3 Ski Quivers. What is your optimal ski selection?

[Kyle]

View attachment 82849 PugSki members who visit TGR forums might have seen this quiver posted the other day. I took a screen shot of it to show to anyone who EVER DARES to complain I have too many skis. Members over there have shown their spouses this pic too in order to safely increase their own quivers. Lol
Insane collection of big mountain skis.

Wow! I thought I had a problem! You are my inspiration.

 

[GregK]

Wow! I thought I had a problem! You are my inspiration.

Not my quiver I’m afraid, just my inspiration!!!

I have bought/sold 22 pairs of skis in the last 5 years but only keep 4-6 pairs in any quiver and sell the ones I don’t love. I always get them on huge deals and can flip them easily if I don’t love them-many times making money selling them.
I current have just 5 pairs on the go right now like some sort of rookie.......

 

[Andy Mink]

My everyday ski would be the Z90. It's great on soft groomers and very good on hardpack and as things get chopped up. Followed by DPS Foundation Cassiar 87. Or maybe the 94.

For deeper stuff that I'm getting more and more used to the decision is harder. The Armada Tracer 98 and 108 are awesome. So is the Renoun Citadel. DPS's new Alchemist Wailer 100RP is a hoot. There's no way a ski with that much rise should have a 16m radius!

For out west I'd be happy with two of those skis. If I had to pick a third there'd be a groomer killer in there. Maybe an Atomic X9 or X9WB.

 

[Wendy]

My everyday ski would be the Z90. It's great on soft groomers and very good on hardpack and as things get chopped up. Followed by DPS Foundation Cassiar 87. Or maybe the 94.

For deeper stuff that I'm getting more and more used to the decision is harder. The Armada Tracer 98 and 108 are awesome. So is the Renoun Citadel. DPS's new Alchemist Wailer 100RP is a hoot. There's no way a ski with that much rise should have a 16m radius!

For out west I'd be happy with two of those skis. If I had to pick a third there'd be a groomer killer in there. Maybe an Atomic X9 or X9WB.

your “out west” quiver is very similar to what I like out west:
The Z90 and the DPS Alchemist Wailer 99 (precursor to the 100 and IMO just as fun).
My SR100 is also awesome, similar to the Z90.

How forgiving are the X9 and X9WB?

 

[Andy Mink]

How forgiving are the X9 and X9WB?

They will allow some boo boos on your part. Perhaps a little more than Head Rallys but not so much as the V8s. They are definitely a ski that wants to be turned and turned. Super fun but you do need to be close to the top of your game to get the most out of them. If you want to make a day's worth of turns but only have a few hours they'll do it.

 

[Wendy]

I was not at my most awake last night when I put up my post above. Meant to clarify that I was posting thoughts about the general characteristics of skis that I personally think are useful, east and west. I intentionally did not post my specific skis because I figured that would confuse aspects of ski choice that might be driven by skier size, for example (not of general interest), rather than those driven by environment (which I think is on topic).



Yeah, I absolutely know about low tide in the west. Had my share of those days, especially as someone who pretty much has to plan cross-continental trips way in advance.

The difference, I think, is more about available terrain than about "conditions." Here in New England we have many, many days where skiing ungroomed snow - whether it's bumps or true off-piste - is simply not available*. In other words, groomers are the only game in town. My experience in the west, though admittedly much more limited than yours, is that most days you can ski certain mogul runs or glades if you want to, even if the surface might not be ideal. For this reason, I want to be on a ski that is decent in bumps and trees and in ungroomed snow (even if it's bad ungroomed snow). To me that means something with a softer tip, a more release-friendly tail, and slightly more width than a slalom ski.

I acknowledge that you, as someone who gets to ski good ungroomed terrain a lot, may have a different perspective, and elect to stick to groomers on days when the off-piste is marginal. As a desperate easterner, though, when I go west I'm damned if I'm going to do the same thing I'm forced to do at home all the time.

* Some reasons why off-piste is not available:

• Not enough cover. We get less of it here. (Yes, Josh, I know. Mount Mansfield gets plenty. Not talking about that.)
• Late cover. It just comes later here, due to the Atlantic influence. (Ocean cools much slower than land.)
• Rain. We get a lot of rain. Often. After the rain, it freezes. This typically happens hours (not days) after the rain. Then nothing ungroomed is skiable until the next snowstorm.
• Major thaws and refreezes. Same effect as rain. (In the Rockies you can have a 40 or 45 degree day with no ill effects on the surface. Here, due to the humidity of air and snow, you wake up the next day to a skating rink.)

You or somebody else (me)? needs to post a pic of ice-glazed moguls and tree runs....you know, when there’s so much ice that it’s reflective.

 

[Andy Mink]

I skied the Liberty V76 today on the WROD at Mt. Rose. Maybe that would be the third ski in my quiver. Very fun ski.

 

[DoryBreaux]

Havent we played this game before?
I dont care its a fun game.

Except I can't because three isn't enough

 

[David Chaus]

Havent we played this game before?
I dont care its a fun game.

Except I can't because three isn't enough

how about if you just list the three skis you used the most last season?

 

[DoryBreaux]

how about if you just list the three skis you used the most last season?

Thats easy.
Vantage 75
Vantage 97
Bentchetler

NOT my dream quiver, but it worked quite well.

 

[David Chaus]

Thats easy.
Vantage 75
Vantage 97
Bentchetler

NOT my dream quiver, but it worked quite well.

So that’s kind of the thing, we have an idea of a dream quiver, or aspirational quiver, then there’s what we actually use, which is usually good enough to have a good time.

 

[KingGrump]

So that’s kind of the thing, we have an idea of a dream quiver, or aspirational quiver, then there’s what we actually use, which is usually good enough to have a good time.

What a novel concept. A quiver of quivers.

Hmmm... that's would be 3 quivers of 3 skis each. 9 skis. Yeah, I can definitely live with that.

 

[geepers]

how about if you just list the three skis you used the most last season?

Three skis?

Luxury!

 

[DoryBreaux]

Three skis?

Luxury!

Thats just the three I spent the most time on. You should see our garage...

 

[David Chaus]

What a novel concept. A quiver of quivers.

Hmmm... that's would be 3 quivers of 3 skis each. 9 skis. Yeah, I can definitely live with that.

That is not what I meant. I would never do that, which is to say I don’t enough room in my roof car box for 9 pairs.

Unless.....I use exclusively demo bindings which are kept in a container inside the vehicle. So, it’s possible.

OK, you’ve convinced me. Everybody should have 9 pairs of skis.

 

[DocGKR]

"Everybody should have 9 pairs of skis."

That's all???

Does that mean I have to sell some now?

...uh, point of clarification--does that include old rock skis?

 

[David Chaus]

Three skis?

Luxury!

Maybe, but I feel compelled nonetheless.

Resistance is futile.

 

[David Chaus]

...uh, point of clarification--does that include old rock skis?

For the sake of this discussion, let’s just call that a No.

 

[geepers]

Ok. So you've got 9 pairs of skis. Or more. Met a guy once who carried around 14 pairs in his truck. He worked in a ski shop so guess it wasn't as bad as it sounds.

So, same question I asked him: How to decide which pair to use? And how many times a day to make a change?

The 14 pair guy seemed to spend more time at his truck than on the slopes.

 

[markojp]

Yes, I have more than three pairs. I could probably make a couple more nice 3 ski quivers. Then I could make a 1-1-1 quiver: one telemark, one touring, one alpine. I sincerely hope to get this mess whittled down to 4 alpine, 1 touring, and 1 teley.

The pairs I'm having a hard time getting rid of are 1 older monster88 and monster 98. The latter, I skied maybe twice last season, but for truly heinous NW conditions ( mixed blue ice with a dressing of wind slab junk) there isn't yet anything better. It's the Butkis of skis... The older 88, the 'Ronnie Lott'.