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What should I rent/buy? Advanced Beginner/Intermediate in Tahoe

crusty

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Hello!

I am currently skiing my first full season at Diamond Peak (been out about 9 times so far). I didn't grow up skiing, but had a handful of lessons over the years. I'm currently renting, but considering what to do for next season. Season long rentals are $250 for the most basic K2 Strikes, and demo ski rentals are probably $350 or so for the season where I live.

With the end of season sales approaching, I'm wondering if I should consider buying a first set of skis as opposed to renting next season. I feel like demo rentals for a season are close to a used pair of skis or ones on sale/clearance.

Me: I'm 5'11" and 180-185lbs, athletic.

Where I ski: Diamond Peak and occasionally Sugar Bowl, rarely North Star or Heavenly. Going to be up at least 10 days next season.

Skill level: I'd say advanced beginner or intermediate. I'm spending most of this year chasing my kids who are also learning to ski on the greens and easy blues, but feel confident I can do the blues at Diamond Peak (did the steepest blue at the end of the day in a whiteout snow storm but with a few stops on the way down and mostly skidded turns). I can parallel skid turn and can side slip down hills, hockey stop, jump and turn, etc. The only time I snow plough/pizza is if I'm right behind my kids and intentionally tailgating them.

What I want the ski for: I would like to be able to ski all blues up to medium blacks next season with confidence in typical Tahoe conditions. I'm also interested in taking some lessons for moguls, carving, etc. I would like to be in the trees some of the time, would like to learn to ride switch and do smallish jumps when the kids are doing easier runs, etc. I'm guessing I'll be spending at least all of next season inbounds. I want an everyday ski I can use for several seasons and hope I won't need another pair until I have more specialized needs (powder, off-piste, going much faster, etc).

Current set up: I own good boots I got fitted for me this year, so I'm good there. Rental skis are 167cm K2 Strikes (I previously had 162cm but they felt very unstable in crud and slightly faster speeds).

I'm not a charger. I feel like I'm actually pretty slow in comparison to more advanced skiers but it's unclear if my lack of speed is from uncertainty in technique or the skis feeling bumpy/squirrelly whenever I am picking up speed, especially at the end of the day when it's choppy and icy.

TL;DR -
  1. Should I rent skis next season or buy something on sale in a few weeks?
  2. Which skis should I be looking at to buy or rent? What length and width should I be looking at?
  3. Should I care about bindings at this stage? Any DIN calculator I've used has put me at 10 even if I say I'm expert and aggressive, which I'm not.
Thanks!
 

François Pugh

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I think having your own equipment is better. Were I you I would buy some used skis, used but not abused. Get fitted for boots at a ski shop. Make sure the bindings on your skis are on the indemnified list.

Having your own equipment makes things a lot simpler, and unless you do a season rental you don't get used to your equipment getting different rentals a lot of the time. Plus spending time in rental line ups is never fun.

Boots are most important piece of equipment. They have to fit.
 

François Pugh

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If you were skiing here in Ontario Canada, or on Vancouver Island, I would have some recommendations for skis you, but it's best you get information from someone who knows the snow conditions where you ski (I don't). If you get a used pair, it's not that much of an investment, and skis can last a long time, there are quite a few skis that would work perfectly fine even though they may be a decade old or older and dirt cheap. Real advancements only came in deep snow skiing, not much changed in groomer zoomer skis.
 

raytseng

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I'm going to point you over to here.


There are too many skis that would work fine for you, and it is impossible for us to optimize given that price and availability vs your ability and your fussiness about equipment is a very personal factor.

I will suggest you get a ski something made within the last 3years; googling those k2strikes are 7years old and not really the optimal equipment to help you achieve your goals in the fastest way possible.

Options: you can read up on the internet ski magazines, stores (both online and brick and mortar) , as well as this forum for top picks or there are probably at least 20 choices that fit your criteria and are all fine. But then you have to cross that with what is actually available to you for purchase and pricing.

Once you have it down to a handful of actual skis to decide between and actually purchase, we can help give you advice on which option is the optimal one for you.

It is also much easier to make an upgrade once you have a baseline and you know what you are looking for; but you need to just get something. Based on your post, I would warn that you may grow out your first pair of skis, so don't get super attached to them, and used true demos are fine.

All this being said, if you're having fun, you're having fun; so feel free to also go your own way as well.
 
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Philpug

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I believe Village Ski Loft will be doing some demos at Diamond Peak soon, call them to find the schedule. While you might not learn exactly what you want in a selection, you might learn what you want in a ski. I would suggest a ski that is in the low to mo 170cm length and mist to upper 80mm underfoot range. Remember the conditions and weather we get in Tahoe, we get 4 feet of snow at a time then 4 weeks of sun, get a ski for the latter, not the former.

In the meantime, check out our ski reviews here (link at the top of the page) and click on the size ranges and see what might peak your interest.
 

Philpug

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BigSlick

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You are about the same height and weight as I am, so it sounds like your current skis are too short. I started on the old, old Rossi Experience 82s (82 mm skis) at 172 cm length when I got back into the sport some years ago. The following season, I moved up to the next (last) gen in those skis in 88 mm and 173 for a little more versatility. When I started regularly skiing black diamonds and off-piste again, I found the 172-173 length to lack the stability I needed, so I ended buying skis at 180 mm and 88mm width, which I've found is perfect for skiing with the kids and for non-pow days in Tahoe.
 
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crusty

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Does your 180cm have tip and tail rocker? I have a buddy who has a 180 Rustler 10 that he might be able to hook me up with, but worried that's too long and too wide for me...
 

gratedwasabi

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Does your 180cm have tip and tail rocker? I have a buddy who has a 180 Rustler 10 that he might be able to hook me up with, but worried that's too long and too wide for me...

I'd say the Rustler series might be a bit more advanced than you want. Some people occasionally recommend them for intermediates but I think they have some attributes that aren't great. The 10 is also a pretty wide ski.

I do have a lightly used pair of Mindbender 90c in 177 if those look appealing to you. I was just getting ready to put them on marketplace for $400. But something like that would probably be better for you, IMO.

Qst 92, MB 90c, Exp Ti 86, Ripstick 88 or 96, etc. I'd look in the 176-180 range and 86-96 underfoot. If you want to really push up a bit you could look at the Qst 98, which are amazing skis.
 

BigSlick

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Does your 180cm have tip and tail rocker? I have a buddy who has a 180 Rustler 10 that he might be able to hook me up with, but worried that's too long and too wide for me...
I wouldn't go with the Rustler 10 (yet), too wide for most Tahoe days, especially when snow plowing behind the kid. I would stick to the 80-90mm range, add a wider ski like the Rustler 10 when you are comfortable in powder and off-piste. My current 88mm ski is the last generation Rossi Exp 88ti. It has tip rocker/camber, no real tail rocker. Skied it pretty much all last year given the conditions, did fine in the firm moguls. The new Rossi Exp 86ti or Exp 86 Basalt would be the closest to that ski. Maybe look at the Elan Wingman 86CTi (172 or 178) or 86Ti (176), or if you want some tail rocker the Ripstick 88 in 180 (they measure short and are not stiff):






I think all of these skis remained unchanged from last year other than graphics, so you may be able to find a 2022 version for cheaper out there.
 
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crusty

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I've been scouring the web and found some skis that interest me (from reading reviews/descriptions). Can anyone tell me if any of these are a good fit for me or should I just wait? Not in a hurry, just seeing sales now.

New
  1. 2023 Atomic Bent 85 no bindings (175cm) $400
  2. 2022 Elan Ripstick 88 no bindings (180cm) $400
Used
  1. 2017 Soloman QST 85 with Warden 11 demo (177cm) $330, good condition
  2. 2022 Rossignol Black Ops Smasher with Look XPress 10 GW demo (180cm) $450, very good condition
  3. 2021 Soloman QST 85 with Marker Griffon 13 ID (177cm) $410, very good condition
  4. 2018 Soloman QST 92 with Warden 13 MNC (177cm) $410, good condition
 
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crusty

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FYI I saw this YouTube video and I feel I’m about this level, slightly below on steepest blues and easy blacks at Diamond Peak:
 

Dougb

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There are a ton of good skis in the mid-80s. Like @Philpug said, that’s probably all you need for Tahoe unless you find yourself there on a powder day. Check out the reviews here on the (new) Rossi Experience 86s, either the Basalt or Ti. I haven’t skied them myself, but everyone says they are easy, versatile, and fun.
 

gratedwasabi

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There are so many intermediate friendly skis in the 85-95 range. Depending on your personality you can either demo a bunch or pick one and just be happy with it. Qst, Exp, Ripstick, and a bunch more.. are all going to be excellent skis.
 

DesmoDog

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As a returning skier I was putting a ton of thought into what skis to buy. I finally decided I didn't have a clue what I wanted as far as playfull vs whatever vs whatever. I've skied on modern skis a few times but not enough to have any clue what sort of shape or length I prefer so I decided to buy a pair of Head V10 demos from here because they came with Tyrolia Protector bindings.

THAT said, I've more or less convinced myself it's pretty much my duty as a Michigan resident to buy some Shaggy's skis next summer, probably in a 105, and maybe just leave them at my sister's house in Frisco so I can fly in with just my boots. :)
 

The Retired Skier

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There are a ton of good skis in the mid-80s. Like @Philpug said, that’s probably all you need for Tahoe unless you find yourself there on a powder day. Check out the reviews here on the (new) Rossi Experience 86s, either the Basalt or Ti. I haven’t skied them myself, but everyone says they are easy, versatile, and fun.

This. ^^^^^^^

These are GREAT skis and you will not "outgrow" them, even if you reach expert level. Easy to ski, stable and fun but virtually no speed limit (for the Ti version). These Rossis are an absolutely perfect narrow ski for a quiver, as well!
 
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crusty

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Thank you everyone for your help! I ended up finding 40% off for a pair of QST 92's with Tyrolia AM12 bindings. I couldn't resist the deal, but did a ton of research these last few days, and I think these are right for me.
 

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