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Tony Storaro

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Not being critical in any way but ... not sure if serious???
I mean, you've got a large post count and all, so I'm impressed if you've truly managed to avoid all the chatter about GS skis.

Shows also realistic approach towards skiing and interest only in skis that have application in real life. Avoiding GS skis, especially FIS GS skis is highly recommended for 95% of people in 95% of the time.
Such ski are heavenly 4-5 days a season and absolutely useless and at times-outright dangerous in the other 40. Ask me how I know.
 
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David

"Quando Omni Flunkus Moritati"
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Not being critical in any way but ... not sure if serious???
I mean, you've got a large post count and all, so I'm impressed if you've truly managed to avoid all the chatter about GS skis.
I guess I wasn't really paying attention to FIS skis. When I was looking for skis and reading reveiws I didn't recall many over the low 20's. But that's the difference between mortals and the elite world cup skiers.
My bad!
 

Paul Lutes

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As Tony said, it depends on your primary focus e.g. if you l love to hike for your turns, a GS ski would be meaningless. If you're in an area that is predominated by soft snow conditions, why bother with a GS ski, or any of the sub-70 waisted skis? I do think a non-FIS GS/SL ski can be of great enjoyment , however, a significant amount of time, as they shine on a skin (up to 2+") of soft snow over a firm base. I know, so do most skis but it's hard to not appreciate the super fast edge transitions!
 

Tony Storaro

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I do think a non-FIS GS/SL ski can be of great enjoyment

I oppose in strongest possible terms against grouping the SL and GS skis together under the FIS umbrella.
FIS SL and FIS GS are totally different universes, absolutely nothing alike.

I would not hesitate to recommend FIS SL to anyone above low intermediate. They are predictable, fun at low speeds, agile and versatile in wide variety of conditions.

FIS GS ski are none of the above :ogbiggrin: I was thinking about them these days and the picture that illustrates the feeling is this:

1711646056471.jpeg



Your feet are bolted to a train that moves on rails superfast. Awesome feeling when the snow is right and terrible when it isn’t. They pull you savagely into turn, keep you glued to the snow and don’t want to release.
Making them turn short in soft snow is a Herculean task.
God help you if they catch you on the backseat.

In general, if you are not very confident in your skiing and your technique and don’t have empty wide slopes, stay away.
 

LBK454

Booting up
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I didn’t see an answer to your question so I’ll try to give you my opinion on this. I have a pair of 175 Laser AX’s. If they have the Salomon Wardens, the lines on those are approximately 4mm (10mm = 1cm). When I first skied them they were ”on the line.” After a few runs, I moved them forward 4mm, and so on, until I ended up about +2cm. At 2cm, they were a bit squirrelly, and I ended up working back 4mm at a time to +1.2cm. For me and many others, moving them forward changes the ski and makes it easier to turn and turns up the fun factor. Others ski them on the line. I still own those skis and they are at +1.2cm. Right now I have new pair of Montero AX’s sitting in my garage thanks to some great sales prices. I will finally get to ski those Wednesday. Right now they are at +4mm and I will play with them the same way I did with my Lasers to find the point that works for me. Also, on days with powder, you can move the bindings back to where you are in the minus category which lets them work pretty well in powder. One piece of advice, once you mount them start on the line, be sure to either write down the numbers from the front and rear bindings or mark them with a Sharpie so you know how much you have moved them and to let you get back to the line. Since I lose odd scraps of paper, I marked mine with a Sharpie. My 175 Lasers are marked on the line, at +1.2cm, and -1.4.
I don’t know if the OP is still following this, but I skied my new Montero AX’s yesterday. Before leaving I set the Strive bindings 2 clicks forward (8mm) of the line. I thought I would start there and then make some small adjustments forward and back. Conditions were about 2” of fresh on very hard pack / ice. Those skis with that binding location were AMAZING!. Easy turns of any radius, easy turn initiation, quick edge-to-edge, easy to slip and slid the tails, really good in the bumps, and even old school w e d e l n. As it turned out, I was having so much fun I never moved the bindings. To me, these skis exceeded my expectations in being a better ski than my well loved Laser AX’s. Next time out this year, I will play with the mount points a bit, but I might have blindly stumbled onto their perfect location. To the OP, you can play with your mount points to see what works or doesn’t work for you. If you make a change and you don’t like it, it is easy to go back. I hope you enjoy your skis.
 

Tony S

I have a confusion to make ...
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I screwed up some poor teacher's budget. All because I needed an excuse to go loosen my boots and have a beer.
 

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