Symmetrical vs. asymmetrical

III

III

Active member
So I'm trying to pick a new pair of park skis and I'm finding that what my choice is really coming down to is whether I want a symmetrical ski like the walls, or an asymmetrical ski like ar6s. I've been told swing weight is lower with symmetrical skis, but I've also heard that asymmetrical skis offer better pop off jumps. What's everybody's opinion, which is superior for park?
 
i love my walls. they pop well off jumps fer sher, cuz theyre a lil on the stiff side. the symmetrical feels awesome when carving switch too. if theyre center mounted the swing weight wont be too terrible if u go with "asymmetrical"
 
I have skied on both and I dont think there will be much of an impact on your skiing ether way you go. How ever if you get symmetrical skis they should be center mounted. asymmetrical skis can also be center mounted.
 
ive skied symmetric skis for the last ten years except this year and i can tell you if you mount the asymmetrical ski center its not a huge difference. i could tell the ski was asymmetric a little skiing switch, but not enough to really care.
 
Duh, still.. if the ski is symmetrical you shouldnt screw it and mount only where it is supposed to, while if your ski is asymmetrical you can mount whenever you want? wth?

Actually i think that mounting an asymmetrical ski dead center is the same as mounting symmetrical ski like +6 from center. If the ski is designed around some point, you should do what youre supposed to.

And no, im not saying you MUST mount at recommended always, no. You can do whatever you want, but you will lose smth then.

Btw, for small example.. 2010 Volkl Wall.. they got markings for Schizo system.. that means that symmetrical ski can be "mounted" (yeah whatever) not only dead center...

Actually i prefer assymetrical skis since... your toes are asymmetrical too...
 
I'd go symmetrical. There isn't a huge difference but I think all around symmetrical skis ride a little smoother. That's just my opinion...
 
i have this years volkl walls (symettrical) and i absolutely love them. they are good everywhere and i especially find a positive difference in my switch riding
 
lot of people with walls on here, as i am another one thats is basing my opinions from these skis, i say symmetrical is where its at for a park ski. i have actually notices a difference on rails as well, as i am more balanced and centered on the rail.

i have always been against them actually, but i did my research and found the walls to be best ski for me (waist, flex, sidecut) and i absolutely love them. they dont really affect all mountain skiing as much as a few people say about symmetrical. they are just as poppy as my rossignol scratch's so i dont get where people get the thought that a symmetrical ski has less pop. its in the materials and camber that gives a ski more or less pop.
 
I think symmetrical is key for park skiing. I love the feel of symmetrical skis in the park, lower feeling swing weight and better balance on rails, not to mention big ass tails for lots of pop.

For anything else besides park and groomed runs though you would want asymmetrical just for the flotation aspect pretty much.. center mounted skis tend to tip-dive a lot in deeper snow unless they have insane amounts of rocker.

Or you could get a pair of skis like the kung fujas that have a symmetrical taper, which means the center of the sidecut is in the center of the ski, but it still has a wider tip than tail. This makes them carve and work great outside the park but still be able to center mount and ski switch really easy.

I have pipecleaners which are amazing park skis but feel a little funny if you are doing a lot of rails, they're bomb carving skis too. I also have some troublemakers mounted center and they're bomb park skis for rails and jumps and everything, hardly any swing weight. I had a pair of anthems until i blew them up too, and those were my favorite park ski by far. They could still make some wicked carves too, all you gotta do is keep facing down the hill and "screw" into the turn.
 
unless you like asymmetrical skis, obviously a symmetrical will be the best for park

they are made for making skiing switch easier.

they are also made to center your weight and balance everything

last season, i rode Fischer addicts which are a lot like the walls, and they were a blast

now i mounted them like -1 from dead center? and i hardly rode in the park, just occasionally screwed around.

i can tell you they were still a ton of fun. all that tall and the stiff flex gave it amazing pop, i mean i would be going down a groomer, come up to the top of a hill and just olly and i would fly over the top of the hill.

and for what little park i did, i noticed the stiff tail really helped when landing back seat
 
Yeah, when I wrote the thread I assumed that the skis would be mounted at the center of the sidecut. Right now I'm skiing on a pair of volkl karmas mounted dead center. They're okay for park but I certainly feel that all of the tail I have takes some away from the pop of the ski.
 
Why would the longer tail take pop away from the ski.. I've noticed skis with longer tails have much more pop than skis with less tails.. which only makes sense..

Big spring = more force, small spring = less force. Skis are like leaf springs in cars.

If you get less pop from longer tails you might not be loading up the ski right to ollie or something idk.
 
I'm gonna bump this thread. Does a symmetrical ski mounted at true center truly ski better switch than an asymmetrical ski at true center? Or is it just a marking ploy? How would an asymmetrical ski at true center be worse on rails than a symmetrical ski at true center. It makes NO sense to me how that would work. I honestly think the balance thing is in your head. Haha.
 
I like a symmetrical ski for sure, but I know that strangely its not the most ideal for park... when you think about it, your weight is totally redistributed different when you're riding switch, you have a different stance and engage the ski edge differently... we'll be messing with some prototypes this winter for sure.
 
the difference is probably so tiny that it's not that important, if anything u should notice it most with skiing switch...

yet i find it funny that everyone always says the armada alpha's are sick for skiing switch and they are nonsymmetrical and mostly not centremounted.

It's all a matter pf preference I guess, but the differences aren' t like night/day, they are very tiny imo
 
you can center mount Asymetrical skis, but its considered centered by weight, I had that this past year. You can also center mount them by measurement if you want. Im gonna try that this year when i get my skis remounted for new boots
 
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