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Help Needed: How do you know what skis to get??

Shannonlaura

Diva in Training
So I've been skiing recreationally for years but I've never been taught about the different aspects of a ski.
I'm now going to do an instructor season in Japan and want to bite the bullet and buy my own pair! I've been looking at skis with some basic outlines from my program manager and think the Rossignol Temptation 80s sound like a good match.
Is there anything anyone would suggest before I go ahead? I can't afford the newest bestest pair but don't want to buy something that won't suit or last.

Helppppp meeeee
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
Welcome! How exciting to be heading to Japan for the winter. Would help to know a little more about your skiing experience so far. What region have you skied in the most? How much experience do you have skiing in powder? Are you petite, tall, or somewhere in between?

People buying all-mountain skis for Japan would usually consider mid-80s to mid-90s, depending on their ability level and height/weight. But from what I've read, narrower skis are better when instructing.
 

Jilly

Moderator
Staff member
Just so you know, Temptation is the old name for the Experience W line from Rossi. But as marzNC says, tell us about yourself.
 

Shannonlaura

Diva in Training
Sure! So I'm 5.8ft ish but fairly strong - I work with horses so definitely not weedy haha.
I have only ever skied in France and Bulgaria so not much experience with deep powder! But I will only be teaching beginners so majority of my time I will be on groomed slopes...
I'm a confident skier but having previously ruptured my ACL I am sensible haha!
 

Christy

Angel Diva
In general, in terms of how people knows which skis to get, a person might read the gear guides that come out this time of year, chat in forums like this, and then try to demo the skis that sound like the best fit. Most of us would say, don't buy a pair of skis you haven't demoed. It can be a lot of work, but it's better than spending $$$$ for skis you don't like.

It sounds like maybe you don't have time for that if you need to be in Japan at the beginning of the season. And it sounds like it's pretty low stakes, if you mainly need these to be on beginner slopes (though I know you'd want to ski on your own too). So you'll probably be okay buying skis that "sound" like a good fit. If you hate them, you can always sell them. I know the snow in Japan gets deep and assuming you can rent/demo skis at resorts there, you might do that when free skiing on snowy days. When trying different skis pay attention to their qualities--do they have metal in them, what length and width are they, etc. Keep notes on what you like and what you don't.
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
So I've been skiing recreationally for years but I've never been taught about the different aspects of a ski.
I'm now going to do an instructor season in Japan and want to bite the bullet and buy my own pair! I've been looking at skis with some basic outlines from my program manager and think the Rossignol Temptation 80s sound like a good match.
Is there anything anyone would suggest before I go ahead? I can't afford the newest bestest pair but don't want to buy something that won't suit or last.
Sure! So I'm 5.8ft ish but fairly strong - I work with horses so definitely not weedy haha.
I have only ever skied in France and Bulgaria so not much experience with deep powder! But I will only be teaching beginners so majority of my time I will be on groomed slopes...
Hmm, a little harder to suggest any alternatives since the supply is a bit different in Europe. Are the Temptation 80s the same length as what you've used before? Are they more than five years old?

How much time will you have in Japan before you start working? There are shops to buy skis there that I've read about on the Australian ski forum.
 

Skidreamer

Certified Ski Diva
Hiya, following on from MarzNC's post above... This year in Australia I finally decided to demo some skis as I was wondering whether I was finally good enough to tell the difference when considering to upgrade from the Head Pure Joys I bought new 2 years ago. I was going to demo 3 different skis from Rhythm Snow at Smiggins, and I particularly mention this because they also have a large store in Japan, perhaps it's at Hakuba? (Not sure.)

A 5'9" advanced intermediate lady I work with had trialled some Dynastars from Rhythm the fortnight before and was absolutely raving about them, so I lined some Dynastars up with them ,(I'm 5'7"), as well as some Volkl Flairs (not sure what model, for an intermediate skier, white in colour) and also some Rossignols.

I hated the Volkls, returned them after one morning. Had a chat to the guy at the store about whether to grab the Dynastars or the Rossignols next. He told me I might experience some chatter on the Rossignols and I thought, well why would I want that experience? I grabbed the Dynastars (Dynastar Intense 10), 160cm.

Well, what can I say, from the first microsecond it was OH MY GOD I AM NOT HANDING THESE BACK. I kept them for the whole weekend and did not bother going back for the Rossignols.

I asked the store whether they would sell the Dynastars to me, being end of season pretty much here in Australia I was hoping I was in with a good chance, but they said, no, they are sending them to Japan for this upcoming season. I nearly cried. But no matter, in the end I got a new pair sent over from Power 7 in Colorado and was using them a fortnight later.

So the Dynastar Intense 10 are apparently primarily a piste ski, but who knows, perhaps they might suit you, if you're in the area, certainly suggest demoing them in Japan if you can... There are plenty of reviews about them on line. All the best in your search. All I can say is, I am in love with my 2 new best friends...
 

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