I have just returned from five days of demo'ing skis in Whistler, based on recommendations from many Ski Divas, and thought I'd share my impressions. The bottom line is: I'm SO CONFUSED!
To recap, here's what I'm looking for, from my original post:
I'm looking for a set of skis that is poppy and energetic for use at the resort on days without new snow. Here, in interior/coastal BC (Smithers) that means soft bumps and soft groomers with a few remaining stashes of powder on the edges or tucked between trees. Nice if they don't get too thrown around too much in cut up snow. Not sure this ski exists!
Stats: 57 year old, advanced, directional, finesse skier, allergic to slarving and air.
Part of my problem was that Whistler has not received much new snow in the past couple of weeks. Freeze/thaw cycles have left ice balls in the alpine; refrozen crud; scraped bumps; and suicidal tree skiing. As a result, I ended up on a lot of super firm groomers and the occasional patch of bumps where the sun had softened things up -- not in any way representative of the soft conditions I usually find at home in Smithers (10 hours north). I had to do a lot of "imagining" what the ski might be like in (my) "normal" conditions.
I demo'd six different skis, and wished I had time for six more. The fine folks at Evo listened to what I wanted, viewed my "short list", and picked the order of the first four skis as follows:
Blizzard Sheeva 9 (165) - Pros: Easy to get along with, intuitive, reliable ski. No surprises. Cons: This was the first ski I tried and I didn't like how heavy it was compared to the really light touring skis I'm used to. So I had an instant bias against them. They also "ski short" and seemed to prefer slarving to carving so second strike against them. I found it difficult to ski a precise turn on firm snow. Rather, they liked a smeared turn, so I didn't get the energy I wanted coming out of the turn. In the bumps, I found them quick enough, but kinda' board-like, so again, it didn't have the rebound I wanted. Overall impression: Meh. OK on everything - but nothing was great.
Line Pandora 104 (165) - Pros: Quite light so felt really "zippy"! (Instant positive impression.) Easy to initiate a carved turn (another plus). Stiffer tail which made holding/finishing a turn a joy after so many years on powder skis with early rise and tapered tips/tails. Held an edge on firm snow really well. Cons: Lots of chatter on harder snowpack at medium+ speeds (probably much less noticeable on softer snow). I know this is a natural consequence of the type of ski I'm looking for but hoped I could find something that was equally poppy and carvy but a bit damper. I also suspected the very light tips would get deflected easily in cut up snow but I had no chance to test them in these conditions. Overall impression: I really liked this ski, perhaps because it was so different than what I've been on for 10+ years, but I was worried that it wouldn't be stable enough at speed or in the cut up conditions that I'd use them. Next ....
Black Crows Camox (170) - I have to admit I am rather star struck by the Black Crows brand given its Chamonix/niche origins so would love to find something in their lineup that works for me. Pros: Held an edge like a razor on firm snow. Stayed really stable at higher speeds. Able to carve a nice turn. Cons: Heavy compared to the Pandora and skis I'm used to (that negative bias again). My legs felt pretty done after a half day on them, but perhaps it was it was because I was unused to skiing on hard pack?. Shovels were very different than the Sheeva and Pandora, and took more input to initiate turns but once it was in the turn, it held and finished a carve nicely. I got lots of rebound on both groomers and in bumps but it took a lot of driving. Overall impression: A great amount of pop, power, and stability but I felt they required too much work to get what I wanted out of them. Perhaps a shorter length (or younger legs?) would have been better?
Rossignol Escaper (similar to Stargazer) (165) - I have to admit a bias against Rossignol because everyone skied the Soul 7s but I was open to trying them. Women's version of Escaper (Stargazer) wasn't available in my size, so took out the men's version which I was told is very similar if not identical. Pros: Easy ski to get along with right from the start. Easy to initiate a turn, held an edge ok, didn't get squirrelly at moderate speed. Cons: Again, seemed to prefer a slarve more than a carve - took some work to hold a carved turn on a groomer. Again, found it was too damp to generate much rebound on groomers or in bumps. The harder I drove the ski, the more it felt like I was overpowering the tips and the skis would dive sideways. Then I thought perhaps it wasn't the ski that was "jumpy" - perhaps it was because my light Scarpa Gea AT boots lack the more progressive flex of an alpine boot and my attempts to drive the ski were not being transferred smoothly to the ski. This is when the confusion really started to set in! I thought perhaps I should try a longer length but only had one day left, so wanted to try a few more skis instead. Overall impression: Ok but not great ... but not sure why.
There were several other skis I really wanted to try (but weren't available in my size) including the Santa Ana 94 or 104 and the Fischer Ranger 93 or 104 (they're pink) and I was scared of the Faction Dictator 2.0 (even though they're pink) so I tried a couple of skis recommended by the Evo folks:
Atomic Bent Chetler 100 (165) - I've always been scared of this ski because of the reputation of its wider cousin (BC 120) but Evo assured me it was a very different beast ... so I took a flyer and turns out, it was a lot of fun. (I instantly regretted not trying the Dictator.) Pros: Super easy to initiate turns, light weight especially in the front end due to tapered tips, holds an edge really well, more stable at higher speed than the other skis I tried (with the exception of the Camox). Cons: Suspect they were too short - felt I overpowered the shovels in bumps and sometimes on firm groomers. And given how light they were, I was worried they'd really get bucked around in cut up snow. Overall impression: Think they had potential - wished I had tried them in a longer length.
K2 Mindbender 106 (175) - Somehow ended up on a 175 instead of 165/170 so I initially thought the ski was stiffer than the others I'd tried, but it didn't turn out to be the case. Pros: Nice rebound out of turns on groomers. Stable at speed (could have been the extra cms?). Cons: Extra length made them a bit more of a challenge for me in hard bumps. Heavier than I like (my bias again). Wish I had tried them in a shorter length.
When I read thru my assembled impressions above, I feel completely schizophrenic. Maybe I didn't ski anything for enough time (1/2 day each), or the conditions were just not similar enough to where I'm going to use these skis, or maybe I'm just really indecisive; or maybe it's
me that lacks pop and energy -- not the ski.
Problem is: I'm back home now, without any demos available in the sizes I need, so I'm not sure about my next step. Based on everything I've learned about weight, tip/camber/tail profiles, flex pattern and materials -- and what I (think) I like -- I am almost tempted to buy something I haven't tried and hope for the best. At the moment, that would probably be the Fischer Ranger 94 or 102 FR or perhaps the Santa Ana 93.
Based on my cryptic comments, and obvious confusion, I'd appreciate any suggestions that Divas might have. Feel free to include contact info for your favourite therapist :-)
Thanks!
). For a reference point, I’ve skied the 172 (ish) and I’m about 5’5” 135lbs.
