Do most skiers have a type?

[Jersey Skier]

I tend to gravitate to skis that can carve, make short turns and tend to have a large sweet spot regardless of the ski width.
Currently AX78, Motive 95 and Sr107 with an RC ONE 86 GT on the way.

Every time I've bought a "playful" ski I end up selling it. Although, I do mostly ski EC conditions. So groomers and leftovers.

Just curious of some people own more than one type of ski? If so, how do you choose what to ski and when?

 

[Ken_R]

I tend to gravitate to skis that can carve, make short turns and tend to have a large sweet spot regardless of the ski width.
Currently AX78, Motive 95 and Sr107 with an RC ONE 86 GT on the way.

Every time I've bought a "playful" ski I end up selling it. Although, I do mostly ski EC conditions. So groomers and leftovers.

Just curious of some people own more than one type of ski? If so, how do you choose what to ski and when?

I think so but I like a LOT of skis so I dont discriminate much but do gravitate towards skis with a more directional design and mount point.

 

[EmperorMA]

I am looking to add a different style of ski right now.

I had a very long layoff from skiing, but have always had carving skis that are rather one-dimensional. I am looking to add my first 100+ ski for resort use on snow days. I travel to ski quite a bit now and need to be able to handle whatever the weather throws at me on a 3-4 day trip.

 

[Paul Lutes]

Types change with experience/wisdom, the weather, location, age, hangovers, indigestion ........

 

[Doug Briggs]

I thrive on powder, racing, off-piste, steeps, hardpack, carving, speed. What type am I?

A lot of skiers only enjoy a certain type of skiing. That's fine with me.

 

[François Pugh]

I have a type: I gravitate to the correct ski for the conditions. Where I ski most, I have a collection of skinny carving/race skis in different turn radiuses, because it's almost always hard snow and groomers or moguls. I also have a newly acquired fat rockered ski for when I can get to deep snow, and tree skiing (rare), or when those conditions come to visit (extremely rare).

 

[Jersey Skier]

I thrive on powder, racing, off-piste, steeps, hardpack, carving, speed. What type am I?

A lot of skiers only enjoy a certain type of skiing. That's fine with me.

I was questioning the type of skis you'd chose, not terrain.

 

[KingGrump]

I thrive on powder, racing, off-piste, steeps, hardpack, carving, speed. What type am I?

Sybil.

 

[Doug Briggs]

I was questioning the type of skis you'd chose, not terrain.

(Sorry, I was speed reading)

Suitable? All? I do have a lot to choose from. My main ski is a Ranger 98. It works everywhere on the mountain in all but blue ice conditions. I like to get out on SL skis early season and when I know I'm going to be on groomers all day, but I'm pretty happy with the Rangers and any ski with sidecut that lets me mix and match turns. The Rangers and wider for off-piste. So I have skis in the 60s, 80s, 90s, 100s, 120s. Traditional camber, early rise tip and tail, rocker tip and tail, full banana. No true twin tips, though.

 

[Andy Mink]

I tend toward <95, preferably <90 for most days. I've been on 100+ that I like but not for every day. <80 is great and, well, there's always <70! I like groomers best of all and just making tracks. I can do that better than other conditions so I guess that's why I like it.

 

[WynnDuffy]

Yup, I like bumps, trees and steeps in that order, so I gravitate towards softer playful skis that are narrow enough to keep your feet together. Whatever I have left I'll use for carving groomers, but if it isn't much I'm not worried.

 

[Bad Bob]

I never know where I am going so like a ski that works well in there. Last dozen years it has been an all Mountain ski with a turning radius 18 or under. If there could be only one it would be something in the 90 range. There is normally something around 100 on the wall too when there is more loose snow to play in.

 

[tch]

I used to be all about fairly stiff, damp carving skis. I skied almost exclusively on east coast/New England, almost exclusively groomed.
Then I started skiing out west a lot more. Bought a pair of fairly stiff, damp wider skis for softer, bumpier groomed.
Then I started skiing a lot more off-piste and in softer snow. But I was older by then and didn't want to go mach schnell. Suddenly I started appreciating softer, more "playful" skis.
Now I have hard-snow east coast skis, soft-snow east coast skis (a lot softer, more forgiving), "regular" western skis that are somewhere in the middle, and western deep snow skis that are soft and easy so I can play in the glades.

So? As others have already said, types vary by experience, age, situation, terrain, and level of energy.

 

[cantunamunch]

Ski variety is easy.

Let's talk boot type.

 

[AtleB]

I have one or two pairs (depending on definition) of skis that are not directional.. The rest are all directional, so I guess I am a directional kind of guy. Or a straight forward kind of guy you might say

 

[fatbob]

Most skiers have a type - it's the rental fleet ski or whatever kind of piste/all mountain the store has talked them into for their "mainly groomer" ambitions.

We're the lunatic fringe here and within that a highly gear focused forum. The minutiae discussed here just doesn't enter the minds of the majority of the skiing public - the types of ski to them are piste, off piste and woah that's crazy fat/long.

 

[François Pugh]

I used to be all about fairly stiff, damp carving skis. I skied almost exclusively on east coast/New England, almost exclusively groomed.
Then I started skiing out west a lot more. Bought a pair of fairly stiff, damp wider skis for softer, bumpier groomed.
Then I started skiing a lot more off-piste and in softer snow. But I was older by then and didn't want to go mach schnell. Suddenly I started appreciating softer, more "playful" skis.
Now I have hard-snow east coast skis, soft-snow east coast skis (a lot softer, more forgiving), "regular" western skis that are somewhere in the middle, and western deep snow skis that are soft and easy so I can play in the glades.

So? As others have already said, types vary by experience, age, situation, terrain, and level of energy.

I used to be the stereotypical Canadian Crazy-Canuck wanna be adrenaline-addicted speed freak, for many years. I don't know how I survived, but I'm sure it wasn't my fault. Then I expanded my range to include high performance turns. Then bumps, then trees. I still like the turns. I am now ambivalent with regards to the speed; I like high speeds, but I like low speed skiing too. Give us enough time and we will branch out.

 

[Tom K.]

I sure do. Directional. The pow skis just don't come out that often, so I like mine to have a similar flavor to my everyday skis.

This has resulted in at least two people getting great deals on lightly-used pow skis that a fairly high amount of tail rocker.

 

[trailtrimmer]

Yes, I prefer Alpine to Nordic.

 

[fatbob]

My type is versatile skis in the 100-112mm bracket. Not so fat they are pure powder skis nor so chargey they don't accomodate in the bumps. Yeah they give up quite a lot in pure hardpack but payback if it is softer or churns up later in the day/spring etc.