New ski tuning advice

[Laleo]

Hi everyone, I’ve enjoyed reading/lurking in these forums for a while and finally registered! After demoing, I’ve settled on purchasing a pair of new Santa Ana 88s. I’m looking for advice on the type of prep I should ask my local ski shop to do on them. This is my first purchase of my own skis (I received a pair as a gift in the past), so this is a new process for me. Here are my questions:

From the factory, they come with base bevel 1 degree, side bevel 2 degrees. Is this pretty standard and a good place to leave it? The shop said they normally don’t do anything to the edges when skis are new.
Should I be asking them to detune the tips and tails? I’ve been trying to read about this online and encountered a lot of mixed advice and opinions.
Do they need a base grind?
Is it a good idea to have the shop wax them, or will the factory wax be sufficient?
This forum has good recs on the Tyrolia Attack 13 binding. Would the Attack 11 work just as well?

A bit about me: I’ve been skiing since childhood, now in my 30s, and would consider myself low advanced level. I consider myself confident and am not afraid to follow very advanced friends/family all over the mountain but I am working on improving my technique. Most of my skiiing is done in Colorado, occasionally other locations if work brings me nearby, 10-20 days/year if I am lucky (requires travel).

Many thanks in advance for any advice or recommendations. I hope you are all having a great ski season so far!

 

[mustski]

I usually put a flat edge on the base and shine a flashlight along the edge if it. Move it down a little further and repeat. If no light passes between the ski base and the flat edge, I just go ahead and ski it. If light shines through anywhere, the base is not flat and you need a grind. Otherwise go ahead and ski it. If it hooks up tip or tail, you need it detuned. Otherwise you are good to go. I’ve only experienced needing a grind on a new ski once in my life. Usually, they are fine or at least good enough for my lack of discernment.

 

[HikenSki]

My most recent pair I had the shop do a "new ski prep" so they did a base grind, put the edges for what you find around here, and detuned the tips and tails. I waxed them myself. I did this because I was headed off on a 3 day trip and I didn't want to run into any issues. I've had a bad base high pair once and that was awful. Felt like I was on marbles and skis felt like they could go anywhich way at any time on harder snow. Another pair was fine from the factory and I just put on a fresh coat of wax. My husband's Volkls were fine base and edge-wise but the factory wax was all kind of funky. It was so tacky and just didn't feel right. So I did a base clean and few hot wax passes and they ran great. Do a base check with the flashlight like @mustski suggested above then take them for a run. If they feel funky take them back to the shop for a check-up.

 

[sibhusky]

I check that they are flat, then put on the bevel I prefer. I do not detune. (If I think they are hooky after I ski them, I'll slightly increase the base bevel beyond the contact point). Then at least six layers of wax, starting with the softest and ending with the wax that's right for the current weather.

 

[newboots]

The Attack 13s have a higher range of DIN numbers than the Attack 11. If your DIN number is very high (expert skiing, also related to height, weight, and age) an Attack 13 might be appropriate. Otherwise, the Attack 11. Have the shop determine your DIN number if you don't know it, and make sure the bindings you get don't have your DIN number at one end or another of their range. Like, if your DIN is the lowest DIN on the binding, get a different binding.

These bindings have a very good reputation at our local shop.

 

[SierraLuLu]

I have the attack 11s on a Santa Ana 93. The shop didn’t think the 13s were necessary for my size and so far they seem to be working well (7 ski days, no issues).

 

[Fluffy Kitty]

From the factory, they come with base bevel 1 degree, side bevel 2 degrees. Is this pretty standard and a good place to leave it? The shop said they normally don’t do anything to the edges when skis are new.
Should I be asking them to detune the tips and tails? I’ve been trying to read about this online and encountered a lot of mixed advice and opinions.
Do they need a base grind?

(I know I'm repeating a lot of suggestions...)

Do check the flatness as others have suggested, but, otherwise, I would not change anything until you've skied them a few days, see what the quirks are. Since you demoed them before you made your choice, I'd say definitely don't change anything; you want the skis the way you demoed them. (Base not being flat is less frequent these days, and some say that skis are usually at their best with factory tune.)

Your bevel is pretty standard; if you are on a lot of ice and find it hard to hold the edge, you can try upping the side bevel by one degree, but usually this is better addressed by technique first. In Colorado, you shouldn't need more side bevel, and only racers need base bevels changed.

Detuning is necessary only if you catch tips a lot or the skis feel "hooky"; detuning sacrifices edge hold for turn control and crud navigation, so it's a matter of taste. Again, better addressed by technique first (tip catch usually means not enough commitment); beware that a lot of people think their skis are "hooky" when it's actually the opposite, i.e., the edges are not engaged because of poor commitment.

Is it a good idea to have the shop wax them, or will the factory wax be sufficient?

Definitely do the wax... although factory wax will probably last 2-3 days if you just have to go.

This forum has good recs on the Tyrolia Attack 13 binding. Would the Attack 11 work just as well?

As mentioned, depends on your DIN setting and how aggressive you are. If you have a low DIN, there is no point in adding any weight. If you have a high DIN or you do a lot of jumping and dropping, you might want burlier bindings. When picking up the skis, check to make sure the center-of-boot marker lines up with the binding mount line on the skis.

One little side note: Demo bindings are heavier and taller than regular bindings, so you will find that the skis flip differently and hold edge differently; if you find that the skis don't feel the way they did when you demoed, vary your technique to see if you can get used to the skis. Binding position can also be off sometimes on bindings, especially demo bindings. On your first day, try skating in the skis on flat snow; if they feel so wonky that you can't skate, ask a shop about the binding position.

And congrats on your first purchase!