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TimF

Putting on skis
Skier
Joined
Oct 30, 2016
Posts
132
I really like the Blister Quiver selections. They tend to run more for the Western skiers with touring options. I'm in the Midwest and travel out west several times per season. Still looking for my optimal quiver. 53 years old, skiing since I was 6. Height 5'8". Weight is now 130ish as cancer, surgery and radiation are trying to get me but I'm still skiing.

1. Hard snow/groomers: Fischer RC4 The Curv 178cm 120-74-104 mm 18M
I own this and it is a great ski. Can bend it to shorter turns but is a rocket for my weight. I think I will take this out West this year to try it on longer, steeper runs. The Stockli Laser AX 175cm can slot in here. I also have an NTN telemark setup on Fischer WC SL's 165cm for carving fun.

2. All Mountain Western or Midwest with some powder: This is where I am struggling. Currently have Fischer Motive 95Ti in 180cm
Fun one ski quiver for out West. Can carve on hardpack and stable in crud and can handle powder. Definitely not surfy and in deeper powder the tips will not float After demoing Kastle's and Stockli's you can tell it doesn't have the smoothness that gets talked about.

3. Powder: Currently DPS Wailer 112 RP Hybrid, 178cm. Yes this is a fun, surfy ski in powder. Slash it, surf it, carve it in powder. Will get deflected as the snow gets cut up starts setting up. I would like to try the newer Alchemist construction in a 184cm length.

So my optimal quiver is
1.Fischer RC4 The Curv 178cm
2. Stockli SR 95 175 or 184, Kastle FX 96 HP, Nordica Enforcer 93 177cm. Maybe move up a few mm to K2 Mindbender 99ti.
3. Moment Wildcat, 184cm, 114-116-131, 25R. Read so much about this ski, I am ready to buy.
 

Beartown

Chasing the dragon
Skier
Joined
Apr 24, 2017
Posts
292
Location
Minnesota
I'm in MN, but do 95% of my skiing out west. I like to keep it simple. My current 3 ski quiver:

-Blizzard Brahma 88
-Blizzard Bonafide 98
-DPS Wailer 106

Bonafides are what I ski most. Wailers on the deeper days, Brahmas on the firmer days (and pretty much the only thing I ski in the midwest). I have 0.5/2 tune on the bonafides and wailers and 0.5/3 on the Brahmas. I used to ski the Bonafides exclusively, and they were pretty great 80% of the time. I usually bring 2 pairs out west if I'm flying, tailored to the weather forecast, or I'll bring all three if I drive.
 

BMC

Out on the slopes
Skier
Joined
Mar 20, 2017
Posts
778
Difficult. A 4 ski quiver would be easier. But I’ll say;

  • Head Monster 83 @170cm for harder snow days but with all mountain versatility
  • Nordica Enforcer 88 as an everyday ski in Australia (I currently use a Blizzard Brahma but am eyeing up a replacement
  • Salomon QST 106 @181cm with shift bindings. I currently use Salomon QLabs for this role, but I’d ideally like something just a touch more forgiving for Japan but keep the QLabs for Oz deep days and maybe other places?
* In a perfect world I’d add an even wider ski around 115mm underfoot for very deep days, but I’m limited to 3 in this quiver so I’ve selected based on what I actually ski, noting the QST 106 is reputedly nearly as good as the super wide skis in very deep snow. I currently have Salomon Mtn Lab for this role, but I think I’d pick the QST 118 as it has more tip and tail rocker.
** in a completely perfect world I would also have AT skis for Australia as the QST 106 is a touch wider than needed. I currently use QST 99s with Dynafits for that.

So I think I’ve listed 6 skis for my 3 ski quiver in an ideal world. Let it be noted though I did actually name a 3 ski quiver.
 
Thread Starter
TS
TimF

TimF

Putting on skis
Skier
Joined
Oct 30, 2016
Posts
132
"So I think I’ve listed 6 skis for my 3 ski quiver in an ideal world. Let it be noted though I did actually name a 3 ski quiver".

LOL. Great job. In reality I have a 7 ski quiver that I can take to the local hill and just keep going back to the car to change out. I have taken 3 skis out West in the past but that was a real pain.
 

HDSkiing

You’re Sliding On-Snow; Don’t Over-Think it!
Skier
Joined
Oct 4, 2017
Posts
319
Location
The Rocky Mountains
Timely post! A few years ago I actually doubled my quiver to two, but as of late I’m looking to increase it by 33% to 3.

Currently I use a Head iRally 170/76 under foot, it’s my daily ski that I use for teaching, free skiing, moguls, even pow up to a foot or so (if it’s light). I’m on it probably 80 plus days a year in most conditions, (I grew up on race skis for everything and most of the time I’m too lazy to go back to locker room and switch when friends/colleagues want to go off into the trees etc:doh:)

My other Ski is K2 Pinnacle 105 at 177 It is the polar opposite of my iRally’s, or at least it feels that way to me. But it is an absolute blast to ski, especially in treed steeps and pow, it will “Slarve” wicked quick turns off piste where the head likes to be on edge.

So back to the third ski, I’m looking at either Kastle MX 84, or Stöckli Storm rider 88. For what it’s worth I can get a better price on the Stöckli. Mostly I’m looking for something for the whole mountain but still feels like a SL Ski. The heads are getting older, so more likely to use them for early/late snow and teaching. K2’s for when it’s deep or I feel like smearing:)

Anyone been on both the storm rider and the MX?
 

Noodler

Sir Turn-a-lot
Skier
Joined
Oct 4, 2017
Posts
6,314
Location
Denver, CO
Specific skis aside, I have put a lot of thought into quiver building. Some would say probably way too much thought (especially my wife). ;)

I believe that skis fall into 5 categories:
  1. Hard-Pack: 65-75mm waist, 12-14m SR, 165-170cm, 1100-1300 cm^2 area
  2. All-Mountain Narrow: 75-85mm waist, 14-16m SR, 170-175cm, 1300-1500 cm^2 area
  3. All-Mountain Regular: 85-95mm waist, 16-18m SR, 175-180cm, 1500-1700 cm^2 area
  4. All-Mountain Wide: 95-105mm waist, 18-20m SR, 180-185cm, 1700-1900 cm^2 area
  5. Deep-Snow: 105-115mm waist, 20-22m SR, 185-190cm, 1900-2100 cm^2 area
The 3 ski quiver should pick a Hard-Pack, All-Mountain Regular, and Deep-Snow ski. Here in the West, I ski a 4 ski quiver, so I add the All-Mountain Wide to my picks. In the East, I would instead add the All-Mountain Narrow. I think the All-Mountain Narrow is kind of pointless in the West; the added width slows edge changes, but doesn't really buy you enough additional surface area to be meaningful as an All-Mountain ski.

Of course this is just how things have settled out for me from many years of testing skis and determining what makes sense for me. YMMV. :)
 

François Pugh

Skiing the powder
Skier
Joined
Nov 17, 2015
Posts
7,617
Location
Great White North (Eastern side currently)
Specific skis aside, I have put a lot of thought into quiver building. Some would say probably way too much thought (especially my wife). ;)

I believe that skis fall into 5 categories:
  1. Hard-Pack: 65-75mm waist, 12-14m SR, 165-170cm, 1100-1300 cm^2 area
  2. All-Mountain Narrow: 75-85mm waist, 14-16m SR, 170-175cm, 1300-1500 cm^2 area
  3. All-Mountain Regular: 85-95mm waist, 16-18m SR, 175-180cm, 1500-1700 cm^2 area
  4. All-Mountain Wide: 95-105mm waist, 18-20m SR, 180-185cm, 1700-1900 cm^2 area
  5. Deep-Snow: 105-115mm waist, 20-22m SR, 185-190cm, 1900-2100 cm^2 area
The 3 ski quiver should pick a Hard-Pack, All-Mountain Regular, and Deep-Snow ski. Here in the West, I ski a 4 ski quiver, so I add the All-Mountain Wide to my picks. In the East, I would instead add the All-Mountain Narrow. I think the All-Mountain Narrow is kind of pointless in the West; the added width slows edge changes, but doesn't really buy you enough additional surface area to be meaningful as an All-Mountain ski.

Of course this is just how things have settled out for me from many years of testing skis and determining what makes sense for me. YMMV. :)
Eastern only skiing quiver would require only one width (<70 mm) and three different turn radii, SL,GS, SG.
 

DocGKR

Stuck at work...
Skier
Joined
Apr 1, 2019
Posts
1,689
Location
Palo Alto, California
Similar to Noodler's comments above, I generally break my skis down into 5 categories:

1. 70mm and narrower Race skis
2. 70-85mm On-piste carving skis
3. 85-100mm All Mountain skis
4. 100-115mm Soft snow and crud skis
5. 115mm and wider Deep powder skis


If I could only have 3 of my current skis, I'd probably go with
-- Rossignol Hero Plus Ti (78mm/181cm/15m) or alternatively my Rossi FIS SL (67mm/165cm/13m)
-- Nordica Enforcer 88 (88mm/186cm/18m), but I would also be happy with my Blizzard Bonafides (98mm/180cm/18m)
-- Nordica Enforcer 104 (104mm/186cm/19m) for the Sierra's, although I would switch to my Nordica Enforcer 115 (115mm/191cm/22m) for the Wasatch and Rockies
 

Jim McDonald

愛スキー
Skier
Joined
Nov 15, 2015
Posts
2,101
Location
Tokyo
My current quiver:
Stockli AX 175
Nordica E100 185
Stockli SR107 183

Ideally, I'd like to replace either the E100 with an E93, or the SR107 with something a bit wider, maybe a Moment Wildcat 184
 

Kyle

Out on the slopes
Skier
Joined
Jan 28, 2016
Posts
459
Location
Utah
I have proven unable to control myself from buying more skis every year so this is just theoretical but it is actually pretty easy to come up with a three ski quiver I could commit to from those I own:

Daily Driver/Travel Ski--Blizzard Bonafide

New Snow Ski--Blizzard Rustler 11

No snow this week/Sun Valley travel ski--Blossom White Out
 

Castle Dave

Getting off the lift
Skier
Joined
Apr 24, 2017
Posts
324
I live in BC and ski BC and Alberta so very Western soft snow focused. This is my present quiver.
-Supernatural 100/178 - easy going daily driver for on an old guy
-First generation Cochise - 108/184 for ripping anything chopped or otherwise tricky and semi deep. Too bad Blizzard neutered it to make it more 'accessible'. I will never retire these skis.
-Sick day 125/184 for the occasional deep day
 

markojp

mtn rep for the gear on my feet
Industry Insider
Instructor
Joined
Nov 12, 2015
Posts
6,602
Location
PNW aka SEA
20191019_211537.jpg
 

firebanex

Making fresh tracks
Skier
Joined
Apr 16, 2018
Posts
1,090
Location
Fairbanks, Alaska
I essentially have a 3 ski downhill quiver and a 2 ski Shift quiver.. however I do end up using the shift skis in bounds a lot as those boots are more comfy.

Hard Snow: Renoun prototype 88mm waist ski. 174cm (have not skied these yet.. but theory crafting says they will be wonderful)
Daily Driver: Fischer Ranger 102FR 184cm
Big Ski: Icelantic Pioneer 109 190cm.

I do have some cross over and use a Renoun Endurance v3 with shifts in the daily driver slot and a pair of Black Diamond Boundary Pro 107s also with shifts for the big ski slot when I'm wearing my S/Lab MTN boots. So even through this is 5 pairs of skis, I still count them as a 3 ski quiver. However, my Wife still thinks otherwise..

Changes or optimizations? I would change up the big ski slot for something even bigger like the Fischer Ranger 115FR, Enforcer Free 115, or maybe the Blizzard Spur. I have come to find that I would rather have more freeride playful ski and the Pioneer 109 feels much more powerful directional all mountain ski. We had a fairly low snow year locally but I took a spring ski trip last year to Snowbird and caught the last powder storm of the year. As I had only brought the Ranger 102FR for the trip, I learned that I really enjoy how that ski acts in powder and wish to have a wider version for even better float.
 

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