angelaskis
Certified Ski Diva
Hi all, new to posting but longtime reader/lurker! I've been demoing and looking to replace some Total Joys. I would love your input on some of the highs and lows of the lineup below to help me make a decision.
Me: 5'2" mid 20s advanced skier who likes a little of everything! I'd say I spend 50/50 split of time on v. off piste with a slight preference for trees and bumps, but I have a ton of fun pushing speed on groomers and going down steeps. I ski in Tahoe and have the Epic pass.
Current skis: 158ish Head Total Joys that are very well loved and have really grown me as a skier. However, I think I've finally found the upper limit to these - they feel chattery and unstable at speed, and are downright anxiety inducing through crud and on powder days. They've also seen me through a few bad falls/injuries so I think there's some love lost there.
What I'm looking for in my next ski: Something that inspires confidence and makes me smile, first and foremost!
More tangibly, I'm looking for a new daily driver that (like me) enjoys a bit of everything and is beefier/bitier than my TJ's. This season I've been lucky to demo four skis, three of which I loved. All on different days but in mostly soft snow conditions. In the order I tried them:
2019 Atomic Bent Chetler 100 164: Loved this ski especially through the soft stuff and jumps. Very playful and fun and felt stable when I really pushed them, but there wasn't anything super hard packed to take them out on this day. Surprisingly good through packed down (but not icy) moguls.
2019 Volkl Kenja 163: Took this out on a crazy deep 3' day and they had decent enough float and felt sturdy at speed. They could handle anything I threw at it, but not with much excitement - I described them as a reliable workhorse at the end of the day. Also felt very heavy compared to the other options.
2019 Blizzard Sheeva 10s: OH EM GEE. So so so playful and fun — I had the silliest, most ridiculous smile on my face riding these. I thought the feather graphic was a little silly and cheesy at first but that's really a great representation of the Sheevas - they make you feel like you're flying. I wanted to hop off of everything. Quick turning, super responsive, incredible float through powder. My biggest concerns was the underfoot 102 width - it was not noticeable most of the day, but hooked edges and almost threw me a couple times on the cattracks when I wasn't paying attention. Also concerned about their performance on hardpack/steeps - the only time I took them on hard stuff was at the end of the day, and they didn't have that grip to the snow I liked (but I may have been tired).
2016 Elan Ripstick 94w 164: I thought these felt similar to the Kenjas when I first got on them. I took them out the day after the Sheeva and was disappointed that they lacked the former's fun factor. But oh did they grow on me. Anything I threw at them they handled calmly and consistently: they were almost as good as the Sheevas in the powder and quick turning through bumps and trees. Nothing to call home about in the crud, but they managed. Where they really shone was the groomers - they are incredibly fun to carve and turn and you can feel the power coming out of the turns. I feel like I could really grow as a skier on these.
I could go on and on, but the questions I have for y'all are:
1) Sheeva v. Ripstick - I can't stop thinking about either of these skis. They are very different but have too much overlap to justify getting both (I mean, if $$, storage space, and all that wasn't a factor). What would you choose and why? They were pricing the Ripsticks at $350 and the Sheevas at $500 (both are demo skis + bindings, though the Ripsticks had notable wear on the topsheets).
2) Any other rec's for me to try? Open to men's skis as well. Not trying to make my decision harder but it's fun to add to the potential demo list.
3) Do you know of any demo days in the Lake Tahoe area coming up?
Thanks so much ahead of time (Also if anyone's in the market for some 2017 Total Joys...lmk!)
Me: 5'2" mid 20s advanced skier who likes a little of everything! I'd say I spend 50/50 split of time on v. off piste with a slight preference for trees and bumps, but I have a ton of fun pushing speed on groomers and going down steeps. I ski in Tahoe and have the Epic pass.
Current skis: 158ish Head Total Joys that are very well loved and have really grown me as a skier. However, I think I've finally found the upper limit to these - they feel chattery and unstable at speed, and are downright anxiety inducing through crud and on powder days. They've also seen me through a few bad falls/injuries so I think there's some love lost there.
What I'm looking for in my next ski: Something that inspires confidence and makes me smile, first and foremost!
More tangibly, I'm looking for a new daily driver that (like me) enjoys a bit of everything and is beefier/bitier than my TJ's. This season I've been lucky to demo four skis, three of which I loved. All on different days but in mostly soft snow conditions. In the order I tried them:2019 Atomic Bent Chetler 100 164: Loved this ski especially through the soft stuff and jumps. Very playful and fun and felt stable when I really pushed them, but there wasn't anything super hard packed to take them out on this day. Surprisingly good through packed down (but not icy) moguls.
2019 Volkl Kenja 163: Took this out on a crazy deep 3' day and they had decent enough float and felt sturdy at speed. They could handle anything I threw at it, but not with much excitement - I described them as a reliable workhorse at the end of the day. Also felt very heavy compared to the other options.
2019 Blizzard Sheeva 10s: OH EM GEE. So so so playful and fun — I had the silliest, most ridiculous smile on my face riding these. I thought the feather graphic was a little silly and cheesy at first but that's really a great representation of the Sheevas - they make you feel like you're flying. I wanted to hop off of everything. Quick turning, super responsive, incredible float through powder. My biggest concerns was the underfoot 102 width - it was not noticeable most of the day, but hooked edges and almost threw me a couple times on the cattracks when I wasn't paying attention. Also concerned about their performance on hardpack/steeps - the only time I took them on hard stuff was at the end of the day, and they didn't have that grip to the snow I liked (but I may have been tired).
2016 Elan Ripstick 94w 164: I thought these felt similar to the Kenjas when I first got on them. I took them out the day after the Sheeva and was disappointed that they lacked the former's fun factor. But oh did they grow on me. Anything I threw at them they handled calmly and consistently: they were almost as good as the Sheevas in the powder and quick turning through bumps and trees. Nothing to call home about in the crud, but they managed. Where they really shone was the groomers - they are incredibly fun to carve and turn and you can feel the power coming out of the turns. I feel like I could really grow as a skier on these.
I could go on and on, but the questions I have for y'all are:
1) Sheeva v. Ripstick - I can't stop thinking about either of these skis. They are very different but have too much overlap to justify getting both (I mean, if $$, storage space, and all that wasn't a factor). What would you choose and why? They were pricing the Ripsticks at $350 and the Sheevas at $500 (both are demo skis + bindings, though the Ripsticks had notable wear on the topsheets).
2) Any other rec's for me to try? Open to men's skis as well. Not trying to make my decision harder but it's fun to add to the potential demo list.
3) Do you know of any demo days in the Lake Tahoe area coming up?
Thanks so much ahead of time
(Also if anyone's in the market for some 2017 Total Joys...lmk!)
