How to look for good bump skis?

[abc]

I've been away from skiing for a few years, family stuff, the usual. When I come back, skis has changed altogether! They're shorter and fatter, with shapely sides... Boy, these things turns!

When I stopped skiing a few years back, I was just starting to get the hang of the bumps. It doesn't take long for me to find out these new short, turny skis are great for bumps in general! Now, I can easily ski down, with control and maybe even some style, some good size moguls that used to "do me in"! I can even do some "carving" my turn in the trough, which my old, longer ski doesn't even fit. What fun!

So, I'm going to ditch my old long straight ski and get myself "updated" to a pair of new shape skis. Sadly, I can't afford a quiver of 5 skis so one will have to do, at least for a while. So what I'm looking for is a ski that can handle an average eastern slope (which could be somewhat icy) in an even temper way, though I would really like it to be a good nice one on the bumps. I can foresee I'll be spending a fair amount of my snow time on the lumpy parts of the slopes.

What I'm hoping for is a ski that is fun and lively. But not so harsh that it make me eat snow every time I miss my line by 1mm! :(

Oh, I noticed another thing that changed over the years are gear reviews. Now, they don't rate bump skis as a catagory any more! Why???

So, what should I look for? Slalom skis? Carvers? Or just certain collection of charateristic? Please help!

 

[SnowHot]

So, what should I look for? Slalom skis? Carvers? Or just certain collection of charateristic? Please help!

Welcome back to skiing! Where slalom skis used to be great bump skis, that is just not the case any more. Since you are in the east a ski about nose to head height with dimensions in the 114-118 tip, 74-80 waist and a 100-105 tail and a sidecut in the 14-17m meter range. The wider waist will sacrifice a bit of edge to edge quickness, but will be a bit more stable in the softer bumps and won't get "sucked in" when the bumps get big and sloppy. A twin tip/park ski wouldn't be a bad choice of a ski either. There are a lot of girls out there skiing these types of skis as their one ski quivers too.

 

[Little Lightning]

I just bought the K2 Lotta Luv's because I wanted a good ski for the bumps. I've skied it 6 times now in all conditions except powder, more than 4", and am very impressed with its ability to handle everything, including hardpack.

My first time on it was during my weekly lesson (mostly bumps) so I felt I put it though its paces pretty well, liked it and bought it.

One thing I find is that people going from straight to shaped skis have a hard time evaluating the skis because they don't know to make use of their shape so take a lesson while you're demoing.

 

[Quiver Queen]

I'd recommend "Park & Pipe" or "Freestyle" skis for bumps, but most also make excellent all-mountain skis for most conditions but not glacial. My Salomon 1080's are twin-tip P&P skis & terrific in the bumps, crud, powder (would go wider if bottomless) and firm-pack; the closest skis to them currently are the Salomon 1080-thrusters and the Temptress. Most "carving" skis aren't very good in bumps.

 

[abc]

Most "carving" skis aren't very good in bumps.

Appreciate the insight, QuiverQueen.

I'm trying to understand what makes them (P&P skis) "good" for bumps.

And why do you think the regular run-of-the-mill "carving" ski not the best for bumps?

 

[Quiver Queen]

Carving skis will be too stiff and many will punish you if you're not positioned perfectly, especially by accellerating thru the bump so you get thrown around. Ends up being very uneven & frustrating, not the relaxed flow you want and can get with softer skis.

 

[abc]

That's very illuminating, Quiver Queen.

I "accidentally" found it out myself too. I demo-ed a bunch of skis, all of them "carvers". The ones I ended up liking more are the softer ones. They have the nerve to call them "intermediate skis". Oh well, so be it. But basically, they're the softer version of the top-of-line fast cruiser/carvers. No wonder I like them more. ;)

I can see the warning on the wall, they're typically not stable enough for high speed cruising, especially at the "experts" speed. But I don't care much for speed anyway. So that lable doesn't bother me.

 

[Gloria]

bump skis

My daughter is a competitive mogul skier. They do make some bump specific skis like the dynastar twister. They are however a straight skinny ski because you actually don't carve the bumps, you swivel and use your feet against the bumps as opposed to the edges
or carving motion for speed control.
I probalby wouldn't reccomend a bump specific ski for an everyday skier, but if you like to ski bumps look predominantly for less side cut,
this will make the ski less carvy and easier in the bumps. Stay away from a stiff ski especially one that is stiffer than average in the tail. Try to find a ski of medium stiffness, one that is too soft will not have enough energy to get you from turn to turn and tire you out.
I would agree that a P&P ski is the way to go, they are actually a very good all mountain ski and the upturned tail makes them more forgiving.
My daughter prefers the Salomon 1080 for her everyday ski, she has also liked the Dynastar Concept ( don't know the name of current version ) I skied the Rossi Scratch recently and enjoyed it quite a bit,
however other women feel that it will throw you around in the bumps. I ski an extremely stiff tailed ski so this was not a problem for me, but the women are both accomplished skiers and felt the tail was a little too stiff. They also felt it required a wider stance, which is also opposite of mogul form. I think it is probably a little to wide underfoot for predominantly mogul skiing. Many women also like the
head sweet thang.