Help choosing a ski.

T

TheAtomicPunk

Member
For the last 2 or 3 years I have been downhill ski racing and using stiff, thin, flat, FIS performance slalom, GS, and downhill skis and tight, uncomfortable, and cold race boots. However, I have lately been expressing an interest in park skiing. I am an advanced level skier (however a beginner to park skiing), and am seeking advice regarding what skis I should purchase for the 2010-2011 ski season.
Due to my education I am currently located in the Midwest and usually end up skiing on either icy, groomed slopes or slushy and cruddy slopes. While I do make frequent ski trips to either the Rocky Mountains or the Appalachian Mountains, I already have selected skis for backcountry/sidecountry use.
I am trying to find a ski that handles well in the park, can still be fast, is soft enough to handle well in moguls, handles well in crud, and handles well on icy conditions as well. Does such a ski exist? Do any of you have pointers to put me in the right direction? Any of your help would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks!
 
Armada Pipe Cleaner or Alpha 1. they both have race bases. They Pipe Cleaner is better on hard pack, but the alpha one has rocker so its better for crappy crud. Both are fast though
 
Definitely take a look at Line Chronics. They are a great all mountain ski that will handle extraordinarily well in the park as well, however, as you come from a racing background, you may feel more comfortable with a more narrow ski. I find wider skis more appealing (read: my everyday all mountain skis are 105mm underfoot), but that is a personal preference.
 
^^chronics are a good starter ski. after a year or two of use you will develop your own preference for size, flex, etc. they were my first twintip. make sure you get them center mounted or else riding switch will suck balls. i dont know how you size race skis, but you will want these to be about your height. good luck and welcome to freeskiing!
 
go demo some before you buy..but to give you a start i have rode t-halls that hold up pretty well in CO, not as well as my sfb's but you can ride anything comfortably. when i switched from racing i went with atomic punx because i had raced on atomics. try to look into the brand that you raced with
 
Armada ar6 - Durable, quick, sitff in the tail but soft in the tips for easy buttering, good on rails/jumps/all mtn, whatever.
Line Chronice - Pretty similar ski really. It's stiffer and cheaper than the ar6 which you'll appreciate coming off GS skis, cheaper, really durable, SUPER light and succccch a good all mountain ski. I charge groomers, park, rails, crud, slush, ice, BC (not a lot of pow where I ski) any everything else with my chronics. For a beginner park skier, I'd recommend mounting them at -3 or -4. That way you wont sacrifice any all mtn performance and you'll still have a great park ski.
Volkl Wall - Stiff, really well built park ski. It's symmetrical unlike the two skis above so will be better in the park but worse all mtn.
K2 revival - New ski for 2011. Looks like a shitload of fun and it's got a cool graphic which is a bonus. It's probably the most unconventional ski out of all of these with it's jib rocker. Might be a little too much to get used to with your racing background, but give it a go. Slightly wider in the waist than the above choices too, so will feel a little slower edge to edge on groomers.
See if you can demo some stuff so you can make up your own mind what you do/don't like. For an all round first twin tip I'd definitely recommend the chronic. You really cannot go wrong with it as a first twin tip, or as a park ski in general.
 
I like the Line Chronic after reading some more about it; however, after looking at the lengths it is to short to size to my head. I am 6'3" and will need a ski that is 181-183 cm long.
I have been looking at both the Salomon Suspect and the Salomon Dumont. Do any of you think that these will be suitable skis for me?
 
I wouldn't recommend the dumont. It's a good park/pipe ski from what I understand, but you'll compromise all mtn performance, which as a noob (speaking from experience) you really don't want. It has tip and tail rocker this year too.
The suspect is a really good park ski. Again, I don't think it's quite as capable all mtn. Definitely a solid choice for a park ski, but for your ability, I think you'd be better off with a more all mtn focused ski (like the chronic).

Salomons are quite notorious for being not very durable. And they're fairly pricey too.
I've never riden theses skis, I'm just going off what everyone else seems to think of them.
Have a look at reviews under the gear section. Very few 2011 skis will be in there, but most 2010 and earlier will. Keep in mind that 2011 is quite a big year for ski innovation with a lot of companies adopting rocker technology, so if you're using a 2010 ski review as an indicator for what the 2011s might be like, be warned that they could be completely different.
 
The ar7 I think would be a great ski for the icy, bumped out slopes. As an ex racer u will def appreciate their stability at speed. If u can demo some out, I think u'll like them, probably not the best deep chunky crud ski, but if ur idea of crud is an inch or two of choppy snow they will do fine. Try em if possible, if not be sure to buy from a shop that will allow u to exchange them for another pair of skis if u don't like them
 
I think I've narrowed down my choices to these three skis: Völkl Wall, Atomic Punx, and the Armada AR7. Which one do you think will suit me best?
 
I'm still interested in the Völkl Wall and AR7 but I am also considering the Rossignol S4 Jib.
Also, I am 6'5" (195 cm) tall. The Völkl Wall comes in a 185 cm and the other two only come in 181 cm so they will not reach my head. Should I still center mount them even if they are going to be a little short?
 
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