Sierra Cement, round 2: Ranger 84 or Total Joy?

[Witsend]

I'm between these 2 skis. I want better performance on piste/frozen and refrozen corduroy than my Ripstick 94W. These would exclusively be frontside skis. Would love some thoughts on this, please.

Edit: "Sierra cement"...... Although Sieera sounds like an exotic skiing resort.

 

[SnowHot]

I have both of these skis in our test fleet, If staying just on the groomers, the Total Joy, if you want to venture more off piste, the Ranger 84.

 

[Witsend]

I have both of these skis in our test fleet, If staying just on the groomers, the Total Joy, if you want to venture more off piste, the Ranger 84.

Thank you!!

Next question--does it make sense to invest on the protector bindings?

 

[SnowHot]

Thank you!!

Next question--does it make sense to invest on the protector bindings?

What is your insurance deductible? There is not downside to a Protector in this situation, only an additional safety and performance upgrade over the traditional Tyrolia heel.

 

[SnowHot]

@mustski has skied on both of these skis in our test fleet as well.

The New (2024) Total Joy is calmer than the previous version and the Ranger 84 is quick edge to edge and has a playful nature if you want to dip into some moguls and play off pisted too.

 

[FindingWest]

Thank you!!

Next question--does it make sense to invest on the protector bindings?

I have glass knees and have sustained almost every knee injury imaginable. I ski in giant breg knee braces for ligament and patellar instability/dysplasia. Advanced hard charging skiing.

I mounted these on my Santa Ana 88’s and absolutely love them. No unwarranted ejections and the times that I have blown or twisted out of them have been a huge relief. Big relief in knee pain too after a long day.

On the other hand, I have Maiden Lite 101’s mounted with Salomon Shifts for slack country and touring. We got 30cm here the other day and I chased my husband around the resort on the Maiden’s. I had two pretty standard powder wipeouts and tweaked my knees a bit on each one with no ejection (the din is fine it’s the mechanism of ejection vs the tyrolias). I also had one ‘classic’ knee wrenching tip over that absolutely would have popped me out of the Tyrolias. It hurt and I had to call it a day after that. No major injury bc of my bolt on knees, but it could have been bad if I hadn’t recognized what was happening or if anyone wasn’t wearing a brace in the instance.
I 1000% recommend them!!

 

[FindingWest]

I have glass knees and have sustained almost every knee injury imaginable. I ski in giant breg knee braces for ligament and patellar instability/dysplasia. Advanced hard charging skiing.

I mounted these on my Santa Ana 88’s and absolutely love them. No unwarranted ejections and the times that I have blown or twisted out of them have been a huge relief. Big relief in knee pain too after a long day.

On the other hand, I have Maiden Lite 101’s mounted with Salomon Shifts for slack country and touring. We got 30cm here the other day and I chased my husband around the resort on the Maiden’s. I had two pretty standard powder wipeouts and tweaked my knees a bit on each one with no ejection (the din is fine it’s the mechanism of ejection vs the tyrolias). I also had one ‘classic’ knee wrenching tip over that absolutely would have popped me out of the Tyrolias. It hurt and I had to call it a day after that. No major injury bc of my bolt on knees, but it could have been bad if I hadn’t recognized what was happening or if anyone wasn’t wearing a brace in the instance.
I 1000% recommend them!!

I’m currently reevaluating what I use for my powder set up after this. I think I might strictly use the maidens and shifts for touring and slack and move to a dedicated resort powder ski with tyrolias after this. Funding however comes into play here

 

[Witsend]

@mustski has skied on both of these skis in our test fleet as well.

The New (2024) Total Joy is calmer than the previous version and the Ranger 84 is quick edge to edge and has a playful nature if you want to dip into some moguls and play off pisted too.

I wish I was not a maximizer and did not have adhd. Decisions with abundant choices suck.

i’m 5’2” 108 lbs— would the total joy in 158 be too much for me?

i think my goal is to be a better skier— in the technical sense. Be able to fully control speed/ turns no matter their radius, consistently shift my weight downhill, and build confidence in steeps.
( one of my issues is feeling i will not finish a turn before running out of space and will fall off the edge of a run. Hence looking at small turn radius)

I also considered the super joy, but do not know if it will be ok in crud and choppy sierra midafternoon snow.

 

[beane]

I have glass knees and have sustained almost every knee injury imaginable. I ski in giant breg knee braces for ligament and patellar instability/dysplasia. Advanced hard charging skiing.

I mounted these on my Santa Ana 88’s and absolutely love them. No unwarranted ejections and the times that I have blown or twisted out of them have been a huge relief. Big relief in knee pain too after a long day.

On the other hand, I have Maiden Lite 101’s mounted with Salomon Shifts for slack country and touring. We got 30cm here the other day and I chased my husband around the resort on the Maiden’s. I had two pretty standard powder wipeouts and tweaked my knees a bit on each one with no ejection (the din is fine it’s the mechanism of ejection vs the tyrolias). I also had one ‘classic’ knee wrenching tip over that absolutely would have popped me out of the Tyrolias. It hurt and I had to call it a day after that. No major injury bc of my bolt on knees, but it could have been bad if I hadn’t recognized what was happening or if anyone wasn’t wearing a brace in the instance.
I 1000% recommend them!!

glad to hear you like them! i bought them after blowing out my ACL but haven't mounted yet. not sure what i want as my comeback ski..

 

[mustski]

I wish I was not a maximizer and did not have adhd. Decisions with abundant choices suck.

i’m 5’2” 108 lbs— would the total joy in 158 be too much for me?

i think my goal is to be a better skier— in the technical sense. Be able to fully control speed/ turns no matter their radius, consistently shift my weight downhill, and build confidence in steeps.
( one of my issues is feeling i will not finish a turn before running out of space and will fall off the edge of a run. Hence looking at small turn radius)

I also considered the super joy, but do not know if it will be ok in crud and choppy sierra midafternoon snow.

The 158 should be fine. The Total Joys are very friendly skis! They are easy going and super light but also very grippy. I didn’t really get to ski them in crud, but I don’t feel like they will toss you around. I was actually surprised by how stable they were. They will be a good choice for improving your skill set because they are very compliant and easy going,