Too much vs. Not Enough Ski?

[ski diva]

Someone recently asked me this, so I thought I'd put it out here for general discussion: Should you buy a ski for how you ski at the moment, or how you aspire to ski by the end of the season? And how do you know if a ski is too much (that is, beyond your capability) or not enough of a ski for you?

 

[Elangirl]

I think that if you choose a ski that is too stiff or too long, you will never get to "where you want to be".

If you are an intermediate and want to grow then you need a ski that is fairly easy flexing. Then, once you are flexing the ski properly and thus arcing your turns, you can move to a stiffer ski if you feel that you need one.

For an advanced skier, you might want a ski that does not flop around at speed---or one that does not chatter on hard snow.
That would probably be a stiffer flexing or wider ski.

The ski industry does a decent job of telling us how they think the ski will ski. I know that Elan has a ski selector as part of its website and I suspect that the others do too. That allows you to be honest and get some feedback on what ski will work for you. Also, be honest about how much you ski too---if you are only skiing 10 to 20 days per year, you don't want a stiff ski that you have to work. But, if you are going to ski 50 days, then maybe you do.

The biggest problem is overestimating ability--which hardly ever happens with women----or getting a set idea about what length to ski. I laugh when I see the male ski instructors moving into the 162 cm skis---they used to laugh at my 152's and now I am seen as a seer!!!

I think that if you are unsure about what ski to get, you need the advice of a good professional---ski shop employee, ski instructor or ski rep to get a list of three or four skis. Then, you should devote some time to skiing the suggestions and seeing what works best for you. I know that my own skiing improved when I went to a softer ski. Now, five years later, I am on a stiffer ski and have only been bucked off twice!!

 

[ski diva]

I know that Elan has a ski selector as part of its website and I suspect that the others do too.

By the way, I went to Elan's ski selector and it is way cool! Go here:
https://www.elanskis.com/macc.asp?xpath=&xpathid=&xpathid2=&xpathid3=&lang=usa

Click on "Products" in the menu bar across the top, then on "Ski Selector" in the drop down menu.

 

[liquidfeet]

Yes indeed that site is well put together, and fun.

 

[SnowHot]

With the profound technology in ski gear today, there is no need to buy a ski that will hold you back.

I think the best of both worlds is to buy a ski that has the performance you want to eventually get out of your ski, but with forgiving properties that will allow you to make mistakes. This used to be difficult to find in ski gear but, no more.

 

[eng_ch]

Having tried a few skis last season I've found it interesting to see what sort of things I like. It seems I like skis designed for higher level skiers BUT at my height and weight I need something that's not too stiff. I was given a couple of low-mid range Salomons and K2s last season and outskied them (I was rather surprised to be able to outski anything), but the Völkls I've tried have at best left me cold and uninterested and at worst scared me silly because they seem to be too stiff for my physiology and skiing style. Somewhere in between seems to suit, K2 etc, especially the progressive flex in the Head skis. With luck I'll be getting on some Scott Rosas at Xmas

And talking of what I was given - I'd asked to try the Burnin' Luv - so I was given a Sweet Luv. I'd asked to try the Rush 10 - but was given the 7. Why?????? Do these people assume you don't know what you're talking about?

 

[liquidfeet]

Question: Do these people assume you don't know what you're talking about?
Answer: Yes, often.

 

[volklgirl]

When I did a demo day yesterday, I went in armed (after MUCH research) with a list of skis I wanted to try and a scorecard for each. I'm really glad I did because the guy at the Tech Center was clueless and I'm sure he would have tried to put me on a weenie girlie ski.

I was mucho surpised at what I ended up liking and will be posting my full impressions soon. Here's the quickie version for anyone looking for an 'improving' ski....

Volkl Attiva AC2 - surprisingly tenacious grip and happy to make any turn size while remaining well mannered. The 163cm was too short for my style and weight yet still only broke loose occasionally.

Rossignol Zenith Z9 - No muss, no fuss. Did everything calmly. Responded when I stomped but was happy to just motor along quietly wether skidding or carving.

Nordica Olympia Speed - Soft but stable. Tons of snap when romped and had a HUGE sweet spot. Never punished mistakes. WOW.

 

[Jilly]

Try the Rush 10's and demand them. I found them not as stiff as last years and great cravers. Also if you want the Siam 10 is the all mountain version. Hold out for what you want, or go somewhere else!! Volklgirl - I found the Z9's too stiff and went for the Z5. As for the Nordica - I agree. Just couldn't buy them locally. But I know the rep and maybe next year??

 

[volklgirl]

I'll check out the Z5 when I demo again next week. They were super busy (opening day!) and under staffed. I actually had to barge in and just grab whatever I wanted to try next or I would have been waiting for hours :mad: . There are others on my list to try that were "still in boxes" . They're open 2 weeks later than normal and they still don't have their sh*t together????

 

[Jilly]

Z5's are the same dimensions, just without the titanium, so a little softer. I'm going to a demo weekend this coming weekend. I don't know if Volkl will be there, but most of the companies show up. This is the first big consumer demo of the year. I did the sport shop 07 demo last winter in Feb, so I've a few pairs that I didn't get to try.

 

[Elangirl]

It is amazing to me that someone would present you with a different ski than the one you asked for. Last year I skied the Sian 7 and 10. The seven was just too soft, the 10 was a nice all mountain ski.

I like a softer ski--the Z9 were way too stiff for me--I could feel myself working to flex them. I am 5'3' and 155 lbs and I am an expert skier---but I don't like a stiff flex. I've noticed that the women who used to race prefer a stiffer ski. I learned to ski as an adult and have seen my technique get much better when I switched to a woman's ski---one that I could flex easily. Now, when I ski I use the Elan SpeedMagic for my personal ski and I teach in an Elan Fire Magic. The Speed Magic is very stable, but the flex is easier because of the Wave construction.

Big Mountain is having demo days this weekend too. I have taken Saturday and Sunday off so that I can see all the women's skis. We just had another 10 inches of powder snow today--the skiing was awesome. I always try to ski the same run when I demo so that I can see how each ski works. I will report next week too--but, you can see that there is a level of subjectivity here, personal skiing style and your body shape make a difference. I am a Level II ski instructor, so I spend a lot of time making medium round turns. But, I think that demo reports are still useful to people as long as you take personal style into consideration too.

 

[eng_ch]

I was given the lower range skis because the shops simply didn't stock the higher end skis. So I was given a Sweet Luv as being the closest K2 to the one I'd asked for. And I liked it a heck of a lot better than the Rush 7 which I found incredibly unstable.

We had some long discussionson snowHeads last year about availability of decent skis that women can ski. In France in particular there is a tendency only to stock the beginners' and low intermediate women's skis and then you can't get decent unisex skis in short enough lengths. How many women are going to be able to ski a Head Supershape in a 170 FFS?

 

[SnowHot]

We had some long discussionson snowHeads last year about availability of decent skis that women can ski. In France in particular there is a tendency only to stock the beginners' and low intermediate women's skis and then you can't get decent unisex skis in short enough lengths. How many women are going to be able to ski a Head Supershape in a 170 FFS?

I hadn't thought about it, but if I get a chance I'll be sure to do a gear review on them.

Do you think the women in the US are more demanding on the suppliers, and that's why the shops carry the high end gear for women? Actually it's only been the past few years that i've seen high end womens gear. In fact, the shop that fitted my Krypton storm doesn't stock the woman's version only the Krypton Pro for the guys.

Women need to start telling them, "No, I don't want that. Get me what I want"

 

[Jilly]

Our local shops - one is a box store, hardly stock the high end ladies stuff. The speciality ski shop does have a few, but they go fast in the fall and as of now, he doesn't have skis, only boots and those are few and far between. One thing said, the staff are noticing that women's skis are a bigger seller this year then unisex skis. Boots are the other way, more men's sales than women's. But I agree women need to DEMAND what they want - not that attitude like the guy on Epic!

 

[smpayne]

Most the stores in my area are the large box stores, REI, Sport Chalet, Sportsmart, etc. with only a few specialty stores in the entire Los Angeles/Orange County area. What I have noticed, is that box stores actually carry more of the high end women's skis in a wider size range than the specialty stores.

K2s seem to be thier favorites, but then again, they were the ones that sold out last year. I was at REI last night and the Women's ski sections actually had more selection than the men's (I won't go into the fact that the snowboard section takes twice the floor space as the ski section).

 

[eng_ch]

There are noticeably more women's skis in the shops in CH this season - and those are high end K2s and Heads quite often.

Try and demand what you want in France and the chances are you'll just get a gallic shrug ;)

 

[treebunny]

i have also noticed that the shops are stocking a lot of 'girlie' skis but they are not stocking the upper ends of the lines. are all women skiers intermediates? i am sure proportionately there are more intermediates but come on! there are also more intermediate men skiers too! maybe men sell themselves up and women under sell themselves? or is it just ski shop bias? they have sure taken a long time to come around to shorter lengths. it has always been so difficult to get the outdoor gear i need.

 

[kempokelly]

Someone recently asked me this, so I thought I'd put it out here for general discussion: Should you buy a ski for how you ski at the moment, or how you aspire to ski by the end of the season? And how do you know if a ski is too much (that is, beyond your capability) or not enough of a ski for you?

I just love this site!!! Thank you soooo much for having it. I have so many questions and can usually find a whole range of answers here!:p

I ran into something a little opposite... At the demo/rental counter, I asked for a mid-range ski, as I'm just moving into an intermediate skill level . I asked for a Tru Luv and they said all they had was a Burnin' Luv! They can't keep it in stock on the floor 'cuz all the women buy it. I was a little nervous about taking an advanced level ski out... but, thought I'll just give it a try and if worse comes to worse, I'd revert back to my old pair that my husband gave me - my first pair of skis - beginners Dynastars, he bought for $100... they got me thru 3-1/2 seasons of learning. Unfortunately, the camber is gone.

Back to taking something more advanced out. I took a lift (Falcon Crest) at Breckenridge that only had black diamonds and some blue w/black diamond runs... now, I just started doing blues... so, I held my breath and took it slow. At first, I forgot what I had on, as I was concentrating. Then, I noticed my usual anxiety had disappeared and I was up for the challenge and it was actually FUN! Huh? The only thing that would explain this, is that it was the skis!!! I couldn't have changed that dramatically... Afterwards, I felt like I was ripping down the blues! What a difference.

The only thing I noticed afterwards was that the whole of my legs were more sore than usual (not the usual thigh burn)... but, was that from working harder because of the steepness or because of the advanced skis?

I asked a gal at work if I was doing myself a disservice by getting a ski beyond my skill level... she shook her head and said I'd grow into them...

I think now, it's the $$$... to consider what is in my price range...

 

[altagirl]

I asked a gal at work if I was doing myself a disservice by getting a ski beyond my skill level...

Not at all. If you took them out and said you felt like you were skiing worse, had a hard time flexing them, felt like you couldn't control your speed, then yes. Go back and look for something aimed at your skill level.

But it sounds like you were skiing even better than usual on them, and they inspired confidence. What more can you ask for?

When I demo skis, I try and write down notes on how they feel in different terrain, how they react to my input, where is the sweet spot, what size turns do they like to make, how do they react to different types of snow... But when I'm down to making my purchasing decisions - that is the bottom line. Do they inspire confidence? The ski that makes me feel the most confident in the terrain I'm buying it for is the one I pull out the credit card for.