Lighter ski vs. heavier ski

P

Phisherman

Member
whats the advantages and disadvantages of having a lighter ski compared to a heavier ski. and also, what about a very high tipped ski vs. a shallow tipped ski?
 
well lighter skis are easier to spin and carry if you're hiking. Heavier is never good but in general it means the skis are more durable, although there are lots of skis that are light and very durable. Higher tips and tails are better for skiing powder and obviously are less likely to dig into the snow, although in groomed conditions neither will really dig in unless you really try to make them. lower tips and tails mean less material in the ski, making them a little lighter. Other than that, imo, higher tips are better. Flexier skis are good for buttering around, jibbing, and often have a lot of pop. I think they are also better for powder usually, but they will deflect and get thrown around easier in choppy snow and won't hold an edge as well on groomers/icy conditions. Stiffer skis are usually more stable at high speeds, big jump landings and half pipe, and carve better than softer skis on groomed snow.
 
Light skis are so much more fun. My 188 JP vs Juliens are lighter than my dad's 174 Public Enemys. They feel like a park ski but they shred in pow and crud, even groomers really. The high tip is always an advantage. It guides the ski up in deep stuff and doesn't really have a disadvantage.
 
It's true. I was carry my 169 Silencer's with PX 12'S in one hand and my boyfriends 188 JJ's with Deadbolt's in the other. They weighed about the same.
 
well i broke two pairs of skis this week. one pair broke on their 47th days, the lighter pair snapped on day 2. this is a hint, heavier skis are usually way more durbale, though if you're light you probably wont have this problem, also 65 foot tables dont help.
 
I rode my friends ar6's with jesters. They were really light compared to my line anthems with a scratch 120 binding.

The ar6's were way easier to spin. They were way easier to pop and maneuver.
 
good post, but about the high tips.... in the powder, a high tip works well if you have an early rise with it as well. like... frick, kind of hard to explain. say you have 2 skis, both with the same height tips. one ski has an abrubtly turned up tip, and other has a gradualy turned up tip. the one with the shallower rise will do wayy better in powder. now, comparing, the abrubt tipped ski to a shallow ski with a lower tip, the lower tipped one will still probably do better. does this make sense? it's all about drag and how much friction the snow makes as it inially hits your ski. obviously, it depends on the ski... a good comparasin, while they arn't park skis, would be something like an AR6 compared to a PE... the PE has a really abrubt tip/tail curve, and the ar6 is a little more mellow, even though in the end they end up being about the same height.
 
5475790:skiP.E.I. said:
well lighter skis are easier to spin and carry if you're hiking. Heavier is never good but in general it means the skis are more durable, although there are lots of skis that are light and very durable. Higher tips and tails are better for skiing powder and obviously are less likely to dig into the snow, although in groomed conditions neither will really dig in unless you really try to make them. lower tips and tails mean less material in the ski, making them a little lighter. Other than that, imo, higher tips are better. Flexier skis are good for buttering around, jibbing, and often have a lot of pop. I think they are also better for powder usually, but they will deflect and get thrown around easier in choppy snow and won't hold an edge as well on groomers/icy conditions. Stiffer skis are usually more stable at high speeds, big jump landings and half pipe, and carve better than softer skis on groomed snow.
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Gonna have to disagree, anyone who has skied the Hellbent or the 1st gen. black crows Nocta knows that while they are much more difficult to spin around and carry while you're hiking, the extra weight gives much power when skiing in variable conditions like hard crud. A lighter ski gets tossed around too much and the weight from a heavy ski helps you keep pointed straight.
 
5476940:Dustin. said:
Light skis are so much more fun. My 188 JP vs Juliens are lighter than my dad's 174 Public Enemys. They feel like a park ski but they shred in pow and crud, even groomers really. The high tip is always an advantage. It guides the ski up in deep stuff and doesn't really have a disadvantage.
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The public enemies are some of the worst skis I have ever ridden in my entire life.
 
13621509:animator said:
Gonna have to disagree, anyone who has skied the Hellbent or the 1st gen. black crows Nocta knows that while they are much more difficult to spin around and carry while you're hiking, the extra weight gives much power when skiing in variable conditions like hard crud. A lighter ski gets tossed around too much and the weight from a heavy ski helps you keep pointed straight.
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you realise you've dredged up a thread from 2008 right?
 
13621509:animator said:
Gonna have to disagree, anyone who has skied the Hellbent or the 1st gen. black crows Nocta knows that while they are much more difficult to spin around and carry while you're hiking, the extra weight gives much power when skiing in variable conditions like hard crud. A lighter ski gets tossed around too much and the weight from a heavy ski helps you keep pointed straight.
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Fucking hell. Did you really just dig up a thread this old??? Have you ever been on an online forum before?
 
I ride K2 since last year. They are the heavier ski I ever had, but it doesnt matter that much cause the pop is really nice (nicer than on my other ski even if they are way more light). It thinks it is also easier to land correctly on heavier skis (might just be mental though).

So I bought heavy skis but except when I carry them, it doesn't matter that much since they are good skis.
 
i ride 4frnt devastators which are a little on the heavier side, but honestly its not even a big deal. if anything, i think it just makes them more stable when charging crud and stuff. you can still easily air them and trick so it's not even a big deal
 
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