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Skis comparable to Head Absolut Joy

megslegs

Certified Ski Diva
Hi all,

Are there other skis that are comparable to the Absolut Joy out there? Looking for something to compare them to. I am a solid intermediate and not exactly sure how to jump out of this zone...I have never been comfortable on icy black diamonds...or icy anything really. I love these skis but worry I might make a purchase that won’t help me to advance. I will never be an aggressive skier, but I am looking to ski more often and learn more next year when my son and I will be spending more time on the slopes. Thanks!
 

BlizzardBabe

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
You may want to consider the Total Joy if you like the Absolute Joy. It is a bit stiffer but it is good on all types of terrain (a true all-mountain ski), including our eastern icy slopes - a bit more stability when you need it. I think of the Volkl Yumi as somewhat comparable to the Absolute Joy. A really fun, lively ski in soft snow but I don't care for it on hardpack where it doesn't have the heft I like for stability. You might also look at/try the Black Pearl 82 and 88. Both are in the all mountain category and I've found both to be fine on hardpack and in softer conditions.

I"m sure others will have plenty of suggestions. The good news is that are a lot of great, quality skis out there that will make you comfy and help you advance. I'm sure you'll find one to suit your needs and ambitions.

Let us know what you try out!
 

megslegs

Certified Ski Diva
I was thinking about the Total Joy but am a bit daunted about the labelling of it as an 'advanced' ski. I feel like the stability you mention is more up my alley, though, because of where my skills are at high now. Sometimes I find the descriptions confusing, as I mainly want my skis to help me get better on tougher terrain. This is helpful! Thanks!
 

jmfd84

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Definitely try the Total Joy if you can, and the others BlizzardBabe suggested. I have Absolut Joys right now and can already tell I will want something more stable as I continue to get faster and want to try skiing steeper terrain (by which I mean hard blues and easy blacks). I demo'd the Total Joys at the end of last season and liked them a lot, but went with the AJs as they were easier to turn (they are narrower underfoot than the Total Joys). Now that I'm in my second season skiing and turning is not as difficult, I think the Total Joys would be a great ski for certain snow conditions/terrain.
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
Hi all,

Are there other skis that are comparable to the Absolut Joy out there? Looking for something to compare them to. I am a solid intermediate and not exactly sure how to jump out of this zone...I have never been comfortable on icy black diamonds...or icy anything really. I love these skis but worry I might make a purchase that won’t help me to advance. I will never be an aggressive skier, but I am looking to ski more often and learn more next year when my son and I will be spending more time on the slopes. Thanks!
I was thinking about the Total Joy but am a bit daunted about the labelling of it as an 'advanced' ski. I feel like the stability you mention is more up my alley, though, because of where my skills are at high now. Sometimes I find the descriptions confusing, as I mainly want my skis to help me get better on tougher terrain. This is helpful! Thanks!
What region are you going to ski in the most? There are plenty of good skis for intermediates looking to improve.

I'm petite, older, a solid advanced skier, but on the rare occasions that I've skied in icy conditions in the northeast I stick to blue groomers. I bought the AJs for skiing in the mid-Atlantic and northeast several years ago. Had demo'd the Total Joys as well. But since I also owned all-mountain skis from a different brand that were in the 80s underfoot, I went with the narrower width. Had I been looking for more versatile skis, probably would've considered the TJs more seriously. One feature I liked about the Joy line is that they come with a system binding, so one less shopping decision to make.

Try not to take the marketing descriptions for skis too literally. I started going to free demo days about 15 years ago when I was a confident intermediate. I learned to ski in middle school, but only started skiing regularly after getting my daughter started when she was little. Wasn't sure at the first free demo day that I'd be able to tell the difference between different brands or models of skis. While I didn't know why at first, I found that I could easily tell if a pair of skis were fun for me or too much work. Some of the skis that were fun for me were targeted at advanced skiers while some that were designed for intermediates were too difficult to turn.

The other skis that I've liked in recent years in comparable widths to the AJs are the Dynaster Intense 10, Nordic Astral 78Ti, Rossignol Nova 8ca, Atomic Cloud 12. Note that I've only done very short groomer runs (2-3 min) on these skis when demo'ing because I was at small hills. Not suggesting that any would be better for you than the AJs or TJs.
 

Jilly

Moderator
Staff member
Blizzard is having a women's day at Blue this Friday. Not sure the cost or if it's full. Demo day at Tremblant on Saturday. Some of GTA shops should be having days at local hills too.

Head series - Epic Joy might be one to try for eastern skiing. It's narrow under foot though. This ski wasn't available last year in the states, but was here in Canada.

marzNC has some good ones. I would change out the Astral to the 74, the Cloud to 9 and Dynastar down a number too. Actually the Rossi and Dynastar should be pretty close in feel to each other. And maybe the Nordica SL 7. The Astral is more all mountian the SL more carver.
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
marzNC has some good ones. I would change out the Astral to the 74, the Cloud to 9 and Dynastar down a number too. Actually the Rossi and Dynastar should be pretty close in feel to each other. And maybe the Nordica SL 7. The Astral is more all mountian the SL more carver.
Makes sense. I simply took out whatever skis available that were in the 70s and more or less the correct length. I find I learn as much, or more, from demo'ing skis that I don't like that much for whatever reason. Learning which brands usually make me happy has been the more useful outcome of going to as many free demo days as practical.
 

megslegs

Certified Ski Diva
I wish it were easier for me to drive out to Tremblant! I grew up
What region are you going to ski in the most? There are plenty of good skis for intermediates looking to improve.

I'm petite, older, a solid advanced skier, but on the rare occasions that I've skied in icy conditions in the northeast I stick to blue groomers. I bought the AJs for skiing in the mid-Atlantic and northeast several years ago. Had demo'd the Total Joys as well. But since I also owned all-mountain skis from a different brand that were in the 80s underfoot, I went with the narrower width. Had I been looking for more versatile skis, probably would've considered the TJs more seriously. One feature I liked about the Joy line is that they come with a system binding, so one less shopping decision to make.

Try not to take the marketing descriptions for skis too literally. I started going to free demo days about 15 years ago when I was a confident intermediate. I learned to ski in middle school, but only started skiing regularly after getting my daughter started when she was little. Wasn't sure at the first free demo day that I'd be able to tell the difference between different brands or models of skis. While I didn't know why at first, I found that I could easily tell if a pair of skis were fun for me or too much work. Some of the skis that were fun for me were targeted at advanced skiers while some that were designed for intermediates were too difficult to turn.

The other skis that I've liked in recent years in comparable widths to the AJs are the Dynaster Intense 10, Nordic Astral 78Ti, Rossignol Nova 8ca, Atomic Cloud 12. Note that I've only done very short groomer runs (2-3 min) on these skis when demo'ing because I was at small hills. Not suggesting that any would be better for you than the AJs or TJs.
I’ll be skiing primarily on hard pack. I was looking at the Cloud series but had similar problems of parsing through them as with the Joy series. I am in a similar boat as you found yourself as a mom - I skied a fair bit as a teen in Quebec and now have a six year old who loves to ski. And I definitely want to keep up with him as long as I can....finding myself surprised at how good it feels to be sking again.
Thanks for sharing all these very helpful thoughts. This whole forum is amazing!
BTW - do you (or anyone else) have any thoughts on women’s skis? I am tall and getting thicker around the middle/heavier and have short legs for my height. I wonder if I really need women’s skis? Or at the very least what the tangible benefits are? Or if they are worth it for someone with short legs (which I think shifts my centre on gravity).
Am definitely going to try to get to a demo to better figure this all out for myself!
 

megslegs

Certified Ski Diva
Makes sense. I simply took out whatever skis available that were in the 70s and more or less the correct length. I find I learn as much, or more, from demo'ing skis that I don't like that much for whatever reason. Learning which brands usually make me happy has been the more useful outcome of going to as many free demo days as practical.
Definitely going to start demoing when I can figure out tte time. All these tips sure help in narrowing down what to demo. Do you know if they typically have sizes in the upper 160s at demos of women’s carving skis?
 

megslegs

Certified Ski Diva
Blizzard is having a women's day at Blue this Friday. Not sure the cost or if it's full. Demo day at Tremblant on Saturday. Some of GTA shops should be having days at local hills too.

Head series - Epic Joy might be one to try for eastern skiing. It's narrow under foot though. This ski wasn't available last year in the states, but was here in Canada.

marzNC has some good ones. I would change out the Astral to the 74, the Cloud to 9 and Dynastar down a number too. Actually the Rossi and Dynastar should be pretty close in feel to each other. And maybe the Nordica SL 7. The Astral is more all mountian the SL more carver.
Yes the epic looks good as does the Cloud 9! I hear negative reviews of Rossi’s in general...do you know why?
 

jmfd84

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Definitely going to start demoing when I can figure out tte time. All these tips sure help in narrowing down what to demo. Do you know if they typically have sizes in the upper 160s at demos of women’s carving skis?

In my limited experience of demoing last season... unfortunately not often. I'm 5'11 and found upper 160s/low 170s women's ski options to be limited. I demo'd a lot of skis at the 163cm length if available, and also tried some men's skis as the longer lengths were more readily available.
 

Jilly

Moderator
Staff member
Don't know about negative reviews, I'm a Rossi girl. When Rossi first made women's skis they were noddles. But they've come a long ways since then.

Where are skiing most of the time? Barrie, Collingwood, Brimacombe?
 

megslegs

Certified Ski Diva
Barrie and Brimacombe. Where do you ski?

Good to know that a gear-gal like you is into Rossis. I read some opinions on a few threads.
 

NYSnowflake

Angel Diva
I am a second season east coast skier, advancing-intermediate on the Total Joys. I consider my total joys to be a quiver killer right now. I’m very happy with them on just about any terrain as long as they are tuned.

@Like2Ski is an advancing-intermediate on the Vokl Yumis and Atomic Cloud 9 I think. Fee free to ask us about them!
 

newboots

Angel Diva
I ski the Black Pearl 82s in Vermont (think manmade, boilerplate, ice, and sometimes real snow - at least this year). They have given me a big step up in my skiing. The tip rocker helps them push over the crud, and they're narrow enough to put on edge.

I'm 5'4", 144 lbs, age 66, and have been skiing for 4 years. Solid (Or maybe advancing?) intermediate.
 

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