I have four decades of skiing under my belt. These days, speed and aggressiveness is being replaced by enjoyment and quality of ride. I am 6'4", 200 lbs, advanced skier not afraid of double black even in icy North East conditions but prefer single black or wide blue trails. I currently have K2 Apache Sidewinder in 177cm size which I bought few years back. The small size (for my 6'4" height) was due to training my kids how to ski. Shorter skis were more maneuverable and they have partial twin tip so I could ski backwards. Now, my kids still ski with me but do not require any hand holding. So the time has come to upgrade my skis. I like the K2s but the problem with them is that they are not very good on ice. I am not too technical so I am not sure if that's due to the short length or something else, but they slide too much and do not provide enough support. Groomed trails are fine but North East skiers will know that most of the season ice is what we ski on.
Any recommendations for pair of skis that would be good on groomed trails but provide good support on ice? I do not do moguls, off trail, powder or anything fancy. I was looking at Atomic Vantage 85 CTI as based on the reviews, they are recommended to North Eastern skiers but the top length is 181. Not sure if that would be enough though again, I am not into speed skiing anymore. I also don't really want to spend a fortune. Under $400 would be my preferred budget. This is for skis only.
Any recommendations for pair of skis that would be good on groomed trails but provide good support on ice? I do not do moguls, off trail, powder or anything fancy. I was looking at Atomic Vantage 85 CTI as based on the reviews, they are recommended to North Eastern skiers but the top length is 181. Not sure if that would be enough though again, I am not into speed skiing anymore. I also don't really want to spend a fortune. Under $400 would be my preferred budget. This is for skis only.