One and Done

[KingGrump]

One and done brands.

Bought a pair of K2 610 sometime back in the late 70's.Loss its camber after one season (30 days). Switched to Fischer and never owned another pair of K2. Demo a few pairs through the years. The KVC was one of the better ones but I was on Volkl P9s. The P9s were much smoother. The Recon/Apache series were just plain scary. Nothing much from K@ caught my eye after that.However, the Supercharger I demo at Mount Rose Pugski demo event was a really nice front side ski. Not punishing in the bumps for a groomer ski. So there is hope.

 

[Crank]

Marker bindings. Let me take you back to the 1970's and the Marker Rotomat binding. Almost effing impossible to put back on in powder after a heel release.

Just for that ill advised binding I will never buy another Marker.

 

[cantunamunch]

.. RAMP skis, I quite liked the kumoniwannaskiya's but as a whole I don't like any of the others I skied on...

The Frenzy was the exact same shape with a different, stiffer layup; if you didn't like that one I strongly suspect either the tune was off or the snow was super hard or both.

 

[Pat AKA mustski]

I hated my first women’s ski- it was a K2 and I normally like K2 skis so I didn’t try women’s skis again for about 10 years. I’m over that now. In recent years, I really haven’t found a ski I don’t like.

I really don't like Marker Griffon bindings so if I never step into or should I say try to step into one of those again that'll be just fine.

I had a similar experience with the Squires. I would eject fine, but I would have to clean off EVERY snowflake and then jump and down to get them to lock in. Have you ever tried to jump up and down in powder? No royals for me!

 

[Uncle-A]

1. With skis I have owned more Kastle skis than any other brand and never disappointed.
2. A few pair of Rossi's
3. A couple pair of Fishers
4. A couple pair of K2's
5. One pair of Dynamic
6. One pair of Hexcel
7. One pair of Olin
8. One pair of Spalding

Because working in a ski shop gave me access to many demos, I have had the opportunity to ski a lot of other skis. The reason I did not purchase them was more about not giving my salary back to the owner of the shop and paying for ski house rent, lift tickets, airfare etc.

 

[firebanex]

The Frenzy was the exact same shape with a different, stiffer layup; if you didn't like that one I strongly suspect either the tune was off or the snow was super hard or both.

I wanted the Frenzy, but they were out of stock when I was ordering.. oh well. I also had the Bigbambooskis, they just never gelled with me no matter what I did to them. They are now my throwaway rock skis that I have zero cares about. My parents and sister had the various 90-100mm RAMP skis and were not overly impressed with them either. On the flip side I tried really hard to get my hands on a pair of 108 Warpaints.. they were never released but I knew a couple folks through the grapevine who had them and thought they were a pretty great pair of skis. I missed out on buying a pair by like a day, the person gave them to her brother and I missed out.

 

[cantunamunch]

LOL, it would probably hurt to know that I scored one of the last unmounted pairs of 177 Frenzies at the Park City shop; for one reason or another I never got around to mounting them so I gave them to a buddy who was looking for bump-worthy all mountain. OFC, he was so happy skiing Course Pros that he never mounted the Frenzies either - for two seasons! He promises to get around to it this season but I've heard that one before...

 

[SkiSpeed]

Dynafit Ski Boots circa 1979
one and done

 

[Wendy]

Marker Squire and Griffon bindings.....once was enough.

Instead, I choose Tyrolia or Look Pivots.

I have no brand loyalty with skis. But I do tend to enjoy some that are not mainstream:
IDOne, Hart, DPS.

 

[David Chaus]

I’m a ski gear slut, any brand, any time, as long as it’s a good fit. I do find that my favorite demos are not the “must have” hot sellers for any given year.

Skis: I have been on a couple of Head Rev’s (85 and 105), still have them both but just got Renoun Z90’s, so not sure if I’ll have much use for either. Might still use the Rev 105 if I think I need a 1-0-something. I want/need a powder/crud ski and have my eyes on an ON3P BillyGoat. If I get a frontside ski that’s even more frontside than my Z90’s, I’m thinking K2 Supercharger, Head Rally, Fischer The Curve GT or maybe Dynastar Speed Zone 12. Or continue with the Indy theme and go for DPS Cassiar 82 or Trainer.

Bindings: I have Head Mojo, Rossignol-branded Look (on a Head ski, even), Marker Free’s on my K2 Outlaw rock skis, and a Marker demo on my older Stockli’s. Moving forward, I have Attack2 13 demos that will be mounted on the Z 90’s and plan to put demo Aattacks on the Billy Goats when I get them. Easier to carry two pair of skis with one set of bindings, whether walking from parking lot to ski base, or saving weight on the ski bag.

It was an sometimes agonizing process with boots, but the winner for me was my Tecnica Mach 1 LV 120’s. I could have been happy with Lange, Atomic, Salomon, never got around to trying Head.

 

[Philpug]

A snippet from an upcoming article....

How many times did you like a ski only to come back to the newest version and it just didn’t ring your bell? This could be why, even though the name might be the same, it could be a completely different ski. Now, counter to that, maybe you owned or tried a ski that just didn’t work for you and completely wrote that model off. That model might be what you want now.

IMHO, this is relevant to this thread. Stay tuned.

 

[Tony S]

A snippet from an upcoming article....



IMHO, this is relevant to this thread. Stay tuned.

So I need to demo a Mantra (or a Secret)?

 

[Philpug]

So I need to demo a Mantra (or a Secret)?

Did you peek?

 

[Tony S]

Did you peek?

Nope. But then I'm lazy when it comes to snooping. If you want to just put up a link, then I'll peek.

 

[EricG]

Got my first pair of Marker bindings in ~1990. They are All I have ever owned.

 

[Philpug]

Honestly, I have learned never to say "never or always" when to comes to buying a particular brand. I will never say I will never buy a particular X again and I will never say "I will always buy X". If this was the case, 10 years ago I said I would never ski in an overlap boot and I would always be in a cabio shell. I like my crow broiled with a like demi glaze.

 

[markojp]

I will never ski in a cabrio boot.

 

[da-cat]

Back to my earlier take on this topic:
This time photo included!
One and Done
Ski collection!

This eBay auction is still current at time of post.
Just an FYI to the collectors. I would buy them but it’s a commitment with shipping and all, I can’t right now. - but this is not something you run into very often and as far as “a must have vintage ski and collectible” we are climbing up there close to VR-17, (not near in value) but as needed to complete a collection!
Or - the one and only vintage pair you need!
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Hart-Javelin-205cm-vintage-downhill-skis-NEVER-MOUNTED-/142949925193

 

[VickiK]

I'm confused . Is this supposed to be one-and-done because you married the brand? or you had a bad date?

Is it "tried it once and am never using it again, I'm done" or "tried it and loved it so much that I'm done wasting time on other brands". FWIW...I won't buy Smartwool ski socks based on experience/personal preference, and the Marker Squire bindings that were problematic a few years back did create a prejudice against the brand. If I married any brand, it might be Dalbello for their boots.

 

[DanoT]

As a ski shop worker I occasionally come across someone who was dissatisfied with a product 20+ years ago and will never buy that brand again. I have found that pointing out one or all of the following as a way get the customer to change his/her views is usually a waste of time.
In the ensuing 20+ years the following may have changed:
-different ownership
- " product design, designer, tester.
- " materials, factory.

None of the changes matter because bias is bias and facts are irrelevant.