Yeah, I was hesitant to go much wider than 90 since I'm coming from a much skinnier ski - salomon xscreams, which I skiid on for a very long time. Even with those I didn't have any trouble in powder though.
These Lines seem like a good ski that matches the kind of days I have at the hill.
Lol, when was the last time you bought skis? 90 is downright skinny for a pow ski nowadays.
Is it specifically his pow ski or is it going to be his main pair?
Thats what I meant. We don't get real powder here that often. At least that was my reasoning when I bought my 80's. I'm also a pretty light guy though so I wanted to make sure the ski would still be easy to handle.
Typically, at this point, your all-mountain ski is going to be 90-105. Your pow ski is going to be 105-120 and rockered. Of course you can ski fresh snow with a narrower waist - it was done for years, even after sidecut became a thing. But it's not where the state of ski equipment is right now.
So I'm in the market for a new pair of skis/boots... all my current gear is 10+ years old.
I went to Ski Cellar last night and talked to a guy there about main "all purpose" ski as I can't really afford two pair of skis/bindings right now. I don't want to cheap out, I want kind of a best bang for the buck type deal.
He was recommending a fatter ski like 98mm waist width, this was one brand:
I don't know how much you know about gear in general, but the hit list -
1. No matter what you buy, it will slide on snow. The ski is actually the least important piece of equipment you'll be using on the hill, and this is from a nerd who obsesses over mm differences in sidecut and rocker profile. So unless you're also a nerd, don't get too caught up in that stuff.
2. As I said the ski is the least important - as a general rule, the closer the gear is to your foot the more important is. A-Number-1 priority is getting boots that fit you and part of that is making sure the flex pattern's right.
3. In terms of those two skis, avoid the ones with an integrated binding system. Those LINE's are good skis - they were introduced as the direct competitor to the K2 Seth which was around, in some form or other, since 2003, simply because it's a versatile design. In the interim Line was bought by K2 and production was integrated. They're well made sticks and of the two, get those ones.
4. Depends on what you're skiing, though. If you don't really ever see any real snow and spend the vast majority of your time on the groomers, there's no particular reason to go above 90mm.
5. The best ski maker in the industry right now, for my money, is ON3P from Portland, which is a smaller outfit that makes all of their skis by hand. You'd expect this would cost an absolute fortune (and other makers like DP with similar processes do), but the prices are pretty reasonable. IIRC, Fresh Sports in Kensington is stocking them but you can also order them off the website (www.on3pskis.com). Personally as long as those dudes are making skis I won't ride anything else.
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I am heading to Sunshine on Sunday. See everyone there.
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Yeah AR_Six I know next to nothing about gear these days. I'm an intermediate to advanced skier who doesn't take as many risks since knee surgery a couple of years ago... thanks for the advice.
So why don't you like the integrated systems? I'm not usually a fan just due to the weight, but they have a lot of pros to them.
Leaving aside your totally accurate point about weight... first, because it necessarily involves a bulky plate. Maybe that's fine if you want the leverage but I can't stand it. Second, said bulky plate is usually not well made in terms of materials and is one more thing that can break under your boot. Third, please feel free to point me to any binding made EVER for an integrated system that didn't suck complete donkey nuts. People have legitimate preferences between different binding manufacturers (I'm a look/rossi guy), but no one has ever advanced a useful defense of an integrated binding that I've heard. They're all trash.
Third, please feel free to point me to any binding made EVER for an integrated system that didn't suck complete donkey nuts.
I loved those bindings. The only reason I didn't move them onto my new skis was to save the 10 pounds. What I liked about the rail vs any other integrated system I've seen, was it was a 15 second job to move them 30mm. It was great because for the first few runs of the season I could move them forward, have them forward for the park, and then drop them back for powder.
As I said, I don't prefer the integrated systems myself, but I've worked on a few of the nordica/marker systems and they seem pretty solid too. The one pro they do have is that the manufacturer can actually design them for the flex points of the ski, whereas traditional bindings just create a dead spot, and where that is will be dependant on how big your feet are. The ski manufacturer has no control over it.
The other pro (in my mind) is the lack of drilling when you change boots or owners, and lower cost for gear. When I was using that rail system, I had plates mounted on 3 pairs of skis and just used the single pair of bindings. That's kind of a moot point though now as most come with the ski.
I think reason most of them are trash is that most integrated systems are found on entry to mid-level gear. I'll probably never go back to an integrated (except possibly for a groomer ski), but they've got some pros.
I think reason most of them are trash is that most integrated systems are found on entry to mid-level gear. I'll probably never go back to an integrated (except possibly for a groomer ski), but they've got some pros.
The reason it's found on entry to mid level gear is that people who have a need for top end gear don't want anything to do with the system.
Dude that is so much plastic. There was a set of Tyrolia 18 DIN'ers that weren't too shabby but the release points on the regular stock make me cringe and I'd destroy that toepiece in 20 days. The ability to move your effective mount point is simply not a worthwhile tradeoff for the loss of durability, the every-present pre-release issues that no one in an integrated system seems to have figured out, and particularly the lack of stability. I don't want a 10mm lifter on my ski when I'm skiing pow and being able to move my boot centre 3cm back isn't anywhere close to compensating for it - not to mention that with a rockered ski it's just not that beneficial to do that anyway.
Changing boots isn't an issue - your BSL length should never vary from boot to boot by more than 5-8mm or so, and any binding can be adjusted to take that into account. The ability to binding swap is an obvious perk and it's what created the Line Reactor, which was the most ambitious and worthwhile project that has ever been attempted, and subsequently failed, in the history of the sport. Period. Someday someone will take another stab at that but for now everyone's scared off.
Heading to Sunshine, staying on mountain this weekend. I swore I would never do that again, but she's hot.
I'll be the A-hole swearing at crowds or drinking in the hot tub after I get lucky and have nothing left to prove.
Fair enough.
In other news, Delerium Dive is opening tomorrow (earliest ever), and Lake Louise has all their chairs spinning (claiming to be the first) and Whitehorn 1 is open.
If you're into the backcountry, Black Prince is closed because of a bear denning in the area.
The skiing this year has been awesome. I can't believe it's still November.
Last edited by Flames0910; 11-21-2012 at 06:42 PM.
In other news, Delerium Dive is opening tomorrow (earliest ever), and Lake Louise has all their chairs spinning (claiming to be the first) and Whitehorn 1 is open.
If you're into the backcountry, Black Prince is closed because of a bear denning in the area.
The skiing this year has been awesome. I can't believe it's still November.
Ahhhhh Delirium Dive. Many a board has been smashed in there. If you see a sign that says "Milky Way is not what it seems" pay attention.
Maybe I'll pack a transceiver, it can be pretty good if conditions are right. It's a minefield in there this time of year though.
