casual
Active member
Like a lot of you, I've spent something like a decade on twintip, midfat, softish, less cambered and rockered skis. Some examples include k2 Public Enemy, Volkl Bridge (stiffest of the bunch, but still similar), Line Anthem, K2 Domain, Line Opus, Rossignol Slat. I've enjoyed most of them, and after riding a particular style of ski for a while, I've made them work all over. I'm 6'1", and let's say on average {minus the opus) these skis have all been roughly 180-184cm, maybe 92mm-98mm underfoot, 20-25m radius, and -2cm to true center mount.
My job requires me to ski in less than ideal conditions, and unfortunately in a low tide year like this has been thus far, almost entirely on firm, groomed trails. After about a week of feeling like I couldn't ski, feeling like a baby deer, and skidding turns all over the place and just generally not feeling especially strong on my skis, something had to give.
I was pretty vocal about my troubles, and an older coworker offered to let me use a pair of 165cm, 75mm underfoot, highly cambered, stiffish stockli ski that as a non-racer I figure is a slalom ski or maybe just a highend rec carving ski. Clearly these skis are mounted traditionally, have a short narrow, stiff tail. I hadn't really ever been on a pair of skis like this, and hadn't even been on a true directional ski since I was a kid (I'm 30....ish).
I just want to report back a couple of weeks later, that I am absolutely loving the hell out of this ski. I really expected to find it boring and restricting, and instead, it's given me some of the most fun I've had on groomed trails in my life.
The ski just loves to go fast, and it loves to be on edge, and it's kept me enjoying boring early season terrain much longer than I would have otherwise. The shortcomings and limitations of this ski are obvious to NS, so I won't spend a lot of time going on about how I can't butter, can't rip something switch (except I've kind of found out that I sort of can....even if it's scary mentally), and about how I can't hit rails.
I will say though that it's made me realize just exactly what it is that I've sacrificed in order to have the literal and metaphorical flexibility park/twintip/playful skis offer.
The most immediate and obvious difference is the amount of sidecut on these skis and how simple and gratifying it is to put it on edge. It made me realize that though I can carve on other skis, the sidecut, or lack thereof just makes such an absolute difference.
The next thing, and maybe the difference I've enjoyed the most and inspired this thread, is the amount of camber, and it's flex profile. The thing is SNAPPY. At the bottom of every turn, just before I release that edge, the ski almost trampolines me through that weightless transition between edges, and it feels amazing. It's just such a fun feeling and sort of makes every turn feel powerful and like I'm accelerating out of each turn. The additional camber and relative stiffness of the ski makes it absolutely rail turns even in really firm/icy conditions and gave me so much confidence in places that on other skis I really would ski sort of timidly, and almost purposely flat base and skid for fear that trying to stand on an edge would leave me sliding out.
The ski doesn't let you ski backseat whatsoever, and I feel with that it promotes good fundamentals. I didn't grow up skiing very much on the EC, never really had formal instruction, so I've learned on my own, and over the years have developed some bad habits that have taken me a decade of skiing a lot to attempt to overcome. If you are doing anything other than keeping an athletic position, knees bent, forward boot pressure, the skis give immediate feedback and have a tendency to want to shoot out from underneath you like a wild horse. I think a lot of skiers here, even ones that most agree are pretty damn good, would stand to gain from having that kind of instafeedback from their skis turn to turn.
Thanks for hanging in on such a long OP. I made this thread to encourage other fellow likeminded skiers to give some of these "old fashioned" skis a real chance. I don't at all intend to abandon the types of skis I listed at the top of the OP, but I will definitely keep a carver/slalom ski in my quiver from here on out. I'm not saying just go take a few runs for laughs, I'm suggesting you try a pair of skis like this for a week or more, especially during long dryspells this winter where there just isn't all that much fun off-piste skiing to be done. And, I'm not talking about your mountain's rental fleet that they shell out to never evers on any given sunday, I'm talking about quality skis.
Having so much fun on these skis forced me to look at why I choose the skis I choose. While I definitely enjoy lapping the park, buttering around, skiing switch, etc., thus I need to be on skis that allow that kind of skiing, I think there is definitely an element of wanting to identify with a certain kind of skiing, and with certain kinds of skiers in making these choices. Being a bit older, more confident and secure in general, I was able to step outside of the box (into the more conventional box ironically) and really have a fucking blast while also feeling like I actually improved.
Go give it a shot, and report back. Hope you guys enjoy it as much as I have.
My job requires me to ski in less than ideal conditions, and unfortunately in a low tide year like this has been thus far, almost entirely on firm, groomed trails. After about a week of feeling like I couldn't ski, feeling like a baby deer, and skidding turns all over the place and just generally not feeling especially strong on my skis, something had to give.
I was pretty vocal about my troubles, and an older coworker offered to let me use a pair of 165cm, 75mm underfoot, highly cambered, stiffish stockli ski that as a non-racer I figure is a slalom ski or maybe just a highend rec carving ski. Clearly these skis are mounted traditionally, have a short narrow, stiff tail. I hadn't really ever been on a pair of skis like this, and hadn't even been on a true directional ski since I was a kid (I'm 30....ish).
I just want to report back a couple of weeks later, that I am absolutely loving the hell out of this ski. I really expected to find it boring and restricting, and instead, it's given me some of the most fun I've had on groomed trails in my life.
The ski just loves to go fast, and it loves to be on edge, and it's kept me enjoying boring early season terrain much longer than I would have otherwise. The shortcomings and limitations of this ski are obvious to NS, so I won't spend a lot of time going on about how I can't butter, can't rip something switch (except I've kind of found out that I sort of can....even if it's scary mentally), and about how I can't hit rails.
I will say though that it's made me realize just exactly what it is that I've sacrificed in order to have the literal and metaphorical flexibility park/twintip/playful skis offer.
The most immediate and obvious difference is the amount of sidecut on these skis and how simple and gratifying it is to put it on edge. It made me realize that though I can carve on other skis, the sidecut, or lack thereof just makes such an absolute difference.
The next thing, and maybe the difference I've enjoyed the most and inspired this thread, is the amount of camber, and it's flex profile. The thing is SNAPPY. At the bottom of every turn, just before I release that edge, the ski almost trampolines me through that weightless transition between edges, and it feels amazing. It's just such a fun feeling and sort of makes every turn feel powerful and like I'm accelerating out of each turn. The additional camber and relative stiffness of the ski makes it absolutely rail turns even in really firm/icy conditions and gave me so much confidence in places that on other skis I really would ski sort of timidly, and almost purposely flat base and skid for fear that trying to stand on an edge would leave me sliding out.
The ski doesn't let you ski backseat whatsoever, and I feel with that it promotes good fundamentals. I didn't grow up skiing very much on the EC, never really had formal instruction, so I've learned on my own, and over the years have developed some bad habits that have taken me a decade of skiing a lot to attempt to overcome. If you are doing anything other than keeping an athletic position, knees bent, forward boot pressure, the skis give immediate feedback and have a tendency to want to shoot out from underneath you like a wild horse. I think a lot of skiers here, even ones that most agree are pretty damn good, would stand to gain from having that kind of instafeedback from their skis turn to turn.
Thanks for hanging in on such a long OP. I made this thread to encourage other fellow likeminded skiers to give some of these "old fashioned" skis a real chance. I don't at all intend to abandon the types of skis I listed at the top of the OP, but I will definitely keep a carver/slalom ski in my quiver from here on out. I'm not saying just go take a few runs for laughs, I'm suggesting you try a pair of skis like this for a week or more, especially during long dryspells this winter where there just isn't all that much fun off-piste skiing to be done. And, I'm not talking about your mountain's rental fleet that they shell out to never evers on any given sunday, I'm talking about quality skis.
Having so much fun on these skis forced me to look at why I choose the skis I choose. While I definitely enjoy lapping the park, buttering around, skiing switch, etc., thus I need to be on skis that allow that kind of skiing, I think there is definitely an element of wanting to identify with a certain kind of skiing, and with certain kinds of skiers in making these choices. Being a bit older, more confident and secure in general, I was able to step outside of the box (into the more conventional box ironically) and really have a fucking blast while also feeling like I actually improved.
Go give it a shot, and report back. Hope you guys enjoy it as much as I have.
![.[sanhedrin].](/data/avatars/m/44/44552.jpg?1745610448){kind=avatar}
