The ideal all mountain touring ski

paulbunyan

paulbunyan

Active member
hey everyone, i recently went on my first hut trip last winter. im a midwest skier, which means 95% of my skiing is done on ice pack with very little natural snow... last year i took rossi fks off my armada JJ's and mounted a pair of tyrolia ambitions got my self a pair of skins and started my new favorite way to ski... the only thing is 195 armada JJ's are... slightly over kill and waaay heavy. my inexperience led me down the wrong road and now im looking for a new ski. ive been told armada tst would be a good ski to look at but i want options...

with that being said, I'm looking for the best options. i need a ski that will float, yet wont be a pain in the ass to break trail with. something that is good in the trees. and something that can still turn on the way down a hard pack run. what are your best recommendation as far as what skis to look for? im planning on swaping the tryrolia binders onto what ever ski i buy, so idealy it will be an all mountain type ski not STRICTLY a touring ski.
 
There are a lot of skis that you'd probably be happy with under that description, so could you tell us a bit more?

- Where are you planning on touring? What kind of terrain?

- Where are you planning on skiing resort? (I know you said Midwest, just not sure if that's what you have in mind for this new ski)

- What skis have you enjoyed in the past, and why?

- What skis have you not enjoyed in the past, and why?

- Is this new ski going to be part of a quiver, and if so, what other skis do you have in your quiver?

This might help us give you some more accurate recommendations.
 
-they will be added to the always growing quiver. as of now ive got. park skis, armada JJ's(which is what ill make into more of my resort ski/snowmobile access ski for out west) a pair of old public enemies that are my "all mountain rock skis". so the new sticks will take the place of mainly a "touring" ski.

- i dont have much experience on many types of skis, im 25 now,have been skiing since i was 2, up until 2 years ago i rode 99% park with 1 percent riding other runs to get to park... so i have plenty of experience on park skis lol. as far as all mountain skis, i have only ridden a few demos and my JJ's. the JJ's are the only ones ive skied on real terrain. the demos were all at local hills. which are the equivalent of out west bunny hills lol.

-resort skiing, will likely be places like bridger bowl, big sky, keystone, breck. likely these skis will not even be used here although i want to be able to use them if i feel the time is right... aka i dont want a strictly climbing ski.

-touring terrain will consist mainly of golf course skiing(midwest touring!!) some tree skiing in copper country( U.P. of michigan all lake effect snow that averages around 150-200ish inches a year) and starting last year im part of an annual 10th mountain division hut trip. so once a year ill be spending about 5 days in the woods touring the beautiful Colorado wilderness.

just to add some more info, im a 5 foot 7 inch skier, i like to think im an "expert" skier. i would likely be looking for a ski that is in the low to mid 180cm range.

**This post was edited on Sep 21st 2017 at 1:36:40pm
 
Cool, then since you're coming from a predominantly park background here are a few options that aren't absurdly heavy, should feel relatively familiar, and should be able to deal with a variety of conditions fairly well. Keep in mind that, if you're not gonna be touring all that much, or not doing that long of tours, you can put touring bindings on any sort of ski. It's just a matter of where you sit as far as preference of lightweight vs. downhill performance.

Icelantic Nomad 105

Scott Punisher 105

Moment Meridian Tour (107 mm)

Moment Deathwish 106 Tour

Moment Bibby Tour (116 mm) (this might overlap too much with the JJ, but is a killer ski)

Black Crows Anima Freebird (115 mm) (might also overlap too much)

Armada Tracer 108 (not very freestyle oriented, so you might not be a fan)

Faction Candide 3.0 (108 mm)
 
13838094:patagonialuke said:
Cool, then since you're coming from a predominantly park background here are a few options that aren't absurdly heavy, should feel relatively familiar, and should be able to deal with a variety of conditions fairly well. Keep in mind that, if you're not gonna be touring all that much, or not doing that long of tours, you can put touring bindings on any sort of ski. It's just a matter of where you sit as far as preference of lightweight vs. downhill performance.

)
Click to expand...

Thanks for the useful info! Ill look into all these and probably make a choice! Your advise was much more helpful rather than a "there is no such thing" kind of response... Thanks for taking the time!
 
Check out the shaggys skis Ahmeek you can get it in full carbon or a fiberglass and carbon combo. I have skied them from icy midwest days to deep powder days in the Montana backcountry. Its a small brand out of northern michigan so theyre midwest homies too. They carve super well on the hard pack and are a blast in the pow.
 
Keep going on tours til they don't feel heavy anymore. JJs are great for shorter bc tours. But really you may wanna go lighter if you get more into longer full day tours. My opinion however is favoring fat 115-125mm waist skis and light touring bindings. Dynafit style bindings over duke style for sure.

Lukes list copied below is solid. I ski bibby pros around jhmr like for darkside bc laps. Really want bibby tours for teton pass and gtnp missions

13838094:patagonialuke said:
Cool, then since you're coming from a predominantly park background here are a few options that aren't absurdly heavy, should feel relatively familiar, and should be able to deal with a variety of conditions fairly well. Keep in mind that, if you're not gonna be touring all that much, or not doing that long of tours, you can put touring bindings on any sort of ski. It's just a matter of where you sit as far as preference of lightweight vs. downhill performance.

Icelantic Nomad 105

Scott Punisher 105

Moment Meridian Tour (107 mm)

Moment Deathwish 106 Tour

Moment Bibby Tour (116 mm) (this might overlap too much with the JJ, but is a killer ski)

Black Crows Anima Freebird (115 mm) (might also overlap too much)

Armada Tracer 108 (not very freestyle oriented, so you might not be a fan)

Faction Candide 3.0 (108 mm)
Click to expand...
 
13846837:JohnJonsz said:
Keep going on tours til they don't feel heavy anymore. JJs are great for shorter bc tours. But really you may wanna go lighter if you get more into longer full day tours. My opinion however is favoring fat 115-125mm waist skis and light touring bindings. Dynafit style bindings over duke style for sure.

Lukes list copied below is solid. I ski bibby pros around jhmr like for darkside bc laps. Really want bibby tours for teton pass and gtnp missions
Click to expand...

i actually own a pair of shaggy ahmeeks!! suprised to see that recomendation actually. i love them how ever i got the lake superior graphic and i got the ski to use rarely more of a conversation piece than anything(i could throw a rock from my door step and hit lake superior) and i actually purchased a lightly used pair of faction 3.0's for a great price from a guy on here!! still gonna set them up with some touring bindings and get a new set of boots and well be ready to rock!! thanks for all the advise everyone.
 
+1 for Moment Bibby Tour for something wider (if you get those you'll find yourself skiing them over your JJs... just sayin')

+2 for Moment Deathwish Tour for an all mountain

the triple camber in the Deathwish grips like a dream on the skintrack and you can ski that thing anywhere no problem, which is huge for those bullshit exits on long tours.
 
If you're mostly skiing, ice maybe the Blizzard Zero G 95 (1.350kg per Ski) would be more suitable for you.

**This post was edited on Dec 3rd 2017 at 3:06:21pm
 
I'm a huge fan of the line opus's with marker baron combo. Sure it's older, but I've ridden this ski literally everywhere and finally sold off everything cause these were so versatile
 
13838094:patagonialuke said:
Cool, then since you're coming from a predominantly park background here are a few options that aren't absurdly heavy, should feel relatively familiar, and should be able to deal with a variety of conditions fairly well. Keep in mind that, if you're not gonna be touring all that much, or not doing that long of tours, you can put touring bindings on any sort of ski. It's just a matter of where you sit as far as preference of lightweight vs. downhill performance.

Icelantic Nomad 105

Scott Punisher 105

Moment Meridian Tour (107 mm)

Moment Deathwish 106 Tour

Moment Bibby Tour (116 mm) (this might overlap too much with the JJ, but is a killer ski)

Black Crows Anima Freebird (115 mm) (might also overlap too much)

Armada Tracer 108 (not very freestyle oriented, so you might not be a fan)

Faction Candide 3.0 (108 mm)
Click to expand...

What are your opinions on the new atomic chetlers? Ive heard they hold their own on hard pack and are incredibly playful/shred through crud and pow
 
13911571:Dunners said:
What are your opinions on the new atomic chetlers? Ive heard they hold their own on hard pack and are incredibly playful/shred through crud and pow
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Which ones? The 100 or 120?

I've only skied the 100, and overall it's a very fun ski, though it doesn't feel as freestyle-oriented as I'd anticipated. I skied it at recommended (-7.8 cm) and at -5.8 cm, and at -5.8 it offered a good blend of playfulness and stability (I could ski from either a centered or forward stance at that mount point).

Rips groomers pretty well, though it wouldn't be my first choice for super firm, rough groomers as it's a pretty light ski and does get knocked around a bit in rough snow. But in softish snow, it's a lot of fun and feels strong on edge.

the 100 is definitely not a crud buster (again, it's pretty light), and I haven't gotten it into pow. With the factory tune, it feels a lot more locked in than I anticipated, and didn't feel very loose or surfy.
 
13911892:patagonialuke said:
Which ones? The 100 or 120?

I've only skied the 100, and overall it's a very fun ski, though it doesn't feel as freestyle-oriented as I'd anticipated. I skied it at recommended (-7.8 cm) and at -5.8 cm, and at -5.8 it offered a good blend of playfulness and stability (I could ski from either a centered or forward stance at that mount point).

Rips groomers pretty well, though it wouldn't be my first choice for super firm, rough groomers as it's a pretty light ski and does get knocked around a bit in rough snow. But in softish snow, it's a lot of fun and feels strong on edge.

the 100 is definitely not a crud buster (again, it's pretty light), and I haven't gotten it into pow. With the factory tune, it feels a lot more locked in than I anticipated, and didn't feel very loose or surfy.
Click to expand...

I was thinking about using the 120s on primarily crud/backcountry/touring and on the very occasional groomers
 
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