Help Needed: 17yr old skier looking for advice/suggestions for new skis

[Dashwood]

Good for you! Note that sometimes you can get a deal on demo skis but can be a little harder during early season. But never hurts to ask.

Have you found this thread with tips about handling a demo day? Feel free to ask questions that come to mind.
https://www.theskidiva.com/forums/index.php?threads/how-to-approach-a-demo-day.23624/

What is the situation for boots?

I will make sure to read the entire thing! Thank you!

I bought my ski boots last week! I never realized how uncomfortable and ill fitting renters boots were until I started trying on new boots. I got the Atomic Hawx 85 Ultra. I went to a couple of stores and tried a total of 6 different boots. I was unsure if any of them fit right until I put these on. They were the only ones that felt just right and I was pretty confident in my purchase.
I was so excited that when I got home I put them on and just sat at my desk wearing them for an hour!

 

[marzNC]

I bought my ski boots last week! I never realized how uncomfortable and ill fitting renters boots were until I started trying on new boots. I got the Atomic Hawx 85 Ultra. I went to a couple of stores and tried a total of 6 different boots. I was unsure if any of them fit right until I put these on. They were the only ones that felt just right and I was pretty confident in my purchase.
I was so excited that when I got home I put them on and just sat at my desk wearing them for an hour!

That's great that you have your own boots. Will make far more difference than having your own skis. But since your father is willing to buy skis, go for it!

There is a lot of good info about buying and taking care of ski gear in the Gearipedia.

https://www.theskidiva.com/forums/index.php?forums/gearipedia.49/

Just keep in mind that Divas are known for being enablers when it comes to ski-related shopping. One reason I've got more than one pair of skis at this point. Even though I've sold a few pairs along the way after getting new skis.

 

[Dashwood]

That's great that you have your own boots. Will make far more difference than having your own skis. But since your father is willing to buy skis, go for it!

There is a lot of good info about buying and taking care of ski gear in the Gearipedia.

https://www.theskidiva.com/forums/index.php?forums/gearipedia.49/

Just keep in mind that Divas are known for being enablers when it comes to ski-related shopping. One reason I've got more than one pair of skis at this point. Even though I've sold a few pairs along the way after getting new skis.

Thank you! I'll make sure to heavily research taking care of my gear to insure everything stays in tip-top condition!

Knowing me I'll either get very attached to one ski and never want to use any other ski again or be the proud owner of 20 different skis and the daughter of a very irritated father...

 

[mustski]

Either way, be sure to keep us informed and let us know what you liked and what you loved.

 

[Dashwood]

Either way, be sure to keep us informed and let us know what you liked and what you loved.

Will do!

 

[Dashwood]

UPDATE: Went to Sunday River for demo day yesterday! My Dad and I left at 4 AM(We live in MA) to make sure we got there at the start of the day because we weren’t sure how crowded it would be.


I was able to demo the Black Pearl 88 159cm, Sheeva 9 157cm, Santa Ana 93 161cm, and Santa Ana 88 151cm.

The first pair of skis I demoed was the Black Pearl 88. I was surprised at how much I disliked the BP88. I thought they was good until I demoed other skis and realized I hated them. I couldn’t pinpoint exactly what I disliked about them, but I found them to be sort of lifeless. It didn’t help that they were also awful in anything even slightly icy.

The second pair I demoed was the Sheeva 9. They were AMAZING. I felt like I was flying in these. It was easy to gain tons of speed and even in icy spots it was almost effortless to turn. Going in the moguls was a breeze and I felt like I was bouncing in them! I can only imagine how fun they would be to use in the glades!

I went to the Nordica tent to try the Santa Ana 88s, but they were in use at the time so I tried the Santa Ana 93. It was really fun and fast downhill in fluffier snow and I didn’t have trouble in the icier spots either. The moguls took more energy to do in these since they were so long, but I still had a good time and didn’t feel like it impacted my ability to speed through them.

When I returned the Santa Ana 93 they still didn’t have the Santa Ana 88 and I went to look at other skis, but my Dad had to use the restroom so I decided to take a break instead.
When we came back the Santa Ana 88 was there and I decided to give them a try! I didn’t have any trouble getting a grip in the icy spots and they still felt solid in the moguls. If I liked skiing more on steep icy trails than in the glades these would've been the clear winner. I also would have tried the 158cm version just to see if I liked the extra length, but it wasn't available.

After returning the Santa Ana 88 my Dad and I decided it was time to head home.
I could’ve stayed and demoed a couple more skis, but my Dad and I were both tired/sleep-deprived and I knew which ski I wanted anyway.

Overall I had a great experience demoing and have turned my Dad into a fan of it as well! He didn’t demo at all himself because he wanted to try his new skis, but he saw how much fun I was having and now he wont stop talking about how we need to take my Mom demoing! As for what ski I've chosen...

I’m going to buy a Sheeva 9 157cm! It felt great when demoing it at that length and I think the 148cm would be too far of a jump down. I’m also not sure exactly how bindings work and I didn’t get a good look at what bindings the demo skis had so if anyone has any recommendations on what bindings to get for the skis please let me know!

 

[marzNC]

Overall I had a great experience demoing and have turned my Dad into a fan of it as well! He didn’t demo at all himself because he wanted to try his new skis, but he saw how much fun I was having and now he wont stop talking about how we need to take my Mom demoing! As for what ski I've chosen...

I’m going to buy a Sheeva 9 157cm! It felt great when demoing it at that length and I think the 148cm would be too far of a jump down. I’m also not sure exactly how bindings work and I didn’t get a good look at what bindings the demo skis had so if anyone has any recommendations on what bindings to get for the skis please let me know!

Sounds like a great day! Good for you to convince your father the day trip was worth the effort.

157cm for the Sheeva 9 is a good length at your height/weight. I'm also petite and have demo'd wide skis (100-110mm) at assorted lengths, including from 152-168cm. 148cm is too short.

As for bindings, I put Look Dual WTR 12 bindings on the only pair of skis that I've bought without bindings. Only brand I tend to avoid for bindings is Marker. Some of the Marker models are hard to get in/out of for me. Best to pick bindings for which your DIN isn't at the extreme, meaning not the lowest or highest setting for the given binding.

I stuck some info about bindings here:
https://www.theskidiva.com/forums/i...now-about-bindings-alpine-aka-downhill.24028/

 

[MissySki]

Yay!!!! Your description of the Sheevas is pretty much how I feel on them as well, so I can pretty safely say that you will definitely love them in the trees too!

So glad you guys did the demo. There’s another at Loon this Friday too, if your mom needs a demo day.

When I demoed the Sheevas last year, the rep had Marker squire demo bindings on them, can’t say if that’s the case this season but it’s possible. I have Tyrolia attack 13 on mine. There are lots of great bindings to choose from in general though.

 

[mustski]

Congrats on the new skis! It's always so much fun to get new sticks!