Is the grass greener on the other side? Wait to demo Montero AW or purchase Maven 93C?

[TiffAlt]

Stats: 5'2 115lbs

So I demoed the 23/24 Atomic Maven 93C in 156 at Crystal Mountain this past weekend and holy hell, I didn't realize until I skied these on that I'd found the speed limit on my Yumis. They were just so much faster and damper. In a way this was bad because the Yumi makes me slow down since if I get too fast. They really chatter at speed and perhaps the feedback is good since slow is good, but goddamn if I ever realized that limitation until now. I also felt the Maven's held an edge better, those I'm not sure I consider testing conditions ideal. The snow was refrozen spring crust in the morning, softened like an hour later and then it became grip slush that which sucks without a wax. Still, I enjoyed them a lot more than I expected to.

Here is my conundrum, I heard the Stockli Montero AW was Yumis big sister with better edge hold and got so excited! Since I heard these ski long, I am targeting 150cm. However, I won't be able to demo them until next season. I think Sturtevant's (owned by Christy's) carries them - I'm not sure it would be the Montero AWs though. Meanwhile Crystal has their demo fleet on sale NOW. Maybe it's FOMO and I should wait and hope I can demo the Stockli's next season.

And just cause I'm me, I saw Powder 7 has a used demo of the Stockli Nela 80 in 149cm for 429.99. They are only rated a 7 in terms of condition, so that gives me pause. I also don't know how these compare to the Montero - which reminder I haven't demoed either - but damn that price for Stockli is pretty good right? Is there some catch I'm missing?

Me right now:

 

[TiffAlt]

Well, I found this thread and now cannot, in good conscience, go with the Stockli Nela 80.

Going Stockli: Can't decide Montero AS, AW vs Nela 80?

Hi Divas, I'm in Europe and ski in the French Alps, Austria and Spain. I love skiing but always struggled with boots and my large calfs (pain, numbness). After many boot fitters, many boots, I think I finally found my magic combo of Dalbello Panterra 105 + Zitpfit linners. I ski about 3 to 4...

www.theskidiva.com

Arg, I should just wait right? Demo the Montero if and when I can find it before doing anything rash.

 

[badger]

I have a Nela 80 @ 149 for sale if you decide you're going that route.

 

[elemmac]

@TiffAlt - My 2 cents...

If you enjoyed the Atomic Maven 93C that much, and you can buy the demo at a good price...get them.

You can finish the year off and start next year with them. If you're not absolutely enthralled after a handful of days...demo the Montero (or any other skis that you deem as potential matches). Then if you have an epiphany that Stockli is the only ski for you and the grass IS greener, you can decide your next move: Sell the Maven and buy the Montero...or keep them both as a two-ski quiver. The Montero and the Maven are very different skis, that could EASILY be in the same quiver.

 

[leia1979]

You've heard my philosophy before. If you get a good deal and decide to move on, there's a good chance you can resell and not be out more than what it costs to demo anyway. I sold my Wildcat 76s (now that I got the longer 82s) this past weekend for $50 less than I bought them for. I got more than $50 worth of use out of them.

Not that my way is necessarily right, but I am 1) not patient and 2) determined to try all the skis.

 

[edelweissmaedl]

With the Maven's significantly wider at 93mm vs. 80mm I wouldn't imagine you would end up feeling like you are buying the same ski. ie. if you end up liking the AW's I would think you might prefer skiing them in different conditions than the Mavens. N+1......

 

[TiffAlt]

Thanks all! I've decided that you are right and it IS a different category for a quiver, but I am going to see if I can demo the Elan Ripstick 94 Black Edition this weekend to compare!!

 

[Trailside Trixie]

I've a friend who has the Maven and loves them. I say if you've demoed and love them and can get them at a good price then pull the trigger. You can always still demo and add to your quiver down the road.

 

[TiffAlt]

Well... I went and demoed and the winner was: 2024 Line Blade W. HAHAHAAHAHA. Not expected, but OMG so so so so fun and perfect for all the conditions we had today: refrozen crust and ice, cement crud AND slush!

Man, today was a HOOT on those skis. It was glorious. It was like I feared nothing.

In other news: I now have a quiver. BRING BACK THE SNOW

 

[TiffAlt]

Back to write a short review of my demo day today. You all know which one won, but I demoed three skis:

Elan Ripstick 96 Black Edition 164
I came in wanting the Elan Ripstick W which is 94 waist, but they had sold this year's demo already. Bummer. We did find the men's version in 164 which I decided to try. One run later, I exchanged them. While they were super damp, I don't know if it was the length since these were the longest skis I'd ever been on or the icy conditions but these skis do not like short radius turns and I am all about them! With the refrozen morning ice that is the hallmark of spring snow, that made my first run on them VERY SCARY since all they seemed to want to do was make long arcs and that made me go faster than I wanted to.

Line Blade W (92 waist) 160
So I went back thinking I'd exchange for the Mavens, but I decided what the hell, let's ask them. After feedback about what skis I had liked and NOT liked and why, they recommended the Line Blade W in 160. I had heard you should err shorter but 160 was the shortest they had. They seemed to think I'd be fine. Boy was I more than fine.

This ski was a beast full of fun! It held an edge like nothing before, so the ice seemed like nothing. The ungroomed runs were bumpy ice cookies, but honestly, this cut through them pretty damned well. And turning - my word, this ski turns on a dime. It WANTS to turn and I'm fine letting it! And ladies, this may seem silly, but I have a very bad fear of narrow cat tracks. They tend to get icy (especially in the spring) and with traffic, it's easy for me to end up tensing badly for fear of hitting others. But the increased edge grip and turning made this ski so much more confidence inspiring on them.

As for slush, given the ginormous shovel of this thing, it was super easy to float over the slush. I would just keep my legs together and make swaying turns. Super duper fun! One con though, these are HEAVY. I fear getting stuck on a chairlift without a leg rest. Still, I felt the pros outweighed the cons.

Atomic Maven 93C 156 (to test one last time)
So I took the Blades back in right around 1PM. I told them I was pretty sure I wanted to buy them, but told them my dilemma since I had liked the Mavens too. Well, they gave me the Mavens and told me to take them on a run and they put the Blades over on the holding rack to the side.

I still liked the Mavens for sure, but I knew right away that for me, they just weren't as fun as the Blades. They make good turns, not as short as the Blades, but nice medium-short ones which I felt was a good compromise to going faster but not too fast out of my comfort zone. There wasn't a lot of crud around that late in the day, mostly softening, but the stuff in the shade still gave a good test. I felt much more thrown around than on the Blades. A huge plus though was how much lighter these were. My legs were tired form the Blades, so this felt nice at the end of the day

One run and done though, I went back and claimed my Line Blades!

 

[Trailside Trixie]

I love, LOVE, LOVE hearing demo stoke stories like this one. Way to go. Happy ski gotcha day.

 

[scandium]

I love this story! The Line Blade is a fun ski and a great quiver addition.