UKC

Hi

I am looking at getting a new pair of skis and thought i would take advantage of the end of season sales.
I am looking for an all mountain/ twin tip that i can use with a pair of Baron/dukes or the new Saloman binding when it comes out, but am unsure what skis to get so was hoping that the collective wisdom of UKC might be able to help

it has been suggested that im about an intermediate standard, but managed to get a job in Canada for next year so hoping to ski a fair bit more once im out there.

I am about 5ft9 and weigh about 10 and a half stone, currently skiing on my girlfriends very old 155 slalom skis.

Currently looking at:

Scott mission, 168/ Predator, 172
The atomic theory, 168
The Saloman 2012, 171

what are peoples opinions on these skis, anything else i should look at?

Thanks in Advance

In reply to Andrew_ing: I just used the Scott Mission 168s for a week in France (on and off piste, fresh powder through to crud). They were the best all rounder skis I've used and I'm planning to buy myself a pair. You're lighter than me so you'll get better floatation. I haven't used any of the others but from what I've heard from other people, you can't really go wrong with the missions!

In reply to Andrew_ing: It really depends on exactly what you mean by 'all mountain' and how much touring you're planning to do on them. Assuming you're not wanting to spend much (any) time on the pistes, and you are going to be spending a lot of time climbing or skinning with them there might be some other good options out there.

I'd be tempted to go at least 100mm underfoot for skiing freeride and touring in Canada, and I'd probably go a bit longer as well. I'm about 5'9" too (although a wee bit heavier than you) and my touring skis are 181 and my freeride skis are 186 - I'd probably go up to about 188/190 if I was to get some powder-specific skis. It all depends on what you plan to do I guess (and what intermediate standard means) but it might be worth having a look at some of K2 and Black Diamond skis as well. I can't comment specifically on the ones you've mentioned but have heard very good things about the Missions.

Atomic Bent Chetler. 192. Everyone should have at least 50 pairs. (I didn't really read what you wrote so you should probably just ignore this. Unless you want to get laid.)

In reply to Aly:
Thanks for the quick response , realistically i think we plan to spend about 40% of our time on piste and 60% off.
Andy

In reply to Andrew_ing:

I'm looking at these

Salomon Sentinel
Volkl Mantra

In reply to Andrew_ing:

And pretty much the same size as the OP, only a few kg more.

What Aly said is pretty much spot on.

You'll want 100mm in the waist for the skis. And around 180 cm or tad more in length. You might gonna fatter with the skis, it will depend on where in CAN you'll going to be.

But bear in mind, that ski gear is pretty much cheaper in US/CAN... So you could easily get some nice small brand skis, like Moments, pRaxis or On3ps... and there's a bunch more to choose from.

In reply to HeMa: Thanks for the advice, have manged to land a job in Banff so will probs ski mainly in sunshine and lake Louise, i will have a look at some slightly fatter skis

In reply to Andrew_ing:


For those, 100-110mm should suit ya fine.

Kickin' Horse and around there, the Bent Cheitler would actually be a pretty good option for an all rounder ski (albeit the 183 for us shorties).

Prior has some good planks as well.

In reply to Andrew_ing:

ANother vote for Scott Missions. Great allrounder I ski mostly off pise but they carve well enough on piste, light enough for touring. All skis are a compromise and some may not find the Missions stiff enough for carving ice and blasting crud at high speed. But for me they are good to flex when you want them to and help absorb the bumps and drops

In reply to Andrew_ing:

Mantra's are very popular with mountain pro's, there a good solid ski.

I'd personally recommend (cause I ski on them all the time)
K2 Sideshow 90mm
K2 Hardside 98mm
K2 Coomback 102mm

All work well with either a Marker or Dynafit binder

Sorry none of these are 'double enders' but thats because they're not as good for touring!

In reply to Andrew_ing:
Thanks for feedback its been really helpful, am very tempted by a pair of missions although after reading advice on here fear they may be a little slim for what we want to do in canada so may look at something fatter like the line sir Francis bacon which has a width of 108

In reply to Andrew_ing: Have you had a look at the Whitedot range too Andrew? Grabbed myself a pair this sales! As they are normally hella-expesive. Beautiful skis though!

In reply to Andrew_ing:

110mm waist sounds very wide to me if you'll be spending half your time on-piste. I have a pair of 172 Scott Punishers (basically a softer, twin-tip Mission), I am the same weight as you and they give me all the float in the world at 89mm, with the added bonus of being far quicker edge-to-edge than any 100-110mm ski on-piste.

Rob

In reply to hokipoki: I would love a pair of white dot skis, but as you said they are proper expensive, when did you get yours i will have to have a look if the sales are still on

In reply to Matt250:

Pretty happy with my 182's after a recent trip to Japan. I thought 123mm underfoot would be a real handful on piste but they are very well behaved, and this is after "graduating" from a pair of 90mm scotts. I think the rocker with camber underfoot has been refined enough for these sorts of skis to make sense for the person of average abilities, looking to ski all sorts of conditions.

In reply to robaj: They may "sound very very wide to you" but have you actually skid any???

My K2s (while being shitey K2s) are fine on piste and great off piste (at 98mm) but I'd still like more for the deep days...

Wider skis are actually not hard to ski on piste. Ok, you're not going to be busting out deep GS carves...but if that's what you want to do, then...hmm....time to start saving and building a quiver!

Go wide, or buy twice....

In reply to Andrew_ing: im looking at a new ski to add to my quiver around 100 underfoot and 180 long to fill the gap between my skinny skis and my powder skis so somthing that would make a good one ski quiver for someone like you. my top three at the moment are the PM Gear Bro 179, the Prior Husume XTC and the DPS wailer 99 pure. None are cheap but they will last unlike some of the mass produced skis and are also light which makes a huge difference when you want to tour on them.

I've got a pair of black diamond verdicts and think they handle really well both on and off piste. They handle really well in all conditions, packed, groomed, ice, slush, powder, and spring snow.

They're a great ski for free-ride, but not really recommended for touring. As you're not that heavy I wouldn't worry too much about getting a super fat ski. If you're looking for something lighter for touring then I'd go for the Dynastar mythic light, it's a bit narrower at the waist than the verdict, but seemed to give similar amounts of float.

Gear is a lot cheaper out in the US and Canada so my advice would be to buy out there, either in stores or check out the TGR forum.

If you're skiing a lot in Canada I wouldn't get anything too long. Canada has a lot of trees and some of them are very tightly spaced.

Also why twin-tips? If you're touring they are more hassle - harder to get skins on; harder to push into the snow at stops.

When you say 60% off-piste is that going to be slack country or actual touring? If proper touring I would look at lightening your set-up assuming the boots work. Something like a Fritchi binding will still work in-bounds and won't hamper you like a Marker Baron on bigger days away from resorts.

I have a dedicated touring ski - G3 Saint which is 90something underfoot and 179 long mounted with Dynafits - makes a huge difference. I"m 6ft and weigh 75kg.

The skiing near Banff / Lake Louise is generally only boot-top / shin deep powder on any given day even away from resorts. I've had perhaps three days (out of perhaps 20 odd this year) where I've wished for something fatter.

In reply to Mark Sweatmasn:

of the 60% touring I think to start with we will spend about 70% in the 'slack country' then as we gain more experience and the year progresses we plan to do more touring building up to multi day tours

In reply to Andrew_ing:
Thanks for all the advice, been some really useful comments, plenty to think on, and the next step is to try some of these suggestions somewhere.

Particualy keen on the white dots atm especially as they seem to be silly cheap atm
Andy

In reply to Andrew_ing:

For a really good touring ski I would recommend either Movement Logic or x logic series.Can´t go wrong with either.

Matej

In reply to Andrew_ing: get a snowboard

In reply to Andrew_ing:
Stockli PIt PRo - better than excellent
For out and out touring I have used the Stockli Stormrider light all season and have been very impressed.

In reply to Fultonius:

Fair point! I have not...that said, no matter how much fat skis improve, they will be slower from turn to turn on-piste. That's not to say they won't still be fun and easy! How long are your K2s and how heavy are you? 98mm sounds like a nice compromise for 50/50 piste/off piste. I honestly find it hard to imagine needing or wanting mor float out of mine! I have run them in the deepest pow and they simply don't sink...

Rob

In reply to robaj:

*more