Lmk92
Angel Diva
I attended a demo day at Blue Mountain (in PA) yesterday, and was able to try a few skis before my legs wore out (and before they quit - early!). I'm not a great reviewer, but I'll give my thoughts on the skis I tried in case it helps anyone else in my situation.
My stats: 51 yo, 5'2, 160 lbs. Solid intermediate skier.
Most skis were 2018s.
I couldn't wait to get my hands on the Yumis. I thought they would win the day. They were my least favorite. The ski is great - my technique isn't. These ladies were worse than my mother complaining about me in the back seat. I kept to the same easy blue run all day, and I just knew if I jumped in the back seat during a black diamond run on a day with normal conditions, they's buck me off. Other than that, they are a beautiful ski, and honestly, I would have been happy to get them and a lesson or two.
I loved, loved, loved the Atomic Vantages. Now, why Atomic has to name every single ski Vantage is a mystery. Even the girl manning the demo booth couldn't really tell me confidently which ski was which and what made one Vantage line different than another. This really is just poor marketing. My favorite, surprisingly, was the 77 cti. I thought I'd love the 80, which I did, but the 77 was just so much FUN, even in the deep slush! I even tried the 85, which was great, and almost bought it, but the 77 was just the happiest camper for me. I plan to venture into the woods at some point, and I kept hearing my kids telling me not to go too wide.
Next came the Temptations. I tried both the 80 and 84, and didn't really like them. I read a few times on here that they have a small sweet spot, and I definitely didn't find it.
I regret not trying the Astras, but I kind of decided I wanted to stick in the 80-84mm range for speed stability. I should have tried them anyway.
The clear winner of the day for me was the Blizzard Quattro 8.0 ti. I found them to be incredibly responsive, and even in the deep slush, I had a blast on them. For me, I liked the 156s better than the 162s, although it was a close call. Blizzard claims they have a tail rocker, but I didn't feel it while skiing, and Seth at Guenther's (near Elk Mountain), says it's really early rise, not true tail rocker. There's no change in the ski from 2017, and the only sad part for me was that the 2018 graphic matched my boots very nicely. ;)
My stats: 51 yo, 5'2, 160 lbs. Solid intermediate skier.
Most skis were 2018s.
I couldn't wait to get my hands on the Yumis. I thought they would win the day. They were my least favorite. The ski is great - my technique isn't. These ladies were worse than my mother complaining about me in the back seat. I kept to the same easy blue run all day, and I just knew if I jumped in the back seat during a black diamond run on a day with normal conditions, they's buck me off. Other than that, they are a beautiful ski, and honestly, I would have been happy to get them and a lesson or two.
I loved, loved, loved the Atomic Vantages. Now, why Atomic has to name every single ski Vantage is a mystery. Even the girl manning the demo booth couldn't really tell me confidently which ski was which and what made one Vantage line different than another. This really is just poor marketing. My favorite, surprisingly, was the 77 cti. I thought I'd love the 80, which I did, but the 77 was just so much FUN, even in the deep slush! I even tried the 85, which was great, and almost bought it, but the 77 was just the happiest camper for me. I plan to venture into the woods at some point, and I kept hearing my kids telling me not to go too wide.
Next came the Temptations. I tried both the 80 and 84, and didn't really like them. I read a few times on here that they have a small sweet spot, and I definitely didn't find it.
I regret not trying the Astras, but I kind of decided I wanted to stick in the 80-84mm range for speed stability. I should have tried them anyway.
The clear winner of the day for me was the Blizzard Quattro 8.0 ti. I found them to be incredibly responsive, and even in the deep slush, I had a blast on them. For me, I liked the 156s better than the 162s, although it was a close call. Blizzard claims they have a tail rocker, but I didn't feel it while skiing, and Seth at Guenther's (near Elk Mountain), says it's really early rise, not true tail rocker. There's no change in the ski from 2017, and the only sad part for me was that the 2018 graphic matched my boots very nicely. ;)
