Help after demoing skis—what other skis should I be considering?

[mhirschler]

Hi all!

I'm just back from a trip to Stowe where I was able to demo some skis. For background, I'm a former (very poor) racer, coming from 65mm underfoot Rossi race skis (166s) and a pair of 98mm Rossi S3s (168s), which I loved, but were definitely more appropriate for the West coast where I was skiing at the time. My absolute favorite thing to do is rip groomers, but I do also like to venture out into the trees and and bumps, and I'm looking for a ski that can handle East coast snow, now that I'm pretty firmly rooted on this side of the country.

These are the skis I was able to try:
Fischer Ranger 90 in a 167: they were fine, a little squirrelly—felt like the outside edge was getting away from me when I was carving.
Santa Ana 84 in a 164: loved them. They handled the ice in the morning and the slushy crud in the afternoon really well. My one concern is that they may be a little short.
Dynastar E-Cross 88 in a 167: liked how playful they were, but felt like the tips were too wide to really engage at the top of the turn
Mindbendter 89ti in a 164: really pleasantly surprised by how well they carved, probably second favorites after the SAs.
Stockli Stormrider 166: I found these boring—almost too stable underfoot, and didn't like how heavy they felt.
Armada Declivity 88C in a 167: hated these. Felt zero support throughout the turn, constantly had to fight to get the outside edge to set.

So my question is as follows: what other skis should I be considering? I won't have an opportunity to demo again this season, unfortunately, but I would love to make a shortlist for next season and be able to do some research in advance of that. I am curious about the Reliance/Declivity 82ti, if anyone has experience with that...

For context: I ski a 23.5 Atomic Redster STI 110, and I'm 5'4" and 125lbs.

Thanks in advance for the help!

 

[Pequenita]

It depends on your personality - are you the type of person who looks at everything on a menu and then chooses based on your entire universe of options, or do you look at a menu, see something, think "this looks great," and just go with it? I'm the latter. Based on what you've written, if I were you, I'd try the Santa Anas in a longer length and maybe the Mindbenders again. You loved the Santa Anas you tried, and it's coming down to length, so if it were me, I'd stick to that, rather than try to reopen the universe of possibilities.

But, I totally get that there are people who deeply enjoy the process of researching everything out there and winnowing it down.

 

[mhirschler]

It depends on your personality - are you the type of person who looks at everything on a menu and then chooses based on your entire universe of options, or do you look at a menu, see something, think "this looks great," and just go with it? I'm the latter. Based on what you've written, if I were you, I'd try the Santa Anas in a longer length and maybe the Mindbenders again. You loved the Santa Anas you tried, and it's coming down to length, so if it were me, I'd stick to that, rather than try to reopen the universe of possibilities.

But, I totally get that there are people who deeply enjoy the process of researching everything out there and winnowing it down.

I think that I fit into the former category, alas. I'm the queen of indecision, and I'm always curious about what else is out there. The SAs in a longer length is a good idea, something I hadn't thought of, although 172 might be a little long to maneuver through bumps and trees

 

[contesstant]

I'm in the "love them, then buy them" club, especially considering you demoed other skis to compare. IF you want to continue with analysis paralysis, then try next year's Black Pearl 88s.

 

[scandium]

Santa Ana 88 as well?

 

[TiffAlt]

I think that I fit into the former category, alas. I'm the queen of indecision, and I'm always curious about what else is out there. The SAs in a longer length is a good idea, something I hadn't thought of, although 172 might be a little long to maneuver through bumps and trees

Totally get it - that's me too. But when my paralysis analysis hits, especially with skis, I ask myself, would I rather be overthinking it for another couple of hours, or stop stressing and just ski?

Don't get me wrong, I'm fully advocate demoing. "Just ski" might mean taking out another demo, but not constantly worrying about it until you are on the skis and actually can take notes (and yours are awesome!). But there comes a point where the effort put in outweighs what you'll get out of it and only you can define where that point is.

Once you reach that point, I'd say realize it's not forever, go with what makes you happiest right now, and just ski!

 

[Verve]

Next years Santa Ana 88 (87? I think they’re slightly adjusting but can’t remember for sure, lol) is a big step up according to my coworkers who are short enough to ski them. I know that’s a little wider but they have more to them than the 84. Maybe put that on the list? We didn’t like the 88 this year and didn’t even carry it (!) just the 84 and 93 so you know it’s a big change to prompt the reversal. I skied the new Enforcer 88 which is my closest equivalent and thought it was a blast to ride on edge. Very confidence inspiring on our east coast “hard pack”. Same tip shape as the 84s you like, too

 

[Trailside Trixie]

Ski choice is so personal. I found the SA 84s boring but love my SA 93s. I also love my stockli stormriders....

Volkl Kenja perhaps?

 

[mhirschler]

Ski choice is so personal.

So true! My friend tried out the E-Cross and ended up buying them because she loved them so much, whereas I thought they were OK. This stuff is so subjective!

 

[Laroken]

I was going to suggest the Kenjas as well. I primarily ski in the east, and find them perfect for east coast conditions. Amazing grip on the ice, powers through crud, super stable at speed and ripping down groomers … but turny enough to handle moguls and some of the fluff when you have the opportunity and want to do that. We are also similarly sized to the extent that helps (although I deliberately did not size up my Kenjas when I was between sizes, to keep the maximum maneuverability in the bumps — you seem to like to ski longer than I do).

 

[Beckster]

Love my Kenjas for everything too. I find them to be a lively ski but stable at high speeds. Spent last Friday with a bunch of former World Cup racers in Adelboden and had no problem carving my Kenjas at speed with them. They have plenty of float in deep powder, they blast through crud and are super agile in the bumps. The 3D radius Design makes it easy to quickly transition from big GS turns to slalom turns on a dime once you get the feeling for them.
Only when the slopes are completely bulletproof do I wish I had an exclusive carving ski.
5‘7“, 128lb, age 57, 170cm

 

[mountainwest]

Next years Santa Ana 88 (87? I think they’re slightly adjusting but can’t remember for sure, lol) is a big step up according to my coworkers who are short enough to ski them. I know that’s a little wider but they have more to them than the 84. Maybe put that on the list? We didn’t like the 88 this year and didn’t even carry it (!) just the 84 and 93 so you know it’s a big change to prompt the reversal.

Can you elaborate on this a bit more? What about this year's Santa Ana 88 made you not carry it and what is better about next year's version? (I have the 2019 Santa Ana 88s and they are my all-time favorite ski.)

 

[Verve]

Can you elaborate on this a bit more? What about this year's Santa Ana 88 made you not carry it and what is better about next year's version? (I have the 2019 Santa Ana 88s and they are my all-time favorite ski.)

It’s hard for me to say bc I wasn’t working at the shop when we made the call and I can’t personally ski the SAs bc they top out at a 172 and most skis don’t work for me shorter than 174 (170ish lbs, 5’11”).

What I can say is that the 2023/2024 Santa Ana 88 was a completely retooled construction from previous years with Nordica’s “terrain specific titanal” which is a partial sheet that is broader for their narrower skis. It’s always a little challenging to find good info about construction changes to women specific skis through the years but I would wager your Santa Ana 88s ski quite differently. At first glance it seems like they had two full metal sheets in a sandwich construction, and some carbon and potentially more tip and tail rocker.

Maybe another diva has skied both and can comment! Also, the shop didn’t decide to carry that width but that doesn’t mean everyone dislikes the ski. However, the fact that they’re so quickly updating a design that just changed this year is interesting.

 

[contesstant]

It’s hard for me to say bc I wasn’t working at the shop when we made the call and I can’t personally ski the SAs bc they top out at a 172 and most skis don’t work for me shorter than 174 (170ish lbs, 5’11”).

What I can say is that the 2023/2024 Santa Ana 88 was a completely retooled construction from previous years with Nordica’s “terrain specific titanal” which is a partial sheet that is broader for their narrower skis. It’s always a little challenging to find good info about construction changes to women specific skis through the years but I would wager your Santa Ana 88s ski quite differently. At first glance it seems like they had two full metal sheets in a sandwich construction, and some carbon and potentially more tip and tail rocker.

Maybe another diva has skied both and can comment! Also, the shop didn’t decide to carry that width but that doesn’t mean everyone dislikes the ski. However, the fact that they’re so quickly updating a design that just changed this year is interesting.

You are correct, the Santa Ana 88 from 2019/2020 had two sheets of titanal and I sold mine to get the next model without knowing how much I'd miss the two sheets--I still kick myself for doing that! I loved that ski with two layers of titanal and never found it demanding. I owned the subsequent model and still liked it, but I missed that extra smoothness and stability.

 

[mountainwest]

You are correct, the Santa Ana 88 from 2019/2020 had two sheets of titanal and I sold mine to get the next model without knowing how much I'd miss the two sheets--I still kick myself for doing that! I loved that ski with two layers of titanal and never found it demanding. I owned the subsequent model and still liked it, but I missed that extra smoothness and stability.

Have you tried the men's Enforcer line at all which looks like it still has the two sheets of titanal? And @mhirschler you might want to try demoing the 24/25 Nordica Enforcer 89s. I need to do that also!

 

[contesstant]

Have you tried the men's Enforcer line at all which looks like it still has the two sheets of titanal? And @mhirschler you might want to try demoing the 24/25 Nordica Enforcer 89s. I need to do that also!

I have always wondered if I'd like the Enforcer but I am a finesse skier and have always been a little intimidated by the extra stiffness. I really should go try them sometime.

 

[Verve]

I have always wondered if I'd like the Enforcer but I am a finesse skier and have always been a little intimidated by the extra stiffness. I really should go try them sometime.

2 million dudes can’t be wrong! Jk. I love making fun of the Enforcer bc it is just such a vibe - and so many of the men on it would prob be better served by a different ski and are just power skidding all over. BUT I had a really nice time on the 2025 94 and 104 when we demoed them so I guess I have to amend my snark a bit

I really like the Enforcer 104 Free.

 

[MissySki]

Can you elaborate on this a bit more? What about this year's Santa Ana 88 made you not carry it and what is better about next year's version? (I have the 2019 Santa Ana 88s and they are my all-time favorite ski.)

I demoed last year's SA88 in December and found it to do everything very well and ski super easy.. I just found it really vanilla overall for my personal preferences. Demoed the 2025 SA87 in February and it was way more playful and fun while still doing everything well.

 

[maddy13]

I didn’t try the narrower Santa Anas, but demoed the 97 width and the 102 width last week, and LOVED them. I remember trying the 98 last year, and thinking they were fine, but not especially fun.

 

[MaryVA]

I know you said you didn't love the Stockli Stormriders and found them a bit boring and heavy, but I wonder if you'd like the Nela 88s. I am also an East Coast skier who primarily loves to rip groomers but will venture off piste into bumps and trees, and I love my Nelas. They are basically an all-mountain ski that leans towards the on-piste side of the spectrum, but can hold their own in ungroomed snow, so long as there is not too much of it. They are a ton of fun to carve on, are super smooth and stable at speed and feel responsive and alive when you bend them, but they are just light and rockered enough to handle bumps and moderate amounts of fresh snow, and they cut through east coast slush and crud really nicely. I have also taken them out west and have had a lot of fun on them when there has been less than a foot of fresh snow, and they are perfect for days/trips when there's little to no fresh snow because they let you rip the groomers hard in the morning when the snow off-trail is still too icy and crusty to be much fun, but they eat up the sun-softened bumps after lunch.

That said, I took them on a trip to Alta last week when there was a lot of deep snow (42 inches over the course of 5 days, it was awesome), and I discovered that the Nelas definitely do have a ceiling to their soft-snow capability, and that ceiling is probably somewhere around 10-12 inches. We had 18 inches or so of fresh snow the first morning and the Nelas were just too narrow and had too little rocker to be much fun in the untracked snow and tight trees. I got down everything ok, but the skis were making me work harder than I wanted to. I headed straight to the demo shop after last chair that day and took out a pair of Sheeva 10s, which were a lot more fun in the soft snow than the Nelas. But if you are primarily looking for something to ski on the east coast, then you probably won't be encountering those kinds of conditions very often, if at all. And if you're a skier who primarily rips groomers but sometimes ventures off piste, then a solid carving ski with some bump and soft snow capability might be the perfect choice.

If you are looking for the opposite (basically a super light and quick all-mountain ski that's happiest in soft snow and bumps/trees, but has just enough camber underfoot to be okay-ish at carving), then I really liked the Sheeva 10s, and I expect the Sheeva 9s might make a solid east coast all-mountain ski. The Sheeva 10s had good float in the untracked snow, were really quick and playful in the trees and soft bumps, and cut through cut-up snow really easily at the end of the day really easily. And on the few groomer runs I did, I was surprised at how easily I could get them on edge for a 102mm-waisted ski, and how stable they felt in a carve. Not nearly as much fun to carve on as the Nelas, and I would not choose them for a day/trip on which I expected to primarily ski groomers, but they could arc some solid turns. I am tempted to hunt out a late-season deal on Sheeva 10s for future trips out west so that I don't have to keep paying for demos, but I'm also intrigued by the Volkl Blaze and want to try those first.