New skis and the options are killing me! (Wider all-mountain freestyle ski)

milo-mcsenderson

milo-mcsenderson

Member
Staff member
Hi all,

I am searching for a new ski for the upcoming season (and more) and there's so many options and I can't decide. I am 6ft1 about 70kg. I am an aggressive skier and am looking for an all-mountain ski that will rip park. I have AR7s that are my standard park ski but after a more one ski quiver to take out on any day.

I am looking at Kartel 98/108 (Heard nothing but good things but can't decide on a width and want them to be soft and buttery, thinking about custom fiberglass etc.)

Moment PB&J/Meridian (How does the flex of these compare to the ON3Ps)

Line Blends, (Absolute classic look super fun but worried about durability)

Armada E-Dollo's/ARV 106 (Both look super fun, width of the ARVs look good for what I'm after but but again not sure of the shape)

Icelantic 105s (These always look sick)

Whitedot Directors (British ski brand that look very similar to Kartels and would like to support a UK brand)

I know it's a heap of options.

My old all mountain ski was a Volkl Mantra 98mm underfoot and I loved them but after getting into park I want a more center mountain/versatile ski that I can mount around centre/-2.5.
 
blends are going to be too soft for your style of skiing. go with the arv106 or even the arv96. I am currently on the nordica soul rider in 185 and love it. 97 underfoot and with the carbon stringers its stiffer than previous versions. not a whole lot of rocker and rips gs turns when you want it to.

**This post was edited on Aug 7th 2017 at 10:58:22am
 
13829187:Poindexter. said:
my vote is for the blend. yeah they are soft, but I was not held back by them at all. skiing squaw valley for reference.

they are very fun
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I've skied blends before, I had 168s but sadly they are too short for me now. I've skied hellbents around and they're supe felxy and never held be back. Was very tempted by last years because I loved the top sheet. They do look super fun, I'm just a little concerned about durability and being a little soft, Kartels look like a good middle ground also
 
13829185:freeskibum82 said:
blends are going to be too soft for your style of skiing. go with the arv106 or even the arv96. I am currently on the nordica soul rider in 185 and love it. 97 underfoot and with the carbon stringers its stiffer than previous versions. not a whole lot of rocker and rips gs turns when you want it to.

**This post was edited on Aug 7th 2017 at 10:58:22am
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How soft are the ARVs? I still want something I can butter around and really play around with on the hill? I love my AR7s and am a big fan of Armada, but the thinner edge on the ARVs is a mild concern. The topsheet of this years are gorgeous too
 
13829190:MF-HARP said:
How soft are the ARVs? I still want something I can butter around and really play around with on the hill? I love my AR7s and am a big fan of Armada, but the thinner edge on the ARVs is a mild concern. The topsheet of this years are gorgeous too
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not sure about the 106 but I know the 96 has a 2.5 edge, in fact it is the edollo that has a 1.7 edge. Either way, armada makes bomb shit, they heat treat their edges and youll be fine with em. Don't over think it a good ski is a good ski.
 
13829195:Deepskier said:
not sure about the 106 but I know the 96 has a 2.5 edge, in fact it is the edollo that has a 1.7 edge. Either way, armada makes bomb shit, they heat treat their edges and youll be fine with em. Don't over think it a good ski is a good ski.
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You make a very good point! The Kartels are so tempting as they look so fun but Armada as you say make bomb shit and I love my AR7s so it's tempting to keep it in the AR fanily
 
13829196:MF-HARP said:
You make a very good point! The Kartels are so tempting as they look so fun but Armada as you say make bomb shit and I love my AR7s so it's tempting to keep it in the AR fanily
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IMO bamboo skis are weird as shit, I might buy a pair of old k106s for cheap just to fill the gap between arv96s and black ops but, armada has the best shit if you ask me, that why I blow my paychecks on them.
 
13829198:Deepskier said:
IMO bamboo skis are weird as shit, I might buy a pair of old k106s for cheap just to fill the gap between arv96s and black ops but, armada has the best shit if you ask me, that why I blow my paychecks on them.
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Cheers man! What's the flex and butteriness like on your 96s?
 
13829200:MF-HARP said:
Cheers man! What's the flex and butteriness like on your 96s?
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Not here yet :) But they definitely seem to hit the sweet spot between charge and butter. I have faith they will be amazing and perfect.
 
13829195:Deepskier said:
not sure about the 106 but I know the 96 has a 2.5 edge, in fact it is the edollo that has a 1.7 edge. Either way, armada makes bomb shit, they heat treat their edges and youll be fine with em. Don't over think it a good ski is a good ski.
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I know for a fact the 106 has a thinner edge than the 96, same with edollo
 
13829220:Swandog7 said:
Yah Yah was just commenting confirming that the 106 is indeed thinner on the edges
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Gotcha, kind of funny how the edollo has a thinner edge than the arv 96
 
13829223:Swandog7 said:
Thought the same thing haha. Kinda bothers me a bit
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True was debating getting the edollo or arv 96 a while ago, but it is just a softer arv, with a smaller edge, larger radius and slightly different profile
 
13829224:Deepskier said:
True was debating getting the edollo or arv 96 a while ago, but it is just a softer arv, with a smaller edge, larger radius and slightly different profile
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Pretty much, they felt a little wacky to me the first time i hopped on a pair compared to a lot of other skis I've ridden, but they were fun to say the least. Not a ski that fits my style though
 
13829225:Swandog7 said:
Pretty much, they felt a little wacky to me the first time i hopped on a pair compared to a lot of other skis I've ridden, but they were fun to say the least. Not a ski that fits my style though
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Yeah much like vishnu wets I'd love to have a pair but just can justify buying a pair
 
13829226:Deepskier said:
Yeah much like vishnu wets I'd love to have a pair but just can justify buying a pair
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Yah I'm bound for near gear, just cant justify buying something like ON3Ps for $600 just to rip the edges out in a season like every ski that I ride. I rip edges out before a ski will blow up.
 
Kartel 98 or 108. I went from Filthy Riches to the 98 and loooove them. Kinda wish I went for the 108 but that'll be my next purchase. 98s feel so damn good on rails and jumps. And skiing around I feel 10x more stable than on the Filthies. Even switch ups seem easier but that's probably because the last year I had my Filthiest the edges were destroyed.

I'm an ON3Per for life. Plenty of other good skis out there but why go anywhere else.

**This post was edited on Aug 8th 2017 at 8:53:46pm
 
13829208:BASEDJAH said:
blends are park skis, super fun but can't handle speed
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This, skied the blends all of last season, super fun for buttering around and skiing park however I found them to be too soft when it came to charging or going at higher speeds with quite a bit of chattering. Durability wise I beat them to shit but they held up well enough to still be skiable. I myself am purchasing some k98. Good luck op.
 
13829461:Auschie said:
Kinda wish I went for the 108 but that'll be my next purchase.

**This post was edited on Aug 8th 2017 at 8:53:46pm
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Why do you wish you went for the 108s? tossing between k98s and k108s i think, I wanna get that purple top sheet mmmmm
 
13830698:MF-HARP said:
Why do you wish you went for the 108s? tossing between k98s and k108s i think, I wanna get that purple top sheet mmmmm
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I was expecting the 98 to feel wider than they really are. Keep in mind I've never skied the 108 and I am just speculating. Before the 98 I had never skied anything over 90. And as I get older I care less about throwing tech tricks and more about just having fun, although I've found no added difficulty in switch ups 2 one or 2/4s out with the 98 over the Filthy Riches. I think the 98 is perfect if you're primarily East Coast skiing with some trips thrown in. Right now I live in Florida so almost 100% of my skiing is trips out to Colorado. Since that is the case the 108 would probably be more enjoyable since I ski more all-mountain out there with some park lapping when I'm at Keystone.
 
13830707:Auschie said:
I was expecting the 98 to feel wider than they really are. Keep in mind I've never skied the 108 and I am just speculating. Before the 98 I had never skied anything over 90. And as I get older I care less about throwing tech tricks and more about just having fun, although I've found no added difficulty in switch ups 2 one or 2/4s out with the 98 over the Filthy Riches. I think the 98 is perfect if you're primarily East Coast skiing with some trips thrown in. Right now I live in Florida so almost 100% of my skiing is trips out to Colorado. Since that is the case the 108 would probably be more enjoyable since I ski more all-mountain out there with some park lapping when I'm at Keystone.
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Ah makes sense. I used to ski the Volkl Mantra (98 underfoot as well) out in Whistler a lot and never found the width an issue in pow so I think I'm leaning to that the K98s as an all rounder. I'm not that techy in the park only small spins 2s off and learning 2s on so not super worried about pro prowess and have AR7s (87mm) for that. Think the K98s might be perfect but that extra 10mm is tempting
 
13830708:MF-HARP said:
Ah makes sense. I used to ski the Volkl Mantra (98 underfoot as well) out in Whistler a lot and never found the width an issue in pow so I think I'm leaning to that the K98s as an all rounder. I'm not that techy in the park only small spins 2s off and learning 2s on so not super worried about pro prowess and have AR7s (87mm) for that. Think the K98s might be perfect but that extra 10mm is tempting
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Yeah you likely will not be disappointed in either ski. With you having the AR7s and skiing Whistler I'd almost steer you toward the 108. My buddy has the old Jeffrey 110 and has been absolutely stoked on them. He doesn't ski much park in general but as an all-mountain/powder ski he has given nothing but praise.

I'd maybe look at it this way. You know if you're going to be skiing 80+% park on a day you'll likely be riding your AR7s. If you think about the other days you tend to ski where you're not above 80% in the park, do they tend to be 60-70% all mountain or closer to 50/50? If the days you're not lapping a lot are closer to 60-70% all mountain is get the 108. If it's 50/50 then you might be happier with the 98. I'd just worry that with having the AR7, the 98 might be a lot of overlap and you'll eventually just phase your AR7s out.
 
That's a fucking killer response man!

Was having doubts that 108 would be a bit wider for an all day every day ski but I've ripped Hellbents around on days that don't deserve them and the 122mm hasn't been a problem. As you said they days where it's mainly all mountain and a few park laps get turned they would be super hard and heavy so I think 108 wouldn't be a killer.

You're right about the phasing the AR7s out as well I think, If I got the K98 I'd probably end up getting the 108s later on anyway and moving on from the AR7s.
 
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