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Help me whittle this new ski list down!

trailtrimmer

Stuck in the Flatlands
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ust one question, I thought the Latigo is 78, the Brahma is 88 and the Bonafides are 98. I didn't think the Brahms were 82?

You are 100% correct as of two months ago. Now the Brahma comes in the original 88 flavor, or the newly added 82. :daffy:
 
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Nelliefj40

Putting on skis
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Iowa
Continued great help! I think you all may have convinced to go the narrower route. Everything I've ready about the titan sounds great.

So now:

Titan
Monster 83
Brahma 82
Liberty 82 (should this be part of the conversation?)

Thanks!
 

Dwight

Practitioner of skiing, solid and liquid
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Time to demo. :) I thing you missing not having the Vantage X in there too. Redesigned for 2019 and very nice ski. I"m 6', 210lbs.
 
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Nelliefj40

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Its difficult for me to determine my level of skiing as I've never had any training. We can speculate that, at least at times, I'm in the backseat as was suggested earlier in the thread when discussing my experience on the kendos.

Will these more carving oriented skis (I.titan or vantage x) punish me more for that than would the all mountain offerings (liberty v, monster, enforcer, brahma)?

I hope to continue to improve of course and don't think im in the back seat all the time but want to be be cognizant of my current skill level.
 

PinnacleJim

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For a single ski to cover both the local hill and the west, I would stick to something with width in the mid-80s or so and a hard snow bias. Head Monster 88 or 83 would certainly be good choices as would the Brahma. I am a big Fischer fan so would include the ProMtn 86.

And I agree that if you go with two skis, the Head Rally is a great choice for the narrow one. And my Fischer choice would be the Curv DTX.
 

Lance

Booting up
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Mar 19, 2017
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Its difficult for me to determine my level of skiing as I've never had any training. We can speculate that, at least at times, I'm in the backseat as was suggested earlier in the thread when discussing my experience on the kendos.

Will these more carving oriented skis (I.titan or vantage x) punish me more for that than would the all mountain offerings (liberty v, monster, enforcer, brahma)?

I hope to continue to improve of course and don't think im in the back seat all the time but want to be be cognizant of my current skill level.
In my experience, the Brahma is a more forgiving ski than some seem to give it credit for. For me, the Kendos were too stiff, the Enforcers were not stiff enough and the Brahma was spot on. It's super stable, but does not punish you if you're not charging it all day long. The carving skis shouldn't punish you, but I find the all mountain skis to be a little more playful and versatile.
 

Ryan Dietrich

Getting on the lift
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Mar 12, 2018
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I ski a lot of groomers on my Volkl Mantra's, and everything I have read about the new M5 Mantras makes me want to upgrade. The idea of having the same level of "dampness" except considerably lighter just sounds amazing. I plan on demo-ing the new model for next year in a few weeks at our big "demo day" at Alta.
 

Analisa

Making fresh tracks
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Its difficult for me to determine my level of skiing as I've never had any training. We can speculate that, at least at times, I'm in the backseat as was suggested earlier in the thread when discussing my experience on the kendos.

Being behind the sweet spot on a ski and being backseat with your hips behind your feet aren’t necessarily one and the same. I have some skis that respond best when I'm in a pretty centered stance and others that really demand that I get forward. My ski skills are the same, but I've had to be intentional about the boot & binding I'm pairing with each to get the fore-aft balance right.
 

NZRob

Skiing the Rock
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I'm another vote for the Brahma. I was thinking the 88, cos I wasn't aware it was out in an 82 - so you've got an excellent choice. I haven't skied the Liberty and only briefly demoed the Heads but I own the iTitan and have skied the Brahma 88 a lot and even at that width it's a very versatile ski, and quite a bit less demanding than the Bonafides (which, for context, I also own) especially on groomer/hardpack.

The iTitan is a ski that is happiest when it is continuously turning on edge (though really easy to vary the radius). The Brahma 88 is more focussed on being an all-rounder.
 

dropd9

Booting up
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For a single ski to cover both the local hill and the west, I would stick to something with width in the mid-80s or so and a hard snow bias. Head Monster 88 or 83 would certainly be good choices as would the Brahma. I am a big Fischer fan so would include the ProMtn 86.

I recently picked up 18/19 Monster 83 and can't say enough about how versatile (with a harder snow bias) they are. I've also got system type bindings on them and have to move them quite a bit to find an "uncomfortable" setting, meaning really far forward or really far back. That tells me how nice a sweet spot the ski has. After 10 days on them in many conditions, I'm very happy with their blend of performance/stability/edge hold and comfort/manageability. They don't do anything over the top well but certainly don't fall short here in the east, except the 9" off fresh slop that fell last week, they were a bit of work. To be expected I suppose at only 83mm, but they plow through the crud piles rather than up and over.
 
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Nelliefj40

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Iowa
Thanks for the continued thoughts everyone, tons of great help! I've now settled on a two ski quiver after chatting a bit with the kids ski coaches and considering the advice contained in this thread.

I'm going to go with a slalom ski for my home hill and a frontside/carving oriented all mountain ski for out west.

Any thoughts on options for slalom/frontside skis for the home hill? I think some options in this thread include:

Fisher Curv
Blizzard Quattro
Fisher WC SC
Head I.Rally (a touch wider)

What about something like the Elan SL or SLX Fusion?

Thanks all!
 

Uncle-A

In the words of Paul Simon "You can call me Al"
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Dec 22, 2015
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NJ
Thanks for the continued thoughts everyone, tons of great help! I've now settled on a two ski quiver after chatting a bit with the kids ski coaches and considering the advice contained in this thread.

I'm going to go with a slalom ski for my home hill and a frontside/carving oriented all mountain ski for out west.

Any thoughts on options for slalom/frontside skis for the home hill? I think some options in this thread include:

Fisher Curv
Blizzard Quattro
Fisher WC SC
Head I.Rally (a touch wider)

What about something like the Elan SL or SLX Fusion?

Thanks all!
I own the Rally and can tell you it is a fun ski and it is my front side carver. I don't think you could go wrong. I have also skied the Titan it is just a bit wider and could do both of what you want.
 

Dwight

Practitioner of skiing, solid and liquid
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Any thoughts on options for slalom/frontside skis for the home hill? I think some options in this thread include:

Fisher Curv
Blizzard Quattro
Fisher WC SC
Head I.Rally (a touch wider)

What about something like the Elan SL or SLX Fusion?

Yes to all.
 

lisamamot

Lisa MA MOT
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Feb 6, 2019
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Im 6 foot 205 pounds and like to ski fast on groomed terrain. Stick primarily to front side groomers of any pitch a d e hoy a variety of turn shapes. Will on occassion get into trees or small moguls but definitely not my preferred skiing. Can see doing more of that if kids want to ski there.

You had the Navigator on your list and then removed it so perhaps I am late to the party. Even if it it isn't your preferred terrain, I agree that you can pretty much guarantee the kids will have you in the bumps and trees quite a bit going forward! A ski that does varied terrain well will come in handy. My DH favors groomers but our daughter and I pull him into the bumps and trees - he has the Navigator 90 and the Enforcer 100. The Navigator 90 could be a good all around fit; they don't get much press but what I read is all good. Definitely worth a demo if you can.

EDIT Wait....looks like your list went narrower. Oh, well....if you swing back to the upper 80s-90s....
 
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Nelliefj40

Putting on skis
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You had the Navigator on your list and then removed it so perhaps I am late to the party. Even if it it isn't your preferred terrain, I agree that you can pretty much guarantee the kids will have you in the bumps and trees quite a bit going forward! A ski that does varied terrain well will come in handy. My DH favors groomers but our daughter and I pull him into the bumps and trees - he has the Navigator 90 and the Enforcer 100. The Navigator 90 could be a good all around fit; they don't get much press but what I read is all good. Definitely worth a demo if you can.

EDIT Wait....looks like your list went narrower. Oh, well....if you swing back to the upper 80s-90s....

Thanks lisamamot! I think I'm going with two skis so appreciate the input on the navigators and enforcers.
 

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