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[maverick2]

OK ladies, looking for some suggestions. I'd like to find a second pair of skis for our daughter (10 yrs old, 5' tall, 90#) to serve as the upper end of a 2-ski quiver. She's got 8 seasons (20-30 days each) under her belt and skis everything very well, but really favors the trees and off-piste where we spend 50+% of our time unless the conditions send us packing. (We ski central Idaho, and can usually find soft snow to play in somewhere on the mountain.) I'm the designated "gear guy" in our family, but find myself way out of my element here in matching her up with skis and need some help.

Going into this, my plan was to find a (somewhat cheap) pair of end-of-season skis (can be a model a couple years old) that she can dedicate to heavier crud and powder, size them so she might get 2 seasons out of them before outgrowing them, and then re-sell. She's skiing a pair of Volkl "Kink Jrs" (138 long and 72 underfoot) right now, and killing it wherever she skis, whether it be groomers, bumps, crud, or powder. The latter two end up being a lot of work for her because of the skis and she wears out fast, particularly as the snow gets heavier as we progress further into spring ). This years' demo day at our mountain actually fell on a weekend in which we were getting dumped on, so she got to ski the shortest offerings of three different pair of women's skis for a couple hrs each (Head Great Joy, Nordica Nemesis, and Nordica Santa Ana, all at 153). She absolutely loved the Heads, hated the Nemesis, and was ambivalent on the Santa Ana. Her likes/dislikes showed thru in her skiing -- skiing the Heads like she's been a powder skier for years, couldn't quit falling on the Nemesis, and couldn't quite find the right technique on the Santa Ana's to look fluid. I'm inclined to look for a women's ski because of the offerings and sizing she's about to grow into, and had ideas about looking for something with a soft flex and flat camber like the Blizzard Crush from a couple years ago. I'm not sure what to glean from her likes and dislikes when skiing the Heads, Nemesis, and Santa Ana's, so thought I'd pose the question:

What ski would you recommend for a strong, athletic, coordinated 10-yr old girl to serve as the upper end of a 2-ski quiver? (Lower end of the quiver next year is likely something in low to mid 70's similar to the Kinks...) Priorities are that they help (rather than hinder) her out in heavy crud, be wide and soft enough to make powder fun, and not be a huge liability on groomers. Emphasis would be on nimble and quick turning, rather than a charger (she and her Mom like to dart in and out of tight trees, making it tough for me to follow...) Cool 'tween girl graphics are a bonus and will get you free beer if any of you come ski Brundage Mtn, but I'm not above customizing the top sheet to make the right ski work.. Thoughts?

 

[Tricia]

I'm a little perplexed by this quest, mostly because the skis she seems to have really liked are the skis that I think would be too stiff or not friendly for her size.
I would have suggested the DPS Nina 99, Atomic Century, or Salomon Lumen, but they are no where near the Great Joy in flex pattern or tenacity, which makes me question my own prowess in picking skis for this age group and size.

That being said, a strong skier may be able to drive an aggressive ski in a way that wouldn't be expected for her size.

Still, If you can get your hands on an 2016 Atomic Century or the 2017 Atomic Backland, those are worth taking a look at.

I think @SBrown may have some insight because she had a daughter in that age group, not so many years ago.
And @SkiNurse may have some insight because she has tested a lot of skis in that size.

 

[Xela]

A ten-year-old on womens skis makes me question my understanding of either ten-year-olds or women's skis, or both.

For what it's worth, my 12-year-old 70-pound big mountain skier is on the Head Ethan Too 143 and it's working pretty well for her. She has professed a desire for something a little lighter (for hiking) and we're thinking about the Cochise Jr.

 

[Tricia]

A ten-year-old on womens skis makes me question my understanding of either ten-year-olds or women's skis, or both.

For what it's worth, my 12-year-old 70-pound big mountain skier is on the Head Ethan Too 143 and it's working pretty well for her. She has professed a desire for something a little lighter (for hiking) and we're thinking about the Cochise Jr.

This is why I was a little surprised that the OP said his daughter liked the Head Great Joy.

I was originally thinking Century Girls ski but wondered if I was out of touch with young girls and what they can/should ski.

 

[maverick2]

A ten-year-old on womens skis makes me question my understanding of either ten-year-olds or women's skis, or both.

For what it's worth, my 12-year-old 70-pound big mountain skier is on the Head Ethan Too 143 and it's working pretty well for her. She has professed a desire for something a little lighter (for hiking) and we're thinking about the Cochise Jr.

I'm glad I'm not the only one scratching my head. My experience watching her ski the Great Joys is what is making me contemplate the short end of the women's ski lineup (well, that and physically she's probably not too far off in size next season from physically fitting into the lower end of the women's lineup.) This was her first experience on wider/longer skis, and I was expecting her to like skiing "on top" of the deep lighter snow, but expected a bit of struggle with all three pair instead of just the Nemesis. That didn't happen -- she didn't want to give the Great Joys back, and skied them equally well the next day when we rented them for 1/2 day. Her legs were pretty tired by the end of that 1/2 day, but that was also the third straight day of skiing very early in our season, so her legs weren't in "ski shape" either... If I were to follow my initial thoughts and look for a softer flexing ski, any thoughts on a 2012 Blizzard Crush for a lightweight skier in the crud and powder? It's similar width -- maybe a little more forgiving and less demanding to turn in 3D snow??? Maybe???

 

[Erik Timmerman]

Maybe something like this - https://forum.pugski.com/threads/fischer-ranger-jr.1435/

 

[Jilly]

What about those Black Pearls? They are soft for sure.

 

[Philpug]

This years' demo day at our mountain actually fell on a weekend in which we were getting dumped on, so she got to ski the shortest offerings of three different pair of women's skis for a couple hrs each (Head Great Joy, Nordica Nemesis, and Nordica Santa Ana, all at 153).

I am sure many of our women skiers here want to know what demo day had all of these small sizes???

I rarely put any skier under 100lb on an adult ski, there are some very good junior skis that will be better suited for her.

 

[Monique]

I have a question: If she loved the Great Joy, why not just get that one for her? If this were anyone but a 10 year old kid, we'd be saying "Take yes for an answer."

 

[maverick2]

I am sure many of our women skiers here want to know what demo day had all of these small sizes???
I rarely put any skier under 100lb on an adult ski, there are some very good junior skis that will be better suited for her.

Brundage Mtn's (McCall Idaho) ski shop had these in their demo fleet. I'll give props to the manager there, as he/she has done an awesome job the last 2 years collecting a big variety of performance skis in all sizes for folks to try (Kastle among them) and keeping the skis current. Walked into their tent (it's proximity to the beer tent during the "Beer and Gear" weekend sort of sucked me in) just to see what's new, saw my daughter standing next to a couple pair of fat skis that were her same height, looked outside at the sky puking snow, and thought "why not"? As for sizing her into women's skis, I'm not dedicated to that idea, but she's probably looking at 5'2" & 110# next season, and 5'5" & 120# the following (which are the seasons we're shopping for).

I have a question: If she loved the Great Joy, why not just get that one for her? If this were anyone but a 10 year old kid, we'd be saying "Take yes for an answer."

I asked myself the same question, and came up with this -- I'm skeptical that an "all mountain" style ski with it's inherent stiffness is the right fit (regardless of how well she skied them) and it's hard to spend $400+ on something I'm skeptical about for a 2 year experiment.

What about those Black Pearls? They are soft for sure.

A pair of Black Pearls in 152 make a lot of sense to me. Would have liked the opportunity to put her on something similar of similar width and flex.

 

[coskigirl]

I'll speak up as a fellow lover of the Great Joy. I too am surprised that a girl with her stats loved this ski as I'm around 5'6" and 175#. I also did not like the Nemesis but it was more that they just did nothing for me after skiing the GJ the same day. I really don't like the Black Pearls. I've tried them a couple of times and they just don't speak to me so I would question whether they would interest her given that she and I seem to have similar taste in skis. I understand the hesitation given the cost but I have a suspicion that even if a junior ski would keep her happy the end of this season and early next season it wouldn't keep her happy much longer than that.

 

[Jilly]

I'm like coskigirl about the Black Pearl. They were so soft they scared me at 155lb. I've never gotten to ski the Head line up as they don't show up at demo days in my area. Rossi has the Trixie that is a tweener ski.

 

[coskigirl]

Just an additional thought, I have skied my Great Joys in virtually every condition. I bring out my Mumbo Jumbos for big powder days and cat skiing but if I didn't have those I would not hesitate to ski the GJs and have a blast. Conversely, I can rip firm snow in both short and long radius turns with complete confidence. They are the closest to a true all mountain ski as I've ever been on.

 

[SBrown]

Hmmm. I haven't had a 5-footer in the house in many years, but we always had good experience with Line's junior skis. They have same construction as the adult skis, just smaller dimensions. Take a look at either the Sir Francis Bacon (107mm) or the Sick Day (95mm) shorty versions. I would echo the Blizzard Cochise jr, too, and any of the Atomic Centuries (the adult version, which you can find pretty cheap).

(These recs do come from sort-of-personal experience: my niece skis the SFB as her pow tool, my nephew skied the Cochise last year and is on the adult Sick Day 95 this year, and the Century was my daughter's wider ski until she outgrew her 166.)

Or ... wait until Great Joys get really cheap at the end of this year?

 

[crgildart]

I realize I don't fit the gender category paged, but it is worth noting that this 10 year old has been skiing 8 years, since she was 2 and gets quite a few days per season. She probably rips better than many here. I weighted just over 100 pounds as a senior in high school and was skiing on a shorter (190 cm) men's SL and bending it just fine. I wouldn't rule out stiffer womens' skis in shorter lengths if the kid skis pretty hard.

 

[Tricia]

<snip>


A pair of Black Pearls in 152 make a lot of sense to me. Would have liked the opportunity to put her on something similar of similar width and flex.

If you're thinking of the Black Pearls in a 152, then perhaps you should think of something like the Vantage 85 or the Salmon Lux, which are a little more compliant.
These are skis that I usually recommend to a "tweener"
Still, I have never had a 10 year old in front of me that I thought those skis would work for.

 

[maverick2]

If you're thinking of the Black Pearls in a 152, then perhaps you should think of something like the Vantage 85 or the Salmon Lux, which are a little more compliant.
These are skis that I usually recommend to a "tweener"
Still, I have never had a 10 year old in front of me that I thought those skis would work for.

The key word in your statement is "thinking" and is my biggest challenge here LOL. I'm not familiar enough with women's skis or junior skis to really know what is what (but that's changing fast now). Prior to her experience on the 3 pair at the Demo weekend, my best guess for her would have been a soft-flexing, forgiving, cross-slope oriented ski that was wide enough to give her some float in powder. (My interest in the Black Pearls was simply my thinking that they might come close to filling that role for a 100# skier). Her great experience on the stiffer, more aggressive Great Joys surprised me -- I expected her to enjoy the added float, but was surprised at how well she drove them and made them work in tight quarters, expecting her to struggle more and see evidence of the skis "driving her" a bit when the powder got cut up. Basically, my mind is telling me one thing, and my eyes are telling me another. Before I go too much further, I think I'll see what other Demo skis we can put her on this coming weekend.

 

[markojp]

I realize I don't fit the gender category paged, but it is worth noting that this 10 year old has been skiing 8 years, since she was 2 and gets quite a few days per season. She probably rips better than many here. I weighted just over 100 pounds as a senior in high school and was skiing on a shorter (190 cm) men's SL and bending it just fine. I wouldn't rule out stiffer womens' skis in shorter lengths if the kid skis pretty hard.

CR, we all skied 185's and 190's at 110 lbs back in the day. There really isn't any accurate comparable metric for current ski design... different era, different deal, and pretty much irrelevant to ski choice discussions in 2016.

For the OP, if your daughter likes the GJ and skis them well, why not just go for them? Personally, I'd like to see someone that young and light on something a bit narrower, but I'm not her coach.

 

[crgildart]

CR, we all skied 185's and 190's at 110 lbs back in the day. There really isn't any accurate comparable metric for current ski design... different era, different deal, and pretty much irrelevant to ski choice discussions in 2016.
.

Recreational skis yes many lightweights could be found on a 185 rec ski, but not on a true 190 + race ski unless they had pretty solid skills. Age and gender shouldn't be nearly as much of a factor as skiing ability in this discussion. If the kid rips she needs skis that also rip

 

[Philpug]

Recreational skis yes many lightweights could be found on a 185 rec ski, but not on a true 190 + race ski unless they had pretty solid skills. Age and gender shouldn't be nearly as much of a factor as skiing ability in this discussion. If the kid rips she needs skis that also rip

There are some real good tweeter skis now though that a 90lb'er can maximize. She is at that awkward age and too much ski in not the right conditions can be a real detriment.