). fishing for the fisherman isnt the easiest thing in the world.

Thanks for being a good sport about it. I really tossed out way too much chum. (But if a little is good, more must be better, right.) I would like to retract the word wrong. The skiers are obviously skilled and are skiing with premeditated style. It's clear they could change their style if they wanted to.

This thread appeals to me because 6 months ago I felt the same way as the original poster.

Now I feel like I want to explore the brave new world of non straight skis. I've realized that my skiing hasn't progressed in many, many years.  I've also been a bet afraid of getting on new skis and stinking up the slope.

Without passing judgement on anybody's way of enjoying skiing, I would like to nudge the neophobes towards neophilia.

Remember, there is no greater zealot than the recently converted.

The Dynastar Legend series is the straightest out there in the 75-99 range. They were inthis direction with their pintail skis in the 90s,
meant straighter in the tail section. They are still straighter an therefore perform better for the tail sliding technique styles of skiing.

Here is the heart of the 2019 K2 Ski Lineup.

List Price $2100

Whenever I read these old-school style threads, I have to chuckle.  Being old and having learned to ski on some very old skis, I should be skiing old style, but, you see, I skipped the lessons.  The closest thing I had to lessons was watching DH racing on the television; I didn't care too much for the SL racing.  This is what I thought people meant by old-school style.
http://archives.cbc.ca/sports/skiing/topics/417/

Very avant-guard stylish suit for the times though


Arcing edge-locked turns has always been the most fun way to ski, for some people.

Hmmm, I have some skis from the mid-70's
170 83 65 74 = 41.1m
160 83 68 74 = 47.2m
150 84 70 75 = 45.9m

Now those 41m 170's are a pretty decent all-day piste ski and require little effort to turn them, but I've heard of folks who are used to <15m skis complain that they can't turn a 20-25m radius ski. I wouldn't call my 170's a shaped ski by any means, but I'd definitely call a 25m TR a shaped ski. I have a feeling the boundary between the two types is wide and fuzzy.

 Scotty Bob also makes custom skis to your specification (and there's a number of other small, specialty companies out there that do it, too: Igneous, 333, ...).

if you are referring to the current reverse camber/rocker "craze" as being new and trendy, just keep in mind that Shane McConkey and a few others were experimenting with these designs almost a decade ago. Volant made the Spatula in the early 2000's. the reason it's seen as trendy now is because all the major ski companies finally realized that these designs were valid and that people would buy them (because a lot of small ski companies were making them and selling them). the simple fact that the skiing magazines are touting this "new technology" is hilarious, as anybody who stays in tune with skiing equipment well knows that it's far from new technology.

additionally, why wouldn't you wish to take advantage of the new tech? i mean it's all fine and dandy to remember the olden days, but why not move into the present century, as well?

a wise old grandfatherly dude who was sitting next to me on my return flight from my first trip to Europe many, many years ago said: "Son, if you spend all of your time looking over your shoulder you'll miss what's coming up ahead."

Remember the past, but don't live in it. 

I say try some of these new and trendy ski designs, you might like 'em. If not, then shell out the $$$ to have one of the numerous small, indie ski companies custom make a ski to your specification (heck, Scotty Bob will even name the ski after you and include it in their catalog!).

The kind you are thinking about?

No. Never. No way.

I'm sorry to say that.

But why?

They are simply too effing hard to ski on, let alone learn how to use.

I, too, have paid my dues, and really enjoy the old skis. But it took me from years 5-10 to become comfortable in bumps, and another 10 more before I could ski any bump run non-stop. Maybe another 10 more years to refine style, so I'm now smooth and stable at speed in the bumps, and never get tired, ever. And I'm still improving, which makes everything easier and easier to do.

It took me about 30 years, but I feel that I've outgrown most ski areas now. Hope that doesn't sound as critical as it seems - I really enjoy the fact that I'm finally an "expert" (notice the quotes) skier now.

 

I just now wish for a 10,000 vertical foot ski hill, that's all. You know, maybe 50,000 acres and several dozen ultra high speed lifts to get you from bottom to top in less than 15 minutes. 15 - 20 mile long cruisers (wow, a 12 minute long downhill race at 70 mph!) Maybe in a future lifetime I'll have to find a different planet . . .

The longest, hardest runs on the mountain are simply to short and to easy for me now - however I'm not complaining, that makes them EXTREMELY FUN.

A White Raven

I came this >< close to buying a pair of 220 Bonnas with the original brass Troll bindings on them yesterday.