Need to update my Tahoe daily driver

[walkerds]

Hello and thank you for the help!

I'm a California resident who typically skis in Tahoe. I had a run of 20+ day seasons from 2007-2017, but having young kids has kept me away from the slopes more recently. As they're getting of age to do some skiing, I'm excited to ramp up on my favorite sport again.

I have three pairs of skis still in use:
2010 Dynastar Legend Mythic Rider - 88 cm, my original attempt at an all mountain ski
2010 Fischer Watea 114 - powder ski
2014 Head Supershape Magnum - 72 cm, for carving practice and frontside days

I still have lots of fun on the Wateas in powder and the Magnums on groomers. However, I don't enjoy skiing the the Mythic Riders anymore. I'm not sure if my skiing changed, the ski wore out, or I grew out of them - but it doesn't hold an edge that well on the frontside (for me at least), doesn't feel as stable at high speeds, and is a narrow underfoot for today's idea of all-mountain ski.

After a little reading, I was considering demoing the 2023 versions of Mantra M6, Head Kore 99, and K2 Mindbender 99. I want something general purpose that is fun off-piste, in trees, and in moguls - but still allow some carving practice on the groomers.

Any recommendations on which skis to try and where I could demo them in Tahoe would be appreciated!

 

[walkerds]

I'm 5' 11", 190 pounds if that info helps narrow down!

 

[Philpug]

Where in Tahoe are you skiing? Ex: Northstar is a lot different than say Palisades or even Kirkwood.

After a little reading, I was considering demoing the 2023 versions of Mantra M6, Head Kore 99, and K2 Mindbender 99. I want something general purpose that is fun off-piste, in trees, and in moguls - but still allow some carving practice on the groomers.

Not a bad choice in these three.

Any recommendations on which skis to try and where I could demo them in Tahoe would be appreciated!

Really tough to find quality demos verses skis that have been used as high performance rental skis, which tend to be beat.

 

[BC.]

I know I am an outlier on this site in the great ski/width debate but why not give Moment a shot…local company/ I believe they demo right out of factory…

a Tahoe daily driver(s) could possibly be:
-Commander 98
-Deathwish 104 or 112

Moment has a pretty loyal following for a reason.

 

[walkerds]

Where in Tahoe are you skiing? Ex: Northstar is a lot different than say Palisades or even Kirkwood.

Palisades, Alpine Meadows, and Homewood are the most common. Sometimes Heavenly. We may check out a few new places with the kids.

 

[Andy Mink]

is a narrow underfoot for today's idea of all-mountain ski

I ski Rose almost exclusively in the Tahoe area with occasional trips to Palipine. For most days I don't care to go over 90, 95 at the most. Over the last few years I have determined my go to for most days will be in the mid to upper 80s with an all-mountain shape (narrow wide ski). Elan Wingman 86 CTi, Rossignol Experience 86Ti, Lusti CWR 87, Blossom AM85 (OK, that's more of a wide carver), Völkl Kendo 88, and other skis in that category. If I went a bit wider I like the Armada Declivity 92Ti or Rossignol Sender 94Ti. For most conditions except for first tracks in deeper powder any of those skis will serve you well. You have Supershape for trenching and the Wattea for the outlier days. I'm at 5'10", 220ish but have skied several of those skis when I was around 190.

 

[walkerds]

Really tough to find quality demos verses skis that have been used as high performance rental skis, which tend to be beat.

Is it feasible to “try before you buy”? Should I try to rent these? Who would have them available as rentals?

a Tahoe daily driver(s) could possibly be:
-Commander 98
-Deathwish 104 or 112

Moment has a pretty loyal following for a reason.

Thanks - I’ll read up on the Commander and Deathwish!

Elan Wingman 86 CTi, Rossignol Experience 86Ti, Lusti CWR 87, Blossom AM85 (OK, that's more of a wide carver), Völkl Kendo 88, and other skis in that category. If I went a bit wider I like the Armada Declivity 92Ti or Rossignol Sender 94Ti. For most conditions except for first tracks in deeper powder any of those skis will serve you well.

Any standouts or differentiators for you in that list? I’ll certainly take a look at these, I appreciate the comprehensive collection!

 

[Pequenita]

Palisades has demos out of the base and also the Gold Coast funi building. You can pop in and out of the latter throughout the day to swap skis.

 

[Philpug]

Is it feasible to “try before you buy”? Should I try to rent these? Who would have them available as rentals?

A rental ski is only as good as the binding and the tune and I have usually found that more are not very good or at best consistant. The to test all the options in the same conditions. It is tough to get all these three aligned.

 

[Andy Mink]

Any standouts or differentiators for you in that list?

The Declivities are a lighter weight build, maybe not as stable at higher speeds but easy to toss around. Wingman have more of a center mount, very easy to pivot and slarve. The Kendos are probably the most "chargy" of the bunch. They are a strong ski but you don't have to be on them 100% all the time. Experiences and Lustis are probably the most all-around good performers with a very wide sweet spot. Blossoms are more geared towards carving, less off piste.

You probably won't see the Blossoms or Lustis at a demo as they are direct to consumer. The Rossis and Armadas should show up at demos. The Völkls and Elans, maybe.

 

[PupManS]

I've been very happy with my J Skis master blasters as daily drivers at Palisades, Heavenly, KW. They are wide enough to be stable in chop, have enough metal to get some edge hold (but not so much it makes them chargers...look at their website to see how the metal is done, it's interesting), have a nice enough turn radius for groomers, they are damp (I don't like rattly skis), and narrow enough at mid-90s underfoot that they don't hurt my knees to ski all day unless it's true hard pack in which case I am on something narrower anyway.

I find more and more I am into these "partial metal" skis. For reference the rest of my quiver:

1) Praxis Protest (deep days)
2) Rustler 11 (going to dump as they don't float enough on deep days and don't offer much over the Masterblasters on other days)
3) Stockli Laser AX (I tend to ski these when it hasn't snowed in a long time)....if I had to choose between these and the Masterblasters I would take the Masterblasters on versatility grounds, but they are great skis all the same).
4) Blossom Whiteouts (my main groomer ski these days)..I tend to ski these a lot at N* due to the tighter radius and narrower runs there
5) old Atomic SL9 ice skates...sentimental attachment from my ice coast days.
6) Line Blades for Spring Slush-fest/

J has a killer demo deal...buy the skis, ski them for 5 days (not in a row, just the course of a season) and return if you don't like them, drill holes and all. I took advantage to change lengths and it was totally hassle free.

Other have pointed out some of the Moment skis. The Commander 98 is a great ski but pushes harder than my Masterblasters. Another option is to call Keith at Praxis about the MVP- it's a good footprint but without any metal which IMHO reduces versatility.

 

[Seldomski]

Is this a ski you will be playing on solo (ie kids in ski school all day) or noodling on greens/blues with the family? I guess I am wondering how much free skiing you will really have.

There are a lot of all mountain skis that are groomer biased and fun to ski at lower speeds. They can also handle some crud/bumps just fine. They will be more fun to ski with the family and you'll be less tempted to abandon them to go blasting through the crud/bumps.

 

[WadeHoliday]

check out the 4frnt msp 99, no demo, but guaranteed and awesome for pallisades conditions, see my review from a few days there this week..
cheers!
W

 

[DocGKR]

At Tahoe, I find a 80-90mm wide ski is the most versatile single ski option.

If I can afford two pairs, then a sub 80mm sport carver and a 90+mm All mountain/soft snow bias ski.

 

[gratedwasabi]

I'd add the Qst 98 to your demo list. It's an interesting comparison going M6 > MB 99ti > QST 98. The QST would be the most playful of the bunch, but I've still found it to be very stable & smooth on groomers.