Powder names its best women's skis of the year

[vanhoskier]

Does Powder Mag ever cover conditions that aren't powder snow?

I spent a day on the DPS Zelda 106 Foundation @ 158 a few years ago. Not sure why the article implies that 168cm is the shortest length available. The Zelda is good in soft snow and great in deeper powder (> 8 inches). But for petite women, it's not going to be a one-ski-quiver. Not sure it really would be for anyone who skis more than 10% on groomers. Note that I like DPS skis in general. The Nina 99 is a versatile powder ski for me that my Alta instructor thinks is an appropriate width.

I am bigger than you and I won’t ski anything wider than 100. IMO the Zelda 106 is a lot for a petite woman. It was a lot for me!

 

[vanhoskier]

Oooh . . . very interesting about the Santa Ana. I demoed them last year and was not impressed at all. It felt like the tip kept deflecting whenever I got off groomed snow. Not overly impressed is too mild. I really didn't like them and couldn't wait to get off. But they've added metal . . . ?????

What is your favorite soft snow ski, @Skisailor?

 

[vanhoskier]

In the East demo days with Piles of powder is rare I just may have to go West for a true fatty ski day demo!

I want to try the DPS-- any or all of their Fatties.
And I want to try the Sheeva's (I do like Blizzard skis)
I had the K2 Fulluvit 95's last summer at Mammoth in (July skiing w/Divas :-)))))))-woo hoo)
they were too planky, not enough playfulness for me. Worked fine, just meh for me.
I didn't care for the Santa Ana's (2017) I over worked them and did not like them I had similar experience as @Skisailor in heavy spring snow.
I love all the Atomic Vantage Series (I have the precursors Elysians)

demo demo demo.. always amazed at what one loves another may hate even if they are same/similar shape/size!! I Can't wait for winter and skiing!!!

I am wagering you would like the DPS Zelda 106 but not the Wailer.....too much tip rocker. Just a guess, as you’re a good technical skier.

 

[marzNC]

I am bigger than you and I won’t ski anything wider than 100. IMO the Zelda 106 is a lot for a petite woman. It was a lot for me!

I've been lucky enough to ski after enough Utah powder storms in recent years that I'm starting to be more comfortable in snow that's knee deep on me. There are times when having wide powder skis really does make it more fun and less work. When I demo at Alta, I'm not looking for skis to buy but to know what I would enjoy when renting on a powder day.

I took the Zelda 106 out on a day with 12+ inches of fresh still around Snowbird if you knew where to go. That day my ski buddy and I met up with a couple of folks from DC who know Snowbird very well. I tried the Yvette 112 the day before at Alta. That was fun in Catherine's in untracked in the morning, but I switched out for for the K2 LuvBoat 105 in the afternoon. The LuvBoat and Zelda were still possible to turn on groomers, but the Yvette is no fun at all.

Snowbird can be good for checking out what wider skis do on slick groomers during late season. The front side groomers are always slick by the afternoon.

 

[santacruz skier]

Too bad you can't fly east. our mt demo day is great. right at the lift, not many people one year I tried 15 pair of skis w/2-5runs on each ski!!

So true what @CarverJill said. For instance, at heavenly you literally need to download on the gondola (can't ski down) to demo. Takes 20 minutes each way plus time spent selecting skis and getting bindings set.

 

[Skisailor]

What is your favorite soft snow ski, @Skisailor?

I'm still kinda looking myself. I hate skis with very much rocker or that are too soft. I ski all of Big Sky on my K2 Ooh La Luvs (85 mm). That said - I bought a pair of Volkl 98s last year and I use them for skiing crud, especially off the peak. They are not as burly as a lot of Volkl skis but still have some decent stiffness. No rocker. Pretty flat and not very much sidecut either - good for powder!

 

[heather matthews]

Just to put it out there for taller,heavier,more aggressive skiers then I think the Nordica Enforcer 100 is worth a look.I've skied on these for the last two seasons here in NZ and they fit the bill as a do it all ski for the conditions we generally get here.Wind affected,heavy snow,wet snow and generally chopped up crud are all well handled by this ski.I'm skiing the 185cm-I tried both the 177 and the Santa Ana 177 and found they were a little short.They are quite heavy compared to other skis that I've owned and you definitely know about it after a big vertical day.I'd guess they would be more of an East coast than a west Coast ski.We never really have light and dry here in NZ and this season has been a bit poor here in Canterbury and these have been perfect.

 

[Skisailor]

Meant to add - as a smaller skier, I think 98 is plenty wide for me and I don't think I would ever go over 100. Big Sky does not get a ton of super deep powder though. Knee deep is not exactly rare and that pushes up onto my thighs during skiing, but most storms are of the 4-10 inches variety.

 

[Skisailor]

Oh - my avatar is me on my 98s last year at Targhee in over a foot of somewhat set up crud, 3 days after a 30" dump. If you can enlarge the picture you will see my tips floating up - the 98s did great. I think that same ski comes in a 108 too.

 

[santacruz skier]

Oh - my avatar is me on my 98s last year at Targhee in over a foot of somewhat set up crud, 3 days after a 30" dump. If you can enlarge the picture you will see my tips floating up - the 98s did great. I think that same ski comes in a 108 too.

So what are your narrower skis? the k2's? Think I'm your size and now want a ski for carving and also moguls (if possible)....

 

[Skisailor]

Yes. My daily drivers are the K2 Ooh La Luvs at 85 mm and I still ski the slightly narrower Luv Sicks at 80 - they are better in firm snow. I don't think K2 makes either of these skis anymore.

When you say carving and moguls though - that's opposing attributes. For carving it's nice to have a ski with a decent amount iof sidecut and good camber and torsional stiffness. For moguls I like a much straighter ski that I can easily pivot. Skis with more shape can tend to hook up at inconvenient times in moguls or crud or powder. So if you want a real carver you will sacrifice mogul performance and vice versa.

Neither of my K2s are awesome carvers although they do fine in soft edgeable snow. They are good jacks of all trades.

I think K2s replacement for the Ooh La Luv (can't remember the name) leans more toward carving performance.

I have an old pair of Volkl Tierras that I leave in the east for skiing firm snow. Great carver. Not so great in bumps . . .

Meant to add - especially as a smaller skier I have gone away from spending much time on fatter skis - even for 3 dimensional snow. I'm much happier on a ski I can bend - and that doesn't just mean a soft ski.

Length X WIDTH gives us square inches of ski. So going narrower helps bring our lbs per sq inch up for bending the ski. It's an important consideration. Narrower is also much easier on the knees especially when skiing on the snow and not in it.

 

[Jilly]

They only focused on fat skis for that article?

Well the magazine is called "Powder". I haven't seen an actual copy in years, but its all about big mountains with lots of snow.

 

[marzNC]

So what are your narrower skis? the k2's? Think I'm your size and now want a ski for carving and also moguls (if possible)....

Yes. My daily drivers are the K2 Ooh La Luvs at 85 mm and I still ski the slightly narrower Luv Sicks at 80 - they are better in firm snow. I don't think K2 makes either of these skis anymore.

@santacruz skier : I demo'd the OohLaLuv 85Ti @163 at Alta in April 2016. They were fun in the afternoon on groomers and the bumps created in softened spring snow off-piste. A bit surprising since they were on the long side. I liked the Total Joy 134-84-112, R11.8 better, which I tried out @158cm. Note the lower turn radius compared to the OohLaLuv, which was R14.

The Ski Essentials review of the 2018 OohLaLuv is pretty positive. Recommended for intermediate to advance. One of the reviewers is 5'4", 130 lbs and she tested the 156cm.

I certainly had fun on my Stöckli Stormrider 85 skis at Taos the season I demo'd and then bought them. There was lots of snow and I skied a lot of bump runs, from blue to black, even one double-black during a lesson. They are 127-84-109, R13.5m @159cm, Rocker/Camber/Flat (tip-waist-tail).

 

[Skisailor]

@santacruz skier : I demo'd the OohLaLuv 85Ti @163 at Alta in April 2016. They were fun in the afternoon on groomers and the bumps created in softened spring snow off-piste. A bit surprising since they were on the long side. I liked the Total Joy 134-84-112, R11.8 better, which I tried out @158cm. Note the lower turn radius compared to the OohLaLuv, which was R14.

The Ski Essentials review of the 2018 OohLaLuv is pretty positive. Recommended for intermediate to advance. One of the reviewers is 5'4", 130 lbs and she tested the 156cm.

I certainly had fun on my Stöckli Stormrider 85 skis at Taos the season I demo'd and then bought them. There was lots of snow and I skied a lot of bump runs, from blue to black, even one double-black during a lesson. They are 127-84-109, R13.5m @159cm, Rocker/Camber/Flat (tip-waist-tail).

I ski the 156.

 

[racetiger]

Well the magazine is called "Powder". I haven't seen an actual copy in years, but its all about big mountains with lots of snow.

I get it. Ive only read a couple articles online from the magazine so I didnt know if they covered other skis

 

[vanhoskier]

Meant to add - as a smaller skier, I think 98 is plenty wide for me and I don't think I would ever go over 100. Big Sky does not get a ton of super deep powder though. Knee deep is not exactly rare and that pushes up onto my thighs during skiing, but most storms are of the 4-10 inches variety.

Knee deep IS probably 10” for you. Just kidding. I couldn’t resist.

Despite being taller, I will not ski skis over 100 mm.....kills my knees. If I cannot learn to ski powder better on 99 mm....well, so be it. But my opportunities, at present, to see deep powder are minimal. That said, I DID ski 18” of dry powder in the POCONOS last year!!!

Like you, I am not a big rockered ski fan. However, I found one exception: DPS Wailer 99. Maybe because it has a unique feel. When skied centered, it carves. Really. I checked my tracks.

I tried the Völkl 108 and I HATED them.....no camber and all rocker plus that width just confused the h*ll out of me.

I had fun in sloppy, cruddy, spring snow on my Elan SLX and Stockli SR83’s. I wasn’t craving anything wider.

 

[santacruz skier]

Yes. My daily drivers are the K2 Ooh La Luvs at 85 mm and I still ski the slightly narrower Luv Sicks at 80 - they are better in firm snow. I don't think K2 makes either of these skis anymore.

When you say carving and moguls though - that's opposing attributes. For carving it's nice to have a ski with a decent amount iof sidecut and good camber and torsional stiffness. For moguls I like a much straighter ski that I can easily pivot. Skis with more shape can tend to hook up at inconvenient times in moguls or crud or powder. So if you want a real carver you will sacrifice mogul performance and vice versa.

Neither of my K2s are awesome carvers although they do fine in soft edgeable snow. They are good jacks of all trades.

I think K2s replacement for the Ooh La Luv (can't remember the name) leans more toward carving performance.

I have an old pair of Volkl Tierras that I leave in the east for skiing firm snow. Great carver. Not so great in bumps . . .

Meant to add - especially as a smaller skier I have gone away from spending much time on fatter skis - even for 3 dimensional snow. I'm much happier on a ski I can bend - and that doesn't just mean a soft ski.

Length X WIDTH gives us square inches of ski. So going narrower helps bring our lbs per sq inch up for bending the ski. It's an important consideration. Narrower is also much easier on the knees especially when skiing on the snow and not in it.

Somehow I knew there would not be a ski that excels in both ! A suggestion for a ski that is good in bumps then? More of an all mountain ski 85-90 ish mm?

 

[marzNC]

If I cannot learn to ski powder better on 99 mm....well, so be it.

What I learned from my ski buddy Bill is that with solid technique, no need for fat skis even for 15+ inches of untracked powder. He ended up thigh deep at Snowbird one day when we met up with friends from DC. I didn't go with them but the young man (L3 instructor at Liberty before moving to SLC) took him to the good stuff. Since Bill (about 5'10") wasn't expecting powder 2-3 days after the latest storm, he was on his Nordica all-mountain skis that are about 90 underfoot. Had a great time. I got to see pictures. Of course, it helps that Bill skied powder on straight skis when in high school near Aspen. He owns powder skis from White Dot but rarely bothers to use them.

For a Snowmass trip a few years ago, I didn't have time to get demo skis the first morning. It was after a decent snowstorm. Had my BPs (2011 version, 88mm) and ended up doing an adventure run in deep powder in tight trees in the Hanging Valley area. Was following the same young man who Bill followed at Snowbird. He was free skiing with the group I was for that run. Bill and the young man's father were being sweepers for me. So I went for it at speed in more than one section. Had a couple roll-over falls with very soft landings. Overall had a very good time and enough good turns to realize I can handle deeper powder with all-mountain skis than 5-10 years ago.

 

[santacruz skier]

Come to think of it, skied Hanging Valley at Snowmass (yes tight trees and steep in places) on my k2 lotta luvs that were 82 underfoot after a huge dump......

 

[Skisailor]

Knee deep IS probably 10” for you. Just kidding. I couldn’t resist.

Despite being taller, I will not ski skis over 100 mm.....kills my knees. If I cannot learn to ski powder better on 99 mm....well, so be it. But my opportunities, at present, to see deep powder are minimal. That said, I DID ski 18” of dry powder in the POCONOS last year!!!

Like you, I am not a big rockered ski fan. However, I found one exception: DPS Wailer 99. Maybe because it has a unique feel. When skied centered, it carves. Really. I checked my tracks.

I tried the Völkl 108 and I HATED them.....no camber and all rocker plus that width just confused the h*ll out of me.

I had fun in sloppy, cruddy, spring snow on my Elan SLX and Stockli SR83’s. I wasn’t craving anything wider.

Ha! Yes 10" IS knee deep! Bummer about the Volkl 108. I thought it was just a wider version of the 98. My skis have barely any rocker and barely any camber. They're like . . Flat! With a tiny upturned tip. Sounds different from what you skied.

The DPS sounds interesting. Will demo if I can!