New skis for my wife - strong intermediate

[LiquidFeet]

Maybe too much concernabout being held back by length for this endeavour. While that may be true in an all mountain sense, if you want to learn technical skiing skills, a shorter ski is better.

Back in the day with the transition to shape skis, people really got it when going down from the 190’s and high 180’s, already way down from 205, 200cm straight skis. They went down to the low 170’s, and <gasp> 160’s and even 150’s!

Remember that very large and strong wcup men now started racing slalom on 155’s and 160’s. They had to be prevented from going that short, and the 165cm minimum length rule came in, 155 for women. It has remained to this day.

The point about the short skis is they enabled people to get the “new” technique down in relatively small spaces and lower speeds. It was also a lot easier to feel and engage the inside ski. It translates going back to longer and wider skis.

For advancing to high levels, you don’t want a torsionally soft ski that can’t handle holding edge angles.

Golden advice there.

 

[charlier]

Good luck. It was a bummer for me to read that she was getting 35-40 days a season and not really progressing; the narrower ski will hopefully get her fundamentals dialed so that she can be out ripping with her posse!

She is progressing, but looks to other skiers that are getting on edge with a flowing turn. She would have a lot of fun on shorter and narrow ski with a 12-14m turn radius.

 

[MissySki]

Has she done any lessons, perhaps there is a seasonal program for adults where you are? I have progressed a lot from doing an adult seasonal program at my home mountain, it is really helpful to ski with the same high level instructors each weekend and have things broken down into more manageable pieces. Previously I was skiing a lot of days with much better skiers and just not seeing a lot of progress, I think that was because I was always just focusing on trying to keep up. When you are trying to ski faster to keep up, it really doesn't allow you any time to develop technique and feel what you're doing with edging etc. at slow speeds. I thought I was doing okay because I could ski fast, but I really had no idea what the heck I was doing, and speed masks a lot. I think some people can progress that way just with mileage, but as someone who learned to ski as an adult and doesn't find skiing to be something I could learn intuitively without more direction, seasonal lessons were a game changer for me.

 

[charlier]

MissySki - on the mark. She always tries to keep up ams is not afraid of going fast. So, she never really had time to focus on technique. She has attended three day clinics and is considering a clinic at Red this season. I might attend a clinic as well

 

[charlier]

Late season season on our narrow test skis. My wife and I borrowed Head Supershape i-rally skis, size 170 and 163 cm for about one month. The skis engage at the beginning of the turn, hold their turn shape really well, and are super easy to get on edge. We varied our turns from short radius to wide open turns and the ski were locked throughout the turn. My wife worked on her lower leg/ankle angles, lower body form and received feedback from the skis, unlike her 90:and 100 mm wide skis. As many posters mentioned, learning on narrow carving skis was an eye opener. We will probably purchase e-Rally skis,156 and 163cm with protector bindings. We used the skis on firm and soft groomers, intermediate bumps (hard and soft), and end of the day skied out groomers in B.C. On powder days, we opted for wide skis. She is now skiing the fall line in gladed trees and fairly steep deep snow with snow covered bumps on advanced runs. FYI, my wife skis about 40-50 days per year.

Based on our limited experience, the Supershape skis are outstanding - again we have not compared similar skis to other manufacturers, such as Stöckli. Kastle. Rossi, etc. I do not want to open a can of worms, but should we consider Stöckli skis. A good friend, former Canadian National team bumps skier (he skis Kastle), thought the Stöckli skis were worth the extra money. I am not so sure about his advice, and wanted gentle and kind feedback for the Skitalk community without too much Stöckli confirmation bias.

 

[raytseng]

Is the question still about having the most rec fun and improving a high intermediate to be carving. Or are you now serious race skiers and looking for race skis and you are pulling Gs and skiing very fast now

If the answer is A then stockli is not a scam. Just did demo today and took out ar ax sx and bunch of other skis. The ax was still my favorite and still probably the one for rec skiing.
You can read the reviews on the site or the threads.

That being said the price is the price. Once you bring $ into the picture, do you want to save $400 or $500 off the stocklis you can pick from a lot of good skis that are maybe 90% as good. That is somewhat a value question only you can answer.

If you are fortunate to find a demo day or demo shop that carries the skis that you are interested in, that is the best way to know.

 

[Scotty I.]

As Phil has often opined: If you strike gold, quit digging.

 

[Tony Storaro]

Late season season on our narrow test skis. My wife and I borrowed Head Supershape i-rally skis, size 170 and 163 cm for about one month. The skis engage at the beginning of the turn, hold their turn shape really well, and are super easy to get on edge. We varied our turns from short radius to wide open turns and the ski were locked throughout the turn. My wife worked on her lower leg/ankle angles, lower body form and received feedback from the skis, unlike her 90:and 100 mm wide skis. As many posters mentioned, learning on narrow carving skis was an eye opener. We will probably purchase e-Rally skis,156 and 163cm with protector bindings. We used the skis on firm and soft groomers, intermediate bumps (hard and soft), and end of the day skied out groomers in B.C. On powder days, we opted for wide skis. She is now skiing the fall line in gladed trees and fairly steep deep snow with snow covered bumps on advanced runs.

Based on our limited experience, the Supershape skis are outstanding - again we have not compared similar skis to other manufacturers, such as Stöckli. Kastle. Rossi, etc. I do not want to open a can of worms, but should we consider Stöckli skis. A good friend, former Canadian National team bumps skier (he skis Kastle), thought the Stöckli skis were worth the extra money. I am not so sure about his advice, and wanted gentle and kind feedback for the Skitalk community without too much Stöckli confirmation bias.

It really depends how good you are at skiing. The better you are the more obvious the nuances and differences between two skis will be to you. There is a certain level in the skillset you need to reach before the ski starts speaking to you.

People below that level needn’t be bothered with details such as construction, feel etc as at this point it is all the same to them.
People above that level-the real experts also dont care overmuch as they can ski around any deficiencies their ski might have.

 

[James]

My reservation with the Rally is the tip size.
Imo, skis with non bloated tips, like the Head Hammerhead in the i rally, allow more options and control of the turn. The original rally did not have this issue.

But, if you had a great time on them, just get them. It’s not like it’s the last ski you’ll get.

 

[ARL67]

OP, at full price Supershape's are much cheaper than any Stockli. And right now you can always find Supershapes at 40% off at end of season sales, whereas Stockli is at most discounted 20% up here in Canada, which makes today's price discrepancy even larger. I'd say find a deal on Supershapes now, ski 'em, and use those as your next baseline if you feel the need to upgrade.

e-Rally are $810 $C + HST at Corbetts with free shipping.
Perhaps your local shop might price-match, or get close enough so you can support your local dealer.

Search Results

www.corbetts.com

 

[charlier]

It really depends how good you are at skiing. The better you are the more obvious the nuances and differences between two skis will be to you. There is a certain level in the skillset you need to reach before the ski starts speaking to you.

People below that level needn’t be bothered with details such as construction, feel etc as at this point it is all the same to them.
People above that level-the real experts also dont care overmuch as they can ski around any deficiencies their ski might have.

@Tony S, I are fairly capable of skiing an array of skis and deal with their shortcomings. I can easily deal with a ski limitations. My wife, not so much. Many years ago, a Kastle rep lent me a MX89 for a few days and that ski was truly outstanding. At the end of the day on refrozen groomers and bumps, the ski was stable and was super fun with many turn shapes. That ski might be too much for her. I wonder if the minor (?) differences between an e-rally and Stöckli would be enough to convince me that is worth the additional cost. Getting back to Stöckli’s and advice from the community.

 

[Tony Storaro]

@Tony, I are fairly capable of skiing an array of skis and deal with their shortcomings. I can easily deal with a ski limitations. My wife, not so much. Many years ago, a Kastle rep lent me a MX89 for a few days and that ski was truly outstanding. At the end of the day on refrozen groomers and bumps, the ski was stable and was super fun with many turn shapes. That ski might be too much for her. I wonder if the minor (?) differences between an e-rally and Stöckli would be enough to convince me that is worth the additional cost. Getting back to Stöckli’s and advice from the community.

There is no bigger Stockli fan around here than me but in this particular case I vote Nay. If she can’t tell the difference, no point in paying the obscenity of a price Stockli asks Let her have what she likes and feels comfy on.

BTW about the difference between iRally and Stockli-which Stockli model are we talking about?

 

[raytseng]

If you're discussing value, it is impossible to give you an answer without knowing your finances and personal situation.

How much is $500 worth to spend, vs an extra 10% extra on your ski days...
If you must quantify and amortize this to justify a purchase, you can use the proxy of instead of being tired after 10 runs, you get 11 runs; or every 10days of skiing you get a free extra ski day.
This calculus different for everyone, obviously tons of stockli owners here, as well as very affluent people; and rarely unhappy ones... Some people will use that extra $500 to help buy their season pass, others will say, How much could one banana cost Michael? $500?

But I would say again, if you need a real data point, you need to get a demo and then you will know. Otherwise you are just guessing if your wife can tell because someone's wife on the internet can or can't tell

 

[Tony Storaro]

OP, at full price Supershape's are much cheaper than any Stockli. And right now you can always find Supershapes at 40% off at end of season sales, whereas Stockli is at most discounted 20% up here in Canada, which makes today's price discrepancy even larger. I'd say find a deal on Supershapes now, ski 'em, and use those as your next baseline if you feel the need to upgrade.

Exactly

 

[Philpug]

My reservation with the Rally is the tip size.
Imo, skis with non bloated tips, like the Head Hammerhead in the i rally, allow more options and control of the turn. The original rally did not have this issue.

When was the last time you were on a Supershape? The current generation is a very balanced shaped ski, much of the DNA of the original series is prevalent is the design.

 

[James]

When was the last time you were on a Supershape?

A month ago for 6 days. eRally

 

[charlier]

My reservation with the Rally is the tip size.
Imo, skis with non bloated tips, like the Head Hammerhead in the i rally, allow more options and control of the turn. The original rally did not have this issue.

But, if you had a great time on them, just get them. It’s not like it’s the last ski you’ll get.

I had the same reservations about the rally’s wide tips and I wish they were a bit more tapered. Perhaps the designed for helping getting on edge rapidly, with little angles. Just my uninformed opinion, but the ski was very enjoyable. For reference, my other skis provide a low bar on groomers Elan Ripstick 96 and wide powder ski for backcountry skiing. Looking forward to 2024, does Stöckli offer a ski that is similar, but skis better than a Rally - See my original post for the conditions that I might use these skis. Perhaps after I get back to the USA in April, I might be able to demo a few relatively narrow 2024 Stöckli skis (Montero AS or AX).

 

[James]

I had the same reservations about the rally’s wide tips and I wish they were a bit more tapered. Perhaps the designed for helping getting on edge rapidly, with little angles. Just my uninformed opinion, but the ski was very enjoyable. For reference, my other skis provide a low bar on groomers Elan Ripstick 96 and wide powder ski for backcountry skiing. Looking forward to 2024, does Stöckli offer a ski that is similar, but skis better than a Rally - See my original post for the conditions that I might use these skis. Perhaps after I get back to the USA in April, I might be able to demo a few relatively narrow 2024 Stöckli skis (Montero AS or AX).

The 2024 Montero AS would have the most similar shape with a more reasonable front. They all come from the factory with like a 1.3deg base bevel. Which most here find confounding and egregious but can be changed.

 

[charlier]

Exactly

There is no bigger Stockli fan around here than me but in this particular case I vote Nay. If she can’t tell the difference, no point in paying the obscenity of a price Stockli asks Let her have what she likes and feels comfy on.

BTW about the difference between iRally and Stockli-which Stockli model are we talking about?

I agree regarding my wife, the e-rally is the way go her.

For me, I do have a choice between the e-rally, 163 cm 132/78/114, 12.8 turn radius. I might consider Stöckli Montero AS or AX, but I am open to suggestions. The front-side skis are for firm to soft groomers, spring re-frozen snow, some bumps, and thrashed groomers. FYI, I live in interior B.C.

 

[raytseng]

I don't think you will find the new AS available for demo even next year as easily as the AX, so you may need to set expectations to just get a demo with AX. They didn't have any at the stockli tent I went to today for example.

SX maybe available if you need a different flavor to racier. The demo sx I tried was on a plate for example, while the ax was on strives.

I don't feel the ar is what you are looking for