Clueless gear noob - time to upgrade my ancient skis?

[TonyPlush]

Ended up with the Salomon X Max 100s, got them heat molded and they're being fitting to some Marker (11?) bindings right now. I'm trashing the old boots, and I'm gonna risk the new ones at Steamboat next week.

They felt pretty awesome in the store. I couldn't believe how much lighter the Salomons were than my old rental quality Nordicas. Definitely tighter, but relatively comfortable overall.

Also getting the Vantage CTIs tuned to a 3 bevel with an all mountain tune.

If I thought I was excited before, I'm off the charts now. Jumping from oversized rental boots with 13 year park skis to perfectly sized boots with top notch all mountain skis... could be a pretty wild change!

 

[Viking9]

TonyPlush is a sweet name, you might be in first with that one.
I know one of the guys at the shop I frequent really talks up that Atomic , can do a lot of things comfortably, impossible not to have fun , nice job .

 

[NESkier_26]

From the reviews I've read, it sounds like the Vantages will be perfect for me on the groomers and in the bumps/trees/off trail. Hoping the 85 width isn't too narrow for the deeper days, but @trailtrimmer brought up some good points about leaning towards a narrower ski at my ability level.

You bought a great ski -- best of luck with them. As to the width, I think you should be fine. I ski on 84mm (5 year old Kastle FX84s) and they are fine in up to 8-10" of new snow.

And happy to hear you decided to ditch the old boots!

 

[martyg]

Tony - it depends what you want to get out if skiing.

1. Are you happy with where you are in your ability?

If you want to improve.....

2. When you list your ability what criteria are you basing it on?

3. What is your exposure to lessons and clinics?

3. Have you had any video analysis?

If your goal is to improve the ski that you will choose will likely be very different than the ski you choose to casually ski on.

As with most of my students, when we are discussing technique or equipment I want to explore their intent.

Enjoy the journey.

 

[TonyPlush]

Well folks,

I got back from my trip last week. Due to some complications, I ended up skiing my old boots with some Atomic Vantage 85 (wood core) rentals on the first day, then my new boots with my Atomic Vantage 85 CTIs on the second day.

To say I was blown away is an understatement.

I couldn't believe what a difference the gear made. For carving, I was able to push the skis on edge way further than I ever could. Literally two turns in and I turned to my friend and said, "Wow, this is a total game changer." So much more stable through the turn too, with a playful spring out of each turn. Ice was also a total non-issue, I couldn't believe how much I could feel the edges digging in compared to my old skis. I should have bought new skis years ago.

Strangely, I think I might have actually found the 85 wood core easier to get on edge, while the Vantage 85 CTIs seemed a little tougher to initiate turns with.

Where the Vantage 85 CTIs really shined though, to my surprise, was in deeper snow. We were extremely lucky, and steamboat picked up 15 inches (!!!) of fresh powder on our last day. Granted, my only real comparison is my old park skis, but the Vantage 85 CTIs did great floating over the powder, and blasted through variable conditions like a champ.

I'm a very happy camper. Thanks again for all the help in this thread!