Figured I'd give an update now that I've demoed some skis. I do want to acknowledge what
@Philpug has called out before - demoing is so variable, since I have no control over the ski tune and binding. That said, here are my initial thoughts, doing a minimum of 3-4 runs per ski (some I skied longer), in the order that I skied them:
Demo Day 1
Volkl Secret 96 in 156 - Great ski. Skied the ungroomed and crud really well. Very damp, but easy to carve on the groomers. On the heavier side. I quite liked it, but wondered if it would be a tiring ski to ski all day. It wants to be worked.
K2 Mindbender 98Ti in 154 - Liked it. Checked all the boxes, and was happy with it...until I got on the Nela.
Stöckli Nela 88 in 152 - Per my note that I posted on
Stockli thread: "Wow! Color me impressed! Cut through the crud and I took it on some bumps, and it performed way better than I had anticipated. I had no issue releasing the tails and they were nimble, but also went through the ungroomed stuff and the slush that had started to form (it was a bit warm today)." I just had a ton of fun on this ski. It put a smile on my face. Top of the list.
Armada Reliance 92 in 156 - Wasn't on my radar, but both the Santa Ana 93 and Nela 96 were out, so the demo shop guy recommended it. It skied well, but just didn't excite me.
Demo Day 2
Nordica Santa Ana 93 in 158 - Super fun ski. This is the shape I'm used to (coming off a 2017 Santa Ana 100), so it was comfortable and has the metal my current ski doesn't to give it a bit more dampness. No issues in the moguls and the crud, and also carved quite nicely. Top of the list.
Stöckli Nela 96 in 156 - This is where I wonder if the tune came into play. The skis definitely needed a proper wax. Not as nimble as the Nela 88 (obviously). And I caught my tails a couple times. It was still somewhat early in the day, so I don't think I was being lazy with my turns (in terms of not finishing them). Just easier to finish my turns on the 88 - maybe because it's a couple cm shorter? I mentioned it to the demo shop guy (as well as telling him the skis needed a wax), and he said that it's also possible the tails needed to be de-tuned. Regardless, I just liked the way 88s better. I dunno - just not as fun as the 88s and I didn't love them. (FYI
@AmyPJ.)
Salomon Stance W 88 in 154 - Another one not on my radar. After the Nela 96, I wanted to get back on either the 88 or SA 93, but both were out. Not as "turny" as I tend to like, but overall, I liked the ski way better than the Nela 96 I had just gotten off. I looked up the specs afterwards and saw it has a larger turning radius than what I tend to gravitate to. Also saw multiple reviews complaining about the topsheet (unattractive/boring IMHO - but that was not the issue) chipping after only a fews days of skiing.
Yes, it's a lot, but given Palisades gives you the chance to just swap as much as you want, I went for it!
At this point, it's between the Santa Ana 93 and Nela 88. I found that I'm gravitating towards that 88-93-ish range. It's interesting because they are quite different in shape and weight. So just need to think on it a bit and might try to see if I can ski them back to back on the same day/same conditions.
If I were to rank based on topsheet - in order of best to worst (obviously quite subjective here):
Mindbender
Santa Ana
Nela 88
Nela 96
Secret
Reliance
Stance
But that's just my fun ranking.
Oh, and update to my current quiver:
- All Mountain/less than 8 inches of snow: 2017 Santa Ana, 100 waist, size 161 - the version before they added metal to the skis - this is the ski I want to replace/update
- Carving/no fresh snow: 2022 Stöckli Laser AX, 78 waist, size 154 - NEW!!!
- Powder: 2014 Rossignol Star 7, 110 waist, size 162 (I had erroneously previously thought it was 116, but re-confirmed)