Metal (titanal) and skier weight

[skite]

It's nearly time for our local mountain in NZ to open and it's definitely time for a new pair of skis!

My question is; should I get skis with metal? I am looking for stability on icy hardpack and skis that can cope with the cruddy, chopped up conditions we frequently experience here in the North Island. Is that what the metal is for?

Also, should the skiers weight be taken into account? Assuming, you are not a super strong and athletic 25 year old (which I am not) should a skier of 5.7 & 135 pounds even be considering skis with metal?
On my short list is the 2019 Rossignol Experience 88ti, the Atomic Vantage 90ti and the Blizzard Sheeva 9.

 

[marzNC]

Welcome! Height, weight, and most commonly skied terrain are all important considerations when it comes to choosing skis. Someone who is your height but 20 pounds heavier or lighter might well prefer different skis, even if they are about the same ability level.

How did you come up with your short list? By reading reviews or have you had a chance to demo skis?

 

[skite]

Reviews and recommendations. These are all 2019 so I haven't had a chance to demo..

 

[marzNC]

Reviews and recommendations. These are all 2019 so I haven't had a chance to demo..

Ah, guess I was asking whether you had demo'd an earlier version of the skis you mentioned. That's assuming there hasn't been a change for 2019. I demo'd the Vantage 90W in 2016 on groomers (Alta spring skiing when off-piste was still frozen). Liked them but I'm quite a bit shorter and lighter than you are so not sure that really means anything. For me, 90 underfoot is too wide for places where icy conditions are the norm. That's when I use my narrower skis that are 78 underfoot.

What skis have you been using?

 

[SallyCat]

I'm curious to hear replies. I'm 5' 8" but quite a bit heavier than you and I like the Volk RT 84, which has a sheet of metal. Do you have any opportunities to demo? What do you ski now and what do you like/dislike about them?

EDIT: "Volkl RTM." Sorry, Evidently I'm too weak and/or lazy to type Ls and Ms.

 

[Jilly]

I'm thinking that you might find any Ti's too stiff. The experience 88W might be a better choice. Personally I do, but to each their own. Demoing is the best thing

 

[pinto]

How fast do you ski?

 

[Fluffy Kitty]

Kinda' depends on what kind of crud you are talking about. If the cruddy condition is mostly shaved-off ice, stiffer skis would be OK, and you might even consider outright ice skis with narrower waist. If you are talking about tracked-out and lumped up freshies (one could call them "supercrud"), especially the wet or refrozen variety, I would hesitate to recommended metal.

I tend to wish I had softer skis in supercrud. Stiffer skis are good for cutting through crud as if it is flat, but at the expense of float, which makes for bumpy rides for those of us who are low in momentum; they also prefer to go straight and pick up speed when I least want them to, like on cruddy steeps with deep snowboard tracks. Generally speaking, stiffer skis tend to tip-catch or tip-dive more easily in crud while trying to smooth out the snow; softer skis will try to ride above the crud, but get squirrelly on ice.

I think of this as a matter of preference and style rather than one is better than the other. And, if you want something well-suited for both hardpack and supercrud, you will need compromise skis that are not ideal for either. 88-widths generally do fall into this category; manageable on cruddy powder, and serviceable on ice, extra work in both.

Of course, if you are talking about ice as in glazed-smooth, transluscent, and shiny--and not always flat--88 is often going to have insufficient bite with or without metal.

On the more objective side, I am 5'7 and 115lbs, with 2014 Temptation 88 (same as regular Experience 88, and somewhat stiffer and quite a bit heavier than the current Experience) at 170cm (i.e., same as my height). They are theoretically too stiff and long for me, which accounts for some of my bad habits as I try to control them. (But... but... they feel fantastic at 35mph on groomers!) I imagine you can probably handle the current Ti version, especially at a shorter length and with good lessons, but they probably will not be as versatile for you as the regular version.

[Edit: I just skimmed through some reviews, and it looks like the 2019 Experience 88Ti is not as stiff as other metaled skis, and there are no unmetaled 88s, W or not... So, need more input from Divas who've demoed them.]