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New ski for west

post #1 of 4
7/31/12 at 2:10am
Thread Starter 

Recently went to New Zealand for skiing and demoed 4 skis.  Conditions were poor (ice, firm, crud). NZ hasn't had a lot of snow in the past 2 weeks. Most was man made.


Anyway, here are my stats, findings, and what I'm looking for.  Would appreciate any help.

 

 

Height: 5'9"

Weight: 160

Age: 27

Boots: 2011 Lange RX 100

Level: Intermediate to advanced.

Currently own: 2012 Blizzard Magnum 7.6 (170 length) skis that I use for East Coast.

 

What I like to do:  blues, ski fast on blues and greens, carving, be able to control myself, occasional blacks, bust through crud

What I don't like to do: moguls, super steep black diamonds, trees, big jumps, go extremely fast

 

I've never skiied real "powder".  I'm an east coast skiier, been doing it for maybe 15 years, off an on.

 

But I would like a ski that I can ski in the cruddy areas on the east coast and on the occasion when we have fresh snow. Also, I would like to take this ski out west when I go this year. 

 

The skis I tried (with length/width):

 

2013 K2 Kung Fujas (180/102):  Very easy to turn and ski on. Very flexible and soft.  Lots of chatter at a higher speed, felt like it might give up.

2013 Line Prophet (180/98):  More stiff than the K2.  Could push through crud very easily.  Not a lot of action, though. Very strong.

2012 Blizzard Bonafide (180/98): Mix between the two above. Felt good all around.  could turn easily but also push through powder.  A little chatter at high speed.

2012 Blizzard Cochise (185/108):  Really clunky and hard to turn.  Very heavy. Felt like I would tire out easily. I know, not the right conditions, but I was dead set against this ski after trying it.

 

Thoughts on the length:  All the 180 lengths seemed fine to me. I felt comfortable, could turn when I wanted. I loved the power of these skis. I could push right through the crud. I had so much confidence. I normally ski around 170 in length with all mountain skis (76-87 widths).  These 180 skis with bigger width seemed to give me more power and confidence. Think I actually preferred stiff to non-stiff.

 

Base on this info,

 

1. What ski do you like the best?

2. Do you feel 180 length is OK, or should I move closer to 170, my normal length?

3. Also, should I go for a wider ski for out west, or will this be sufficient width?

 

I'm leaning towards Bonafide or Prophet....

 

Thanks

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post #2 of 4
7/31/12 at 12:33pm

Bonafide. biggrin.gif

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post #3 of 4
7/31/12 at 8:23pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by overbayy View Post

Recently went to New Zealand for skiing and demoed 4 skis.  Conditions were poor (ice, firm, crud). NZ hasn't had a lot of snow in the past 2 weeks. Most was man made.


Anyway, here are my stats, findings, and what I'm looking for.  Would appreciate any help.

 

 

Height: 5'9"

Weight: 160

Age: 27

Boots: 2011 Lange RX 100

Level: Intermediate to advanced.

Currently own: 2012 Blizzard Magnum 7.6 (170 length) skis that I use for East Coast.

 

What I like to do:  blues, ski fast on blues and greens, carving, be able to control myself, occasional blacks, bust through crud

What I don't like to do: moguls, super steep black diamonds, trees, big jumps, go extremely fast

 

I've never skiied real "powder".  I'm an east coast skiier, been doing it for maybe 15 years, off an on.

 

But I would like a ski that I can ski in the cruddy areas on the east coast and on the occasion when we have fresh snow. Also, I would like to take this ski out west when I go this year. 

 

The skis I tried (with length/width):

 

2013 K2 Kung Fujas (180/102):  Very easy to turn and ski on. Very flexible and soft.  Lots of chatter at a higher speed, felt like it might give up.

2013 Line Prophet (180/98):  More stiff than the K2.  Could push through crud very easily.  Not a lot of action, though. Very strong.

2012 Blizzard Bonafide (180/98): Mix between the two above. Felt good all around.  could turn easily but also push through powder.  A little chatter at high speed.

2012 Blizzard Cochise (185/108):  Really clunky and hard to turn.  Very heavy. Felt like I would tire out easily. I know, not the right conditions, but I was dead set against this ski after trying it.

 

Thoughts on the length:  All the 180 lengths seemed fine to me. I felt comfortable, could turn when I wanted. I loved the power of these skis. I could push right through the crud. I had so much confidence. I normally ski around 170 in length with all mountain skis (76-87 widths).  These 180 skis with bigger width seemed to give me more power and confidence. Think I actually preferred stiff to non-stiff.

 

Base on this info,

 

1. What ski do you like the best?

2. Do you feel 180 length is OK, or should I move closer to 170, my normal length?

3. Also, should I go for a wider ski for out west, or will this be sufficient width?

 

I'm leaning towards Bonafide or Prophet....

 

Thanks

 

So you demoed some fatter skis on a firm snow day and preferred the stiffer skis to the softer ones... No real surprise there. 

 

I think the Bonafide works great for anyone in the terrain you said you enjoy, including an intermediate skier. 

 

If you want to progress your skills, getting a ski you can bend is alot more important. I don't think the bone is a great ski for an intermediate to learn on, compared to other skis available. 


Edited by tromano - 7/31/12 at 11:22pm
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post #4 of 4
7/31/12 at 11:37pm

^^^^^ At your size, the Bone is going to be fairly beefy, and while it'll handle crud nicely, it won't be very easy for you to bend at the speeds we tend to ski in the east. And if you just ride the radius, skid, let them do the work, you won't improve very fast. As far as what you don't like, if you subtract trees or bumps or steeps from the east, there isn't much left. The crud on groomers can be handled by your 7.6's. But that 90-100 width range would be a good bet for what you want, plus travel west, plus improving. I'd suggest these alternatives: Kastle LX92, Elan Spire, Blizzard One or Crush (if you can find them, Crush is different colored version), Moment PB&J, Salomon Shogun. 

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