TiffAlt
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Hello friends!
Biggest question: Industry demo day questions
It's been a miserable season here in the PNW, so I've been off to a slow start. That said, I'm not stranger to demoing skis, but only through different resorts. I've just signed up for my first industry demo day named "Demo Daze". The pictures of the events in previous years show a bunch of manufacturer's tents, so I assume a wide variety of ski manufacturer's should be there. I know I've read some old posts, but wanted to see if there was any advice I might have missed.
Background:
I'm an advancing intermediate who tends to prefer groomers and is working on carving. I am a cautious skier who wants to be able to stop on a dime if I need to. I'm more about finesse than power/speed. My two ski quiver consists of:
- 2024 Line Blade W 92 @ 160cm (the only wide ski I've loved so far, they are super turny!)
- 2023 Volkl Yumi 84 @ 154cm
I feel I may have outgrown my Yumis. While I prefer "groomers", I also ski Cascade Concrete and even groomed runs here get chewed out by midday so it's basically crud and moguls/bumps on the more popular runs after lunch. My Yumis are great when it's smooth and groomed, but I get thrown around on crud/ungroomed a lot and I tend to tense up and burn up my quads in those conditions. They can also be chattery at speed. I feel I may want something heavier and/or more damp - if I am using those terms correctly. My Blades are great for crud and a bit of float, but I fear they may be hindering my carving progression, which is what I really want to work on.
Demos so far:
I have been demoing skis this year through the resorts and wanted to leave reviews for other Divas. Caveat, I am far from an experienced skier.
Volkl Shine 78 @ 156cm
I demoed this twice at Crystal Mountain - both times in very thin cover and icy conditions. They have great edge grip and don't feel heavy, but definitely chatter less when I hit speed on a groomer than my Yumi. They turned very easily for me and have a very short radius, but I can drive them longer if I wanted to. End of the day crud still proved to be an issue for me on these, though I felt they were pretty forgiving overall. I liked them, but I didn't love them.
Salomon Stance Pro 82 @ 161cm
I also demo'ed this at Crystal in icy conditions. I very quickly found I had to plan my stops in advance on these cause it took longer to really get the edges to dig in for me. Probably a technique issue. They didn't tire my legs out, but I only kept them for a couple of runs before I wanted to go back to the demo center for something with better/quicker edge grip since conditions were icy. I didn't want to tire myself out because I tend to ski very cautiously when I feel not easily able to stop. I went back to the Volkl Shine and was happier for it.
Atomic Maven 88 CTI @ 153cm
Demoed this for 2 days @Mt Bachelor. I initially really wanted the 159cm, but those were already out. It was actually dumping on Mt Bachelor after a season of no snow so there was a lot of renewed interest in skiing during those days. After one day on them, I decided I wanted to stay at this length. Bachelor has a fair few runs that are either ungroomed or groomed in the PM, resulting in the continuing snowfall covering up smooth grooming. Combined with a busier than normal resort due to the snow, runs got tracked out early. I found the Mavens very easy to turn and needed that for the resulting bumps and/or dodging people that popped out of the trees (only slightly joking). When I was able to get them on groomed runs, they were very smooth and fast and I think this is where they shined. Oh and they were beautiful. I love this year's top sheet. I felt they were a fine ski, but didn't make me want to replace my Yumis.
Stockli Nela 88 @ 160cm
I skied this at Crystal Mountain on a very crusty morning. This was really hyped to me, but I think maybe they are too much ski for me. I could stop, but it did not feel very quick to me. Like the Salomon Stance before, I had to start edging in advance. It also really wanted to make a longer arc than I wanted them to and that longer required arc brought me to speed faster. Now, they were very stable and smooth at speed, butwith the lack of quick edging and the fact that I'm a nervous skier, they just didn't give me a ton of confidence that I could stop or turn the way I wanted. And because that was true, I was very cautious on these. While I still felt capable, I returned these after two runs. In short, not a bad ski, just not a match with how I want to ski.
Rossignol Arcade 84 @ 160cm
I took these out right after I returned the Stockli Nela. Almost immediately I was smiling. I hadn't felt like this since demoing the Yumi a few years ago. These were really confidence inspiring to me - quick edge to edge, the arc it naturally wanted to go was more akin to how I wanted to ski. And you know what the funny thing was? My husband said it actually made me faster. Not that I am some speed demon, but I really take my time when I get cautious, Since it was so confidence inspiring, I felt safe really laying it down because I knew I could stop on a dime - and did I ever need to. Crystal Mountain was SO busy that day - it was the first weekend after heavy snow and it felt like everyone was on the mountain. But honestly, can you just tell on some skis? I skied this both on crunchy morning crust, afternoon spring slush and chopped up re-freeze later that afternoon and I still loved them. They chopped through the crud that would usually stop me short on my Yumis. The grin was ear to ear and just didn't stop.
FINAL THOUGHTS / SUMMARY:
I honestly really think the Arcades might be my next ski. The only thing that gives me pause is that they are also 84, just like my Yumis. I really thought that going narrower was the way, but I was honestly very pleased and happy with these. They felt very responsive to me and I had no trouble laying them over. I also fear I will just decide next season that I need something narrower to help me with my carving.
My current overthinking summarized:
- What if I'm just not advanced enough to tell what a good ski is?
- Maybe I should concentrate on narrower (sub 80?) skis to demo?
- Maybe I should just continue demoing, period?
Biggest question: Industry demo day questions
It's been a miserable season here in the PNW, so I've been off to a slow start. That said, I'm not stranger to demoing skis, but only through different resorts. I've just signed up for my first industry demo day named "Demo Daze". The pictures of the events in previous years show a bunch of manufacturer's tents, so I assume a wide variety of ski manufacturer's should be there. I know I've read some old posts, but wanted to see if there was any advice I might have missed.
Background:
I'm an advancing intermediate who tends to prefer groomers and is working on carving. I am a cautious skier who wants to be able to stop on a dime if I need to. I'm more about finesse than power/speed. My two ski quiver consists of:
- 2024 Line Blade W 92 @ 160cm (the only wide ski I've loved so far, they are super turny!)
- 2023 Volkl Yumi 84 @ 154cm
I feel I may have outgrown my Yumis. While I prefer "groomers", I also ski Cascade Concrete and even groomed runs here get chewed out by midday so it's basically crud and moguls/bumps on the more popular runs after lunch. My Yumis are great when it's smooth and groomed, but I get thrown around on crud/ungroomed a lot and I tend to tense up and burn up my quads in those conditions. They can also be chattery at speed. I feel I may want something heavier and/or more damp - if I am using those terms correctly. My Blades are great for crud and a bit of float, but I fear they may be hindering my carving progression, which is what I really want to work on.
Demos so far:
I have been demoing skis this year through the resorts and wanted to leave reviews for other Divas. Caveat, I am far from an experienced skier.
Volkl Shine 78 @ 156cm
I demoed this twice at Crystal Mountain - both times in very thin cover and icy conditions. They have great edge grip and don't feel heavy, but definitely chatter less when I hit speed on a groomer than my Yumi. They turned very easily for me and have a very short radius, but I can drive them longer if I wanted to. End of the day crud still proved to be an issue for me on these, though I felt they were pretty forgiving overall. I liked them, but I didn't love them.
Salomon Stance Pro 82 @ 161cm
I also demo'ed this at Crystal in icy conditions. I very quickly found I had to plan my stops in advance on these cause it took longer to really get the edges to dig in for me. Probably a technique issue. They didn't tire my legs out, but I only kept them for a couple of runs before I wanted to go back to the demo center for something with better/quicker edge grip since conditions were icy. I didn't want to tire myself out because I tend to ski very cautiously when I feel not easily able to stop. I went back to the Volkl Shine and was happier for it.
Atomic Maven 88 CTI @ 153cm
Demoed this for 2 days @Mt Bachelor. I initially really wanted the 159cm, but those were already out. It was actually dumping on Mt Bachelor after a season of no snow so there was a lot of renewed interest in skiing during those days. After one day on them, I decided I wanted to stay at this length. Bachelor has a fair few runs that are either ungroomed or groomed in the PM, resulting in the continuing snowfall covering up smooth grooming. Combined with a busier than normal resort due to the snow, runs got tracked out early. I found the Mavens very easy to turn and needed that for the resulting bumps and/or dodging people that popped out of the trees (only slightly joking). When I was able to get them on groomed runs, they were very smooth and fast and I think this is where they shined. Oh and they were beautiful. I love this year's top sheet. I felt they were a fine ski, but didn't make me want to replace my Yumis.
Stockli Nela 88 @ 160cm
I skied this at Crystal Mountain on a very crusty morning. This was really hyped to me, but I think maybe they are too much ski for me. I could stop, but it did not feel very quick to me. Like the Salomon Stance before, I had to start edging in advance. It also really wanted to make a longer arc than I wanted them to and that longer required arc brought me to speed faster. Now, they were very stable and smooth at speed, butwith the lack of quick edging and the fact that I'm a nervous skier, they just didn't give me a ton of confidence that I could stop or turn the way I wanted. And because that was true, I was very cautious on these. While I still felt capable, I returned these after two runs. In short, not a bad ski, just not a match with how I want to ski.
Rossignol Arcade 84 @ 160cm
I took these out right after I returned the Stockli Nela. Almost immediately I was smiling. I hadn't felt like this since demoing the Yumi a few years ago. These were really confidence inspiring to me - quick edge to edge, the arc it naturally wanted to go was more akin to how I wanted to ski. And you know what the funny thing was? My husband said it actually made me faster. Not that I am some speed demon, but I really take my time when I get cautious, Since it was so confidence inspiring, I felt safe really laying it down because I knew I could stop on a dime - and did I ever need to. Crystal Mountain was SO busy that day - it was the first weekend after heavy snow and it felt like everyone was on the mountain. But honestly, can you just tell on some skis? I skied this both on crunchy morning crust, afternoon spring slush and chopped up re-freeze later that afternoon and I still loved them. They chopped through the crud that would usually stop me short on my Yumis. The grin was ear to ear and just didn't stop.
FINAL THOUGHTS / SUMMARY:
I honestly really think the Arcades might be my next ski. The only thing that gives me pause is that they are also 84, just like my Yumis. I really thought that going narrower was the way, but I was honestly very pleased and happy with these. They felt very responsive to me and I had no trouble laying them over. I also fear I will just decide next season that I need something narrower to help me with my carving.
My current overthinking summarized:
- What if I'm just not advanced enough to tell what a good ski is?
- Maybe I should concentrate on narrower (sub 80?) skis to demo?
- Maybe I should just continue demoing, period?
