This seasons' powder skis?

[Louis]

Hello,

as I want to venture off piste more, I'm looking for a wider ski, which I will use on very snowy days maybe 60/40 offpiste/onpiste. I currently only own a pair of iSS. On Head's website the venturi 95 or the monster 98 seemed kind of interesting. Do you have any experiences with these? I don't really know what's the difference between the flight and the monster series, as they both contain very wide skis...
Also I'm wondering which length a powder ski should have. I'm 184 cm tall so would the Venturi in 181 be fine, or should it be longer?

Best regards!

Louis

[jbotti]

Monster 98 has a quite wide turn radius. I haven't skied it but I would be careful with that ski. Its supposedly quite burly and wants to go straight.

As for lengths, in general skiing ability may have more to do with choosing a length than does height and weight (although both of those are factors). I am 6 3" 185 and I ski the Head RNR (also 95 under foot ) in the 180 length. Max who is shorter and weighs less also skis it in the 180 length. The 181 is probably the right length for you.

[Louis]

Thanks! I also noticed the wide radius, but I didn't know what to make of it. I was wondering about length, 'cause I read somewhere that you should buy rockered powder skis with a lenght above body height. The Venturi in 181 would already be 10 cm longer than my iSS, but I didn't know if that was enough.
Unfortunately I also couldn't find a head dealer in the skiing areas I normally go, that carries the venturi. Are there similar skis of other brands, that can be recommended, too?

[B.Mulligan]

Louis,

The monster series is a pretty serious set of technical off piste sticks. For pure powder or soft snow skiing, you'd need some very good skills to get the most out of those. I skied the monster 88 last week, it's a lot of ski, too much for me and my skill level. Though, my friend loves them, however, he raced at Middlebury and still coaches locally, and skiers like that like that ski. He's younger, more fit and just way better than I. Most of what I've heard on the new monster series jives with his assessment. They are good powerful skis for good, powerful, technically proficient skiers.

The Venturi is pretty well-liked for all-around soft snow skiing. I know that some here like it a lot, so that's something to consider. I've seen one, but never skied a pair. They have a notable amount of tip rise and some tail rise. I can't imagine any full grown man would want a shorter 95mm waisted pow ski than a 181cm. If, you mean to use it for deeper snow and crud. The Venturi can be bought pretty cheap, too, and sometimes that makes a ski very attractive.

Lots of good choices these days for sub 100mm waisted powder and soft snow skis and many of them don't make skiing hard snow miserable.

[jbotti]

I have not skied the Monster 98 or 108 but i do own the 88. I would call the 88 a reasonably user friendly ski but to get any 88mm waisted ski similar to the user friendliness of the Head Rock n Roll (it may be slightly stiffer). The Venturi even though wider is even more user friendly in soft snow and should be used more as a dedicated soft snow ski.

[Louis]

Okay so the venturi seems to be fine for my purpose. I'm looking for something I can use on soft snow days and also in deep pow. For an allmountain ski I use my iSS. But I still haven't found a place where I can test the venturi...