The Never-Ending Stöckli Discussion

[Tony S]

Well today's impulse buy was new SR88 with Strive 13 Demo, but in the short 166 length.

I think I posted a couple weeks ago in a "Stormrider 88" thread that I would never consider that ski in the 166 length. My previous mid-80s skis have always been 173-177 , but I've always wondered what the next size down would be like. I am not a charger, preferring not mach-schnell speeds and I prefer to navigate around stuff, vs over/through it. I had been keeping an eye out for a newer MX83 168 or Fischer 86GT 168 for that experiment, but then these SR88 surfaced for next season's fun.

Just let me know when you're done with them. I'm patient.

 

[Tony Storaro]

Well today's impulse buy was new SR88 with Strive 13 Demo, but in the short 166 length.

And that makes you the only person I know of whose 88mm AM/piste ski are (almost) the same length as his FIS SL ski.

 

[ARL67]

^^^ ya that is an odd setup I have going on for now
( maybe I should have bought the 157 instead but I’ll sort that out next season )
Don’t forget I have Laser AR 175 with piston plate coming to me -> my pal in Connecticut is visiting / delivering them this weekend and I plan to use them on my last ski day on Wednesday. Then wife and I are off to Mexico the following week, and I suspect I will return to golf season instead.

 

[TahoeWarrior]

Not everyone will agree with this. I’ve wanted to get past my AXs for the sake of simplicity and rely wholly on my WRT Pros. What I’ve found is nothing replaces the AX for softish snow conditions from packed to say 4 inches of light to medium snow. I love the Pros but use them on different, firmer days than the AX. Not that there have been many of those in much of the Rockies this year.

Also, some of us don’t really love the ARs.

How does one not "really love" the ARs. The more I ski my ARs the more I love them. I used to only ski them on hard pack groomer days, but lately I've found myself off piste more and more with them. Different strokes, different folks I guess.
I now want something Ar(ish) but wider for a similar feel that is more off piste oriented....

 

[BmbrMcGnrly]

How does one not "really love" the ARs. The more I ski my ARs the more I love them. I used to only ski them on hard pack groomer days, but lately I've found myself off piste more and more with them. Different strokes, different folks I guess.
I now want something Ar(ish) but wider for a similar feel that is more off piste oriented....

People who don't love the ARs just aren't skiing fast enough...

 

[KingGrump]

People who don't love the ARs just aren't skiing fast enough...

Doesn't take much to ski fast. Gravity sucks.
Skiing slow, OTOH...

 

[Dos-Equis]

How does one not "really love" the ARs. The more I ski my ARs the more I love them. I used to only ski them on hard pack groomer days, but lately I've found myself off piste more and more with them. Different strokes, different folks I guess.
I now want something Ar(ish) but wider for a similar feel that is more off piste oriented....

bought both the Laser AX and AR and ended up loving the AX and deciding to sell the AR. The tip seemed disproportionately wide to the tail and the tail seemed soft. I’ve enjoyed wider tip skis (like the Liberty v82) but something on the AR just felt out of balance to me. I much preferred the Kendo 88 and am buying a pair to fill my mid 80s charger role.
My understanding is the montero AR narrows the tip and stiffens the tail. I wonder if I’d like it more.

 

[Tony Storaro]

Doesn't take much to ski fast. Gravity sucks.
Skiing slow, OTOH...

That’s why you buy FIS SL ski-so you can ski slowly very very fast.

 

[Jeronimo]

Doesn't take much to ski fast. Gravity sucks.
Skiing slow, OTOH...

Good god this is true. I discovered a new meaning to fast on my Laser GS at White Heat yesterday. Learned somethings about myself in that run...

 

[JCF]

Doesn't take much to ski fast. Gravity sucks.
Skiing slow, OTOH...

Yes - this.

I find, with the WRTP's, skiing them fast is THEIR natural pace. The faster you go the easier and smoother they are to ski.

But try to get them to go slow - thats WAY more difficult. They resist. It takes a lot of concentration and perfect technique.
And I find it is becoming more fun and way more of a challenge to ski steeps that way.

And conversely, on blues, I let'em rip Skip.

And the AR's - love them but only use them if the snow starts to pile up.

 

[anders_nor]

Yes - this.

I find, with the WRTP's, skiing them fast is THEIR natural pace. The faster you go the easier and smoother they are to ski.

But try to get them to go slow - thats WAY more difficult. They resist. It takes a lot of concentration and perfect technique.
And I find it is becoming more fun and way more of a challenge to ski steeps that way.

And conversely, on blues, I let'em rip Skip.

And the AR's - love them but only use them if the snow starts to pile up.

hmm I find the WRT pro to not like the mach1 of the 185 GS and such, and it quite fun going slow, on a steep run that is

 

[JCF]

hmm I find the WRT pro to not like the mach1 of the 185 GS and such, and it quite fun going slow, on a steep run that is

The first part goes without saying - though they move plenty fast (relatively speaking) when you let them go.
And yes - the slow on steep is more fun.
The hardest of all is slow on flatter terrain.

 

[Tony Storaro]

Yes - this.

I find, with the WRTP's, skiing them fast is THEIR natural pace. The faster you go the easier and smoother they are to ski.

But try to get them to go slow - thats WAY more difficult. They resist. It takes a lot of concentration and perfect technique.
And I find it is becoming more fun and way more of a challenge to ski steeps that way.

And conversely, on blues, I let'em rip Skip.

And the AR's - love them but only use them if the snow starts to pile up.

WRTs especially in 180 can be very frustrating animal. They are so sublime when you drive them fast and hard that you want to do it all the time.
Which I cannot. Because other people. Which I hate. Hence-frustration.

 

[smctigue]

WRTs especially in 180 can be very frustrating animal. They are so sublime when you drive them fast and hard that you want to do it all the time.
Which I cannot. Because other people. Which I hate. Hence-frustration.

People are the worst.

 

[Jeronimo]

Yes - this.

I find, with the WRTP's, skiing them fast is THEIR natural pace. The faster you go the easier and smoother they are to ski.

I'm trying to figure this out on mine. I end up reaching a speed that is "too fast" for my comfort level and I am then unwilling(scared?) to really stomp into them to bend them enough to come across the fall line. This is always when I end up running away and going lightspeed.

 

[KingGrump]

I'm trying to figure this out on mine. I end up reaching a speed that is "too fast" for my comfort level and I am then unwilling(scared?) to really stomp into them to bend them enough to come across the fall line. This is always when I end up running away and going lightspeed.

It's all in the turn shape.

 

[HootSki]

So for those of you on the 2023 SR 95, can you give me some feedback on the 175 and 184 lengths? I'm trying to decide between these 2 lengths. I'm 5'8" and 160 pounds (down 70 pounds from last year). I live in Utah and am part of the Park City Masters program so I am comfortable on FIS GS & SL skis. Currently have the Laser AX in both 175 & 182 length (like them both for different reasons but would take the 175 if I could only own 1), WRT ST in 172 length with WRT 16 bindings, and many many other non-Stockli skis. The skis I currently have in the mid 90-100 width are the Kastle MX99s and I have these in the 176 and 184 length and the Enforcer 100 in a 186. Love my Kastle MX99s but not a huge fan of the Enforcers. With the MX99s, I do prefer the 176 length now that I have lost so much weight. My MX99s come alive the faster I push them. I do like to charge hard most of the time but I hear the SR95 is still very capable at speed but also very good when wanting to just throttle back some and take it easy. These will not replace my MX99s but I am intrigued with the hype they get and want to give them a try. So based off all this and my background, do you think I would enjoy the 175 or 184 length?

 

[JCF]

Let them turn you/turn them uphill - preferably before they start running away from you.
At least thats what I've been working on in the steeps. Start slow, stay slow. Not so easy sometimes.

 

[JCF]

Are the people here dissatisfied with the AR's changing the base angle ?
To me that defeats the purpose of the design as a more off piste or "side piste" all mountain ski. Whereas the AX is a more on piste ski.
Base angle in 3 inches plus of snow is not as critical (though please correct me if I am wrong here) and that is where I find their sweet spot.
So I guess sharpening the base to me angle makes sense to me on the X, but less on the R and may even make the AR seem "too soft" in hard snow.
The only thing I don't like about my AR's is that I would have sized up if I had known how good they were in deeper snow ( 3-5,fresh or chopped-up)

 

[anders_nor]

haven't received a pair of skis with correct base angle as what mfg claim, ever I think

For some reason I want to bend skis into shorter radius turns than they want, not saying I do it well, but it just feels so good when you manage to hang onto the trail of your buddy in 1-3 meter shorter radius skis putting in work

so skiing the 16.4 at say 20-22 just feels wrong