K2 First Luv or Fisher Vision Aspire?

[loveAt1stTry]

This is my first post although I have probably read most of this site in the past few weeks! I just started skiing in December, and really fell in love with it so much I bought boots on my first day! :D They fit wonderfully, and I am so happy with them. I have only had three ski days so far (and I maxed them out, 8-4 at Killington!) but I know already I love this sport!

I am making a trip to Vail next week and thought that instead of renting a pair of junky skis for 5 days I could just buy a pair of beginner skis and pay off half of them by not renting. I found good deals on the K2 First Luv and the Fisher Vision Aspire. I found a lot of info on the web about the K2s but not much about the Fisher. I was wondering if some of you wonderful ladies could offer me some advice on which to choose.

A little background: I'm an east coast-er but (I think at least) that I am as likely to ski on this coast as I am on the opposite one (my boyfriend is nuts for that west coast snow, but I thought that the snow at Killington was pretty powdery...). Right now I am doing greens (it was only my third day!) but I would love to tackle some blues while at Vail (with the help of an instructor!).

Im ~5'7", and 130#. What do you think about the length I should get? I was thinking about getting the K2s in 153 or the Fishers in a 150. My other options are a 156 for the K2s and a 155 for the Fishers. By looking at the charts this seems too low. But I know its easier to learn on shorter skis (they put me on 120s at Killington).

What do you ladies think? I will take any advice I can get!

 

[num]

Glad you got well fitting boots. Definitely the right start.

In general, we often advise to look into intermediate skis for a first purchase, so you won't outgrow them so quickly. It all depends on your goals, though, and how you feel about purchasing, selling, etc. Is demoing a possibility for you?

Between the two, I'd say go for the Aspire, and 155 should be fine.

 

[Native Vail Gal]

^^ What Num said! 120?!?!?!?! Yikes! That's short! I like my skis longer, but that's just me....At your height I wouldn't ski anything below a 155.

I know K2 skis, and I think that you would outgrow the First Luvs pretty quickly....and you would be disappointed. If you demo, you could find out which ski you like the best...everyone has an opinion. I would look at a more intermediate ski...

Also, be careful about who you buy from. No offense to the men out there, but men will try to put you in a less aggressive ski...and I KNOW they will try to put you in a short ski if you tell them you are a beginner. (we had a thread about this somewhere...but I can't remember where...) Don't listen! Find a female ski rep in a reputable shop and have her go through the women's skis with you.

Don't take this purchase too lightly. You got great boots which is the MOST important, but find a ski that is fabulous for you, too!

Welcome to the Divas!!! We love new members! :cheer:

 

[loveAt1stTry]

Thanks num and Kelly!

I have officially been convinced to buy intermediate! The funny thing is that I went to a ski shop last night around Philadelphia (not that many ski shops around here...) and the guy there made sure I had boots and then told me I should go intermediate. (He was hesitant to sell me skis since it was only my second trip, and didn't want me to find I don't like it, which I said was impossible!) My boyfriend, on the other hand, went to a ski shop around Washington, DC, and encountered people that couldn't tell the difference between a women's ski and a horse's *ss.

Anyway, so my ski shop guy made some recommendations but I shouldn't have told him my price limit since they didn't have much in that range. Plus they charged extra for mounting which I thought usually came free if you buy the skis and bindings in the same place! Anyway I definitely left there thinking I should go intermediate. But that I maybe should try it once or twice before I commit to a good (more pricey than beginner) intermediate ski. I think I will definitely wait to get to Vail so that I can demo them, even if the only thing I know to look for is the grin I think I will try out the Fischer Vision Exhale, but I am open to other recommendations!

Kelly, since you are a Vail native, do you have any recommendations for shops I could visit while I'm there next week to talk to some knowledgeable ladies? It would be great if they know east coast skiing, too! Like I said we don't really have a lot of options around where I live. I would have to make a trip to upstate NY or Vermont to find the real ski junkies who would know what they are talking about (although the guy in my ski shop wasn't bad, I'm sure he hasn't tried any of the women's skis!).

 

[Native Vail Gal]

I LOVE the people (some women) at Vail Ski Tech in Lionshead. www.vailskitech.com They have been there FOREVER and have very cute Dogs! But seriously, I would trust their knowledge and they are right at the base of the Gondola in Lionshead (which is a pretty good place to hang out in if you are wanting longer groomed runs.

Also, in the Village on Bridge Street, there are several ski shops, including Christy Sports, that have wonderful expertise and demo opportunities.

WARNING: DON'T BUY SKIS IN VAIL UNLESS YOU WANT TO PAY AN ARM AND A LEG!!!! It is SO expensive. Even their sales are pricey. Do your homework and get a good idea on prices if you are wanting to buy there (ie: applying your demo money towards the price of skis.).

FYI...."Simba" says it's a blue run....but it is really a green. (It was always a green when I was a kid, but now reads as a blue on the map....maybe to keep the traffic down.) It's a GREAT run and you can do it all day long and not get bored. Plus, you could challenge yourself as there are harder parts of that run that have green "catwalks" that go around the harder parts. Also, if you hang out in Lionshead, "Born Free" is also wonderful.

Also, the Game Creek Bowl has "Lost Boy" which is a fun groomed run. Just note: to get out of the Game Creek Bowl, you have to go across Eagle's Nest Ridge....and it can be flat and windy, so get some GREAT speed going on.

Mid-Vail has Ramshorn, and some other wonderful runs that you could easily do. Some more challenging, but easy, blues...Cappucino, Espresso and Christmas are all great!

I can help with more if you need more information! Gladly!

 

[Native Vail Gal]

Simplified, here is the K2 hierarchy...with Phat Luv being the "fat ski" for pow pow skiing and First Luv being for the beginner.

I ski the One Luv, and I find it to be perfect for me. I've demo'ed the Burnin' Luv, Lotta Luv, Tough Luv and Phat Luv and they are great skis, too....but for more aggressive skiing, or skiing in the powder. I learned to ski in the powder on straight skis and I still enjoy the challenge with a skinnier ski!

I would reccomend trying the True Luv or One Luv if you are interested in K2 skis. Either of those skis can take you to the next level in your skiing easily!

T:9 Women Specific
All-Mountain


Phat Luv
Tough Luv
Lotta Luv
Burnin' Luv
One Luv
True Luv
Sweet Luv
First Luv

 

[loveAt1stTry]

Thanks Kelly for the awesome suggestions! I will take any more suggestions that you have. How about a private instructor recommendation? I am going to have to write down your suggestions to take with me on the slopes! You're right, it would probably be crazy to buy skis in Vail. I don't know if I will get any more ski days this season after next week, so I may just be willing to hold out till prices get better in a few weeks, though then I risk stores running out of inventory.

Have you tried K2s on the east coast? If so do you feel they hold up well on ice? It seems like the Fischers get better grip on ice than the K2s. Whenever I hit ice I am in panic mode and think to myself "carve! CARVE! CARVE!" Actually I may say it out loud, who knows what I am doing when I panic! That probably won't happen as often in Vail! I would like to try whatever skis I am buying both here and there. I just don't know when I will get a chance to demo here, or even if there are any places nearby where I could go one Saturday to demo. Conditions will be pretty icy here till the end of the season (plus it's all fake snow!), so I would get to put the skis to a real test.

-Nora

As a side note, about the 120s I started on, Killington usually gives you really short skis in their beginners program. Even though they were only 120 I still was crossing them on my first and second day! But I was definitely ready to step up by my third day, but I didnt have the same instructors. Those skis barely even slid on the snow. I was constantly using my poles to push myself on almost flat areas even when I started with good speed. So I got a great upper body workout, too

 

[Native Vail Gal]

You know, I skiied my One Luvs in Taos last year in January.... VERY ICY!

They don't grip so well on ice, in my opinion. Gripping on ice is something you should be asking questions about....I just am lucky enough to not have a lot of icy ski days. (oh geez...that sounds like I'm snobby and gloating....ok....I am! ) If you have powder in Vail, demo them just for fun! You will like them! I promise!

Instructors:

NannyMin has these recs:
Gregor Neal~ Another great BC/Vail instructor. Gregor has won several Powder 8 competitions and he is a pleasure to watch ski. He has a very precise method of teaching.

My hands down favorite instructor, is Niger Geary at Beaver Creek. His ability to zero in on movement patterns, and explain concisely what needs to change, is simply amazing!

 

[loveAt1stTry]

You have a right to gloat! It would be great to live close to a great big powdery mountain. But I'm definitely an east coast girl and I love being close to a big city. Vermont is about a 6 hour drive from here, (supposedly even the powder here doesn't compare to a bad day in CO) but I thought it was pretty powdery after it snowed! Its just that when the winds (and snowboarders!) blow all the fresh snow off, you're left with the packed ice on the bottom!

Thanks for all the tips! I will definitely keep them all in mind!

 

[lucine]

Vail has an on mountain demo tent. I think it is vail sports. It is very friendly and helpful, I think you could pick up a pair of demo skis at vail (bottom of mt) and change em out on the top. I demo-ed 4 pairs in two hours and well, bought some.(but not there) The prices were high, but they will put your demo money toward the purchase price, and give you two free vail lift tickets- thats worth about 200 if you have not yet bought your tickets-or you could drive to Edwards maybe.
have fun

 

[Sassy]

Fischer vs. K2

I was just wondering what you wound up buying?

I also started Alpine skiing last spring (probably about the same time as you!) and I live in the Philly area. What are the odds? Anyway, I wound up getting many different opinions on skis. I found Buckman's ski shop in KOP to be great. They spent close to an hour fitting me with boots and adjusting them with orthos in order to get my knee aligned properly. It was worth it. I'm fine wearing my boots for a full day of skiing.

I wound up buying Fischer Vision Allures @ 145. I'm 5'2 and 125lb. They're great skis. They weren't much different than the Exhales (one model up) except for a difference in the inner core, which I wouldn't notice, but they were a heck of a lot cheaper in price. After only skiing them in the Poconos, I just recently had the opportunity to ski them in Tahoe and they worked wonderfully out there as well. I think they're a great all-mountain ski. I suspect that I'll ski these for a few years even though I'm already doing Blues and some Black diamonds (depending on the mountain of course!). I really like these skis. I'm just a little bummed to have to bring the skis back to the east coast snow...er...ice.

 

[lovebug]

As far as shops near the Philly area, there are actually quite a few. My two favorites as far as service goes are Nestors (near Allentown, on the way back from Blue - enormous selection) and Wicks, which is out route 100 way near Downingtown. Lola's (a fellow diva) DH Phil is the bootfitter there and they have a nice selection of intermediate womens skis. Theres more here than the big shops - you just need to know where to look. Hopefully you've found some by now. I second the question - what did you wind up with??

 

[loveAt1stTry]

Sassy, I ended up with Fischer Vision Exhale. If I could do it over again, I might have gotten them a bit longer (I think I got 145? But I don't remember! It's been a while since I skied! :(). I am also skiing blues and some blacks (usually when it's getting dark and I want to get down the mountain!). I hope this year I try more black diamonds!

I actually really love my Exhales, they just didn't do well in lots of west coast powder (this is why I could have gone a bit longer!). I haven't had the chance to try them on the east coast but they did awesome on the groomers in CO. They really hold an edge, and I feel really comfortable skiing on them! I bought my skis at Buckman's too, mostly because they were the closest to me.

lovebug, I have found online lots of shops outside Philly, but as far as I know there isn't much within a 30-45 minute radius of the city. Downingtown and Allentown are really a hike for me.