The absolute best series of skis

[Wendy]

Which brings up an interesting naming point - would OP be willing to ride a Black Pearl from Elan (the cap ski carver with integrated bindings) as well as a Black Pearl from a Blizzard?

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Wow, what vintage are those? I take it they are women’s with that name?
Your post about Elan’s Ripstick was spot on. I had the Ripstick GSX and Ripstick 88; very different (but fun)! skis. I miss the GSX a lot more than the 88’s. But my new boots are now Gripwalk so couldn’t use them anyways.

 

[Wendy]

Satisfies the stamp collector itch? Because onomastic Marie Kondo could be a thing? Because the wife gets confused over all the purchases when all the models sound the same?

The fundamental answer to anything skiing is "because we want to". It's a disservice to ourselves to forget that.

For some of us, you gotta replace “wife” with “husband.“

 

[Wendy]

OK< what ”series“ has the widest width range?

 

[James]

Good point about Elan. If you could put together different era’s with the same name, Ripstick could work. Then again, the new ones are Amphibio, so scratch that.

 

[pchewn]

Silly question. Sort of like asking if you had to fill your life with one type of woman, what would it be?

• All redheads?
• All blonds?
• All aging hippie free-love granola eaters?
• All self-sufficient ranch owners?
• etc....

 

[cantunamunch]

For some of us, you gotta replace “wife” with “husband.“

Quite right

Wow, what vintage are those? I take it they are women’s with that name?

2005/06. Yes; there was also a softer-flexed White Pearl. Elan later retconned the name into 'Perla' Kinda like Erika Mitchell pretended 50 Shades was never a fanfic of Twilight.

OK< what ”series“ has the widest width range?

I'm going to stick with my above answers of Monsters, Vantages (and if we allow year disparity, Legends) going from mid-70s to over 100.

 

[Andy Mink]

Skis that few can get, especially if it’s not handed to you, should be eliminated. Out is Blossom, Augment, Peak.

Blossom is accessible through @Blossom Skis. Yep, Augment will be tough since they just pulled out of the US, hopefully to return in the near future. Peak? Maybe...

 

[Tony S]

Wow, what vintage are those? I take it they are women’s with that name?
Your post about Elan’s Ripstick was spot on. I had the Ripstick GSX and Ripstick 88; very different (but fun)! skis. I miss the GSX a lot more than the 88’s. But my new boots are now Gripwalk so couldn’t use them anyways.

This post and several other recent ones in this thread reminds me that I've often wondered whether "Ripstick" was chosen to be intentionally close to "lipstick." You know, "real girls use Ripstick." That sort of thing. "Bobby Riggs was kind of funny but ultimately Billy Jean proved that his showy game was just Ripstick on a pig."

 

[BMC]

Except they don't all scale exactly like that. The Enforcer 104 free is completely different from the enforcer 88 or even the 100. I'm only mentioning Enforcer as an example.

No fair enough. for me though the point I raise is relevant for the tip rise in the 88. It carries a similar tip rise to the rest of the family while, for me, in that width for that use case I want a bit less.

 

[David Chaus]

Skis that few can get, especially if it’s not handed to you, should be eliminated. Out is Blossom, Augment, Peak.

If you mean being able to go to a physical location to pick up a pair of skis, the Blossom distributor is in Seattle, so I have actually have them handed to me.

 

[Tom K.]

Since we're just playing in the off season, I'll play:

Enforcer 88 (my second favorite ~88 right behind the Experience 86 ti)
Enforcer 100
Enforcer 115

 

[Tom K.]

Faster doesn't always mean better.

Unless, you know, you're racing!

 

[Wendy]

This post and several other recent ones in this thread reminds me that I've often wondered whether "Ripstick" was chosen to be intentionally close to "lipstick." You know, "real girls use Ripstick." That sort of thing. "Bobby Riggs was kind of funny but ultimately Billy Jean proved that his showy game was just Ripstick on a pig."

If they had been specifically women's skis I'd agree, but the name was given to their men's, or unisex, skis. The narrow GS-sorta-like version was more of a "ripstick" than the all mountain version.

 

[Coolhand]

Modern Series that I could live with:

Blizzard: Brahma 82, Brahma 88, Bonafide 97
Blizzard: Rustler 9, Rustler 10, Rustler 11
Fischer: Ranger 90, Ranger 102, Ranger 108 (all 2023 models)
Fischer: RC One 82, RC One 86
Head: eMagnum, eRally, eTitan
Head: Kore 87, Kore 93, Kore 110
Kastle: MX 75, MX 83, MX 88
Kastle: FX 86, FX 96, FX 106

 

[markojp]

OK< what ”series“ has the widest width range?

Head Kore? 87-117...Dunno


I'm with Phil on the 'why one series?'
It's sorta like saying, 'which line of pickup trucks would you fill your garage with? If I were a Ford guy, I can't imagine not wanting a Ford GT to go with an F150, and maybe a new Bronco.

 

[The Retired Skier]

Nordica Enforcer 88, 100 and 110. My top choice, for sure. I might even replace the 100 with 104 Free. There are so many options within the Enforcer line that this leaves out the splendid Enforcer 94!

Armada Declivity 82 Ti, 92 Ti and 108 Ti are a VERY close second. I actually like the sizing better than the Enforcer.

K2 Mindbender 89 Ti, 99 Ti and 108 Ti. If K2 made a Mindbender around 80-84mm underfoot, they would be my winner here.

Blizzard Rustler 9, 10 and 11. I'd like something a bit more piste-oriented than the Rustler 9 but I could live with these three.

Salomon Stance 84, 96 and 102. I would like something a bit wider than 102 on the high end. If they could come up with a 104-110, it would be a top contender. A 108 would be perfect!

 

[Tom K.]

Modern Series that I could live with:

Blizzard: Brahma 82, Brahma 88, Bonafide 97

I also suspect I'd be just peachy with those.

 

[SmileGuy]

My current quiver of head monster 88, 98, and 108. I rarely need my 115 pow ski(or any other ski besides the 98 really)

 

[SmileGuy]

This is more or less my reaction to the thread. If I wanted a ~90 mm all mountain ski and a 115+ powder ski in one series I don’t have a lot of choices. I have even fewer choices if I also want a touring ski (in fact, I can think of about 2 or 3).

Really the only way I could answer the question is to choose which conditions and use cases I prioritize and I’m not sure that tells you very much about the skis.

you can have that in the ripsticks. But also who needs a 115 really? i only take mine on heli trips.

 

[AngryAnalyst]

you can have that in the ripsticks. But also who needs a 115 really? i only take mine on heli trips.

Well, I did heli ski for the first time this season and was pretty glad I had my own skis for it so that is definitely a use case I would like to have covered. In fact, I’d actually prefer something over 120 for heli skiing but there are few choices in that class.

More generally and at risk of starting one of the more useless recurring ski talk threads, I really like 115+ skis on day that have 6+ inches of fresh. Either because I live a charmed life or because I try and fly to ski at places it snows a lot, that was about 20% of my mostly lift powered days last season and roughly equal to how many super firm bullet proof days I skied.