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Optimal Ski width for touring/resort use

Poll Results: What is your waist width preference for skis intended for mixed resort/touring use?

 
  • 10% (2)
    <74mm
  • 10% (2)
    74-79mm
  • 20% (4)
    80-84mm
  • 15% (3)
    85-89mm
  • 10% (2)
    90-94mm
  • 25% (5)
    95-99mm
  • 10% (2)
    >100mm
20 Total Votes  
post #1 of 11
8/26/07 at 9:55am
Thread Starter 
What is your waist width preference for skis intended for mixed resort/touring use?
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post #2 of 11
8/26/07 at 1:57pm
Something like the 98mm K2 Seth with mini-rocker would be ideal for both resort and backcountry use.
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post #3 of 11
8/26/07 at 2:03pm
Well Mr. Mark, I can answer your question...but I have to ask you in return, do you intend to poach my line?
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post #4 of 11
8/26/07 at 5:37pm
Right around 95mm. If BC skiing was nothing but endless powder runs, I'd say bigger, but BC skiing usually involves all kinds of crappy snow along with the good. My AT skis are Explosivs, which work well for almost anything.
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post #5 of 11
8/27/07 at 12:38pm
Where I live avalanche danger is usually a concern all winter, so we can't ski the really steep backcountry stuff except in the spring, which means that part of the year I am looking for powder or corn but often end up skiing ice and real crap snow during the hunt. I think 80-85mm is about right for all purpose skiing. If you go real wide you just add more ski and skin weight that you have to drag around, and I don't think the big weight penalty is worth the small performance benefit, especially considering it only helps in limited conditions. I for one do not want to be trying to edge a 105mm waisted ski on the side of an icy chute.
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post #6 of 11
8/27/07 at 1:53pm
as someone who is finally going to be edging into this aspect of the sport, i copped a pair of 188cm Lib Tech NAS (99mm waist) with their "magnetraction" crinkled edges.

i bought them on a whim and hope that they do everything they're supposed to: float in pow, grip the ice, bust the chop.

the shop i bought them from, the owner said he spent 50 days last season on 'em as part of his 3-ski quiver, and loved 'em. when i said i was contemplating making them an AT set-up he thought that was a swell idea.

the one thing going for them is that they are pretty darn light compared to all my other skis.

My other option was the AK King Salmon (94mm), which is also fairly light when compared to other alpine skis in its category.

I personally know quite a few folks who rock Mantras (94mm) and R:EX (not sure on the width of these) as their dedicated AT rigs.
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post #7 of 11
8/27/07 at 2:00pm
I'm building a low price side-country outfit around a pair of 110-80-100 Salomon Supermountains. Don't laugh; these all plastic babies are light, they float me in powder and can still carve on hardpack.

my 2 cents.

Michael
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post #8 of 11
8/27/07 at 2:56pm
It really depends on where and how much you are going to use your stuff in the bc. If you are doing mostly side country off lifts and minimal climbing/hiking with your skis on, then weight and width are not such a concern. If you really climb for a lot of your turns then you are going to be much more weight conscious because 90% of your time is going to be spent going up. I use Atomic 10EXs, which are 84mm waist and very light for their size.

If you want to go with Dynafit bindings you drop a lb. per ski over Fritchis. If you add super light skis then you can drop another couple of pounds per foot. If you are climbing 4,000 to 5,000 vert in a day that can make a huge difference in your experience. On the other side lighter gear tends not to ski as well.

I was skiing in Canada one time and, even though I'm old and slow, I caught some strong young guys on a climb because they were on heavy alpine gear with Securfix bindings. Then on the way down they were skiing mach 9 and throwing back flips off cliffs. We each had what we needed for the day. There is no perfect universal setup, it really comes down to your personal situation.
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post #9 of 11
8/27/07 at 4:59pm
Skier666 over on TGR rocks Mantras with Naxo's and uses his Alpine boots. When asked why, he merely stated that he liked to sweat off the extra pounds.
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post #10 of 11
8/27/07 at 9:20pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by barrettscv View Post
I'm building a low price side-country outfit around a pair of 110-80-100 Salomon Supermountains. Don't laugh; these all plastic babies are light, they float me in powder and can still carve on hardpack.

my 2 cents.

Michael
That was a great ski for exactly this purpose.

You done well, pilgrim.
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post #11 of 11
8/28/07 at 9:59am
I don't have a preferred width for resort/touring. I have several of each. My favorites are 106 with AT bindings...cause you know they only come out when needed.
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