AT ski recommendations

[9patrickmurphy]

Patrick - I demoed Salomon QST. I'm not tall and not overly aggressive skier and they felt soft and floppy.

I personally love softer skis (telemark). This is one of those points that really comes down to personal preference I think.

I think in just the single page of this thread we're proving how preference-based skis can be. Jorts'

I have friends who think my 99s are too fat and others who tell me I need some powder skis.

sums it up pretty well. At some point you're just gonna have to pick a ski and go with it, and unless it's at an extreme end of the stiffness, wasit width, length, or weight sepctrum, you'll probably like it enough.

[Wildernessjane]

People have some strong opinions on this topic. When asked about ski width, my experienced European friend will go on a rant about us Americans and our obsession with fat skis. The one thing I’ll add is that there is some research out there suggesting fat skis are going to be harder on your knees and make you more susceptible to injury when not skiing in powder. One author suggests most men can “handle” 100 underfoot and most women 90 underfoot (I’d think it would be greatly dependent on height though). That said, my skinniest skis are 94 underfoot and I’m only 5’2 and some change. I do think a slightly fatter ski handles crud a bit better but in true spring conditions I’ve never had a problem with the 94’s.

https://snowbrains.com/wide-skis-and-yo ... nt-better/

https://realskiers.com/revelations/why- ... our-knees/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4541126/

[davisrice4]

I love my black crow navis freebird. At 102mm underfoot they feel very stable in most conditions, and they are a really enjoyable ski. They aren't very heavy, but heavy enough to get through avy debris/punch crust/sastrugi without being thrown around a ridiculous amount. I had a pair of the Blizzard 0G 95 for a spring and just never felt like the skiing on them was as enjoyable as other options. I don't feel that light = better.

[SnowAlien]

Depending on your exact objectives, but I like 95-105 and something stiff, I once had a pair of voile carbon surfs and took them up a steep, hard packed 45 degree couloir and that was one of the scariest descents of my life

Exactly. I once took a pair of carbon 88s down the icy Polaris couloir and after getting down in one piece (barely), promptly googled "Black Crows" that my friend was on. Descent for him wasn't nearly as desperate.

Jorts, I recently watched the finish of Grand Traverse. Even on perfect corduroy, the finishers looked...umm...challenged on tiny skis.

Jane - thanks for the links, it's certainly interesting to take a look. However, the research appears to be based on resort skiing - firm, groomed surface. On that type of surface I made 88s work effortlessly.

However, our discussion here centers around spring skiing in Colorado, when steeper lines come into play. This is an entirely different beast from resort skiing, or midwinter powder skiing, when variable conditions, steepness of the slope, type/weight/height of binding, boots, torsional rigidity of the ski all come into play. With a wider ski I find it easier to mitigate other factors and a myriad of snow conditions that we encounter in the spring, sometimes on the same outing.

[Jorts]

Jorts, I recently watched the finish of Grand Traverse. Even on perfect corduroy, the finishers looked...umm...challenged on tiny skis.

Ha, that's unfair and anecdotal Nat. Refer to the video I posted of a friend on 77s in powder. Does he look... "challenged"? Many of those people you watched are runners and cyclists from the front range that spend hardly anytime in soft boots on skinny skis let alone resort skiing but they want to check off the Grand Traverse bucket list goal.

I just skied Snowdon on 82s today in less than ideal conditions and felt less gripped than the guys I was with on 100s. It doesn't matter though. It's personal preference. If you don't know how to ski something less than 100 underfoot you're going to suck and the same can be said of big powder planks. It's best to have some variety in your quiver. If that's impractical, then 85-95 underfoot would cover all the bases for most skiers.

Brent

[pvnisher]

Here is a friend on 77s back in Feb down here in the LPs on a 6” day. It’s often more about the skier than the skis.

That's the kind of crazy talk that won't convince me to buy more skis.
#unsubscribe

[gb]

Ha, that's unfair and anecdotal Nat. Refer to the video I posted of a friend on 77s in powder. Does he look... "challenged"?

Yes.

I'm in the 105 camp. All the time, and maybe even more so in the spring when you can encounter all types of conditions. 80 underfoot is good for making fences, and not much else.

[JacobW]

80 underfoot is good for making fences, and not much else.

Given that gb and SnowAlien have ticked off the most 14er skiing, I'd listen to their suggestions.

[Jorts]

Yep, have to go with what suits you. Fisher used 82s for the 14ers this winter but those were long tours where weight mattered.

[martinleroux]

I recently watched the finish of Grand Traverse. Even on perfect corduroy, the finishers looked...umm...challenged on tiny skis.

C'mon, people doing the Grand Traverse are on ultralight 65mm race skis. That type of ski is made for going uphill as fast as humanly possible and survival on the descent. No-one's suggesting that's a good width for general-purpose backcountry skis. You might as well conclude that 90mm is too wide because you've seen people going slowly on the uphill with 115mm skis.

[Bean]

"It depends."

I have 85s, 95s, and 107s. Which I take depends on the day and expected snow conditions. 95s will probably come out the most this spring. 85s for absurdly big days. 107s might be done for the year.

[JacobW]

Reviving this:
I've mostly been touring around in the worlds heaviest setup this spring; Nordica Enforcer 110's (191cm) with a cast setup. I've found that I can still do 5k days on them without holding people up and man do they feel confident on the descents (Images below from adventures with those skis this spring). However, I still have a lighter setup for days that are >8k, they're just not as much fun on the way down.