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What does playful mean re: skis?

Pete in Idaho

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Hey Old Guys. Embrace the new skis, bindings, boots etc. etc. they will make your transition back easier and much more fun than BEFORE not to mention safer. I started in leather boots over 55 yrs ago and did not give up skiing for one single winter. Now I am 79 and skiing technically probably better than ever a lot of this has to do with my equipment. Embrace the new and have fun.
 

Bill Talbot

Vintage Gear Curator
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Nov 9, 2015
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New England
Hey Old Guys. Embrace the new skis, bindings, boots etc. etc. they will make your transition back easier and much more fun than BEFORE not to mention safer. I started in leather boots over 55 yrs ago and did not give up skiing for one single winter. Now I am 79 and skiing technically probably better than ever a lot of this has to do with my equipment. Embrace the new and have fun.


I find it to be great fun to use both the old and the new! I might ski 'modern' skis in the morning and then head out in the afternoon on something from the 80's. They are both great fun and compliment each other greatly. One not better than the other, just different.

vive la différence :)
 

Steve

SkiMangoJazz
Pass Pulled
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Nov 13, 2015
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2,338
My Soul 7,s I consider to be playful.
 
Thread Starter
TS
J

justplanesteve

Getting off the lift
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Mar 6, 2021
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287
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Elmira, NY
Hey Old Guys. Embrace the new skis, bindings, boots etc. etc. they will make your transition back easier and much more fun than BEFORE not to mention safer. I started in leather boots over 55 yrs ago and did not give up skiing for one single winter.

11 yrs younger than you, but sounds like we started about the same year, 1965-ish. However, i missed a lot of years and never could ski as often as desired. Charnita (now Ski Liberty) was being developed. A rep went around and gave programs at the grade schools, and then on Wednesday nites, kids skied for $2 including rentals, so long as you had the chit signed by a teacher. For years i didn't know you could ski in the daytime :) The big mountain for us was Blue Knob. Both places helped put the ice in "ice coast" skiing.

Now I am 79 and skiing technically probably better than ever a lot of this has to do with my equipment. Embrace the new and have fun.

I think you are right, something about the new equipment has allowed me to progress in leaps and bounds (no pun intended) actually beyond where i last left of a dozen years ago (other than bump skiing). But another advantage is all the videos that did not exist when we were kids. I practice stork turns when not with my speed demon buddy. That one exercise more than any other has helped put me in better habit to things i knew i was supposed to be doing, but lacked methodology to attain and stay there. I wonder if it's possible to do slow to medium speed stork turns keeping the toe of the raised inside ski grazing snow, if the entire frame & balance is not right? Other than some refinement & timing to avoid over rotation.

My report above about past Monday found me appreciating but ambivalent about the new skis, and feeling more secure as well as more precise on the old ones. This was on mostly hard snow and some moderate (not glare) ice.

Friday again at Elk i skied the new shaped skis first, had a ball, most any run except still can't get in the swing of moguls. Nonetheless, was looking forward to a run on the old long skis before breaking (ahem) for lunch.
In fact, i could not ski on the old ones. It shocked me as i barely managed to stay on my feet and barely turned away from the lift reverting to snow plow and stepped turns. When the green slope speeded up, i could not turn in the mashed potatoes and literally fell down. I got up and tried again and everything felt so alien i wondered for more than a moment if it was going to be possible to make it down under control on greens and blues. I can't remember learning to ski, but it felt like that must be what it feels like. Like you see everyone doing it, but it is flat impossible to ski. That was a shocker.

Of course i made it, as things gradually came back. But i went in for late lunch and the romance is off.
Nevertheless, as others have commented, I'll probably keep skiing both styles in future. At least for now in my progression, they reinforce each other for some of the stuff i'm learning, and, darn it, the old long board ice skates are fun at times in the right place.

smt<-----hopes to learn modern carving at moderate speed before the legs retire :) & maybe be able to ski some sedate bumps again at some point.
 
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Pete in Idaho

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St. Maries - Northern Idaho
Yep, videos and Pugski help too. Followed "pivot slip" thread here and came to realization that I was doing this and didn't know it. Next sorta steep mogul run I did pivot slips on purpose all the way down and was amazed at my better speed control. Even old guys learn.
 

DreaminBoutPow

Amateur hour
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Mar 16, 2021
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Pennsylvania
My definition of "playful" is mainly tied to stiffness and ease of pivoting, sliding and smearing. So, it stands to reason that to me, playfulness is usually heavily linked to the tail stiffness and level of rocker. A stiff carving ski with a pintail really hangs onto the carve and therefore is very much not playful to me, conversely a twin-tip is very playful. Directional all mountain skis with various levels of tail rocker fall somewhere in between.
 

Slemers

Getting off the lift
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Jan 31, 2021
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PNW
Yep, videos and Pugski help too. Followed "pivot slip" thread here and came to realization that I was doing this and didn't know it. Next sorta steep mogul run I did pivot slips on purpose all the way down and was amazed at my better speed control. Even old guys learn.
You and me both Pete, I've been doing alot of pivot slips too. They are easy and fun to do when I get tired. Sometimes I do them backwards and do kind of a backwards J turn. Then let momentum start a turn left or right down the slope ;)
 

Ecimmortal

Getting off the lift
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PDX
I would think that every person definition of playful is also dependent on their intentions.
 

Ryan Perham

Putting on skis
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May 23, 2019
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Seattle, WA
I get the impression that it's used to describe different things, therefore I think it's a bad descriptor. I suspect that playful has been used for all of these different characteristics (I'd say the first few are the most likely uses).

1. A ski that's really easy to pivot in soft snow and technical terrain (usually because of taper and rocker and sometimes lower swing weight), allowing you to 'play' around in trees and technical terrain.

2. A ski that comes alive at slow speeds. Most skis will feel energetic at some point, but some will feel sluggish till you get them up to speed. Some skis, however will feel energetic and light, even at slow speeds and will be ready to 'play' from the get go.

3. A ski with a forward mount point, which allows you to feel balanced when doing tricks.

4. A ski with a flex pattern that is good for popping off jumps and natural hits.

5. A ski that makes quick turns (usually because of a smaller turning radius)

6. A ski with a stiff tail and decent camber that gives back a lot of energy.

It's possible to have a ski that's great in one of these characteristics, but not the other(s). You could have a ski that pivots well, but takes a lot of speed and input to be at its best. This I suppose would be the 'playful charger' that everyone says they want. Conversely, you could have a ski that is really energetic at slow speeds, but doesn't pivot through technical terrain and soft snow.
 

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