Demo advice

[hmac]

I'm an intermediate skier in Eastern Ontario. I've been skiing since I was a kid and love it but since I had my two girls (ages 5 and 3), have only gone a couple of times per year. Just came back from a trip to Tremblant and loved every second. Ever since Tremblant, I've been obsessed with thoughts of getting back on the slopes and regularly! I'm trying to get my family excited about it.
I have been a renting my ski equipment since my old straight Dynastars became outdated but would like to own my own pair of new shaped skis. I went out yesterday and got myself fitted for brand new Atomic B5 women's ski boots (I wore them around the house for almost 2 hours, they're so comfy!) and I'd like to get out on some local hills to demo skis. Does anyone have any advice on which ones I should focus on? The selection is so huge!
I'm 5'7 1/2", 157 lbs, and 36 years old. I ski all blues comfortably and many blacks but with healthy amounts of terror when it gets too steep. When I get confident, though, I tend to like speed. My worst habit is sitting too far back on my skis. I like short turns, have no desire to ski off piste and, because I exclusively ski East, have to deal with ice.
I was planning on demoing the Dynastar Exclusive 10 (or maybe the 9 depending on your thoughts), K2 One luvs and the Elan Black Perla (white perla may be better for my level but not available for demo). Are these good choices? Any other ones I should include? Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[Jilly]

Welcome to the board, and you are in the right place. Also from Eastern Ontario - and a Tremblant skier. The only ski you list that I've tried is the Elan. I loved the Black Perla. It is a true parabolic ski. Tip and tail have the same width. You can't go wrong on that. Alot of the Diva's are on K2's and somewhere there is someone from Dynastar. My local shop actually doesn't have any of the skis you listed, but I know the Quebec Elan rep, that's why I've skis those babies. Are you near any of the smaller hills than Tremblant?? Calabogie, Gatineau??

 

[num]

Welcome, hmac. Glad to hear you're going the demo route, best way to ski shop I think you've got a good list, I've got Dynastar exclusives, and about those I think you should try both the 9 and 10 if possible, the 10 isn't just a stiffer 9, and between the two it's more of a personal preference. Good luck with the demos, have fun and report back!

 

[volklgirl]

Add the Volkl Attiva S or AC series to your list of demos. The S skis are the on-piste carvers and the AC skis are the all-mountain skis. Here is a link to their women's skis:
https://www.volkl.com/ski/attiva_ac.html

I thought the AC2 was exceedingly versatile and stable when I demoed it.

 

[Pequenita]

hmac -

In addition to the One Luv, you may want to try the Burnin Luv. I've found stiffer skis more suitable for east coast skiing, and the Burnin Luv is stiffer than the One Luv. Try them both if you can, and see what you think.

Also, I think the Nordica Olympia Victory is a great ski - I'm currently hunting for a good deal on that one!

 

[hmac]

Welcome to the board, and you are in the right place. Also from Eastern Ontario - and a Tremblant skier. The only ski you list that I've tried is the Elan. I loved the Black Perla. It is a true parabolic ski. Tip and tail have the same width. You can't go wrong on that. Alot of the Diva's are on K2's and somewhere there is someone from Dynastar. My local shop actually doesn't have any of the skis you listed, but I know the Quebec Elan rep, that's why I've skis those babies. Are you near any of the smaller hills than Tremblant?? Calabogie, Gatineau??

Yes, I live in Ottawa, so Camp Fortune, Cascades, Edelweiss, Calabogie ... etc... are all close. I'll try to get to one this weekend. Tommy & Lefebvre here has a humungous selection of skis (drooling) and a demo program.
I can't believe I've become so obsessed with ski gear in the past couple of weeks! I'm reading all the reviews I can get my hands on. And this site is fantastic! Thanks for everyone's help so far. I'll definitely add Volkl Attiva (AC or S) and Burnin Luv to my list. Any thoughts on size? I had 145cm Salomon Xwing400s a couple of weeks ago. They were very maneuvrable but when I got going fast, seemed to vibrate and be unstable (or maybe I was unstable). And I tended to sit back on my tails and my tips would wobble. Lastly, my friends made fun of me looking like I was on kid's skis. But what I found so amazing was that I felt I wasn't expending any energy when I was skiing. After 2 full days on the slopes, I was hardly sore at all. I was planning on getting demos in the 155-160cm range. Sound about right? Should I go shorter for maneuvrability?

 

[Jilly]

OK we need height and ability to assess length. But from your description of the 148 TOO SHORT! T and L is a great store, you might want to wait to buy till the warehouse sale in July! Also Kunstaudt's (spelling) in the west end are pretty good. They are the rental shop at Calabogie. It so great to have another Diva that knows the Ottawa Valley!! Hubby and I have a place a Tremblant, so if you are going again please, please PM me. I want to ski with a Ski Diva, since I can't make Jay!

 

[hmac]

That would be great! A guy I work with also has a place at Tremblant, which is where we stayed a couple of weekends ago. South Side close to Le Chalumeau run. Had an awesome time. It was that weekend (Feb 10-11) that it was just warming up a bit after record-breaking lows. The friends I was skiing with were advanced and expert skiers, so they challenged me quite a bit on the black diamonds. But I think that's why I've been so excited about it ever since. We have an open invitation to come again, provided the place isn't rented out. I'd like to get my girls in the ski school there a day or two this year and I'd like to take a lesson or two myself.
Got my boots at Kunstadt on Bank St. They were very helpful.

 

[hmac]

I missed out on two potential demo weekends because of a colossal virus that laid up my whole family for almost 2 weeks. Just got my energy back and spent yesterday and today on the slopes.

I rented the Dynastar Exclusive 10's yesterday and the Salomon Siam No.5 today.... I'm still confused . These are two completely different skis with different 'attitudes' but I can't really tell which one I prefer.

Here are my thoughts. First, the Exclusive 10's (158cm) started out behind the 8-ball since I was also trying to adapt to new boots, a new hill and this brown-sugar-type snow I wasn't used to. My first couple of easy runs felt wrong. My feet hurt. The skis seemed not to like green trails (unless it was steeper, they would slow down) and I had to concentrate to figure out how to work them. Boring and tedious on greens. Once I moved to blues and blacks, though... wow... super quick turns with this snappiness out of the turn that was really fun. They have a sharp, grippy edge that wanted to make quick turns, fast and steep. A little thrilling, but kind of like I was driving a lamborgini with a learners permit. I couldn't really make them do long easy curves. My boots were breaking in and felt better as the day went on. I still had to really think about technique the whole day so I wouldn't call it relaxing but I think I could grow into these skis once I figured them out.

The Siam No.5's (154cm), right off the bat, were like extensions of my feet. Brainless. Easy. Fun. Short and long turns. Whatever I asked them to. Easy to balance on. Greens, bules, blacks, all handled reasonably well. I didn't want to go in to eat lunch or go home. ... BUT... they didn't have much of an edge. I'm not sure if maybe I'd outgrow these too quickly? My boots felt terrific today, which may be playing a huge role in the fun factor, and possibly the shorter length.

I think I need to try many many more to understand what I like and need. At this particular shop, they also have Rossi Attraxion IV's, Atomic Hot Thang and K2 True and One Loves I could demo if the snow isn't rained away in the next few days.

 

[Jilly]

hmac - I'm up on Atomic, Rossi and Salomon. The Siam 5 is the bottom of the siam line. Try the 10 or at least the 8. They don't even match up with the Dynastar you tried. Siam is considered a backside ski - all mountain. They should be great in the spring slush. But try a better level of ski. Also frontside carvers - try the Rush 8 or 10 if you can find them. Rossi Atraxxion V's - I demo'd these last year for the shop. Found them to be a little unstable at high speeds, but liked all turn types. Its not my Z5's, much softer than that. Hot Thang would be Head ski. Atomic would be Balaze. K2's are discussed on this forum everywhere. If you can find them - Fischer Vision 70 or 73 you might like for our conditions. By the way, where were you skiing - Gatineau hills??

 

[hmac]

I was at Camp Fortune. A bit wet today but very pleasant. And, yep, it is Head Hot Thang available, but nothing in Atomic that I saw. What I might do is take a few more out then re-try the Exclusive 10 just to make sure it wasn't my new boots that was tainting my experience. They just seemed to be skiing me more than me skiing them. But I loved how quick I could turn on them. Maybe I need a lesson.

 

[hmac]

Attraxion V

Just got off the Rossignol Attraxion V's. Really really liked them. I think I like these skis best of the ones I have tried so far. I say think because the conditions were pure ice, very unlike the soft slushy snow I was in a couple of days ago. In fact, they were cautioning us at the ticket counter. Hardly anyone was on the slopes. Some kids classes were still running though and I had already paid the money for the ski rental so I stuck to green and blue runs only. Even on ice, though, they felt secure and natural to ski on. I was being pretty cautious though. Once when I got too confident and tried to lean too far into a turn the skis went right out from under me. I think that was my fault, not the ski's, though. Are stiffer skis like this supposed to handle ice well? This one seemed to. I wonder what they would be like on different conditions.

The Attraxion V's seem to have the stiffness of the Dynastar Exclusive 10's and the width of the Siam's. I think this is the formula that is best for me. Little did I know I preferred some width underfoot. They didn't seem to have the snappiness of the Exclusives coming out of a turn, but I don't think I could tell for sure on ice. They seemed happy to make both small and large turns and go straight downhill if I wanted.

In this ski mag I have (Ski Canada), the Attraxion V is listed for advanced to expert skiers, which is definitely not me. But they didn't seem too much for me for some reason (unlike the Exclusives which are rated 'advanced' but seemed to me like riding a spirited stallion). Maybe because the Attraxions were right for the conditions? Will they seem more unruly and too stiff in more 'normal' snow? Should I try the III's or will that be a waste of time if the V's felt good today?

If I buy a pair of skis before April 15th, all my rental fees will be put toward my purchase. I'm seriously wondering about maybe getting the Attraxion V's. Siam No.8 and 10's seem to have almost the same dimensions as the Attraxion V's. Are they comparable skis? What would the difference(s) be?

 

[Jilly]

Ah the ski with the mirror in it. The Attraxion 5 is a lighter softer version of the Z5. hmac, they are doing a huge demo day at Tremblant this weekend. I'm to see about the Attraxion 9, but maybe I'll take the 5 out again for a spin. All I remember was it wasn't my Z5's and they were trying to tell me it was the ladies version. I found it softer and it had a speed limit. SKI has it listed in their test results. SkiPress doesn't