Help my wife pick a new intermediate ski

[sky_chicken]

My wife (5'5" I'm gonna guess 123lbs) is a 4th season intermediate, currently skiing on a pair of Atomic Cloud 7s in 148 length. It is her first ski and what I gather is it's quite unstable and limiting as she's trying to move up through steeper blues to easy blacks and more ungroomed terrain in western mountains. We got her on a demo pair of Atomic Vantage 86 C Women's, and she instantly showed improvement in turn shape and confidence on more difficult terrain. Could have bought the skis new or demo'd for 5 days! Yikes! I know this is a terrible time to buy skis, but I'd love to pick her up something before our next trip in a month.

I don't think topsheet is important to her. What is: forgiveness, speed control, and my additions for her: ease of turn entry and stability. She'll ski another 10 days this year at least. Usually 15-20. Any suggestions on length? Calculators say 150-155cm.

Here are the ideas:
Atomic Vantage 86 C Women (obviously since she tried it and liked it, but I'm not ending the search there)
Blizzard Black Pearl 88 152cm (The reviews on Pugski are stellar)(Should I just call it here and get these with bindings and a tiny discount?)
Volkl Yumi 154cm (Also read good things on here)
Kastle FX85 161cm (A ski I had been considering earlier this year)
Black Crow Vertis Birdie 159cm (well reviewed on other websites that she liked because it said good for intermediates)

Thanks for your help! When the guys helped me I ended up with an awesome ski, so I'm trusting her to pugski, too.

 

[DanoT]

The most popular woman's ski at the demo centre where I work is the Head Total Joy. With an 85mm waist it fits the all mountain category.

 

[Tricia]

Obviously the Atomic Vantage 86 is a win.
Sometimes when you strike oil, its time to stop drilling.

But....since you asked.
For the description of your wife's skiing, and staying with the 88 waist width (ish)
I like -
Atomic Vantage 86
Volkl Yumi
Nordica Astral 88


I think the FX will be too much ski for her and the Black Pearl has a little more rocker than the other skis mentioned, which may make it funner to ski but could be an issue with continued improvement.

Again...if she likes the Atomic....

 

[Tricia]

Oh and on length, you're on target with something in the high 150s

 

[Mendieta]

The most popular woman's ski at the demo centre where I work is the Head Total Joy. With an 85mm waist it fits the all mountain category.

I think @Pumba was on these last year when I met her. She was skiing them really nicely. But they didn't seem quite forgiving. More like a fairly aggressive carver. Of course, I think the women line from Head has more than one ski with "joy" in the name?

 

[Tricia]

I think @Pumba was on these last year when I met her. She was skiing them really nicely. But they didn't seem quite forgiving. More like a fairly aggressive carver. Of course, I think the women line from Head has more than one ski with "joy" in the name?

Pumba was on Kästles.
But to the point of Head Total Joy as a suggestion, its a perfectly fine ski, carves really well, but as you pointed out, its not quite the ski that the OP is describing for his wife.

You are right on the line up. I wouldn't suggest any of these skis for the OP's wife, based on his description.
Pure Joy
Absolute Joy
Great Joy
Total Joy
Wild Joy
Great Joy
and the retired Big Joy

 

[sky_chicken]

Obviously the Atomic Vantage 86 is a win.
Sometimes when you strike oil, its time to stop drilling.

But....since you asked.
For the description of your wife's skiing, and staying with the 88 waist width (ish)
I like -
Atomic Vantage 86
Volkl Yumi
Nordica Astral 88

This definitely focuses us down, and the Yumi's being $50 less including bindings (so really $200 less) may be a strong sell... Super!

I saw lots of women skiing the Total Joys last week, but a ski that ever is described as aggressive is definitely not for her.

 

[DanoT]

Pumba was on Kästles.
But to the point of Head Total Joy as a suggestion, its a perfectly fine ski, carves really well, but as you pointed out, its not quite the ski that the OP is describing for his wife.

You are right on the line up. I wouldn't suggest any of these skis for the OP's wife, based on his description.
Pure Joy
Absolute Joy
Great Joy
Total Joy
Wild Joy
Great Joy
and the retired Big Joy

You can add the Kore 93 to the Head woman's ski line up as it comes in a 162 and 153cm size with scaled down tip, waist, tail widths as the ski gets shorter. The Kore 93 although light in weight is fairly stiff so I thought it might be too stiff for a smaller person skiing the 153cm length. Apparently I was wrong though, as we have sold out of the 153cm.

The Kore 93 and the Wild Joy are more for the hard charger than the advancing intermediate but there are subtle differences between skis and skiers which is why demoing is so worth while for dialing in the perfect ski.

 

[DanoT]

I saw lots of women skiing the Total Joys last week, but a ski that ever is described as aggressive is definitely not for her.

My demo centre experience with the Total Joy is that its popularity is due to how it appeals to such a wide range of skier abilities from intermediate to advanced. For someone skiing blues and easy blacks its

 

[Analisa]

I'd go a touch longer (155-160, maybe an extra few cms if getting a ski with rocker in it). I'm a few inches shorter than your wife, and relearning to ski as an adult, I was on a Cham 87 in 152 with a ton of rocker, and saw a really similar improvement on a single demo day getting on skis in the low 160s (but still with a little rocker). It made it so much easier to trust the ski at speed and ski less defensively. Based on what you mentioned about testing the waters on blacks & ungroomed terrain makes me think that she might be approaching the higher end of intermediate. 2-3 cms of length beyond her current Cloud 7s aren't going to provide a ton of extra stability. With the population boom here in the PNW, I know lots of women who have learned to ski in the last 3-5 years, and the majority all have a shared experience where they demoed something they found slightly intimidating in terms of the length/stiffness, only to find something they really loved. When the topic comes up on local forums, there's lots of ALL CAPS and repeat exclamation points!!!! about being open to trying something a little "advanced."

I think one of the deciding factors depends on what her goals are. In that mid-80s, some are a bit more groomer-oriented, and some will give her more of a runway to get off-piste (like the K2 Alluvit 88). If she's hoping to unlock more terrain options throughout the mountain, I'd add some softer/intermediate friendly low 90s skis like the Lux 92 in 161, Pandora 94 in 158, or maybe the Captis Birdie would be worth a look too!

 

[Tony S]

I don't think topsheet is important to her. What is: forgiveness, speed control, and my additions for her: ease of turn entry and stability. She'll ski another 10 days this year at least. Usually 15-20. Any suggestions on length? Calculators say 150-155cm

Where in the world are you skiing? I think it matters.

 

[Dwight]

Oh and on length, you're on target with something in the high 150s

hmm, I would suggest mid to low 160s.

 

[Tricia]

I'd go a touch longer (155-160, maybe an extra few cms if getting a ski with rocker in it)

hmm, I would suggest mid to low 160s.

I initially was thinking high 150s to low 160s but thought I read somewhere in the OP that she was skiing something significantly shorter.
Quite often, taking that big of a jump can be daunting.
However, I agree, for size and stated ability high 150s to low 160s is a good target.

 

[Analisa]

I initially was thinking high 150s to low 160s but thought I read somewhere in the OP that she was skiing something significantly shorter.

When I was progressing through skis, a shop employee ballparked that a 10cm jump would help without feeling markedly cumbersome (of course, give or take given the profile/construction) until you get about head height. I just feel like those calculators can be way underbiased. For the Powder7 one, even if I set every category to "max: (expert/aggressive/likes my skis absurdly long/shopping for a powder ski) it still spits out a length shorter than any of the skis I own.

 

[AngryAnalyst]

I bought a good friend who sounds rather like your wife Black Pearl 88. Think 156 (?) length. She has improved very dramatically on them so far this season. I really think they work well for her.

 

[Tony S]

Based on what you mentioned about testing the waters on blacks & ungroomed terrain makes me think that she might be approaching the higher end of intermediate.

The colors on the trail signs you pass don't change how good a skier you are. I see tons of people every time out, skiing blacks without batting an eyelash, who are barely able to turn both ways. As a measure of confidence or ambition, colors probably mean more.

 

[Analisa]

The colors on the trail signs you pass don't change how good a skier you are. I see tons of people every time out, skiing blacks without batting an eyelash, who are barely able to turn both ways. As a measure of confidence or ambition, colors probably mean more.

True, but they're rarely women. Women make up 44% of skiers and 13% of self-reported "experts" and articles in the industry have covered the confidence-gap ad nauseum. If she's reaching for a Vantage 86 as her second ski, I wouldn't gander that overconfidence in skills is an issue here.

Plus, when you actually click into the link, it also classifies turn technique, because yes, the writers of an industry leveling guide obviously recognize that it matters.

 

[Tricia]

I just feel like those calculators can be way underbiased.

I tend to agree with you.

 

[Tony S]

True, but they're rarely women. Women make up 44% of skiers and 13% of self-reported "experts" and articles in the industry have covered the confidence-gap ad nauseum.

Right. Good point.

 

[Decreed_It]

Santa Ana 93 too much ski? My wife got those for her bday this year and loves them - then again she's a life long skier and the best in the family by far. She's 5'7" on a 161. I thought maybe that would be a good ski for your wife to grow into, I know the Enforcer 100 is exactly that ski for me . . .