Help Needed: new skis for husband... Bonafide or Enforcer or ???

[hamster on skis]

Please don't laugh at me -- I'm looking for new skis for my husband (who likes skiing but not as much as I do).
We ski about 20 days a year, mostly East Coast (Sugarbush, VT), with about a week in Utah (Alta, Solitude..) in recent years. I would say husband is at the lower end of advanced -- good on groomers but less happy following me and the kids off piste. His (very) old skis are Volkl AC 20 which are very clearly inadequate for two reasons - 1) it is an intermediate ski and he could use better skis now 2) it's too narrow for Utah. Looking for one-quiver ski that would handle East Coast ice but also be reasonable & let him improve in trees, bumps, and powder. Some popular skis -- Blizzard Bonafide, Nordica Enforcer etc might be the answer but I'm also worried they might be too much ski for him. (Are there some similar but somewhat more forgiving skis?) Also not sure about the width: would Brahma be way too narrow for those Utah trips? Would Enforcer 93 be more appropriate that Enforcer 100? (Husband is 5'9", 185 lbs and not super athletic.)

I love my Blizzard Black Pearls (bought them sight unseen a couple years back) and would love to find a "similar" ski for husband.

Demoing is not a great idea, unfortunately -- hard to demo "in all conditions" (and we don't ski enough to dedicate a ski week to demoing.) Last spring he wanted to demo and was talked into trying a Volkl RTM (84 I think) which he said was really ripping icy groomers but was clearly not a one-quiver ski.

I would have posted this on epicski but now that it's closed, trying the divas before registering for pugski.
Thank you!

 

[mustski]

The difficult part is finding a ski that'll work best in the conditions you most often ski. There really aren't any one trick ponies though some skis are more versatile than others. There is always a trade off. The Bonafides are too wide for regular skiing on groomers in the east and definitely not a good choice for eastern ice. That said, I am not an eastern skier so I can't really speak to what would work best. I do think the Brahmas might be a good candidate as might be the Volkl Kendo. I only mention the Kendo because he is currently on Volkls and might prefer the Volkl feel. That said, I will leave it to those more knowledgeable about east coast conditions. Buy for those conditions and plan to rent on deep powder days when you get lucky on a western trip!

 

[elemmac]

I'd stick with the Brahma rather than the Bonafides, and the Enforcer 93 rather than the 100. I'd recommend looking for a ski in the 85-95ish range, this should get him comfortably through the majority of conditions and if you get a big dump out in Utah he can always rent a fatter ski for a day.

Couple others that would fit the bill to consider:
Head Kore 93
Fischer Ranger 90
Armada Invictus 89

 

[hamster on skis]

Thank you! My thinking about the width was that if my Black Pearls (152 cm length) work fine for my petite 100lb frame with their 88m width, then the proportions would translate to something closer to 100 width for a longer ski for a bigger guy. But from what you both are saying, should go with lower width range.

Among the skis mentioned above, should I be concerned about anything which is expert-oriented and really needs a strong aggressive skier, a lot of metal and all that? Don't want to end up with something that's too much ski for him (but definitely want a good ski that won't hold him back).

 

[pinto]

Blizzard has sorta re-released the Bushwacker (which was the unisex version of the Black Pearl) as the Brahma CA. There is now a Brahma and a Brahma CA (the lighter version). Also look at the new Nordica Navigator 90 and maybe the Atomic Vantage 90 CTi.

 

[SallyCat]

What's his favorite color? What skis would match his boots?

The Atomic Vantage 90 CTI is an extremely popular East Coast ski. Unless all those people are just out there on the hills grimly enduring their poor purchasing choices, I'd give it a try. I own the RT84 and love it. I demoed and just bought the Vantage 90cti, but I bought it for softer spring snow because I was underwhelmed with the edge grip. But I've heard others say they love the edge grip, so ... huh.

 

[elemmac]

Thank you! My thinking about the width was that if my Black Pearls (152 cm length) work fine for my petite 100lb frame with their 88m width, then the proportions would translate to something closer to 100 width for a longer ski for a bigger guy. But from what you both are saying, should go with lower width range.

Among the skis mentioned above, should I be concerned about anything which is expert-oriented and really needs a strong aggressive skier, a lot of metal and all that? Don't want to end up with something that's too much ski for him (but definitely want a good ski that won't hold him back).

In reality, he might be perfectly happy with a 100 underfoot ski, I've skied a 100 underfoot as a daily driver for the past two years, and I ski mostly in Maine. However, I ski off groomed trails whenever possible, and only resort to groomers when necessary. How you describe his abilities and comfort level, I think he'd benefit more from something a little narrower. It wasn't long ago that something around 90 underfoot was considered a wide powder ski.

Pretty much all of the ski mentioned have been softer or medium flex skis which are fairly easy to ski, I don't think anything mentioned would be over his head as a low advanced skier.

 

[hamster on skis]

Thank you!
Nordica Navigator has a hard grippy tail for carving, like Volkl RTM84 that he liked on groomers but he says he'd like softer tail for a variety of conditions.
Atomic Vantage 90 CTi looks like a great option actually, and there are some really good deals for 2017 version now. Still want to spend some time pondering Enforcer 93 and Brahmas for a bit.

 

[elemmac]

Thank you!
Nordica Navigator has a hard grippy tail for carving, like Volkl RTM84 that he liked on groomers but he says he'd like softer tail for a variety of conditions.
Atomic Vantage 90 CTi looks like a great option actually, and there are some really good deals for 2017 version now. Still want to spend some time pondering Enforcer 93 and Brahmas for a bit.

In the interest of good deals on 2017 equipment...the Nordica NRGY 90 might be another to consider. It's the predecessor for the Navigator, but has a different shape. It should perform better than the Enforcer on hardpack, but won't be quite as forgiving as the conditions soften.

 

[heather matthews]

I've skied the 100mm Enforcer for most of this season in NZ and it has been great in all conditions from hardpack/almost ice to spring corn.I'm 6 ft and 165lbs and ski the 185cm.They are heavy but I'm quite strong,reasonably aggressive and have ok technique and I would honestly say they are the best all round skis I've owned.I find them easy to turn and to get edge to edge.If you're concerned about all the metal maybe he could try the Santa Ana(I know lots of other women rave about them but they just weren't long enough for me)if he isn't bothered about skiing a chicks ski!!!

 

[SnowHot]

What's his favorite color? What skis would match his boots?

Wow, if a guy said that about you or another female, even including the , you would crucify him.

@hamster on skis, I would agree with @pinto's suggestions, since he isn't super aggressive, the Nordica Navigator 90 and the Atomic Vantage 90CTi.

 

[santacruz skier]

Wow, if a guy said that about you or another female, even including the , you would crucify him.

I was thinking the same thing!

 

[Jenny]

Not me. The makes it pretty obvious, I think.

 

[SallyCat]

I was engaging in a bit of

 

[santacruz skier]

I was engaging in a bit of

View attachment 7563

oops and I missed it!

 

[bounceswoosh]

have ok technique

*koff*

 

[mustski]

Not me. The makes it pretty obvious, I think.

Yeah. And it's a female only site so WE get it for sure. No risk of offending men over here.

 

[SnowHot]

Yeah. And it's a female only site so WE get it for sure. No risk of offending men over here.

But the OP is asking for advice for her husband, which means that he could very well be watching to see the replies. We need to realize that we're not just answering the women here, but we're answering everyone who can view the thread. How many men are looking for skis for their female SO, can't post on this site, but are reading it to get information.
I guess I'm just getting weary of the double standards, in general.
*I also realize that I'm being an a$$ because I'm being overly sensitive.

 

[SallyCat]

I also realize that I'm being an a$$ because I'm being overly sensitive.

Hello, @SnowHot! I don't think you're being oversensitive so much as missing the larger context for my original comment which, as I say, was just a bit of lighthearted irony.

It was fairly common on EpicSki for men to post up that they were buying skis for their wives/girlfriends, and ask what kind they should get, etc. The implication being that the woman had no part in the decision-making process for whatever reason. Also, women are sometimes assumed to care more about stylistic appearance than performance regarding their athletic equipment (last year, in fact, I had a shop employee ask me what color my skis were apropos of my choice of boots and whether the two matched).

So in my comment I just playfully inverted gender expectations by pretending that the man would care about aesthetics more than performance. To the extent that the result was humor (and I realize that extent was fairly limited) the reason was that it is almost inconceivable that anyone would ask a man about colors and matching when he's buying skis.

There's no double-standard in play, because I wasn't really suggesting that the OP ask her husband about his color preferences. In fact, my comment wasn't about the OP's husband or his ski choice at all; it was a joke about the assumptions that are sometimes made about female athletes.

And if a man reads my attempt at humor and dislikes it, that's not necessarily a bad thing. The comment wasn't meant for him; it was written by a woman skier for women skiers, some of whom will likely identify with the issue. To preemptively edit our comments on this forum so as not to irk a hypothetical male readership would, I think, defeat the very purpose of a women-only forum. And it would also deprive men of a chance to gain an authentic glimpse into the issues that women deal with in adventure sports and how women articulate their responses to those issues. I would hate to see the nature of the writing here diminished in the interest of placating the "male gaze," as it were.

 

[ski diva]

^ What she said.