2019 vs. 2018 skis

[skidrew]

Up to now I've rented skis, which at least has meant the opportunity to try a few things out. I'm now thinking of buying. I've gravitated to two particular skis, which seem to work alright for me: Blizzard Brahma (88) and Volkl RTM 84.

Anyway, both skis are supposedly unchanged from 2018 for 2019 (although presumably graphics). Any reason not to grab the ~$200 savings I'm seeing for going with last year's model?

Second question - thoughts on these two skis? I'm 6', ~200lbs, advanced (i.e., ski blacks, but not double blacks; working on being able to handle a greater range of terrain, such as crudded up blacks; like anyone, always have fun ripping groomers). My skiing is ~10 days/year (always hope for more), mostly Rockies but some mid-Atlantic as conditions allow. And not scheduled so as to hit only powder.

Anything other skis I should consider in this general style? If I have a preference between these two it's for the Volkl, as I seem to like things a bit narrower under foot than the wide ski trend.

 

[Philpug]

Why these two skis? Back to the original question, if you can find the leftovers of either one, grab them. But to compare these against each other, isn't a fair comparision. The Brahma really goes up against the Kendo, which IMHO is a toss up, the new Kendo is much more Brahma like and these two skis are a toss of the coin. The RTM84 goes more against the Blizzard Quattro 84 which IMHO the Volkl is better. I will say the Brahma/Kendo handle the groomers better than the RTM84 does in the mixed an crud that you commented that you are looking for the ski to excel in. If you want a ski that is more groomer biased, the RTM84 is really good.

 

[Ken_R]

The older skis dont stop working because the new ones just got here

There are some good deals out there and skis like the Bonafide and Brahma have been really good for several years now. Ditto with the Head Monster series among many others.