Ski Patrol Work Ski/ Need Suggestions

[Carolinacub]

So I'm kind of in the market for a new work ski and could use a little help from all you folks that are much more educated about ski characteristics than I am.

As you can tell from my user name I'm down here in the Carolinas so we have a little different type of season than folks in the rest of the country. 95% of our snow is of the man made variety and for the most part it's groomed to death. On top of that we get the thaw /freeze cycle happening just about all the time.

For work ski's I'm looking for something that I can transition quickly with when I'm pulling a sled. We do a lot of falling leafs and side slipping when we're working our way down a run setting bamboo and checking ropes and working with pads etc. Also when we are doing a basic observation run we're generally going pretty slow since we're observing and not doing a fun run. Light ski's would help in reducing some of the fatigue factor.

@surfsnowgirl ended up with a pair of Head irally's recently and they sounded a lot like what I'm contemplating. What do ya'll think. Give me some ideas folks. I'm probably not going to pull the trigger on these for a little while so any suggestions would be helpful.

P.S. I'm not really the hard charging kind of skier. I can if I have to but I'm old so I take it pretty easy as a rule.

 

[crgildart]

I'd avoid twin tips.. I clip the planted tail with the lifted ski whenever I try to skate across the flats too quickly.

 

[surfsnowgirl]

Accordingly to the Bromley ski patrol, they all love the Rally as it's an incredibly versatile ski that works for everything they need. This is southern Vermont so it's all about groomed snow, boiler plate with freeze/thaw cycle. Plus they've got a short turn radius and a big shovel so not only are they great on hard pack but they can handle some soft snow too, not that we see much of that.

I'll likely be selling mine around March as I'll be on the hunt for a newer pair for next season. Nothing wrong with mine but this was a cheap pair to see if I liked them and I do so I want to hunt around for a pair of newer ones since this is a ski I plan to ski for a while. PM me if you might be interested.

 

[Carolinacub]

Accordingly to the Bromley ski patrol, they all love the Rally as it's an incredibly versatile ski that works for everything they need. This is southern Vermont so it's all about groomed snow, boiler plate with freeze/thaw cycle. Plus they've got a short turn radius and a big shovel so not only are they great on hard pack but they can handle some soft snow too, not that we see much of that.

I'll likely be selling mine around March as I'll be on the hunt for a newer pair for next season. Nothing wrong with mine but this was a cheap pair to see if I liked them and I do so I want to hunt around for a pair of newer ones since this is a ski I plan to ski for a while. PM me if you might be interested.

Just PM'd you.

 

[Carolinacub]

FYI , right now I'm on 2012 Head iPeak 80's. They seem to do pretty much what I want but to be honest these are my first pair of modern ski's so I really don't have much to judge them against. The last pair of ski's I bought before these was 1981 THE Ski's

 

[crgildart]

I'd avoid twin tips.. I clip the planted tail with the lifted ski whenever I try to skate across the flats too quickly.

Another reason to avoid twins is you'll be spraying snow all over the poor soul in the sled you're pulling..

 

[Carolinacub]

Another reason to avoid twins is you'll be spraying snow all over the poor soul in the sled you're pulling..

First time I took a ride as a passenger while we were training the guy pulling had twin tips. I looked like frosty the snowman.

 

[James]

Avoid lots of side cut for side sliping and wedging with a sled. The latest gen ('16/17, 17/18 )Head Rally would be ok I guess. Earlier version is too soft for patrol unless you're very light.

In a 170, Rally is 14m sidecut. That's about as low as I'd suggest. (Less than 14m - say 13m, is more sidecut. language can be confusing). Rally would be fun free skiing on your groomers.

What size do you use?


Sidecut is not your friend patrolling when you have to hike up, sidestep or herring bone, or you have to wedge. Very soft skis aren't your friend either. Basically you don't want a ski that hooks up quickly. You want a fairly neutral ski.

"what patrol skis" - in VT anyway, generally for full timers is what they get free or as close to free as possible that's somewhat acceptable.

 

[surfsnowgirl]

I first took notice of the Rally when literally every patroller that came through my line on the weekends was on them, every one. They all had the ski. This was last season so they were likely all on the 2017 or 16. I have the 2014 Rally and noone would ever consider me light. I don't find the ski soft at all. A head rep told me the newest iteration of the Rally was softened up and made more user friendly. Someone on here told me the newest Rally was dumbed down and he wasn't sure it was a better ski now versus before it was changed. Given that I'd be no more inclined to go any newer than a 2016 model.

 

[Carolinacub]

Avoid lots of side cut for side sliping and wedging with a sled. The latest gen ('16/17, 17/18 )Head Rally would be ok I guess. Earlier version is too soft for patrol unless you're very light.

In a 170, Rally is 14m sidecut. That's about as low as I'd suggest. (Less than 14m - say 13m, is more sidecut. language can be confusing). Rally would be fun free skiing on your groomers.

What size do you use?


Sidecut is not your friend patrolling when you have to hike up, sidestep or herring bone, or you have to wedge. Very soft skis aren't your friend either. Basically you don't want a ski that hooks up quickly. You want a fairly neutral ski.

"what patrol skis" - in VT anyway, generally for full timers is what they get free or as close to free as possible that's somewhat acceptable.

My Heads are 174's, I used a buddys Rallys last year for a couple fun runs that were 156ish, it was like driving a sports car, lots of fun but the thrill wore of pretty quickly, they just weren't enough ski. But I'm thinking a 165 or so would be good for a daily driver.

 

[Dwight]

Don't go by our patrol, we have everything from racers to pow skis. We do more injury stuff vs roping and the like.

Rosi Exp 80 something Work great for me. I also use Salmon custom 83(rock/crap skis). Thinking of getting Head Titan.

Elan Amphibos, would work well too.

 

[Carolinacub]

Don't go by our patrol, we have everything from racers to pow skis. We do more injury stuff vs roping and the like.

Rosi Exp 80 something Work great for me. I also use Salmon custom 83(rock/crap skis). Thinking of getting Head Titan.

Elan Amphibos, would work well too.

We've got a pretty good mix of skis here too. It seems like the older guys tend to be on the more traditional groomer/front side skis and the young guys are playing with the twin tip and park stuff. and then of course we have those weird guys who snowboard.

 

[CalG]

I put my order in for the Volkl RTM84.
I'm old, and need something with an edge. I also enjoy a bit of a pop coming about.

 

[kayco53]

On our patrol we tend to stay away from the twin tips because they are a more difficult to jam in the snow to hold a sled in place on a steep run while loading it. Most of crew has skis in the 90-100mm width. We have those weird guys on snow boards too. Can't ask for a better person on the tail rope in the steep than a boarder.

 

[Frankly]

There is only one correct answer....

 

[lonewolf210]

To semi hijack the thread a bit. What kind of boots do y'all normally patrol in. Seemed like last year there were a number of days I spent more time walking around then skiing. I was planning on getting an ATish boot for touring this year anyway but am considering making it my patrol boot as well.

 

[David]

For Michigan hard pack & groomers I love my 177 Rally's from last year. I'm bigger than average and they are plenty stiff for what they do.

 

[Mike Thomas]

Nordica Navigator 85- Light weight, flat tail, easy to steer, carves and holds an edge well, relatively cheap

 

[Philpug]

Head Monster 83/88. Damp, strong, flat tail and a solid overall ski.

 

[Carolinacub]

To semi hijack the thread a bit. What kind of boots do y'all normally patrol in. Seemed like last year there were a number of days I spent more time walking around then skiing. I was planning on getting an ATish boot for touring this year anyway but am considering making it my patrol boot as well.

I'm using the Solomon xpro90, I wish I would have gone with a little stiffer boot but these work just fine, Fit me like a glove and plenty warm.