Help Needed: Looking for advice on some skis (possibly Nordica Santa Ana 93/Black Crow Captis Birdie)

[nicoleskier95]

Hi all, I'm new on this forum and was hoping for some advice about purchasing some skis please!

I am 5'5",130lb, 26 years old and I would consider myself an upper intermediate, maybe advanced but I am not sure with how to rate my skiing ?!! (basically I like to ski trees, double blacks, bowls etc and I am confident on this terrain but I am still seeking improvement with my technique, especially with more difficult terrain like bumps, although I do enjoy challenging myself!). I usually ski in Colorado (Breck) and occasionally Europe.

I recently returned from a trip to Breck where I started the week on the performance rentals (I think they were Salomon Stance 80 - 163cm) and then demoed some Nordica Santa Ana 93s - 158cm at the end of the week for a few days as I had researched them before and really wanted to try them.

I skied a lot of trees and bumps on the Salomons and found myself improving and gaining confidence. When I demoed the Santa Ana's I really enjoyed them in the powder and the groomers but found them heavier in the bumps and trees and felt like I couldn't really get them round the bumps as smoothly as the Salomons.

Has anyone else experienced this with the Santa Ana 93s? Could it be a case of I just needed a bit more time to get used to them? Or could anyone recommend a ski that I may be more suited to? I would really like something that works well all over the mountain, on groomers, bowls, powder, trees, bumps etc and isn't too heavy. I also looked at the Black Crow Captis Birdie online but haven't demoed those.

I look forward to hearing your opinions - any help you can give me would be so appreciated please!

Thank you!

 

[scandium]

Has anyone else experienced this with the Santa Ana 93s? Could it be a case of I just needed a bit more time to get used to them? Or could anyone recommend a ski that I may be more suited to?

Yes - I don't think any of the version of the SA 93 would be my first choice of bump ski! The same stiffness that gives you groomer security and allows you to charge through chop imo makes the skis more work to turn and thus less forgiving and easy in bumps. The 80s-mid 90s range has a huge number of skis available that might work for you. You could consider the Sheeva 9 - it turns very easily, but is not as damp on crud nor quite as secure on groomers as the SA 93, and many women here love it.

It might be worth looking through others' demo reports and demo days from this season if you haven't had a trawl through already - skis are subjective, but someone who LOVES ripping groomers in long turns is likely to prefer the sort of ski you would be avoiding, so it means you can take that ski off the demo list or move it lower down.

 

[Scribble]

I own the SA 88s and have demoed the SA 93, which are very similar. I lovelovelove mine in most conditions, but I agree that they aren't as easy in the bumps and trees as my Shiva 9's. The SAs want active input from the skier in tight terrain, driving the tips and unweighting the tails. When my legs are lazy and tired, the tails get catchy. The Shiva's are very forgiving but they want to be in a shorter turn All The Time and are much less happy to carry eye watering speed. They ski shorter than the SAs.

Though they're probably not what you're looking for, I demoed the Salomon Lumen 99 and they were like a wider, quieter cross of the two - very solid and stable in front, nimble in back. I'm not sure if the narrower QST Lux compares.

 

[diymom]

very solid and stable in front, nimble in back.

It sounds like you are describing the mullet of skis.

 

[Chuyi]

Agree with @Scribble.Santa Ana requires constant forward pressure. I liked them cuz they force me in a forward stance &improved my skiing. I have had no problems in trees or bumps (I have problems in general with giant bumps that have pointy end related 2 skills more than skis ). But the minute I sit back, the SA try 2 send me on my bum. . B4 Santa Ana, I skied black pearls 88, they allowed quick turns but don't hold a good edge for carving or a hard pack.

 

[Analisa]

+1 to the Sheeva. It’s a pretty similar ski to the Santa Ana, but prefers a shorter, tighter turn and feels more nimble given a few construction changes:

- tighter turn radius
- lighter weight and softer flex, especially due to where the partial sheet of metal sits on the ski. The SA has full metal coverage on the tips and tails, and it nips in at the waist of the ski. The Sheeva has the opposite, full coverage underfoot and it tapers towards the tips and tails. This makes the tips and tails a lot softer and a lot more compliant in the bumps.
- more forward mount point

The Captis is also lighter and softer, but much more so than the Santa Ana or Sheeva. They won’t get close to that performance at speed / on groomers. Camox Birdie would be closer, but I imagine the Sheeva would still be better in the bumps.

 

[DebbieSue]

I have newer BP88s 20/21 159s and they carve and hold an edge for me on hard pack 5’5” 140. The older model did not when I demo’d it. This newer model is great in moguls, hard and soft, makes quick turns easily, and surprise, floated in 8” powder at Bridger. I don’t ski esp fast, but I’m skiing faster than ever, age 62, on New England black diamond trails, so I do think the newer BPs are grippier than past versions, and should be a contender. I’m a moguls fan, so I do hope to demo Sheeva 9s one of these days when conditions are right, prob out West.