SkiBam
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Had a fun morning yesterday. The boss at the ski shop in St. Sauveur where I’ve had my skis tuned for ages told me about an industry demo day and said some non-industry people are sometimes invited. Anyway, I got to go - such fun!
Conditions (at Avila, part of St. Sauveur) : new snow, groomed, no ice (ideal conditions though no off piste or bumps available). I did two runs on each ski - one blue, one black.
My problem at this kind of event is there are few (if any) skis of the right length. I’m a bit under 5 ft, 105 lb., advanced, and everything I tried was a tad longer than I might have liked. Many of the companies there had nothing even remotely suitable for me, but I did try three.
Elan Wildcat 80TI: 126/78/110 R. 10.8 m. in a 152. It was an okay ski but didn’t do anything special for me. Wouldn’t buy.
Blizzard Black Pearl 84: 122.5/84/105.5, R 11 m. in a 152. I was hopeful about this one as I’ve heard such raves about the BP, but I didn’t feel it’s a ski I would run out and buy. Liked it better than the Elan. Not very lively, and I thought the tips were a bit wobbly (maybe due to them being slightly too long), though when I got to a higher speed they felt nice and stable.
Atomic Cloud 12 in a 153. I really loved this ski and I’m sure in my length (147) I would have loved it even more. Quick turning, easy to ski, very responsive, and stable at speed. Narrower than the other two I tried and possibly that’s what I liked about them. Not sure how it would be for off piste.
What I really have my eye on is the Stockli MX. Naturally they didn’t have any small ones but I know a 146 or 147 exists.
I also went to the Volkl booth and mentioned how I’ve loved my Yumis which I gather has been replaced by the Mantra but they had nothing small enough for me. Went to Rossignol and Dynastar - nothing. Talked to the guy at Faction - not a ski we see around here a lot, I guess mainly because they don’t really have much for on piste. Went to K2 and nothing to try in my size.
Anyway, a fun morning. I wish I were better at describing a ski’s characteristics. Really, I just know (very quickly) if I like it or not. Will try more on my trip to Big White later this month - plan to rent (as I did last year) and they seem to have a pretty good selection of performance skis.
Conditions (at Avila, part of St. Sauveur) : new snow, groomed, no ice (ideal conditions though no off piste or bumps available). I did two runs on each ski - one blue, one black.
My problem at this kind of event is there are few (if any) skis of the right length. I’m a bit under 5 ft, 105 lb., advanced, and everything I tried was a tad longer than I might have liked. Many of the companies there had nothing even remotely suitable for me, but I did try three.
Elan Wildcat 80TI: 126/78/110 R. 10.8 m. in a 152. It was an okay ski but didn’t do anything special for me. Wouldn’t buy.
Blizzard Black Pearl 84: 122.5/84/105.5, R 11 m. in a 152. I was hopeful about this one as I’ve heard such raves about the BP, but I didn’t feel it’s a ski I would run out and buy. Liked it better than the Elan. Not very lively, and I thought the tips were a bit wobbly (maybe due to them being slightly too long), though when I got to a higher speed they felt nice and stable.
Atomic Cloud 12 in a 153. I really loved this ski and I’m sure in my length (147) I would have loved it even more. Quick turning, easy to ski, very responsive, and stable at speed. Narrower than the other two I tried and possibly that’s what I liked about them. Not sure how it would be for off piste.
What I really have my eye on is the Stockli MX. Naturally they didn’t have any small ones but I know a 146 or 147 exists.
I also went to the Volkl booth and mentioned how I’ve loved my Yumis which I gather has been replaced by the Mantra but they had nothing small enough for me. Went to Rossignol and Dynastar - nothing. Talked to the guy at Faction - not a ski we see around here a lot, I guess mainly because they don’t really have much for on piste. Went to K2 and nothing to try in my size.
Anyway, a fun morning. I wish I were better at describing a ski’s characteristics. Really, I just know (very quickly) if I like it or not. Will try more on my trip to Big White later this month - plan to rent (as I did last year) and they seem to have a pretty good selection of performance skis.
