Help Finding Skis for my Daughter (Joining Devo Team)

[AmyPJ]

& the Nordica is 69 underfoot which is almost like a mid fat for someone her weight.

Although everyone likes to think of Utah as a powder paradise, reality is that Snowbasin is not the Cottonwoods & has a lot of machine made snow & lower elevation. In a season like last year I barely had my powder skis out, even on powder days. My non rockered twin tips where usually the best tool for me. Even when there was powder on the top half of the mountain I was often skiing firm snow back to the lift of the bottom. Nowadays, Rockered fatties only come out when it is bottomless.

And I spent most of the season on my all-mountain 88s. Even at Targhee in some day-old powder (hey, we had fun, didn't we?!) I did love getting out on the 82 wide Kastles, too. All that machine made "snow" (which = ice on many days) makes me wonder if she'll really love the added grip of a ski with some added stiffness and partial sidewall construction. She has yet to even say much about ice, truthfully. The kid just goes out and skis.

The Combi ski is what you want. That Rossi is perfect. Fisher, Rossi or Head, etc all have good combi skis. Nose high. Be sure her boots are not too stiff. Fun to have a powder ski for those days but most time the Combi race ski is the right one and she'll do fine on it in soft snow.

Thanks, @silverback. I'm going to work on getting some ordered over the weekend. It honestly might come down to which one I can get the best deal on. Did I mention how awesome it is that she thinks those color combos are great?! They'll be easier to sell, too.

 

[4ster]

Thanks, @silverback. I'm going to work on getting some ordered over the weekend. It honestly might come down to which one I can get the best deal on. Did I mention how awesome it is that she thinks those color combos are great?! They'll be easier to sell, too

While you’re shopping, don’t count out the Nordica. Even though you guys may not have a connection for those, I do know that the pro price on Nordica has always been great & shop form would be even better .

 

[AmyPJ]

While you’re shopping, don’t count out the Nordica. Even though you guys may not have a connection for those, I do know that the pro price on Nordica has always been great & shop form would be even better .

Definitely not counting them out--some phone calls will be made over the weekend Looking at the specs, the two skis are very similar, so either one is fine.

 

[Slim]

I am not sure I would recommend the Pinnacle Jr. My oldest got them last year, and she can be described exactly as you did yours @AmyPJ (except for size, she is very tall for her age): confidentially skis the entire mountain but never gets an edge in, skidding/slarving everywhere.
The Pinnacles I think, don’t help there: they have very minimal camber, and a pretty long sidecut radius.

Also, my daughter was 5’4” start of last season and the Pinnacle Jr is the same width in each size, so your petite skier would find them even “wider” relative to her leg length, and therefor even harder to get on edge. When they were flat, she found them disconcerting the first day on super icY groomers, coming from fully cambered skis.

So, I would only recommend them if you want to use them as a quiver ski, since last years’ model can be found very cheap right now. (But you said you dint want to do that.)

Unlike you, we live in Minnesota, so our local hills are always hardpack(except in spring) and groomed and short. So I am looking to get her some slalom skis to learn some more carving skills and enjoy the local stuff more.

 

[Slim]

One more thing:

I do think(based on watching them) that for small kids, skiing deep snow on “firm snow skis” is harder than for adults.They don’t have the mass or strength to push the ski around, and therefor I think a wider (relative to body size: no need for 115mm), and especially rockered and tapered, ski, is more of a benefit for kids than for adults.

So even if you, as an adult, can handle the deeper conditions just fine on your “hard snow ski” your small kid might still need something more soft snow oriented.

 

[AmyPJ]

So, after all that, and a lot of discussion with my L3 boyfriend who has skied a lot with my daughter, and who knows the program she'll be skiing in well as he's taught those groups as a sub several times over the years, we decided a stiffer ski would NOT be the way to go for her just yet. So, I sleuthed around and found these with one of our Pugski sponsors, @SkiEssentials , with a bonus 10% off for Veteran's Day! I ordered them in the 138 (or 140, I can't remember which length they came in, as they are now sold out.) Anyway, bonus is she gave the thumbs up after I ordered them that they were "cool". I wonder how cool she'll feel when she realizes mom also skis on Blizzard Sheevas AND Black Pearls that also have feathers on them?
http://www.skiessentials.com/2018-blizzard-sheeva-iq-junior-skis-w-iq-bindings.html

 

[Wilhelmson]

Good deal.

From my daughter "they are pretty."

Great in the woods.

Her older skis "were not as easy to turn."

A few more lessons and better parenting might have improved the reversion on steep icy expert.

 

[4ster]

I think that’s a great choice, feathers and all!

 

[AmyPJ]

I think that’s a great choice, feathers and all!

Bonus is she knows they are like mine and still likes them

 

[AmyPJ]

Update: She LOVES these skis! Have had her out 3 times now. Now, the hunt for boots. She's in some Jr Tecnica 60 flex "race" boots, but as is to be expected, even though the shell fit measures her perfectly, her big and middle toe are rubbing to the point of blisters on the tops, and her styloids are being squeezed. She has pretty narrow, L shaped feet like me. Finding decent junior boots for someone of her height but with tiny feet (she's measuring right around a 20.5) is really hard! Her current boots are a 19.5.

 

[EricG]

A Freind of mine just picked up the Blizzard Sheeva Team for his 13year old daughter. She’s 5’1” and 85# and doing the freeride team up here.