Asymmetrical vs Symmetrical Skis

OLDFRED

OLDFRED

Member
Sorry...I'm looking for a second ski and was very interested in the Volkl Chopstick ...but with the influx of symmetrical skis cambered and reversed cambered/rockered coming out next year, I was wondering a few things:

1) symmetrical skis seem for the most part to have center mounts right? Then if so, can anyone tell me if the switch skiing is really that more noticeable than an asym ski?

2) besides the obvious equal weight to spin advantage are their other benefits over an asym ski...

3) lastly...has anyone ridden a pair of reverse cambered/rockered syms...or are the chopsticks the first of its kind? whooopsss...wrong there...moment makes some I think now...but has anyone ridden a pair and how are they different than asym reverse/rockered skis...

Thanks...and if you have any other suggestions, I'd appreciate it...I'm wanting to know what the chopstick will be like...i have hellies but an sym stiff version of hellbents would even be better but also like the Walls Invaders Disorderlies..
 
depending on the ski...YES..you can ruin the performance or actually decrease what a ski is meant to do by center mounting an asym ski...sym skis are built that you mount them dead center=length in the front and back with =sidecut performance...just check the search bar for more detailed info on center mounting skis...I'm not an expert on it but others on here are very well versed in the pros and cons of center mounting/true center/core center..and all.
 
Mounting an asymetrical ski center really screws up it's carving charecteristics. I am not a fan of centermounting asymetrical skis at all.

As for symmetrical skis and switch skiing performance... It really does make a large difference. They will really carve the same switch as they will forwards.

I can't speak on behalf of the rockered skis though.
 
Yes center mounting symmetrical skis do allow you to carve switch the same way you carve forwards, but keep in mind the forwards skiing is on a center mounted ski as well. I can see if you literally ski switch at 50% of the time it might be ok but you are getting above average carving characteristics both ways instead of excellent forward and decent switch.

I have my prophet 100s mounted recommended and trust me, my switch skiing doesn't come close to feeling shitty. And on the plus side my forward skiing is not hurt at all.

I hope I make sense
 
the anthem video on lines website will help you understand the idea behind symmetrical skis. i like my anthems a lot and would recommend symmetrical skis if you are thinking of center mounting. skiing backwards i can usually ski as fast if not faster than my friends skiing regular, and i am still in total control. carving feels very natural both directions.
 
If you are looking for a stiffer ski than a Hellbent, you might want to look at something other than the Chopstick.
 
Thanks a lot on the switch skiing on sym skis...just wondering if there is anyone who could answer the rockered sym question? Anyone whose rides Moments please answer...because they seem to be the only company this year with symmetrical fat rockered skis....I'd assume that symmetrical skis would allow the same capacity to ski forward or backwards whether normal cam or rockered...

...now just looking for a stiiffer hellbent..symmetrical...
 
that is weird. I was just tried a lot of next years skis, and the chopsticks were by far the least fun ski I tried. It was not a powder day, so obviously that plays a role in it, but they were really heavy and seemingly cumbersome. I tried quite a few pair of rockered skis (EP Pros, JP vs Juliens, Czar, Chopstick, etc.) and in the spring like snow I was in the chopstick impressed me least.
 
I have an old pair of Troublemakers (assymetrical) mounted at true center, and I love the way they ski.

What I can't understand is why no one has made a ski that is supposed to be center mounter, but has an assymetrical flex. Though the edges need to be the same to allow regular and switch skiing, the flex does not. The way your body moves, and thus tranfers energy to a ski, is not the same when going forwards as when going backwards. That is, it is impossible for the same muscles to perform backwards the same way they do forwards. The flex of a ski that is truly made for switch riding should reflect that.
 
First off...thanks everyone for the advice...especially about the chopsticks..sad to hear..can u expand more about the other skis?

As far as ^^^^...I feel the same way, I have an old pair of 1080s that I mounted true and they ski very well also. I'm pretty sure though that the only asym ski right now that has a reverse flex is the Ollson Pro...pretty sure that he has the flex reverse because of all the switch ttakes and landings he does..still doesn't answer your question but that's at least one ski that is reverse flex.

So maybe my ski I should be llooking for is a Moment.
 
Armada JJ: Most fun I had on a ski all day. It has camber underfoot with rocker in the tip and tail. It is stiff underfoot, but leaves you a nice bit of flexibility in the tip and tail, so you can still fuck around on it and have fun. Much less floppy on hardpack than other rockered skis. Did amazingly well on groomers, and even tried it a bit on ice and felt secure. Carved well both forward and switch. Great ski overall.

Salomon Czar: Rockered in the tip only, normal size cut. Tried this ski out for a few runs and was not displeased, but it did not hold up to the JJ. Handled well on groomed, carved well and all. It was not nearly as playful as some of the other skis I tried out as it did not have rocker in the tail, nor was it nearly as buttery. Not a huge fan of the graphics, but a good overall ski for someone looking for an all mountain to powder ski for mainly going forward.

Line EP Pro: Super buttery ski. Flexing these skis never ceases to amaze people, and still give me a kick even after doing it too many times. These skis are fairly light in comparison to others in its class. I only got a chance to try these out on really hard groomers early in the morning, but they still did alright. They are definitely wobbly with speed and it scared me a bit going off piste into a bit of ice. That being said, it would be an excellent pure pow ski for someone who wants a fun noodly ski. If you want to play around in the powder, going forward and switch, this ski is for you.

Volkl Chopstick: Review above. Unresponsive, cumbersome, heavy, etc. Really wanted this ski to be great, but really didn't like it much at all on soft groomed.
 
I found that my brotehrs invaders carved waaaaay better switch than my non center mounted Public enemies did, so i'm going to say symmetricals are much better switch
 
+karma for posting your reviews..

yeah i'm bummed about the chopsticks..the fact that they were rockered and symmetrical was an appealing idea, too bad ...maybe the sidecut wasn't as forgiving...maybe it's a charger...leaning towards JJs or Moment Bibs..but if not, I'll stay w/ my hellies and buy a pair of invaders or disorderlies reno jibs.or another symm ski..i switch ski a lot and enjoy boosting and carving backwards....

 
I would say it all depends on what you want them for. Do you want a true powder ski that you are going to use in a quiver? Or do you want to use this ski as your only ski? If you want a ski that you can use as an all mountain to pow ski, the JJ is the one. Otherwise, keep your Hellbents and grab some invaders, I own these and they are about as fun as you get for a park ski.
 
just to add a point to the sym vs. asym talk i have lizzies and they are not sym but fairly close and i have them true center mounted and found that true ceter for those skis was way better than the recomended mount point (which i first mounted them). also i looked at most of the dimensions for the rockered and it seems like some of them are fairly close to sym. so i think you could get away with center mount and not have problems but it all depends on riding style etc.
 
Isn't it funny that some skis have sweet spots ++recommended...I've heard that some NSers go +1 or +2 of center and it rides much better than standard and you're not fighting with the ski...I centered my first pair of 1080s grey ones w/ wings and they skied much better than the originally stance..well for what I was doing... and then I centered a pair of foils last year..182s and they were shit after, and I had to sell them cause they weren't rideable anywhere else but the pipe.

But you're right about rockered skis..they're almost symmetrical and the sidecut allows for almost similar abilities front or back...I still want to try out an all symmetrical rockered ski. The hellbents are the closest thing and I'm thinking that I'm leaning towards getting a light jib sym ski maybe rocker maybe not...like the reno jib or invader...as my second quiv.
 
Hello everyone, I am from the future. I am currently searching for new skis after riding fully symmetrical skis for 2 seasons. I put 150 + days easy on my On3P filthy riches center mounted, and have to say they were the bomb. I love switch, I ski switch 55% of the time. I love spinning switch, hitting rails switch, carving switch, flipping switch, etc. Now I need a new set. My Filthys have lots of edge missing. Having skied both camber and rocker I prefer rocker, it offers more versatility. It allows the ski to chop your way to the park. You can trick off of anything, and the fact that the ski is perfectly balanced appeals to me greatly for tricks and butters, surfing on snow, while also being able to fly past people forward or switch down the ski out. This type of set up works so well with slush, crud, and west coast bull ish. The full camber ski tailors more to east cost hard core real stuff, man. My main advice is to think about your own past experiences when searching for new skis, think about your style your own approach to the mountain. I am on my search for the perfect light, rocker tip and tail, fully symmetrical, camber under foot, 90 waist, fast swing weight skis. Maybe I'll just invent them.
 
13752305:TheronGustafson said:
Hello everyone, I am from the future. I am currently searching for new skis after riding fully symmetrical skis for 2 seasons. I put 150 + days easy on my On3P filthy riches center mounted, and have to say they were the bomb. I love switch, I ski switch 55% of the time. I love spinning switch, hitting rails switch, carving switch, flipping switch, etc. Now I need a new set. My Filthys have lots of edge missing. Having skied both camber and rocker I prefer rocker, it offers more versatility. It allows the ski to chop your way to the park. You can trick off of anything, and the fact that the ski is perfectly balanced appeals to me greatly for tricks and butters, surfing on snow, while also being able to fly past people forward or switch down the ski out. This type of set up works so well with slush, crud, and west coast bull ish. The full camber ski tailors more to east cost hard core real stuff, man. My main advice is to think about your own past experiences when searching for new skis, think about your style your own approach to the mountain. I am on my search for the perfect light, rocker tip and tail, fully symmetrical, camber under foot, 90 waist, fast swing weight skis. Maybe I'll just invent them.
Click to expand...

hello future person
 
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