To be clear the original M5 was more of a frontside ski. I demoed it in Verbier and it was fine on the groomers and the steeps but they had so much snow that weekend it struggled on the off piste. I switched to the Candide 3.0 and it was an exponential improvement. So yes in the right conditions M5 could be a lot of fun but it just did not have the float or flexprofile for real off piste IMHO and it was not great in more then a few inches of POW. My point being is I have a great carving ski for the frontside and a variety of all mountain off piste skis that I enjoy much more than the M5. Perhaps I skied it in the wrong conditions, but the reality is I just prefer skiing my Stocklis and really enjoyed the Faction skis much more than the M5My experience differs on the M5. Boat load of fun off piste. Large sweet spot in the bumps and tree. Does take some skill though.
Like @Henry said, it's up to you. If it bites you, hit it with something until it stop biting you.
I keep mine sharpened tip to tail.
To be clear the original M5 was more of a frontside ski. I demoed it in Verbier and it was fine on the groomers and the steeps but they had so much snow that weekend it struggled on the off piste. I switched to the Candide 3.0 and it was an exponential improvement. So yes in the right conditions M5 could be a lot of fun but it just did not have the float or flexprofile for real off piste IMHO and it was not great in more then a few inches of POW. My point being is I have a great carving ski for the frontside and a variety of all mountain off piste skis that I enjoy much more than the M5. Perhaps I skied it in the wrong conditions, but the reality is I just prefer skiing my Stöcklis and really enjoyed the Faction skis much more than the M5
Skills do matter, but so do conditions and personal preference lol. Bottom line I skied the M5, just fine however I enjoyed skiing the CT3.0 way more. So when it comes to investing $$ in a ski, there are about a dozen skis I would chose over the M5, based on my experience with them. This has nothing to do with skill, but really comes down to personal preference. So for me, skiing an M5 off piste in a foot or two of POW in Verbier was like bringing a knife to a gun fight, you could do some damage but it was not ideal. Likewise on the groomed downhill run, the M5 was fine but there were so many skis that were better suited to that terrain .... I think you see where I am going, just because you can ski something in certain set of conditions does not mean you have too lol. The good news is that I think Volkl got the message as the new Mantra is waay better than the M5 IMHO ... but I am still going to ski my Stocklis, because while skills do matter, so do Stocklis lolSkill set matters.
Make sure that your skis are hand-tuned to fix the base bevels at the tips and tails (the upturn portions and especially the "transition zone" into the upturn). No factory machine does this correctly. Until your skis are hand-tuned using a base bevel guide there's no telling what you're dealing with, but it's usually a complete lack of proper base bevel angle in these critical regions. Once this is fixed, a sharp ski tip to tail should ski perfectly without being hooky/grabby.
You know you're in the section of this forum dedicated to discussing the differences and comparisons of gear, pertaining to snow sports, right?Skill set matters.
You know you're in the section of this forum dedicated to discussing the differences and comparisons of gear, pertaining to snow sports, right?
Thanks for being specific.Make sure that your skis are hand-tuned to fix the base bevels at the tips and tails (the upturn portions and especially the "transition zone" into the upturn). No factory machine does this correctly. Until your skis are hand-tuned using a base bevel guide there's no telling what you're dealing with, but it's usually a complete lack of proper base bevel angle in these critical regions. Once this is fixed, a sharp ski tip to tail should ski perfectly without being hooky/grabby.
I have had one really bad tune when I asked for it to be sharpened tip to tail. The shop that did it had no local tech and actually did tunes weekly when the guy who could tune was in town.Make sure that your skis are hand-tuned to fix the base bevels at the tips and tails (the upturn portions and especially the "transition zone" into the upturn). No factory machine does this correctly. Until your skis are hand-tuned using a base bevel guide there's no telling what you're dealing with, but it's usually a complete lack of proper base bevel angle in these critical regions. Once this is fixed, a sharp ski tip to tail should ski perfectly without being hooky/grabby.
Skills do matter, but so do conditions and personal preference lol. Bottom line I skied the M5, just fine however I enjoyed skiing the CT3.0 way more. So when it comes to investing $$ in a ski, there are about a dozen skis I would chose over the M5, based on my experience with them. This has nothing to do with skill, but really comes down to personal preference. So for me, skiing an M5 off piste in a foot or two of POW in Verbier was like bringing a knife to a gun fight, you could do some damage but it was not ideal. Likewise on the groomed downhill run, the M5 was fine but there were so many skis that were better suited to that terrain .... I think you see where I am going, just because you can ski something in certain set of conditions does not mean you have too lol. The good news is that I think Volkl got the message as the new Mantra is waay better than the M5 IMHO ... but I am still going to ski my Stöcklis, because while skills do matter, so do Stöcklis lol
You know you're in the section of this forum dedicated to discussing the differences and comparisons of gear, pertaining to snow sports, right?
You know that the skill set of a skier has an impact on how a ski performs and is therefore a relevant part of the discussion when comparing gear, right? If I can't properly bend an FIS ski and call it bad does that make it true? It certainly makes it true for ME but not in general.
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I get what @Tony Storaro is talking about though -- if there is a shop that doesn't know how to tune it properly, a tip to tail tune can be awful to ski. Getting it done right, and the ski truly comes alive.
I don't see why not, just so long as you get them flat. Also, I wouldn't prioritize it.
In all fairness, I think the esteemed Mr. Storano is apposed to any tuning of tips and tails, at least when it comes to Stöcklis. I, however, always tune my Stöcklis Tip to Tail, and would not be tempted to change. Perhaps Tony needs a better tuner? Wait .... Tony hates all things SL, so it actually makes sense that he can't handle a complete tune.
@TheArchitect hit it right on the head with his quote below. For me the skier skill set makes for all the difference in the world when it comes to ski evaluation. Basically I have to know how a reviewer ski prior to accepting their review.
Do I want to read a review from an intermediate skier on a high performance ski. The answer is not only "No", but "Hell No." They have absolutely no clue what they are evaluating.
@KingGrump 100% agree with your POV on reviews and completely aligned with your perspective on to many folks looking for the silver bullet. I also agree that @TheArchitect hit it right on the head with his quote, but so did @Jeronimo. Bottom line is that we are a community of people who love to ski and discuss all things ski related. That means sharing personal opinions about our experiences skiing and trying different gear. This is not the same thing as a formal ski review. The beauty of this is we can have different opinions and preferences when it comes to skis and also agree to disagree. So it is a bit of a cop out to toss "skills matter" out when someone has a valid comparative opinion about two skis they skied side by side in the same conditions that differs from your opinion of that ski.@TheArchitect hit it right on the head with his quote below. For me the skier skill set makes for all the difference in the world when it comes to ski evaluation. Basically I have to know how a reviewer ski prior to accepting their review.
Do I want to read a review from an intermediate skier on a high performance ski. The answer is not only "No", but "Hell No." They have absolutely no clue what they are evaluating. Ski performance while straight lining from the back seat is not what I am interested in.
TBH, many on this forum, don't even know what they don't know when it comes to making turns. Skill set matter more than hardware. If you have any doubts, ask any of the attendee of the just finished Taos mini-gathering. Ask them whether their Stöckli out skied the Volkl and Blossoms during the gathering. A ski will only take you so far. Usually that is nowher near far enough.
Yeah, we can throw some money at the shiny new hardware but that will not make you a better skier. No difference from the skiers in the lift line with their 130s on a hard pack day. They looked cool, but that is it.
TBH, many of the poster in this thread reminds me of this. Looking for the silver bullet.
Another illusion shattered.........................Yeah, we can throw some money at the shiny new hardware but that will not make you a better skier.
So I was all set on getting a laser ar this season after demoing them last season. Idea was to get a new pair for east coast and use my older sr95 (13/14) for trips west. I don’t get out too much anymore, so the sr95 are still in good shape
Then I got caught up in the idea that I should get an augment ar88, which I probably would have done if I could find them in a 179. But that’s impossible. So now I’m back to thinking I should get the laser ar maybe in a 182.
But then part of me says I love the sr95 so much, maybe get a new sr95 and just use that? Or an augment 98? But too wide for east full time?
I’m horrible sometimes when I need to make a decision.