All mountain skis for athletic beginner-intermediate woman 5'4 185lbs

[Skisolo]

She is at the start of the intermediate level. She can ski all blues and some reds pistes. She is using slim carving skis right now which makes her very uncomfortable as soon as the corduroy is gone as they are hooky and she cant carve.
She is HEAVY but does a lot of fitness/strength training so she is quite strong and squats 225lbs for reps.

We have been demoing skis and have some idea of what she likes. The problem is as the day went by, the slope got increasingly worse so it was hard for her to gauge which skis felt good or not at the end.

She loved Nordica Santa Ana unlimited in 172cm.
She liked Atomic Maven 86 in 163cm but felt the Maven 86c was too stiff.
She didn't like qst 96 and thought they felt flimsy (end of day so conditions were scraped up ice)

It seems she likes lightweight and not too stiff skis.
The Santa ana unlimited is on the list of course but they're a bit too premium I think.
Any ideas?

 

[Tony Storaro]

She is HEAVY

Totally uncalled for…

You should be ashamed of yourself.

 

[trailtrimmer]

It's really hard to argue with the black pearl in 82 or 88. There is a reason why it's such a huge seller, it just works in a variety of conditions. Testing out a head total joy would be worth while as well.

 

[GB_Ski]

I skied with several older and heavier ladies who are getting into advanced level last few seasons, they all prefer Volkl Kenja.

 

[Coolhand]

Elan Ripstick 88 or 94. Also +2 on the Black Pearls. Big favorites with our ladies.

 

[Lauren]

The Santa ana unlimited is on the list of course but they're a bit too premium I think.

Curious...what do you mean by "too premium"?

Which SA Unlimited? 88, 93, 98, or 104?

A few skis that come to mind that she might enjoy based on your descriptions...Salomon Stance 88, Rossignol Experience 82Ti, or Volkl Kenja. Or, if she demoed a wider Santa Ana Unlimited...I would have her try the "regular" Santa Ana 88.

 

[Rod9301]

Totally uncalled for…

You should be ashamed of yourself.

What 185 is not heavy?

 

[Vestirse]

She loved Nordica Santa Ana unlimited in 172cm.

If she loved these, what more are you both looking for? Was there something she did not like about these that you are looking to address?

 

[Skisolo]

If she loved these, what more are you both looking for? Was there something she did not like about these that you are looking to address?

I don't love the price.

 

[Skisolo]

Curious...what do you mean by "too premium"?

Which SA Unlimited? 88, 93, 98, or 104?

A few skis that come to mind that she might enjoy based on your descriptions...Salomon Stance 88, Rossignol Experience 82Ti, or Volkl Kenja. Or, if she demoed a wider Santa Ana Unlimited...I would have her try the "regular" Santa Ana 88.

Too premium = too expensive.

I think the reglar santa ana with two sheets of titanal is way too advanced for her skill. The whole reason I want to put her on all mountain is because they are easier to ski and give more confidence.
We're gonna demo a few more over the easter holiday so thanks all for your suggestions.

 

[Vestirse]

I don't love the price.

I don't know what its like in Sweden, but at this time of year here in North America, ski stuff is either on spring clearance or about to be.

 

[Lauren]

Too premium = too expensive.

I think the reglar santa ana with two sheets of titanal is way too advanced for her skill. The whole reason I want to put her on all mountain is because they are easier to ski and give more confidence.
We're gonna demo a few more over the easter holiday so thanks all for your suggestions.

The regular SA has a single sheet…while the Enforcer has two. It’s not actually stiffer than the Unlimited due to the amount of carbon that the Unlimited has in it. It does have a slightly different flex pattern, where the Unlimited is really designed to be a sidecountry ski, and the SA an All-Mountain.

At her height/weight/ability, I think she could benefit from going to a slightly stiffer ski to accommodate weight, while going shorter to accommodate her height and ability. I wouldn’t write off the regular SA without trying it, especially given her liking for the Unlimited. With that being said…it’s in the same price range as the Unlimited, so might not be what you’re looking for. Though it would be easier to find a regular SA second-hand for a good price.

 

[Nancy Hummel]

The best ski for anyone is the one that the person using the ski likes and feels comfortable on. She sounds fit and strong.

Please listen to her and buy the skis she likes. Yes, the skis may be an investment but well worth the cost if she loves the sport.

 

[Philpug]

Please listen to her and buy the skis she likes. Yes, the skis may be an investment but well worth the cost if she loves the sport.

Buy once, cry once. She won't remember in a year that the skis cost more but she will remember the good times on them.

 

[johnnyvw]

That's about my wife's size, weight, and ablity level (although she has more experience, she's a terminal intermediate and approaching 70 Y.O, not going to improve). Her one and only ski is the Blizzard Samba, which was the wider version of the Black Pearl a few years ago. Loves ,loves,loves it. How that ski may have changed with the current line-up, I'll have to leave to more learned people here.
Just my $0.02....

I agree with people that say buy what works for her despite cost. When you calculate the additional cost per ski day, over the life of the skis it's probably not much more than a cup of coffee.