Best park ski

J

JakeB16

New member
Yo I’m a beginner to park but am trying to really get into it this season. I’m currently riding Rossi smash 7s but am looking to get a more park oriented ski. I’m 6”2 and 160 and ski the east coast.
 
There have been a few posts about this in the past so I'm sure if you search you can find them.

K2: Press

Volkl: Revolt, Bash

Armada: ARVs

Line TW pro, Chronics, Honey Badger

For rails I've got an old pair of Nordica Double Sixs that are pretty slick, kinda like the grandfather of the Soul Riders

These are probably gonna be the ones you see mentioned a lot. Both cost-effective (Volkels on the upper end) and lighter swing weight GENERALLY.
 
I personally love the Line Blends, they’re super soft and super fun, great on rails and fine on jumps if you aren’t hucking dubs or anything like that. They aren’t the cheapest but are totally worth it.
 
What kind of park skiing do you want to do? Rails only? Big jumps? Butters? You’re going to have to make trade offs depending on what you want to get into. You mentioned this is your first park ski, so I’d say just get something cheap and kinda stiff but not prohibitively and after a little while decide what direction you want to take and buy the best for that direction.
 
I’m going to be mostly rails and a few small jumps. I would also prefer the ski to be on the cheaper side
 
14126027:JakeB16 said:
I’m going to be mostly rails and a few small jumps. I would also prefer the ski to be on the cheaper side
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Vishnu Wets/Wides

also peep https://surfaceskis.com/collections/all-skis for some cheap park skis, not amazing durability tho

I guess you could also go for K2 Sight, Press, Poacher

Line Twall, Honey Badger, Chronic, Blend

Armada ARV 86, 96, Bdog, Edollo

Do you like soft or stiff skis?

Keep your eye out for end-of-season deals

**This post was edited on Apr 5th 2020 at 3:56:19pm
 
line blends are the most reliable ski I have owned. I only ski them on 10cm+ days and warm days (above -5C) which I feel protects their integrity, but I have had them for 6 seasons and they only have 1 edge crack between the two of them.

however they are not the most fun for riding park if it's not slushy.

armada halos are my favourite jump ski I've owned but once you blow out over 1" of edge you can't turn to save your life with those 82mm underfoot or whatever.

overall the best park ski I owned was the icelantic danollie. they didn't last super long but they were fun as fuck in and out of the park. only downfalls were that the rocker made them a bit loose on ice, and they were soft too so jumps over 40' were iffy but danollies are the most fun ski I've owned.

OP you should get some 178 line blends or some 180 danollies if you can find any new or barely used.

since you're new, the park ski you pick isn't so important, but just that it's the proper size and you don't get them mounted too far back. when you go look for skis, look for symmetry in the shape and flex. and when you get them mounted, get them only a few mm back from the center or dead center. note that the CENTER line is not always the center of the ski, and that a lot techs don't know or care. I some of my skis mounted on the balance point cause the center line is 3cm of whatever back from the actual measured center. I'd rather shit in my hands & clap then ride park with back mounted skis honestly. especially hitting rails switch.

sparknotes: just pick a ski that fits and have it mounted properly.
 
Idk abt u guys but id recomended buying a pair of fischer race skis, those things shred in the park, especially rails and switch skiing
 
14126017:Celery said:
I personally love the Line Blends, they’re super soft and super fun, great on rails and fine on jumps if you aren’t hucking dubs or anything like that. They aren’t the cheapest but are totally worth it.
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second that
 
If you want a park ski that's wide/stable enough to shred check out:

-Line Blend

- Moment Pb&j

-ON3P: Magnus 102 or Kartel 98

- Surface odyssey/ Park blanks/ All mountain blanks

- Armada ARV 96/106

- Icelantic Nomad 95/105
 
For a beginner Line skis are not a bad start. They’re cheap and lightweight and decently durable. A lot of people on this site are going to recommend niche skis like Moment, Vishnu, and ON3P. While these are amazing skis and built insanely well they are really niche skis and you will probably have a hard time with them until you get better.

Armada also has some good contenders in their ARV line. Specifically the 86/96.

K2 make a terrific ski out of the Poacher, but it’s beastly weight would keep me from buying it if I was a beginner.

I would avoid Volkl personally because of their durability issues.

Faction Candide/Prodigy’s are worth a look. Their price and tendency to go boom are to be considered, though.

long story short: I would say Honey Badger if you’re doing lots of rails, TW Pro if you do lots of jumps. With a good detune underfoot and proper care you could easily get a couple seasons out of either.
 
Faction Prodigy 1.0 would be awesome. 2.5mm edges are standard. 90mm underfoot is a perfect width for the East coast and while they’re awesome in the park, you won’t lose any versatility when you’re not in the park. They hold an edge really well on groomers and they’re stable. There are some crazy good deals to be found on them right now, if you can find one I highly recommended
 
I’d def go w the volkl revolt. Get like a high 170 or 180 if ur 6’2

topic:JakeB16 said:
Yo I’m a beginner to park but am trying to really get into it this season. I’m currently riding Rossi smash 7s but am looking to get a more park oriented ski. I’m 6”2 and 160 and ski the east coast.
Click to expand...
 
14126151:WisconsinDogfart said:
head big easy is hands down the greatest park ski
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R u serious?

14126202:skierman_jack said:
For a beginner Line skis are not a bad start. They’re cheap and lightweight and decently durable. A lot of people on this site are going to recommend niche skis like Moment, Vishnu, and ON3P. While these are amazing skis and built insanely well they are really niche skis and you will probably have a hard time with them until you get better.

Armada also has some good contenders in their ARV line. Specifically the 86/96.

K2 make a terrific ski out of the Poacher, but it’s beastly weight would keep me from buying it if I was a beginner.

I would avoid Volkl personally because of their durability issues.

Faction Candide/Prodigy’s are worth a look. Their price and tendency to go boom are to be considered, though.

long story short: I would say Honey Badger if you’re doing lots of rails, TW Pro if you do lots of jumps. With a good detune underfoot and proper care you could easily get a couple seasons out of either.
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I have heard more good things than bad things about volkl reliability... maybe they used to be bad but i never had issues with them
 
If you are looking for buttery/playfull skies I could recommend you the Line Blend and the Armada Edollo. Although the Blend is a bit too much of a noodle for me, I know lots of people who really like them.

As you said you want to do more rails then big jumps, I guess you want to go for a more playfull and "jibberish" ski. So I wouldn't recommend going for something like the Völkl Revolt, I owned a pair of them myself and they were way less fun for messing around in the park as the stiffness doesn't let too much room for, well - for descovering what kind of park skiing you really want to do.

But in the end it all comes down to personal preference. If you could somehow get to try some skis before buying it would sure help you a lot with decision making. Maybe ask some friends if you could try their skis for a day or so. And as someone else mentioned above, try to buy them after the season/spring, as the prizes are usually reduced quite a lot then.
 
14239891:DolansLebensraum said:
R u serious?

I have heard more good things than bad things about volkl reliability... maybe they used to be bad but i never had issues with them
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What made you respond to a 10 month old thread?
 
My Revolt 95s topsheets are very chipped with pieces just ripping off sometimes after a fall. I’ve put 3 months on them. Worst topsheet I’ve ever had. Although, structurally the rest of the ski seems to be fine. These skis are also cheap as hell in Europe. The 2020/21 revolt 95s are currently selling for around $315.

14239891:DolansLebensraum said:
R u serious?

I have heard more good things than bad things about volkl reliability... maybe they used to be bad but i never had issues with them
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Which revolt did you own?

Revolts vary a bit. My revolt 95s are pretty mellow overall. I wouldn’t call them a bad learning ski. Honestly, they’re more Mellow than I’d like. They can be a bit floppy when landing. They don’t absorb any impact.

14240164:Murx said:
So I wouldn't recommend going for something like the Völkl Revolt, I owned a pair of them myself and they were way less fun for messing around in the park as the stiffness doesn't let too much room for, well - for descovering what kind of park skiing you really want to
Click to expand...
 
14240186:Session said:
What made you respond to a 10 month old thread?
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Dolan has no purpsose.

14240391:BradFiAusNzCoCa said:
My Revolt 95s topsheets are very chipped with pieces just ripping off sometimes after a fall. I’ve put 3 months on them. Worst topsheet I’ve ever had. Although, structurally the rest of the ski seems to be fine. These skis are also cheap as hell in Europe. The 2020/21 revolt 95s are currently selling for around $315.

Which revolt did you own?

Revolts vary a bit. My revolt 95s are pretty mellow overall. I wouldn’t call them a bad learning ski. Honestly, they’re more Mellow than I’d like. They can be a bit floppy when landing. They don’t absorb any impact.
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I had kinks and i had some topsheet chips but i dont really care about those bc they dont affect the ski much unless ur in thick deep powder.

Lighter skis usually have the tradeoff of being slower and feeling like their flex was cheap/flimsy.

but for the kinks they were pretty light but also had a strong rubbery flex that felt very stable at high speed.

Volkls base and edge durability at least seems to be alot better than head park skis which seem to get trashed by lots of park skiers.
 
That question was moreso to the other guy who was talking about revolts.

The revolt 95s are 1900g at 173cm so not that light. It’s mostly just the lack of energy I don’t like. I like a ski with more energy and the revolts feel like they lack a spine sometimes

14242618:DolansLebensraum said:
Dolan has no purpsose.

I had kinks and i had some topsheet chips but i dont really care about those bc they dont affect the ski much unless ur in thick deep powder.

Lighter skis usually have the tradeoff of being slower and feeling like their flex was cheap/flimsy.

but for the kinks they were pretty light but also had a strong rubbery flex that felt very stable at high speed.

Volkls base and edge durability at least seems to be alot better than head park skis which seem to get trashed by lots of park skiers.
Click to expand...
 
14242717:BradFiAusNzCoCa said:
That question was moreso to the other guy who was talking about revolts.

The revolt 95s are 1900g at 173cm so not that light. It’s mostly just the lack of energy I don’t like. I like a ski with more energy and the revolts feel like they lack a spine sometimes
Click to expand...

Yeah i know what you mean. I also like skis to have spring in them as opposed to mushy feeling
 
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