Next on my demo list : Samba, Nemesis, Aura... any input appreciated!

[kirsje]

Hello Divas!

I am new here and looking for input on a new pair of skis. My stats: 39, 5'8, 175 pounds. I am competitive and athletic (former collegiate athlete in an unrelated sport) and would like to be more aggressive with my skiing, but don't necessarily have the skills to back this up. Haven't had a proper lesson since I was 12, spent a few years in my 20's chasing the husband down the mountain on his snowboard, which has left me with some bad habits, particularly falling into the backseat. This is my fourth year of consistent skiing. Groomed blacks are my comfort zone, but I can do the double blacks if they are wide enough. Narrow chutes freak me out. I want to be able to follow the husband and kids off piste, into the narrow trails, and into powder with more confidence. Currently recovering from a two year long health issue and nowhere near in the shape I was three years ago and weigh more... determined to get myself back together though! Been skiing on '07 Burnin Luvs in a 160 for the last four years, which have been fine for the groomers. This year I have demoed:

Fischer Koa 88 in 160 - Too small and squirrelly, unstable. Bigger size may have been better.

Black Pearl in 166 - Fun, easy, light, not awesome in the very wet, heavy, PNW crud, but still better than current skis. Felt less stable on these than the K2's.

Atomic Elysian in 168 - not sure why, but I did not do well on these.

K2 Missbehaved 169 - felt the best on these, but I think it's because they allowed me to be sloppy, not what I want if I am to step up my game. I think I am just used to a heavier ski. Handled the crud great, and still easy to carve. This was a heavy ski that I'm not sure would be fun as fun as other options in the bumps.

Next steps are Samba, Nemesis, Aura. I think I am looking for something in between the Black Pearl and Missbehaved? I don't even know, my head is spinning from all the possibilities with the rocker technology... Am I on the right track here with my next demo line up, other recommendations? Comments on what size skis I should be on? All the shop guys want to put me on 160-166 at the most, but I think my current weight requires a longer ski if it's rockered, but I hesitate to give up maneuverability in the narrow trails. Steven's Pass in Washington is my home mountain. Thanks for reading my novel!

 

[MissySki]

I think you might want to try longer if possible. I'm 5'4 and 125 lbs and ski the 166 black pearl and 163 Auras.

 

[geargrrl]

You might be fighting the Aura if your technique has a lot of weaknesses. It rewards good performance, and complains loudly when you are off.

 

[segacs]

Not sure if I missed it in your post, but where do you ski?

 

[geargrrl]

Steven's Pass in Washington

 

[maggie198]

Definitely longer on the Black Pearls for your height and weight. Btw, these ski better if you're applying forward pressure to the tips, and don't really respond as well to back seat skiing. They do well in soft snow, but a heavy ski will generally be better in crud. BPs are light and fairly nimble for the waist width.

There ARE so many great new skis out there, it can be daunting to try to make a decision!

 

[MissySki]

If you are able to get your hands on them, the Nordica Hells Belles were really fun to demo earlier this season for me. I demoed the 170 as that was all that was available, and still found them very responsive. Fun fun ski, with no speed limit. Very forgiving too.

 

[ski diva]

I just demoed the Nemesis and the Hells Belles, and these are both awesome skis. I'd be hard put to decide which to choose. The Nemesis is 98 under foot, so if you ski Stevens, these would probably be better.

That said, I own and ski the Auras (last season's), and these are great skis, too.

You have a terrific list. I don't think you'll go wrong with any of them.

 

[kirsje]

I find myself leaning back in the spots where I'm least comfortable, counterproductive, I know - I'm really working on this. Going to see about some lessons so I have an analysis of what my weaknesses are. Watching my kids drop their hands behind them has made me super conscious of keeping my hands and weight forward and timing my pole plant properly.

I ski at Stevens Pass in Washington.

I will look into the Hells Bells, thanks!

 

[vanhoskier]

If you liked the Black Pearl but thought they got deflected by the heavy PNW snow, the Samba might be your ticket.

With your stats, any women's wider waisted Nordica, K2, Blizzard, or Volkl skis would be a fine choice. I think Fischer's women's skis are too soft. The Fischer Watea would be better for you than the KOA.

 

[Jilly]

I would add the Dynastar Eden and the Salomon Rockette 90 to a demo list.

 

[Indianaskier]

As odd as it might seem for a midwest skier, I bought Nemesis late last season and so far have skied them only here in Indiana. We've had an up and down winter, snow, rain, bitter cold, warm, pretty much everything except summer heat. Even with snow here, we have to rely on machine made snow with the occasional surprise covering of the natural stuff. We have a lot of hard pack with a few inches of either nice fluff, ice chunks, or slop. I have been very happy with the Nemesis on everything I've be able to try them on here. I was a bit concerned about how they would grip the hard surface, but they were great. Last week I participated in a women's clinic on a bitter cold day. The snow guns were blasting all day and we actually had some "Indiana powder"...don't laugh!
There are areas where snow manages to build up nicely and isn't groomed. It gets chopped up and quite fun to ski on. The Nemesis cut through that and made it a blast to ski. I'm a cautious skier and had to test myself a couple of times. My skis gave me a confident, stable ride, they turn surprisingly shorter that I thought they would, yet are really fun on wide, sweeping turns. The like to go fast, but let me take them slow on steeper areas where I had to work up the nerve to go ski like I know I can.
For years I skied on Rossi Bandit L(loved them), then sort of inherited my snowboarding daughter's Atomic Balanzas, because she no longer used them. I only liked those for groomed snow. The small size under foot was very unstable in our often cruddy snow. I thought it was just me and tried to like them, but rarely felt comfortable skiing them,thus the reason for trying a wider ski.
I'm 5'2" 100 lbs . the Nemesis I bought are 153 . I can't help with any other ski, but I do know how much I love these skis. I would love to get them in some deep stuff. Hoping for a possible trip to my brother's in Oregon. He'll haul me to Mt. Hood.
Good luck with demos and making a decision. There are so many great choices it is not easy!

 

[mustski]

Hello Divas!
Narrow chutes freak me out. I want to be able to follow the husband and kids off piste, into the narrow trails, and into powder with more confidence. Currently recovering from a two year long health issue and nowhere near in the shape I was three years ago and weigh more... determined to get myself back together though! Been skiing on '07 Burnin Luvs in a 160 for the last four years, which have been fine for the groomers. This year I have demoed:
Next steps are Samba, Nemesis, Aura.

Welcome to the forum. I ski the Auras and love them. Definitely go longer. I'm 5'2" and ski a 163. With the rocker technology, you lose edge and need to go a size up. I hear you on the narrow chutes issue as that is my "won't go there" demon. As much as I love my Auras, I don't feel they would excel in tight situations. They like medium and big turns and fail in the sharp short turn category because the tail swings wide. However they rock as an all mountain ski. With any "one ski quiver" there is a trade off. The Auras are great on groomers, bust crud, float in powder, are light and maneuverable, hold an edge really well and -in my opinion - are very easy to ski. They are happy at speed and obedient while cruising. I haven't tried them in bumps or in narrow spaces but I notice that when I need to make a tight turn that I am always aware that the tails swing wide. The Samba is also on my demo list just for interest sake. Let us know what you think when you do demo. You are on the right track and it's just a matter of finding your perfect partner.

 

[volklgirl]

Given where you ski, I'd suggest the Kiku rather than the Aura as it's damper and heavier so will do better in your heavy PNW snow. It may, however be a handful at slower speeds and it's (like most Volkls) not thrilled about less-than-solid technique.

 

[geargrrl]

Volklgirl, I ski in relatively the same snow as OP, and Auras are by far more popular as an all around ski. Recall the photo I posted of 6 or 7 of us, all with Auras? The Kiku is marketed around here as a dedicated powder ski.

 

[mahgnillig]

Since you're looking at fairly wide skis, you could also add the Atomic Century or Access to that list as well. I use mine as powder skis to complement my Kenjas, but they are decent enough on groomers to be a one ski quiver if desired. Definitely size up though... I'm 120lbs and ski 161cm Access/163cm Kenja.

 

[kirsje]

15 inches of snow over the last few days and I demoed the Samba and Hells Bells (they didn't have Nemesis) today.

Hells Bells - Nothing I disliked, just felt like it wasn't enough ski for me. Did not make it to untracked powder on these. The nine year old was off and running and led me on the bumpy trail right under the chair, into the steep ungroomed, onto the groomed, and through the park. Fine, just no wow factor, and more work in the crud than the Samba.

Samba - I put my trust in the ski got my weight forward and busted through the crud on the double black (this would only be a black at most Tahoe resorts). What a confidence boost! I had no choice - had to follow the kids! We flew down a rolling blue groomer and I let the speed open up since we were the only people on the run. Charged ahead and nicely went into long radius turns, beautiful! We found untracked powder by dropping down one of the double blacks to get over to the area boundary line. Decent float, but I am a totally inexperienced powder skier so I am not the best person to comment on this. I believe this is the first time I've laid fresh tracks on new snow. Ever! Next we went to the bumps. I really had fun here, the response was great. A very noticeable difference from my old skis.

I still balk at the narrow trails. I have a hard time controlling speed because these are tracked out trails and you are forced into a certain path. I end up snow plowing because they are not wide enough to actually turn. My kids love these trails, but they weigh very little, so their top speed is not Mach 3, like mine. Kidding... but really, are there adults that like these trails? How do you control speed so as not to plow over everyone in front of you?

Still going to check out the Aura. A friend skis the Auras at Crystal Mountain and loves them.

 

[maggie198]

Blizzard makes great skis, very stable and really boosts the confidence level. Glad the Samba skied so well for you!

 

[RockSki]

Volklgirl, I ski in relatively the same snow as OP, and Auras are by far more popular as an all around ski. Recall the photo I posted of 6 or 7 of us, all with Auras? The Kiku is marketed around here as a dedicated powder ski.

Definitely the Kiku is marketed as a powder ski but I am loving the 2013 as a daily driver for variable conditions at Kicking Horse - lots of crud, especially at the bottom, but not PNW moisture. The salesperson skis Fernie mainly recommended the Kiku over the Aura for me, to my surprise; I had demoed an Aura and liked it best of what I tried. Lots of Kiku's and Gotamas around now - balance tipping from the Aura and Mantra at some Western resorts, KH, Fernie, Revelstoke? Not a good match for everyone. Definitely rewards good technique and spanks when you are not balanced and poised. I really like the agility, ease of edging / carving, responsiveness in trees, and capacity to plow through everything without chatter. And I'm mid-sized too (5'4 / 163cm; 130lbs). So might be worth a try on a demo day. Love / Hate possibility...

 

[volklgirl]

They may market the Kiku as a powder ski but that is truly selling it short....in reality it is a solid and versatile all-mountain ski.