Wanna help me pick out new skis???

sleepygirl

sleepygirl

New member
Hiiiiiiii lady gabber I’m new here. Gonna go ahead and get two birds stoned at once (if you get the reference then we’re friends) and introduce myself and ask for some advice with picking out new skis.

My name is Anna, I’m 23 and currently live in Teton Valley, ID, where I’m a liftie at Grand Targhee Resort in the winter and a raft guide on the Snake River in the summer. I’m originally from Louisiana, so I’m basically the raddest Cajun chick on sticks!!!!!!

So.... new skis. Here we go. I learned to ski last year, but since I work at the lifts and ski pretty much every day, I’ve gotten pretty decent. Currently, I’m on Nordica Santa Ana 100’s, 169 length. This season I’ve started to ski a lot faster and more aggressively, and I’ve started hucking cliffs and going all over the mtn. I can keep up with skiers and riders who’ve been riding for years (I just don’t look as steezy). Anyway, the Nordica’s are starting to feel a little squirrely and unstable at high speeds in choppy shit. Not sure if it’s because the ski is soft, or because it’s too short. I’m 5’9” and 170 pounds, so too short is very likely. Also, I mean, I live in the Tetons. 100 underfoot isn’t quite cutting it on powder days. I’m looking for a new ski that’s fatter than 100 and a bit stiffer that comes in longer lengths. Not opposed to looking at men’s skis (I’ve got a pretty hard lady boner for my boyfriend’s Moment Bibby). I’m not afraid to get a ski that may be a bit too much for me at first, because I want to keep getting better.

I would really appreciate some recommendations for skis that you think would be a good fit for me! Also, if there are any ladies in the Tetons looking for a buddy to ski with, I’m getting real tired of skiing with my bf and his friends :)
 
Those are definitely short for you, you should probably be looking at something around 180 in length. I've been where you are though, shops will tell you a 100 waist ski is a "pow ski" but it's not really. 100 waist is firmly all mountain territory imho, at least for out west. I recommend getting a full rocker ski, I love the surfy feel of a full rocker ski in pow. Lots of people will tell you hybrid camber rocker is just as good or better but they're wrong. Hybrid camber/rocker is a compromise, it makes the pow performance worse just so you can ski groomers better, it's crap. Volkl and 4frnt are the go to brands for the kind of ski I'm talking about. 4frnt devestator for something more all around, Hoji for more big mountain focus. Volkl Revolt lineup is good specifically the 124 if you want a true pow ski, but the Katana is still around in the carbon version if you have serious cash, I would see Ingrid Backstrom rocking her Katanas in every kind of condition up in Washington.
 
13978926:Cyanicenine said:
Those are definitely short for you, you should probably be looking at something around 180 in length. I've been where you are though, shops will tell you a 100 waist ski is a "pow ski" but it's not really. 100 waist is firmly all mountain territory imho, at least for out west. I recommend getting a full rocker ski, I love the surfy feel of a full rocker ski in pow. Lots of people will tell you hybrid camber rocker is just as good or better but they're wrong. Hybrid camber/rocker is a compromise, it makes the pow performance worse just so you can ski groomers better, it's crap. Volkl and 4frnt are the go to brands for the kind of ski I'm talking about. 4frnt devestator for something more all around, Hoji for more big mountain focus. Volkl Revolt lineup is good specifically the 124 if you want a true pow ski, but the Katana is still around in the carbon version if you have serious cash, I would see Ingrid Backstrom rocking her Katanas in every kind of condition up in Washington.
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Not sure what shops out west you've been to, but in MT 100 is all mountain, never a pow ski. We start talking about pow ~107/109 width.
 
13978992:safarisam said:
Not sure what shops out west you've been to, but in MT 100 is all mountain, never a pow ski. We start talking about pow ~107/109 width.
Click to expand...

Maybe things have gotten better recently, I don't generally ask shop employees for help choosing gear anymore since I know what I want, but I still overhear shop employees point other women towards 100 waist skis, often with a sentence about how great they will be in pow. Not so many years ago that was me getting pointed towards 100 waist skis when I wanted a powder ski. I can remember it was a huge deal when K2 came out with the missdirected a few years back (a 117 waist women's ski was mostly unheard of), up until then the big chain stores like REI only had 100 waist skis as the widest ski available for women on display and shop employees were unlikely to point women towards men's equipment.

***Apparently I'm old AF because the missdirected came out in 2012, seems like yesterday.
 
13978926:Cyanicenine said:
Those are definitely short for you, you should probably be looking at something around 180 in length. I've been where you are though, shops will tell you a 100 waist ski is a "pow ski" but it's not really. 100 waist is firmly all mountain territory imho, at least for out west. I recommend getting a full rocker ski, I love the surfy feel of a full rocker ski in pow. Lots of people will tell you hybrid camber rocker is just as good or better but they're wrong. Hybrid camber/rocker is a compromise, it makes the pow performance worse just so you can ski groomers better, it's crap. Volkl and 4frnt are the go to brands for the kind of ski I'm talking about. 4frnt devestator for something more all around, Hoji for more big mountain focus. Volkl Revolt lineup is good specifically the 124 if you want a true pow ski, but the Katana is still around in the carbon version if you have serious cash, I would see Ingrid Backstrom rocking her Katanas in every kind of condition up in Washington.
Click to expand...

I honestly hadn’t thought about full rocker because so many people I know seem to think rocker/camber is fine, but we just got a fuck ton of snow up here so I’m gonna demo some full rocker skis today! Thanks for the advice!

Also I’m so annoyed with how the ski industry seems to treat most women’s gear in general. It seems better than before I joined the ski industry when when women’s gear was super pink and frilly with girly writing and shit, but when I compare my women’s gear to my guy friends’ gear, I’m disappointed with the quality and performance. My ski boots for example, my guy friend has the men’s equivalent and his liners are much better quality than mine. I got mine this season and the liner is SO SOFT that it’s already packed out and I’m swimming in them. Maybe I’m just still new to skiing and haven’t found good quality women’s gear.
 
13979128:taylor_gang said:
I have moment bibby pro’s and they’re dope. I also hated the Santa Anna’s though...
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I don’t hate the Santa Ana bc they gave me a ton of confidence when I switched from the janky 10 yr old racing style ski that I got for free and learned on, but at this point they’re holding me back and tbh I think they’re kind of a mom ski... I like only see moms on them where I live lol. My bf is obsessed with his bibby’s tho. I was kinda looking at the Deathwish but someone else I know with bibby’s said he wasn’t as impressed with the Deathwish
 
Last year I rode a pair of the Armada arv 106s and found them super fun and they did great in sludge, groomers, and of course pow. I’m 5’7” and rode 170 and was riding heavy pow and I liked them. I’m riding the 2018 revolts 95 right now and love them as an all mtn ski and they do great in shallow pow and fantastic on groomers. I have to admit I’m a bit of a park rat so I like 95 or even stretch it to the Kartel 108s. I’d go up in increments if I were you because going from 0 to 100 in terms of swing weight is gonna kill your knees, it does for even for the most experienced of skiers. Good luck with the search but those are the three I have ridin and enjoyed :)
 
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