2017 Skis: What Are Your Questions?

[michael]

Tune-ups are on the "must do before season starts" list.

btw - do tune-ups reduce the symptoms arising from gear acquisition syndrome?

 

[Tricia]

In one word....no

 

[Josh Matta]

Amazingly, this seems to be less true than it used to be. I see/ hear of more of our little 'snowflakes' not getting their licenses while in high school. Some not even interested well beyond that. Which is a free choice they can make, but it is a change for sure!

Regarding the boots, you are further ahead than most. It is great that you "have a guy" that you can trust and has your best interests in mind.

Icier is relative...icy for Snowbird is different than icy for Stowe..I will let @Josh Matta chime in with the difference. While the Blackeye is not an ice-skate by any means, it is not a bad ski on the firm conditions either. Getting more accustomed to dealing with adverse condtions will take more than 60 days but it sounds like you are well on the way. Maybe check the tune and get that either before the season or after rock season.

They dont let it get icey as stowe anymore, it only become granualar. I actually wish would let it get icey because a hard smooth groomer is way more fun than a bunch of tiny chucks ground up to feel like pebble or in some cases boulders.

Snowbird in the spring can be crazy icey in the morning. I have slid all the ways down Emma before, while on Progressor 9+ :O

 

[tromano]

@michael, know this is a gear thread, but be sure to hit up the ski school regularly to develop your technique.

 

[michael]

@michael, know this is a gear thread, but be sure to hit up the ski school regularly to develop your technique.

Already on it - 1/2-day lesson my first day ever (PCMR)... two full day lessons at Snowbasin in March and the last one at Alta in April. All of them took me to a new level in one way or another. Bonus was my instructor at Snowbasin being super not pleased to find out he had skied fewer days than i had. I consoled him, though, by openly laughing about it. There may have been some mocking, too...

Lessons can be pricey, but when I consider what they did for my understanding, skills, confidence and personal safety it was some of the best money I spent last winter.

@Tricia - thanks for the brutal truth! @Philpug - is there a way to vote "Don't Like" on posts?

 

[DanoT]

@Tricia, for 2017 the ski shop where I work at Sun Peaks will no longer be a Blizzard dealer and instead will carry Nordica. From what I have heard the Nordica Enforcer will be a worthy replacement for the Bonafide, but we will be loosing out on our most popular ski the Blizzard Black Pearl.
So is there a Nordica woman's ski that is near to the Black Pearl in more than just dimensions?

 

[Jilly]

If Tricia can't answer that I can pose it to our rep...Nordica and Blizzard are his lines...Personally I couldn't wait to get the BP's off my feet. But to each their own.

 

[Philpug]

@Tricia, for 2017 the ski shop where I work at Sun Peaks will no longer be a Blizzard dealer and instead will carry Nordica. From what I have heard the Nordica Enforcer will be a worthy replacement for the Bonafide, but we will be loosing out on our most popular ski the Blizzard Black Pearl.
So is there a Nordica woman's ski that is near to the Black Pearl in more than just dimensions?

Unt till @Tricia answers I will throw my 2 cents in. Nordica does not offer anything liek the Pearl, the same way that they don't offer a Bonafide, Brahma, Cochise or Samba. This is a collection of skis that Blizzard and Nordica take different directions. You need to look outside of Nordica for a ski even close and I would say the Armada Victa is about the closest.

 

[Tricia]

@Tricia, for 2017 the ski shop where I work at Sun Peaks will no longer be a Blizzard dealer and instead will carry Nordica. From what I have heard the Nordica Enforcer will be a worthy replacement for the Bonafide, but we will be loosing out on our most popular ski the Blizzard Black Pearl.
So is there a Nordica woman's ski that is near to the Black Pearl in more than just dimensions?

Nordica would like you to think that the Wild Belle is a cousin to the Black Pearl but I couldn't feel their blood line.
The Santa Ana 93 *may* come closer but ..... I didn't really compare it to the Black Pearl when I demo'd it.

The ski that I would say is closest to the Black Pearl in most categories is the Armada Victa 87Ti. The biggest difference is that the Victa turns a little quicker.

 

[skibob]

Unt till @Tricia answers I will throw my 2 cents in. Nordica does not offer anything liek the Pearl, the same way that they don't offer a Bonafide, Brahma, Cochise or Samba. This is a collection of skis that Blizzard and Nordica take different directions. You need to look outside of Nordica for a ski even close and I would say the Armada Victa is about the closest.

Curious what those "different directions" are.

 

[markojp]

Curious what those "different directions" are.

Pretty simple... ski shape, different rise/rocker profiles, layups, and of course, graphics. The only exception are the race skis... same/same, just different graphics.

 

[skibob]

Pretty simple... ski shape, different rise/rocker profiles, layups, and of course, graphics. The only exception are the race skis... same/same, just different graphics.

Yeah, I'm definitely aware of the flipcore thing, although zilch experience of it. I suppose Nordica's is a more "traditional" approach. But not trying to start a debate about flipcore here . . .

 

[markojp]

Honestly, I don't care all to much if the core is flipped, baked, easy over, or scrambled. It's enough to just say the two lines of rec skis are very very different in nearly every regard.

 

[Philpug]

It's enough to just say the two lines of rec skis are very very different in nearly every regard.

Yet, both are very good.

 

[SkiNurse]

Waiting patiently for the Armada Victa to be released to the public....

 

[Suzski]

@Philpug - I progressed further than I could have imagined and am wanting to upgrade, but also not wanting to be a gear hound and wind up doing this every year. Well, that's what I say to myself now, anyway...

Its a slippery slope . . .

 

[Philpug]

Its a slippery slope . . .

And we recommend a ski for that very slippery slope, and it's usually a slalom ski.

 

[Brian Finch]

Kastle 89 - best all mtn stormer
Kastle 84 - let down, what happened?
Renouns - buy bc they will sellout quick
Head Supershapes - u can buy a turn
Sali- I'm glad I have my labs bc the '17 are soft
Any ski w external plumbing - it was a fail for Fischer 15 years ago, still a fail
Blizzard free rides - dialed, smooth

 

[skibob]

Any ski w external plumbing - it was a fail for Fischer 15 years ago, still a fail

Ok, can't figure out "external plumbing", well, on a ski anyway

 

[Philpug]

Ok, can't figure out "external plumbing", well, on a ski anyway

Devices on the ski that are supposed to "enhance" or change performance. Fischer's "Rocker on Demand" is a good example. They had a bar on the shovel that could be set to either add rocker or have the front half of the ski fully cambered. All it did was add a bunch of weight to the front half of the ski.