Best skis for PMTS

Post your questions/comments about Gear here

Best skis for PMTS

Postby Arkady » Mon Dec 11, 2017 1:52 pm

I recently had to retire my original Supershapes :( (skied tem in 170 for 8 years). The bases just got paper thin and edges also did not allow more work.
I used to enjoy these as all-around skis, that is why they were subject to a very heavy use.

I need to find replacement skis to keep learing PMTS. Currently, I use Monsters 88 for all-mountain and Rossis Hero LT for racing.
I also own a pair of older (10 yrs) of Head SS Speed, but they do not have much spring left.

Any recommendations?
Arkady
 
Posts: 101
Joined: Fri Aug 25, 2006 8:29 pm
Location: Minnesota

Re: Best skis for PMTS

Postby DougD » Mon Dec 11, 2017 3:48 pm

There's little reason to look beyond the current Head SuperShape i.Speed.

http://www.pmts.org/pmtsforum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=5085#p51423
DougD
 
Posts: 572
Joined: Thu Apr 10, 2014 6:22 am
Location: Connecticut, USA

Re: Best skis for PMTS

Postby Arkady » Tue Dec 12, 2017 7:58 am

What about iSL or iRace?
Arkady
 
Posts: 101
Joined: Fri Aug 25, 2006 8:29 pm
Location: Minnesota

Re: Best skis for PMTS

Postby DougD » Tue Dec 12, 2017 8:06 am

It depends on what you're seeking in a ski. You mentioned "all-around" use, for which the i.Speed seems to be preferred by Harald & Diana. It certainly works for me. :wink:

jbotti has skied some of the other skis you mentioned. My recollection is that he reported them to be more race oriented... no surprise. Search his posts, or maybe he'll chime in.
DougD
 
Posts: 572
Joined: Thu Apr 10, 2014 6:22 am
Location: Connecticut, USA

Re: Best skis for PMTS

Postby jbotti » Tue Dec 12, 2017 2:50 pm

I have skied the old iRace from years ago but the new one is a very similar ski. I own a pair of ISLs non RD. The ISL is probably the most similar to the original SSs. Its got a very tight turn radius but the tail is not quite as hooky as on the SS. Personally I like it better as its easier to release. If you are looking to replace SSs I would get the ISL non RD in the same length. It also skis off piste beautifully (for a slalom carver). Its not that stiff a ski.
Balance: Essential in skiing and in life!
User avatar
jbotti
 
Posts: 2184
Joined: Fri Nov 28, 2003 10:05 am

Re: Best skis for PMTS

Postby Arkady » Wed Dec 13, 2017 4:29 pm

Tank you for your suggestions! I see I should probably choose between SS iSpeed and iSL non RD, same length (170) I used for original Supershapes.
Arkady
 
Posts: 101
Joined: Fri Aug 25, 2006 8:29 pm
Location: Minnesota

Re: Best skis for PMTS

Postby Arkady » Sun Jan 28, 2018 9:24 am

Tried Stockli Laser SL in 160 for a week: both hard snow and deep soft new snow. Felt surprisingly good, especially for soft snow conditions.
What are anybody's thoughts on comparison of:

Stockli Laser SL
Rossi Hero ST
Head iSL non RD
Head iSpeed

for short turn PMTS purposes?
Arkady
 
Posts: 101
Joined: Fri Aug 25, 2006 8:29 pm
Location: Minnesota

Re: Best skis for PMTS

Postby CO_Steve » Sun Jan 28, 2018 1:02 pm

Arkady wrote:Tried Stockli Laser SL in 160 for a week: both hard snow and deep soft new snow. Felt surprisingly good, especially for soft snow conditions.
What are anybody's thoughts on comparison of:

Stockli Laser SL
Rossi Hero ST
Head iSL non RD
Head iSpeed

for short turn PMTS purposes?


I've skied all of these and owned the first two. No bad skis here, personal preference. The Rossi is a bit soft in the tip/firm in the tail. The 160 SL is a real short turner and more versatile than expected.
I don't remember the Heads well. Limited time on those. These are the PMTS standards.
If you can find the Elan SLX Race (non-FIS) from a couple of years ago it makes a great everyday short turner.
User avatar
CO_Steve
 
Posts: 277
Joined: Mon Jul 19, 2010 1:32 pm

Re: Best skis for PMTS

Postby Vailsteve » Sun Jan 28, 2018 7:10 pm

I would add the Blossom whiteout or the Hart striker. I bought a pair of the Hart Pulse on closeout this past summer and and I LOVE THIS SKI!!! The pulse is similar to the whiteout and a lot of PMTS forum members have commented favorably on the blossoms.

The Pulse has become my back bowl favorite. Great in bumps, great is crud and it can RIP the frontside groomers.

You DO need a good tune, and you do need strong tipping skills to get this ski to perform. This ski is flat out fun.

If your search the archives, Heleva posted a video of himself skiing the harts. HE is poetry in motion...me not so much (sigh).

VailSteve
Vailsteve
 
Posts: 170
Joined: Mon Mar 24, 2014 9:08 pm

Re: Best skis for PMTS

Postby Vailsteve » Sun Jan 28, 2018 7:22 pm

Oops, Greg was on the Blossom Sonoras....same as my Hart Pulse skis, but all similar to the Whiteouts and Stryker.

Here is the link:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ATaUvxAEr ... ontinue=38

See... I told you he rocks...

VailSteve.
Vailsteve
 
Posts: 170
Joined: Mon Mar 24, 2014 9:08 pm

Re: Best skis for PMTS

Postby B.Mulligan » Sat Feb 03, 2018 7:37 am

Would think the ideal PMTS ski, or any ski for advancing technique has the same set of desirable characteristics. Tell me if I got this right.

1. Even flex, probably on the medium stiff spectrum, but not unbendable or only bendable at speed under a very strong skier. A lot of technical skis seem to suffer from the overly stiff plank syndrome.

2. Must have Metal, maybe not two sheets of heavy duty ice destruction, but the damping of metal and the precision and surefootness, and feedback it provides can't be replicated by carbon alone or 'matrices' or any other marketing nonsense to make you feel better about the lack of some serious titanal.

3. Narrow waist, of course. Somewhere between 65 and 74, right? Turn Radii: 12-15m depending on flex and length. Personally, I'm a happier with a radii at the slightly longer end of slalom.

4. No funky tip designs, no taper. Absolutely no rise in
the tail. The tail rise is why I disliked the volkl codes and blizz quattros I've tried. Tail Doesn't have to be square, but it has to be flat if you want the feedback necessary to whip a tail push habit.

5. All that adds up to a few key overall qualities: The ability to ski it slow and still make clean arcs, and a ski that gives good feedback when you're on and when you are off, and a ski that feels good when conditions don't feel so good. I know a lot of tech oriented instructor types are high on beer league GS skis, I haven't had much luck with those. Enjoyed some beer league SL skis, and really enjoyed a few rec carvers that are a slight step below the beer league slalom.

I'll share the one's I've tried and liked and am considering buying, I'd be interested on this to hear if others have had similar experiences or think I'm on the right track.

1. 2018 Elan SLX 165cm. Local shop had one of these to demo and one for sale, wish I had bought it, but they sold both a few weeks ago. I loved it, very easy to ski, very smooth, has kick back but tolerated my intermediate-is skills in slower turns. I think it's one to try if you can find this rare beast!

2. Rossi Hero ST ti 167cm: Liked this, too, but it it wore me out a bit. Has a lot of bite and pop. Very energetic and lots of feed back. I found it hard to ski well in slower turn, a more advanced skier probably wouldn't have any trouble, but it wore me out after a while.

3. 2018 Rossi Pursuit 700ti 170cm: This is a great and almost unknown ski. They dropped one sheet of metal from this model, updated the binding and made it a great learning/ growing ski. I spent an extended two days on this as the local shop is a big Rossi dealer. Fun, lively, capable of high speed stability on rough, ice terrain, but very, very easy to ski slowly. Again, hard to find, but it's worth a look. I found the waist width-73mm and the turn radius: 14m just about perfect as an all-arounder.

4. 2017 Volkl Racetiger UVO SL 165cm. I know Volkl's are stiff and don't get a lot of love on this forum, but this is a very manageable, damp, and fun citizen slalom. I found it less taxing than the Rossi Hero ST ti, quite a bit more damp as well. It's still more work than I'd want in a 90% of the time frontsider/ learning ski. But, I get why it has a following.

Other skis, I've never skied:N the Head SS ispeed or their sl skis. I have skied the Rally and the Titan, they're well made skis that a lot of people like, but I found them just a bit clunky, if that makes sense. No interest in Kastle or Stockli-they'd make me feel guilty next time I vote for Bernie. I tried to grab a 170 or 177 Hart Stryker, but was too late. So I bought a 164cm Hart Stryker for my son, he's ripping on it.

I'd love to try the Fischer Curv's.

Anyway, I felt like waxing a bit about technical skis for skill advancement and this seemed like the right place.
B.Mulligan
 
Posts: 104
Joined: Tue Sep 16, 2014 8:45 am

Re: Best skis for PMTS

Postby Max_501 » Sat Feb 03, 2018 8:29 am

Some readers won't like this comment but here it is...

Unless you take video (or ski with a coach) to confirm your feelings you really don't know if the ski is a good fit for learning PMTS. Here's the problem, as a developing PMTS skier you haven't mastered the essentials which usually means there are non-PMTS movements in your skiing. As such a ski that rewards those non-PMTS movements will feel like its performing well.
User avatar
Max_501
 
Posts: 4124
Joined: Thu Mar 10, 2005 7:39 pm

Re: Best skis for PMTS

Postby B.Mulligan » Sat Feb 03, 2018 11:57 am

Max_501 wrote:Some readers won't like this comment but here it is...

Unless you take video (or ski with a coach) to confirm your feelings you really don't know if the ski is a good fit for learning PMTS. Here's the problem, as a developing PMTS skier you haven't mastered the essentials which usually means there are non-PMTS movements in your skiing. As such a ski that rewards those non-PMTS movements will feel like its performing well.


All true, and I said as much in my post...which is why I wondered what others thought about 1. the list of desirable characteristics in a ski for learning and 2. the few I liked.
B.Mulligan
 
Posts: 104
Joined: Tue Sep 16, 2014 8:45 am


Return to Gear

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 7 guests