2018 Skis

[NWSkiGirl]

I'm going to demo the 2018 skis this Saturday! We get two runs per ski.

I already have the Volkl Aura, which are 100 waist and are good in ice, crud and powder. They aren't good carvers, though. I will keep them to use on powder days.

I am looking for skis that will carve well, be very stable, and be good off piste in the crud and bumps.

I am going to test the Volkl Kenja 90 and the Nordica Santa Ana. I thought I would also try the Black Pearl and the K2 Alluvit 88?

Does anyone have ideas on other skis I should test? I think I am getting addicted to skis. Thanks! :-)

 

[nopoleskier]

YES to the Black Pearls 88's
Atomic Vantage 95CW's are super too

 

[contesstant]

Armada Victa 87. Definitely Black Pearl 88. Get on a Head Joy ski--Total Joy or the new one, which is 90 under foot and I can't for the life of me remember what it's called. Kenjas are a LOT of ski in moguls, very stiff. The Allluvit is very surfy, when I tested it, it felt like an 88mm powder ski.

 

[Jilly]

Wild Joy

 

[elemmac]

Some of these mentioned above, but I'm going to echo them in agreement...
Volkl Kenja
Nordica Santa Ana 93 (I think the 100 will be an overlap of your Auras)
Nordica Astral (I don't recall the widths off the top of my head, but whichever one is around 90 is probably what you'd want to try)
Armada Victa 87Ti
Armada Trace (Another one I don't recall the widths available)
Head Wild Joy
Fischer Ranger 89W

 

[contesstant]

Yes, Wild Joy! That's it. I woke up with a cold. At least that's my excuse ;)
And yes to the Nordica Astral--84 or 88. That was a REALLY fun ski, really easy to ski. Not sure how it'd be in heavy chop. No ski will be awesome in all conditions. You have to pick something that works for you the best personally, then just go ski it.

 

[Christy]

I'm really bummed I'm missing this Crystal demo day. We are going to Sun Valley where the weather forecast is terrible. The forecast for Crystal looks great, and I need new skis. I'm not sure if you know but they'll be cheaper if you buy them in October when Sturtevants has their sale then. They do 10% off right now but it will be more like 30% in October.

 

[contesstant]

I'm really bummed I'm missing this Crystal demo day. We are going to Sun Valley where the weather forecast is terrible. The forecast for Crystal looks great, and I need new skis. I'm not sure if you know but they'll be cheaper if you buy them in October when Sturtevants has their sale then. They do 10% off right now but it will be more like 30% in October.

You'll have your own personal demo fleet there of my quiver now that we've determined we are the same BSL BP 88, Super Joy, and Santa Ana 100 (if the snow is soft at all, you've got to ski them.)

And Open Snow is saying the forecast for SV is pretty good! I'm excited. https://opensnow.com/dailysnow/sunvalley

 

[NWSkiGirl]

Armada Victa 87. Definitely Black Pearl 88. Get on a Head Joy ski--Total Joy or the new one, which is 90 under foot and I can't for the life of me remember what it's called. Kenjas are a LOT of ski in moguls, very stiff. The Allluvit is very surfy, when I tested it, it felt like an 88mm powder ski.

Thanks! Will be sure to test the Kenjas in the moguls. :-)

 

[NWSkiGirl]

I'm really bummed I'm missing this Crystal demo day. We are going to Sun Valley where the weather forecast is terrible. The forecast for Crystal looks great, and I need new skis. I'm not sure if you know but they'll be cheaper if you buy them in October when Sturtevants has their sale then. They do 10% off right now but it will be more like 30% in October.

Thanks for the heads up! No, I wasn't aware of that. :-)

Yes, we're expecting 6" tonight. Have fun in Sun Valley!

 

[NWSkiGirl]

Armada Victa 87. Definitely Black Pearl 88. Get on a Head Joy ski--Total Joy or the new one, which is 90 under foot and I can't for the life of me remember what it's called. Kenjas are a LOT of ski in moguls, very stiff. The Allluvit is very surfy, when I tested it, it felt like an 88mm powder ski.

I'm going to demo the 2018 skis this Saturday! We get two runs per ski.

I already have the Volkl Aura, which are 100 waist and are good in ice, crud and powder. They aren't good carvers, though. I will keep them to use on powder days.

I am looking for skis that will carve well, be very stable, and be good off piste in the crud and bumps.

I am going to test the Volkl Kenja 90 and the Nordica Santa Ana. I thought I would also try the Black Pearl and the K2 Alluvit 88?

Does anyone have ideas on other skis I should test? I think I am getting addicted to skis. Thanks! :-)

Thanks, all! I demoed the Kenjas in both a 156 and 163, and the new Yumis twice. So the only other skis I had time to try were the Nordica Santa Anas and the K2 Alluvits.

Kenja 163 - too long so I didn't have control
Kenja 154 - better, but it sometimes they it just like the Aura (which I have)
Santa Ana - It wasn't enough of a carver
Alluvit - Nice ski, it was surfy but it carved
Yumi - Loved them! They added metal down the middle and now they're stable at speed and good in crud. I bought them on presale at 25% off

 

[contesstant]

Awesome! Presale at 25% off--sweet!!

 

[Mogul Mom]

I'm going to demo the 2018 skis this Saturday! We get two runs per ski.

I already have the Volkl Aura, which are 100 waist and are good in ice, crud and powder. They aren't good carvers, though. I will keep them to use on powder days.

I am looking for skis that will carve well, be very stable, and be good off piste in the crud and bumps.

I am going to test the Volkl Kenja 90 and the Nordica Santa Ana. I thought I would also try the Black Pearl and the K2 Alluvit 88?

Does anyone have ideas on other skis I should test? I think I am getting addicted to skis. Thanks! :-)

I'd like to hear your opinions on how any of those skis perform in the bumps! I'm looking for an expert all-mountain ski that excels in the bumps. I've been interested in what I've read about the Kenja and Amotic Vantage 90. Thoughts?

 

[Jilly]

The Atomic Vantage 90 cti, might be a little stiff for bumps actually. The 95 doesn't have the metal, so less stiff. I've got the 95W on order for next year because it wasn't as stiff. I did demo both for a day at Whistler.

 

[contesstant]

I'd like to hear your opinions on how any of those skis perform in the bumps! I'm looking for an expert all-mountain ski that excels in the bumps. I've been interested in what I've read about the Kenja and Amotic Vantage 90. Thoughts?

The Kenja is pretty stiff for bumps. OK, it's VERY stiff for bumps.

 

[NWSkiGirl]

I'd like to hear your opinions on how any of those skis perform in the bumps! I'm looking for an expert all-mountain ski that excels in the bumps. I've been interested in what I've read about the Kenja and Amotic Vantage 90. Thoughts?

Someone on this forum said the Kenjas are heavy in the bumps, and I agree! I didn't like them in the moguls at all.

For me the Santa Ana 93s were not heavy, but I didn't like them in the moguls. They would probably be a good powder ski, as they seemed big and light.

The Alluvit 88s were good in the bumps - I think they are very well rounded skis that felt surfy but carved for me.

I love both the 2017 and the new 2018 Yumi skis in the bumps! It think they excel there. We went into large slushy moguls under the gondola, and they were awesome!

 

[Albertan ski girl]

I love my 2017 Santa Ana 100s in the bumps - love 'em! A world of difference from my Kenjas - I had a really rough time in bumps with those. They were very difficult. I also demoes the K2 Remedy 92s a while back, and though I didn't really like them, I thought they were awesome in bumps.

 

[Mogul Mom]

Thanks! Will be sure to test the Kenjas in the moguls. :-)

Please post after demoing Kenjas! Sounds like most people think they are too stiff, but I don't want to go too soft either!

 

[Mogul Mom]

Someone on this forum said the Kenjas are heavy in the bumps, and I agree! I didn't like them in the moguls at all.

For me the Santa Ana 93s were not heavy, but I didn't like them in the moguls. They would probably be a good powder ski, as they seemed big and light.

The Alluvit 88s were good in the bumps - I think they are very well rounded skis that felt surfy but carved for me.

I love both the 2017 and the new 2018 Yumi skis in the bumps! It think they excel there. We went into large slushy moguls under the gondola, and they were awesome!

Were the Yumi stiff enough to really ski hard? I'm an east coast skier so although I love the bumps I still need them to be able to handle hard-pack, etc.

 

[NWSkiGirl]

Please post after demoing Kenjas! Sounds like most people think they are too stiff, but I don't want to go too soft either!

Mogul Mom - The Volkl Kenjas I demoed weren't right for me. And I felt they were at their worst in soft moguls (spring skiing conditions) on a steep slope. I'm 5'4" and 125 pounds so maybe they are just too heavy of a ski for me.

I own the Volkl Auras, and they are too heavy in the moguls as well. But they don't have any camber, so I'm not trying to carve in them. They let me smear and I think that's why I like them in heavy snow. I do not like them on the groomers, though, for that exact reason.

The Yumis are great in the moguls.

Neither the Kenjas or the Auras changed for 2018. :-)