Help Needed: Buying my first pair of skis! (Riveter 85 / SA 88 or 93 / Others??)

[vs28]

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!!

 

[chasinghorizons]

I'm sure a ton of people here may disagree, but 85 wide seems pretty skinny to me for off-piste skiing and way too skinny for powder skiing. Tahoe snow also tends to be heavy - hello Sierra cement - so wider skis give better stability. Now if your priority is frontside carving, 85 will probably work great, but if you're planning on going off trail a lot, I'd definitely look at 90+. For example, I recently got a pair of Liberty Genesis 101 skis for trees and bumps (I ski primarily in Tahoe and Mammoth). I worried a bit that I should've gotten the 96 instead (I'm 5'1" / 110 lbs), but in the afternoon at Mammoth the past few days, when the spring snow was heavy and wet and pushed around into piles, I LOVED the 101 for the stability and surfy feel it gave me. And I personally had no issues carving them on hard corduroy in the early morning either, it obviously wasn't their strong point and they're not as quick edge to edge as a skinnier ski would be, but they still did really, really well. I actually had a bit of a breakthrough revelation on improving my carving form when I was on them, so I'm super happy with them. Now if you're not used to wide skis, I might hesitate on jumping straight to 100+, but 90s would probably be really fun for you out here. I honestly didn't notice any difficulty moving from a 70 wide ski to a 90 wide ski, and the shape, construction and sidecut matter arguably just as much as waist width in terms of how easy and approachable it is. The BP is rather stiff and directional, so I'm not surprised you found it harder to turn. Something more progressively mounted with more rocker and a different flex might suit you better. Also, if a ski has a lot of rocker, don't be afraid to go longer either. More length can also give more stability.

Since you're in Tahoe and looking for demos, maybe try checking out Moment and Coalition Snow in Reno? Both companies make some really great skis and do most of their testing in Tahoe, and both offer demos of their skis all winter long.

 

[WaterGirl]

Fwiw Moment is not offering demos at this time .....

 

[volklgirl]

The Coalition Snow S<o>S would be a great option for you. If you get to demo some, size up.

 

[scandium]

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?

There is always a compromise with skis. I don't think the Icelantic Riveter will necessarily struggle with chatter or edge grip since it has been designed with a view to skiing it on piste. The question about stability is a bit subjective. Clearly you found a stiffer ski (BP88) more challenging but often that stiffness gives you the ability to charge through crud and chop. I love my 2019 Kenjas (ski the 156cm, am 116lb) but will fully admit I struggle with them at times especially off piste, and oh boy pivot turns are hard work, even doing basic drills those skis make me work. That's me, not the ski. Some people find that feeling too planky and less fun. I liken it to driving a tank as opposed to a sports car.

I'm not sure you will notice the 3mm difference between BP82 and the Riveter for what you want to improve on (ungroomed) as the Icelantic is still a frontside-biased ski. So the SA line makes more sense if you want to go off piste as it's more true all mountain. They have been softened in more recent iterations (and then I think for 2022 split into the Free which is softer, and the original has been re-stiffened) and honestly, I think the SA 93 would be my next ski purchase if I could have all the skis I wanted.

With regards to the M-Pro line, I have only demo'd the 90 and I actually got on it twice because I enjoyed it on the groomers but wanted to see what the ample tip rocker would be like on a softer day. It was very different and my demo notes say "over rather than through, worse if backseat, likes driving". I also didn't enjoy short, pivoty turns on it as it felt like effort. It wanted driving, it felt like you could ski very forward and the tips would just stay up and help you over piles of crud or help you float...which is not a problem I have, I'm very often waaaay back on ungroomed snow. I'm not sure whether the 84 is that similar though.

 

[chasinghorizons]

Just an update on this, I tried checking out Coalition's shop in Reno today. Turns out they've moved, address unknown. Anyone know what's going on with them?