Hi All! I've been poking around these forums for a few weeks now but first time poster so excited to get more involved with the incredible community here : )
I've gotten much more into skiing these past two years (who hasn't in the Bay Area though) and am looking into buying my first pair of skis. I'm 5'2", 105-ish, late 20s, intermediate/advanced and spend the bulk of my time in Tahoe.
I'm currently on a rental pair of Black Pearl 82/152 and like them a lot but struggled with them in ungroomed terrain and on a powder day. During a consultation with a Sports Basement (local sporting goods shop) ski expert, they told me that I may grow out of the 82 in a few years but that the 88 would serve me well for many more years. So I demoed the BP88/152 but actually struggled a bit with them in the sense that I found them a bit clunky and hard to turn and this is what's making the decision kind of tough for me right now. I definitely want something I can grow into and take into ungroomed terrain and trees (not much interest in moguls though..) and I've heard that you learn to ski the skis you're on, but I also want to have fun now, you know? And unfortunately, demo options are pretty limited around here.
So the random plot twist here is that I was at Sports Basement the other day chatting to someone at the ski shop and ended up picking up the Icelantic Riveter 85/150. There aren't that many reviews online about this ski but they said that it was a really good quality ski and I figured the 85 width would be a happy medium between the 82 and 88. I haven't put binding on them though so I came home to do more research and fell back into this rabbit hole. I think my main question about this one is the stiffness - I used the Sooth Ski comparison tool and the Riveter seems much softer than the BP/SA. Is this going to compromise stability (especially over choppy snow), edge grip, and be chattery at high speeds? I also spoke to someone at REI and they actually reminded me about the SA. The 93 seems really wide based on what I've skied on so far but its turn radius seems to be surprisingly short and obviously everyone loves the SA line - should I consider these?
And another random option I was looking into the Dynastar M-Pro 84 Women's skis - has anyone had experience with these?
I know I'm rambling at this point but really forward to everyone and anyone's insight and advice. Thank you thank you!!
I've gotten much more into skiing these past two years (who hasn't in the Bay Area though) and am looking into buying my first pair of skis. I'm 5'2", 105-ish, late 20s, intermediate/advanced and spend the bulk of my time in Tahoe.
I'm currently on a rental pair of Black Pearl 82/152 and like them a lot but struggled with them in ungroomed terrain and on a powder day. During a consultation with a Sports Basement (local sporting goods shop) ski expert, they told me that I may grow out of the 82 in a few years but that the 88 would serve me well for many more years. So I demoed the BP88/152 but actually struggled a bit with them in the sense that I found them a bit clunky and hard to turn and this is what's making the decision kind of tough for me right now. I definitely want something I can grow into and take into ungroomed terrain and trees (not much interest in moguls though..) and I've heard that you learn to ski the skis you're on, but I also want to have fun now, you know? And unfortunately, demo options are pretty limited around here.
So the random plot twist here is that I was at Sports Basement the other day chatting to someone at the ski shop and ended up picking up the Icelantic Riveter 85/150. There aren't that many reviews online about this ski but they said that it was a really good quality ski and I figured the 85 width would be a happy medium between the 82 and 88. I haven't put binding on them though so I came home to do more research and fell back into this rabbit hole. I think my main question about this one is the stiffness - I used the Sooth Ski comparison tool and the Riveter seems much softer than the BP/SA. Is this going to compromise stability (especially over choppy snow), edge grip, and be chattery at high speeds? I also spoke to someone at REI and they actually reminded me about the SA. The 93 seems really wide based on what I've skied on so far but its turn radius seems to be surprisingly short and obviously everyone loves the SA line - should I consider these?
And another random option I was looking into the Dynastar M-Pro 84 Women's skis - has anyone had experience with these?
I know I'm rambling at this point but really forward to everyone and anyone's insight and advice. Thank you thank you!!