Hi ladies! I'm excited to join the forum and hopefully everyone is doing well in quarantine. While I've been stuck at home I've been diving deep into the rabbit hole of looking for new skis to buy, and I was hoping I could get some advice.
I'm currently on a pair of K2 Luv Struck 80s in 156cm that I bought as used demo skis when I first started skiing three years ago. They've been great to learn on, but I started feeling like I was outgrowing them this year. As I've gotten faster on groomers, they've started feeling less stable, and on powder days they don't float super well. But, I do appreciate their maneuverability and forgiveness!
I'd say I'm a strong intermediate skier - I spend most of my time on ungroomed blues and blacks at my local hill, and just started skiing trees at the end of this season (pre-Covid). I'm feeling more comfortable at speed on groomers, learned that I love skiing bumps, and I really like being in the trees so far, although I'm still pretty cautious there. I feel confident on blues and fairly comfortable on most blacks unless conditions are icy. I have yet to do a double black run.
I live and ski in eastern Washington state, where conditions are variable to say the least. We get fresh snow fairly often and I also go skiing in BC and Montana, so I'm ideally looking for something with a bit of a powder bias, but that can also handle our choppier/icier days. I demoed the Rossignol Sky 7 HD this year in a freak March storm that dumped over 2 feet of powder here, and LOVED them on that day - they were SO much easier to float on than my own skis! But, not every day is a powder day (sadly) and I'm concerned the Sky 7s wouldn't do well in choppy/icy snow. I am still considering them though, just because they were so great in deep powder.
I've been eyeing the Blizzard Sheeva 10 pretty hard, and there are some really great sales right now online. This ski sounds like everything I want - good in soft snow, playful, maneuverable, but still pretty stable on groomers and harder snow. The only thing I'm not sure about is the fact that I haven't been on a ski with metal before and it's quite a bit wider/stiffer than my current skis. So my question is, do you ladies who have skied the Sheeva think it could be an accessible and forgiving ski for an intermediate who likes to go fast where she's comfortable, but is a little more cautious in new situations? If so, would you suggest the 156 or 164? I'm 5'4", 135lb, and reasonably athletic. I want a ski that will help me progress and get even more confident, not one that I have to fight against.
I also looked at the Black Pearl 98, but based on reviews I'm not sure if it sounds like what I want. It sounds a little more directional and less playful, and I'm worried about its performance in powder. I'm open to any suggestions though - I'm wondering if I should consider more freeride oriented skis (maybe the Armada Trace 98, Liberty Genesis, or Line Pandora 104) because I do like to ski playfully through bumps and trees rather than at light-speed. But, I still want to be able to keep up with friends ripping down groomers. Am I hoping for too much in a single ski?
Thanks in advance y'all!
I'm currently on a pair of K2 Luv Struck 80s in 156cm that I bought as used demo skis when I first started skiing three years ago. They've been great to learn on, but I started feeling like I was outgrowing them this year. As I've gotten faster on groomers, they've started feeling less stable, and on powder days they don't float super well. But, I do appreciate their maneuverability and forgiveness!
I'd say I'm a strong intermediate skier - I spend most of my time on ungroomed blues and blacks at my local hill, and just started skiing trees at the end of this season (pre-Covid). I'm feeling more comfortable at speed on groomers, learned that I love skiing bumps, and I really like being in the trees so far, although I'm still pretty cautious there. I feel confident on blues and fairly comfortable on most blacks unless conditions are icy. I have yet to do a double black run.
I live and ski in eastern Washington state, where conditions are variable to say the least. We get fresh snow fairly often and I also go skiing in BC and Montana, so I'm ideally looking for something with a bit of a powder bias, but that can also handle our choppier/icier days. I demoed the Rossignol Sky 7 HD this year in a freak March storm that dumped over 2 feet of powder here, and LOVED them on that day - they were SO much easier to float on than my own skis! But, not every day is a powder day (sadly) and I'm concerned the Sky 7s wouldn't do well in choppy/icy snow. I am still considering them though, just because they were so great in deep powder.
I've been eyeing the Blizzard Sheeva 10 pretty hard, and there are some really great sales right now online. This ski sounds like everything I want - good in soft snow, playful, maneuverable, but still pretty stable on groomers and harder snow. The only thing I'm not sure about is the fact that I haven't been on a ski with metal before and it's quite a bit wider/stiffer than my current skis. So my question is, do you ladies who have skied the Sheeva think it could be an accessible and forgiving ski for an intermediate who likes to go fast where she's comfortable, but is a little more cautious in new situations? If so, would you suggest the 156 or 164? I'm 5'4", 135lb, and reasonably athletic. I want a ski that will help me progress and get even more confident, not one that I have to fight against.
I also looked at the Black Pearl 98, but based on reviews I'm not sure if it sounds like what I want. It sounds a little more directional and less playful, and I'm worried about its performance in powder. I'm open to any suggestions though - I'm wondering if I should consider more freeride oriented skis (maybe the Armada Trace 98, Liberty Genesis, or Line Pandora 104) because I do like to ski playfully through bumps and trees rather than at light-speed. But, I still want to be able to keep up with friends ripping down groomers. Am I hoping for too much in a single ski?
Thanks in advance y'all!
