topic:Notaskibum said:
fr tho, i see yall rocking wide af skis for no reason on non powder days, hard on the knees, harder to spin, harder to swap on rails, harder to carve and charge, just a waste of time. give me the 80mm 2x4s from the early 2010s any day of the week
Damn, I see you're catching a lot of hate. Here's my opinion (although it looks like it will be unpopular).
Let me start off by saying I don't think sub-100 skiis nor plus-100 skis are definitively harder on the knees (i've skiied both for plenty of years, but i absolutely welcome your inputs from this statement).
Secondly, I agree with your sentiment in this post. I think fat skis are the newest cash grab - by this I mean that the industry must keep themselves evolving and therefore relevant and (in the consumers' mind) relevant each and every season. I believe these fat skis are the latest and greatest per their marketing teams.
HOWEVER. I also believe that the newest and fatter skis offer more all-mountain capabilities than those of the 2010s. They're more versatile than they used to be. Hellbents weren't exactly all-mountain capable, but now the fat skis are arguably exactly that.
Also, at the same time, i do think the majority of the ski community has neglected the history and function behind skinny skis. At first, the racers and big-pow folks let their tails slide while maintaining a narrow stance. As technology has progressed, we've been seeing skis that allow not only speed without tail-slippage, but that same ski performing comparably or equally as well in the high-altitude backcountry pow.
Wide skis now offer versatility where they haven't before. although, i do agree with you, nothing beats a 75-90 underfoot for rotation and low-incline carvability.
-D_Walk