Hello Ski Talk! I'm trying to select a quick-turning all-mountain ski for mostly on-piste. Many options. I've already reviewed many of the relevant threads, which helped me to create a list of 8 candidates below. Thanks in advance for any input, hopefully this helps others.
Me: age 63, height 5-9.5" (176 cm) and weight 190 lbs (86 kg). Strong-intermediate to advanced skier, say average of 2 weeks/year for last 30 years (might ski 0 days to 4+ weeks in a given year). Have skied all over - Rockies, Cali, W. Canada, Europe & Norway.
* Almost always on marked trails, blues & black single diamonds - not necessarily groomed, but tend to avoid moguls. Usually destination resorts. I like to go faster than most, but not a speed demon. Not interested in double diamonds, hiking to free-ride, trees, off-piste, etc.
* What I'm looking for is a quick/easy turning ski that's stable cruising fast, and versatile enough for most snow conditions - icy, corduroy, powder on top of hard pack, afternoon mush, whatever. If it was a true powder day, I'd rent a ski, not really a factor in the selection.
* For 2023 offerings from major brands, what I'm looking for is probably an "all mountain" ski, or possibly one marketed as "on-piste" but with words like "versatile" in the description. Not a true slalom or racing ski, not a wide powder ski, etc. All rounder for designated blue & black runs.
* Length - I'm thinking something in range of 170, but this could depend on a particular ski. Width under the binding say 75 to 90, but again this depends on a particular ski.
* I've read the "go narrow" threads and there's some merit in the reasoning. But skis that are say ~70 wide seem less versatile, and 80 or 90 isn't that much wider, and the tradeoffs up to say 90 width don't appear to be serious.
* For current offerings of "all mountain skis", it looks like brand marketing and sales staff are pushing buyers toward 90-100+ widths for "oh wow le epic powder day", off-piste, one ski quiver, free ride, etc. I'd rather have a ski that was great on-piste but nothing special in powder than a ski that tries to do it all and ends up being merely good-enough at everything. One ski can't do everything - but one ski can do everything that I'm interested in doing, and that's what I'm trying to pick.
* Price isn't a major driver, but I like good value. Most of the ski's >$900 appear to be for experts. But I'll get the Nordica Doberman Spitfire 80.RB for $950 if it would be noticeably "better" for me than the Blizzard Brahma 82 at $600.
I love my current skis - K2 Rictors from 2013. They cruise fast & turn on a dime. Any snow conditions. If the new skis are as good or better, then I'm happy. The K2 Rictors are billed as "all mountain" skis for "advanced to expert" skiers.
* Length = 160 (yeah, too short, long story). Turn Radius = 13.0. Widths = 127 / 80 / 109. Rocker-camber 30-70-0.
* If I could get a new pair of K2 Rictors I would. So why am I changing? New boots > new GW bindings > new skis.
* The K2 Rictors are ranked 4.5 to 4.7 stars out of 5 from over 40 reviews on evo.com + freeride.com. My experience and online user reviews mostly match the K2 marketing spiel: "If you are searching for the most versatile high performance ski available, then look no further. Equally at home on the steepest, rock-solid groomer or the back bowls on a powder day, the Rictor is your one-ski quiver. Incredible versatility stems from the optimal combination of width, shape, and Baseline profile, resulting in an expert level ski that will have you skiing from first to last chair."
So, here are the candidates, ranked according to my perception of specifications, marketing descriptions & user reviews online.
Brand, Model, "Type", Skill Level, List $, Length, Turn Radius, Widths frt / W / rear, rocker camber, wt-g (2)
1) Nordica, Doberman Spitfire 80-RB, "on piste", adv/exprt 4-5/5, $950, 168, 15.0, 130 / 80 / 110, 100%, 4430
2) Rossi, Experience 82-Ti, "all mtn", adv/exprt 4-5/5, $800, 168, 14.0, 127 / 82 / 115, unkn, 3300
3) Salomon, S/Force Ti 80, "on piste", Advanced, $850 w/ bdg, 170, 15.0, 128 / 80 / 112, unkn, 4390
4) Blizzard, Brahma 82, "all mtn", int/adv 3-4 /5, $600, 166, 13.5, 121 / 82 / 105, rk-cmb-rk, 3400
5) Voelkl, Deacon 76, all mtn, adv/pro, 1-9 /10, $1050 w/ bdg, 171, 16.5, 124 / 76 / 104, unkn, 3300
6) Stoeckli, Montero (Laser) AX, "piste / am", advanced, $unkn, 168, 14.5, 124 / 80 / 112, rocker tech, 3840
7) Nordica, Enforcer 88, all mtn, expert 5/5, $700, 172, 15.5, 121 / 88 / 109, 30-50-20, 3900
8) K2, Mindbender 89-Ti, "speed / freerd", advanced, $700, 170, 15.4, 130 / 89 / 114, 25-65-10, unkn
Above have my best guesses at lengths and model widths, please let me know if something different would be better.
Models I reviewed but didn't make the list: Nordica Navigator 85 CA, K2 Disruption 78-Ti, Stoeckli Montero (Laser) AR, Salomon Stance 84, Voelkl Deacon 76 Master, Voelkl Kendo 88, Voelkl Mantra M6
- Considering what I'm looking for, please say I should remove or add any models from the list. Selections tended to favor my perception of "all mountain & on-piste" more than "all mountain & powder/free-ride".
We're going to Beaver Creek & Vail in February / March. Unless there's an obvious choice, will demo some skis before buying, but would like to narrow the list down to say 3 skis.
Have a great week.
Me: age 63, height 5-9.5" (176 cm) and weight 190 lbs (86 kg). Strong-intermediate to advanced skier, say average of 2 weeks/year for last 30 years (might ski 0 days to 4+ weeks in a given year). Have skied all over - Rockies, Cali, W. Canada, Europe & Norway.
* Almost always on marked trails, blues & black single diamonds - not necessarily groomed, but tend to avoid moguls. Usually destination resorts. I like to go faster than most, but not a speed demon. Not interested in double diamonds, hiking to free-ride, trees, off-piste, etc.
* What I'm looking for is a quick/easy turning ski that's stable cruising fast, and versatile enough for most snow conditions - icy, corduroy, powder on top of hard pack, afternoon mush, whatever. If it was a true powder day, I'd rent a ski, not really a factor in the selection.
* For 2023 offerings from major brands, what I'm looking for is probably an "all mountain" ski, or possibly one marketed as "on-piste" but with words like "versatile" in the description. Not a true slalom or racing ski, not a wide powder ski, etc. All rounder for designated blue & black runs.
* Length - I'm thinking something in range of 170, but this could depend on a particular ski. Width under the binding say 75 to 90, but again this depends on a particular ski.
* I've read the "go narrow" threads and there's some merit in the reasoning. But skis that are say ~70 wide seem less versatile, and 80 or 90 isn't that much wider, and the tradeoffs up to say 90 width don't appear to be serious.
* For current offerings of "all mountain skis", it looks like brand marketing and sales staff are pushing buyers toward 90-100+ widths for "oh wow le epic powder day", off-piste, one ski quiver, free ride, etc. I'd rather have a ski that was great on-piste but nothing special in powder than a ski that tries to do it all and ends up being merely good-enough at everything. One ski can't do everything - but one ski can do everything that I'm interested in doing, and that's what I'm trying to pick.
* Price isn't a major driver, but I like good value. Most of the ski's >$900 appear to be for experts. But I'll get the Nordica Doberman Spitfire 80.RB for $950 if it would be noticeably "better" for me than the Blizzard Brahma 82 at $600.
I love my current skis - K2 Rictors from 2013. They cruise fast & turn on a dime. Any snow conditions. If the new skis are as good or better, then I'm happy. The K2 Rictors are billed as "all mountain" skis for "advanced to expert" skiers.
* Length = 160 (yeah, too short, long story). Turn Radius = 13.0. Widths = 127 / 80 / 109. Rocker-camber 30-70-0.
* If I could get a new pair of K2 Rictors I would. So why am I changing? New boots > new GW bindings > new skis.
* The K2 Rictors are ranked 4.5 to 4.7 stars out of 5 from over 40 reviews on evo.com + freeride.com. My experience and online user reviews mostly match the K2 marketing spiel: "If you are searching for the most versatile high performance ski available, then look no further. Equally at home on the steepest, rock-solid groomer or the back bowls on a powder day, the Rictor is your one-ski quiver. Incredible versatility stems from the optimal combination of width, shape, and Baseline profile, resulting in an expert level ski that will have you skiing from first to last chair."
So, here are the candidates, ranked according to my perception of specifications, marketing descriptions & user reviews online.
Brand, Model, "Type", Skill Level, List $, Length, Turn Radius, Widths frt / W / rear, rocker camber, wt-g (2)
1) Nordica, Doberman Spitfire 80-RB, "on piste", adv/exprt 4-5/5, $950, 168, 15.0, 130 / 80 / 110, 100%, 4430
2) Rossi, Experience 82-Ti, "all mtn", adv/exprt 4-5/5, $800, 168, 14.0, 127 / 82 / 115, unkn, 3300
3) Salomon, S/Force Ti 80, "on piste", Advanced, $850 w/ bdg, 170, 15.0, 128 / 80 / 112, unkn, 4390
4) Blizzard, Brahma 82, "all mtn", int/adv 3-4 /5, $600, 166, 13.5, 121 / 82 / 105, rk-cmb-rk, 3400
5) Voelkl, Deacon 76, all mtn, adv/pro, 1-9 /10, $1050 w/ bdg, 171, 16.5, 124 / 76 / 104, unkn, 3300
6) Stoeckli, Montero (Laser) AX, "piste / am", advanced, $unkn, 168, 14.5, 124 / 80 / 112, rocker tech, 3840
7) Nordica, Enforcer 88, all mtn, expert 5/5, $700, 172, 15.5, 121 / 88 / 109, 30-50-20, 3900
8) K2, Mindbender 89-Ti, "speed / freerd", advanced, $700, 170, 15.4, 130 / 89 / 114, 25-65-10, unkn
Above have my best guesses at lengths and model widths, please let me know if something different would be better.
Models I reviewed but didn't make the list: Nordica Navigator 85 CA, K2 Disruption 78-Ti, Stoeckli Montero (Laser) AR, Salomon Stance 84, Voelkl Deacon 76 Master, Voelkl Kendo 88, Voelkl Mantra M6
- Considering what I'm looking for, please say I should remove or add any models from the list. Selections tended to favor my perception of "all mountain & on-piste" more than "all mountain & powder/free-ride".
We're going to Beaver Creek & Vail in February / March. Unless there's an obvious choice, will demo some skis before buying, but would like to narrow the list down to say 3 skis.
Have a great week.
