New Skis for Ice Coast Frontside

[Marker]

You've mentioned this twice. What's your turning regime? No ski will be good on ice without a well executed fresh turn.

Fixed it for you!

 

[laurelerin22]

You've mentioned this twice. What's your tuning regime? No ski will be good on ice without a well executed fresh tune.

I honestly know practically nothing about tuning. I have only been able to get a few days of skiing in per year since my kids were born in 2010, so it's not like I'm skiing very frequently. I get my skis waxed, sharpened, and bindings checked at the beginning of the season at our local ski shop and that's about it. I've never requested anything special, so I assume they just do whatever is "typical" or "industry standard". I might be totally off in thinking that my skis don't hold well on ice because I've had nothing to compare them to. My ski history goes from skiing a ton on straight skis when I was a kid (grew up in MA and my parents owned a place in NH), to snowboarding all through high school (when it was the new, cool thing to do), to switching back to skiing (on rentals) in my 20s, until I bought my current pair of carvers in 2009 for my 30th birthday, which I've skied on a few times per year ever since. I might be totally off base in thinking they don't hold well on ice, which is why I need to demo some skis for comparison. I wish I lived closer to the mountains so I could ski more frequently!

 

[laurelerin22]

Fixed it for you!

LOL! Honestly, my skis are probably fine on ice. Ice is ice. It sucks. I don't really know what I'm expecting them to do on ice.

 

[Marker]

LOL! Honestly, my skis are probably fine on ice. Ice is ice. It sucks. I don't really know what I'm expecting them to do on ice.

Yesterday at Killlington was firm and skied off in the afternoon so I was using Hero Elite LT (Long Turn as opposed to @Jilly 's ST Short Turns). But every major manufacturer than sponsors World Cup skiers make racy skis like these that are good for frontside everyday skiers. The Head Supershapes are very popular here at K, but you see Heros, Stocklis galore, Atomics, Blizzards, Fischers, etc. Take your pick!

 

[laurelerin22]

Yesterday at Killlington was firm and skied off in the afternoon so I was using Hero Elite LT (Long Turn as opposed to @Jilly 's ST Short Turns). But every major manufacturer than sponsors World Cup skiers make racy skis like these that are good for frontside everyday skiers. The Head Supershapes are very popular here at K, but you see Heros, Stocklis galore, Atomics, Blizzards, Fischers, etc. Take your pick!

The Head Supershape E-Rally is on my shortlist right now, but it's hard to find!! Also found a pair of new 2022 Blizzard R13 Ti80s at an outlet price in 168cm with bindings for $450 on evo.com. Keeping those bookmarked, but hoping to try some stuff out this weekend first.

ETA: Actually, I did just find the Head SS E-Rally for $1099 with bindings at my local shop in a 163cm. They sound like an amazing skis, but just not sure if I want to spend that much when I only make it out less than 10 days per season.

 

[Tony S]

Also found a pair of new 2022 Blizzard R13 Ti80s at an outlet price in 168cm with bindings for $450 on evo.com.

If those are these (72mm, not 80mm), that is potentially a nice choice. I suspect they are closely related to the unisex Thunderbird series, which is underrated imo.

 

[cantunamunch]

Ice is ice. It sucks. I don't really know what I'm expecting them to do on ice.

Grip like a panicked cat with adamantium claws, Witcher mutagens and ninja training?

 

[laurelerin22]

If those are these (72mm, not 80mm), that is potentially a nice choice. I suspect they are closely related to the unisex Thunderbird series, which is underrated imo.

Those are the ones, and the exact website I was looking at. I think the Phoenix series is just the women's-specific version of the Thunderbird. I meant to write Ti, not Ti80 (the Ti80 model I was looking at was a Salomon ski).

 

[laurelerin22]

Grip like a panicked cat with adamantium claws, Witcher mutagens and ninja training?

That sounds great... Where do I find THOSE skis?!

 

[GregK]

Those are the ones, and the exact website I was looking at. I think the Phoenix series is just the women's-specific version of the Thunderbird.

I’d be ending the thread and buying those for sure! Fantastic ski that I’ve yet to hear anyone not like.

I’ve got a new Blizzard ski from the Firebird line for firm days in the East and it’s fantastic!

 

[ADKmel]

Those are the ones, and the exact website I was looking at. I think the Phoenix series is just the women's-specific version of the Thunderbird. I meant to write Ti, not Ti80 (the Ti80 model I was looking at was a Salomon ski)

Yes, I demo'd the Phoenix R14 Pro- in a 160cm- my notes: felt short, +++ Fun, not aggressive Like cloud 14's are (it was frozen loose granular day)

 

[laurelerin22]

I’d be ending the thread and buying those for sure! Fantastic ski that I’ve yet to hear anyone not like.

I’ve got a new Blizzard ski from the Firebird line for firm days in the East and it’s fantastic!

There's an additional 10% off and free shipping, so they come out to $405 before tax. That seems like a STEAL for these skis, even if they didn't include bindings. Looks like the bindings are pretty basic - TPX 12.0 demo bindings. I probably don't need anything better than that for what I'm typically doing. I might just snap them up now. It will give me room in my budget to buy some really good boots, and I know those are more important anyway.

 

[laurelerin22]

@Tony S @ADKmel @GregK - I bit the bullet! I ordered the Blizzard Phoenix R13 Ti. $440 all in, including bindings! I felt like I was going to hate myself if I waited and they were gone, because it was a really good price. Evo.com seems to have a good return policy, so if I demo something else that I really love this weekend, I'll just send them back. Every review and write-up I read about them basically said they were exactly what I was looking for, and I'll invest in a nice pair of boots with the money I'm saving on the skis! Thanks all! I'll report back after demo-ing and/or getting these out on the slopes.

 

[Jilly]

That sounds great... Where do I find THOSE skis?!

They're called hockey skates....

 

[ADKmel]

@Tony S @ADKmel @GregK - I bit the bullet! I ordered the Blizzard Phoenix R13 Ti. $440 all in, including bindings! I felt like I was going to hate myself if I waited and they were gone, because it was a really good price. Evo.com seems to have a good return policy, so if I demo something else that I really love this weekend, I'll just send them back. Every review and write-up I read about them basically said they were exactly what I was looking for, and I'll invest in a nice pair of boots with the money I'm saving on the skis! Thanks all! I'll report back after demo-ing and/or getting these out on the slopes.

Awesome!! What a great deal! I hope you love them- I'm sure you will! Have fun!!!

 

[laurelerin22]

They're called hockey skates....

Well, I’m very experienced with those! (I played high school and college hockey and now play on an adult women’s team and coach little kids!)

 

[cantunamunch]

They're called hockey skates....

Oh, I dunno. As soon as she gets boots, OP sounds a top candidate for cultivation at @KingGrump 's school of FIS SL disciples.

 

[laurelerin22]

Just coming back here to say, I skied on my new equipment today for the first time and everything was a DREAM!!! I ended up with Nordica Speed Machine 105 boots, and while I definitely need some new insoles for them, they were awesome, and the Blizzard Phoenix R13Ti skis were just perfection. Literally everything I could’ve wanted in an East coast carving ski! And guess what… they were great on ice!! I was right… my old skis sucked on ice. It wasn’t just me having too high of expectations. I cannot WAIT to get back out there! Thanks again to everyone who contributed on this thread!!

 

[Sarahwisco]

Just coming back here to say, I skied on my new equipment today for the first time and everything was a DREAM!!! I ended up with Nordica Speed Machine 105 boots, and while I definitely need some new insoles for them, they were awesome, and the Blizzard Phoenix R13Ti skis were just perfection. Literally everything I could’ve wanted in an East coast carving ski! And guess what… they were great on ice!! I was right… my old skis sucked on ice. It wasn’t just me having too high of expectations. I cannot WAIT to get back out there! Thanks again to everyone who contributed on this thread!!

Thanks for the update. I could have written your post, but sub Midwest for ice coast. So I was checking back to see if you liked what you got. I think 168 is too long for me at 5’4”, otherwise I would have tried to snag the same deal. I may look for Phoenix but in the right length.

 

[Tony Storaro]

They're called hockey skates....

Next best thing is probably FIS SL at 0.5/4. Blood draw sharp.