Hello All,
Long time reader, first time poster, looking for help with selecting new skis for this season. I appreciate all the experience and wisdom on this forum; it’s been a great help narrowing down candidates. But, before I hit the local ski stores, I was hoping the crowd here might be able to give me some personalized advice.
I’m a high-intermediate, borderline low-advanced, skier. I’m 5’7” (170 cm) and about 155 lbs. Before last season, my skill-level was one-step above “hazard,” and my goal on the slopes was to neither die nor kill someone. But I worked hard last season to up my game through lessons and a lot of work. Now it’s time for some new skis to help me take it to the next level. This season, I’ll be out there a lot again, focusing on bettering my carving and possibly—if I can make enough progress—trying moguls.
I’m from Michigan and almost all my time—and perhaps all these skis’ time—will be spent there. The local hills are low, with groomed runs that are narrow and short. My typical pattern is to wake up early and be on the slopes right when they open. I spend much of my time, therefore, on fresh corduroy, although it can get choppy later—especially if I make it a longer day. I’m never on fresh powder locally, and even if I take a few trips “up north” (as we call it in Michigan), significant powder is unlikely (although the hills will be higher and the runs longer).
My current skis are 2019 Volkl Kanjos in 168. I like them, and I’ll be passing them on to my son. But the turn radius, 17.5 meters, is too large for the local slopes. When I started carving last season, I was thrilled—but I was traveling across almost the entire skiable area of the run with each turn, making it hard when the slopes got crowded and limiting the number of turns that I got in per-run on our shorter hills.
I’ve done a lot of reading and narrowed it down to the following skis, based on factors that include local availability:
Head e-Rally
Stockli Laser SC
Stockli Montero AX
Volkl Deacon 72
Volkl Deacon 76
I’ve read all the reviews of these that I can find and spent a lot of time considering the pros and cons—but, given my inexperience, I’m looking for some help to be sure that I’m on the right track. What says the wisdom of the crowd, as to both ski and length? I’d like to keep it to these models to keep the discussion focused, but I’m open to other suggestions if my profile screams out a good candidate that’s not on my list.
Thank you very much in advance!
Long time reader, first time poster, looking for help with selecting new skis for this season. I appreciate all the experience and wisdom on this forum; it’s been a great help narrowing down candidates. But, before I hit the local ski stores, I was hoping the crowd here might be able to give me some personalized advice.
I’m a high-intermediate, borderline low-advanced, skier. I’m 5’7” (170 cm) and about 155 lbs. Before last season, my skill-level was one-step above “hazard,” and my goal on the slopes was to neither die nor kill someone. But I worked hard last season to up my game through lessons and a lot of work. Now it’s time for some new skis to help me take it to the next level. This season, I’ll be out there a lot again, focusing on bettering my carving and possibly—if I can make enough progress—trying moguls.
I’m from Michigan and almost all my time—and perhaps all these skis’ time—will be spent there. The local hills are low, with groomed runs that are narrow and short. My typical pattern is to wake up early and be on the slopes right when they open. I spend much of my time, therefore, on fresh corduroy, although it can get choppy later—especially if I make it a longer day. I’m never on fresh powder locally, and even if I take a few trips “up north” (as we call it in Michigan), significant powder is unlikely (although the hills will be higher and the runs longer).
My current skis are 2019 Volkl Kanjos in 168. I like them, and I’ll be passing them on to my son. But the turn radius, 17.5 meters, is too large for the local slopes. When I started carving last season, I was thrilled—but I was traveling across almost the entire skiable area of the run with each turn, making it hard when the slopes got crowded and limiting the number of turns that I got in per-run on our shorter hills.
I’ve done a lot of reading and narrowed it down to the following skis, based on factors that include local availability:
Head e-Rally
Stockli Laser SC
Stockli Montero AX
Volkl Deacon 72
Volkl Deacon 76
I’ve read all the reviews of these that I can find and spent a lot of time considering the pros and cons—but, given my inexperience, I’m looking for some help to be sure that I’m on the right track. What says the wisdom of the crowd, as to both ski and length? I’d like to keep it to these models to keep the discussion focused, but I’m open to other suggestions if my profile screams out a good candidate that’s not on my list.
Thank you very much in advance!