Recommend me some soft snow skis for New England

[Pete in Idaho]

Shouldn't probably comment here BUT you are 260 lbs, sorta know what you want. Go Demo like you did for your Kastle's. At your weight/ability/likes/dislikes, quirks in your skiing none of us can really t ell what ski would be best for you. GO DEMO.

Just 2 cents from the West and our ice or lack thereof is no way like yours so if you want to just tell me to bug off I really do understand.

 

[HardDaysNight]

This is an awesome thread! Powder skis just great carving on icy slopes; Rossignol Experience 100s are race skis perfect for teaching upper level adults at Vail (might be true, you never know); zooming past everyone on the slopes wearing Daleboots - now that’s cool!

 

[Guy in Shorts]

I also skied a few big guy or clyde skis at the Killington Demo days.
Parlor Cardinal 100 - Have been on these before and like them but not in love with them.
Parlor Cardinal 90 - Needed to be at least two clicks forward to be be able to drive these.
Head Kore 99 - Great ski for the lazy man. Lightweight, nimble, sweet spot longer than the state of Vermont, Smear, carve, dance these boards let you do it all. They will sell a ton of these skis.
Amalgam Artifact 96 - Old School thoroughbred that is the polar opposite of the Head Kore. The Artifact requires a jockey to be in total control otherwise they buck you right off. Big wooden directional charger that reminded why my legs needed to be so strong. Not sure who wants that feel back but this company is filling that void.

@Rossness - Buy the Soloman QST’s if you like them but they really seem to come up a little short in the big guy category IMHO.

 

[Mike Thomas]

What you like in a frontside ski should be different from what you want to be skiing at Magic. Don't write off skis because you think they won't be 'enough' for you, east coast tree skiing requires a different tool than east coast hardpack. There might be some adjustment to the new ski, let it happen- you'll be better off in the end.

So...

I skied a bunch of things this weekend at killington- they were having demo days And the ski I liked the most was the Soloman QST106. I don't think it had any of the things I asked for, but something about it just feels right. Its damp and easy-peasy on soft snow. I actually like buttering my turns on it- Go figure that one.

I already had figured that one... if more people listened to me, there would be more happy skiers. Glad you found a ski you liked, the QST 106 is a great choice for an eastern soft snow/ tree ski.

 

[Josh Matta]

sounds like he found his ski already guys..."

I think the QSTs are great as long as you dont expect them to eat crud and hardpack.

 

[Marker]

So...

I skied a bunch of things this weekend at killington- they were having demo days And the ski I liked the most was the Soloman QST106. I don't think it had any of the things I asked for, but something about it just feels right. Its damp and easy-peasy on soft snow. I actually like buttering my turns on it- Go figure that one. It could hold an edge ok on a groomer and it was intuitive to use. skiing it aggressively, it was stable down the fall line And the biggest part was that is was FUN and lively. It was like the whole mountain could be my big playground/ terrain park. Honestly, I could see it as being the ski I asked for, I just didn't know enough about it to ask correctly. I'm thinking pretty hard about buying it. The longest it comes in is a 188. would that be right for my body size (5 foot 10 and about 260 pounds) or should I go shorter?

I tried a bunch of other stuff too- Black crows Daemon was a great frontside ripper. Very damp at speed. I'd never skied a black crows and was super impressed with them. Fat-ypus Dvice- which was definitely ok, but not a ski that I loved. The QST99 seemed to have less endgehold on hardpack but otherwise it was very similar to the 106. Some company called Meier, I'd never heard of them. I jumped on a set of their big powder boards and realized how they were not exactly intended for your average east cost day. I tried a more all-mountain and it was ok, but not really fun.

So I had someone tell me I'd hate the Soloman QST's and I actually wanted to try them to see exactly why I'd hate them so much???- And in reality, I ended up loving them! So, I also tried out the Rossi Soul 7's, thinking very much the same thing. And... I absolutely hated them! By far, one of the worst ski's I've ever used. A handful to use. Super slow. Numb to react. The opposite of what I like in a ski. It was awful

Did you try the Dynastar Legend 96? They were hiding it in the back of the Rossignol tent. They only had it in 186 or so, perfect for me. That was the most fun ski I tried yesterday, but I was really looking for something a little narrower since I just got some wider skis over the summer.

 

[Rossness]

Did you try the Dynastar Legend 96? They were hiding it in the back of the Rossignol tent. They only had it in 186 or so, perfect for me. That was the most fun ski I tried yesterday, but I was really looking for something a little narrower since I just got some wider skis over the summer.

I didn't get to try the dynastar. By 2PM, my knees and ankles had pretty much turned to jelly. I had skied softer bumps on bear mountain and then tried to ski old superstar and the bumps were mostly hard and my knees just couldn't take any more. So I left and got pourtine and beers at Long Trail.

sounds like he found his ski already guys..."

I think the QSTs are great as long as you dont expect them to eat crud and hardpack.

They were just alright on hardpack. That's not what I'm after with these. If I wanted an all mountain carver, these would not be my first choice. They were stable/ smooth/ easy/ and fun on soft snow and that's what I liked most.

 

[AngryAnalyst]

What do you mean by powder ski? Do you want a ski that floats in soft snow (it does happen) or something for skiing trees at Jay?

You are going too narrow for float in my opinion as someone who weighs a bit less than you. I need 115+ to avoid sinking.