Recommendation request, twin tip to quiver

[skiwagon]

I’m looking to add a twin tip to my quiver of skis just to have something different every once in a while. Here is my settings:

Level: advanced skiier

Location: east coast, groomed trails.

Current go-to ski: Atomic Nomad Blackeye Ti 167cm

Desire: Something lighter (Atomic is super heavy) more nimble and playful to use one the smaller east coast (NC) runs. I am also a volunteer patroller so I would possibly use these to work in from time to time. Just looking for something very different than my Atomics. I will not be tricking it up in the parks, lol

Recommendation needed: Ski, size, binding recommendation

Thank you in advance!

 

[Wendy]

I ski a pair of ID Ones which are a 78 underfoot twintip. ID One makes skis for the US Freestyle team, but mine aren’t mogul skis, they are marketed as a free ride ski (the model is FRXP). I LOVE these skis for their pop, playfulness, and ability to hold an edge on nice big GS turns in firm conditions, as well as low swing weight for short turns and bumps.

While there are a plethora of twin tip skis out there for you to consider (and I’m sure many will chime in with recs), I bring up the ID Ones because they are relatively narrow for a twintip, and I see that you are skiing in NC where I imagine conditions can be much like here in PA. If I’m skiing locally, they are my go-to ski for navigating crowded slopes. They are very well made and I imagine will last me quite a long time.

I bought mine directly from the rep who lives in SLC. However, they can be found on EBay once in while. Mine are mounted with Pivot 14’s at the all mountain line. They are not a symmetrical twintip. I’m 5’10”and ski the 176 comfortably.

 

[Dwight]

@dean_spirito can recommend them.

 

[BC.]

A twin with camber that can do a bit of everything....take a look at a Volkl Kink......there’s a 171 for 375.00 on Backcountry.com right now.

 

[GregK]

As others have said, there are TONS of twin tips that you could choose from that would suit your needs. I ski in the east as well and ski nothing but twins all mountain without issue. Like regular skis, you don't need the extra width for deep powders skiing so twin tips in the 80-95mm range would be perfect for decent edge hold and still be fun. Your current skis have a touch or rocker in the tip and most park skis have rocker in the tip and tail for catch free spinning and camber underfoot for decent edge grip on hard snow. There are still some park skis that are pure camber but those are usually stiffer park and pipe skis more designed to grip the walls of icy half pipes.

Since you're not doing any skiing in the Park, you would probably have more fun from all mountain directional twin, rather than a symmetrical park twin(same tip and tail width)which is mounted dead center of the ski to for park and skiing switch/backwards. The biggest difference between your use of any twin vs a park skier is going to be mounting position. Park skiers will mount skis from true center to about 2.5cm back vs All Mountain use twin tips mount in the 5/6cm range back of center. All mountain mounting will sacrifice a bit of park spinning performance for all mountain stability. Your current skis will be in the 10cm plus range back from center for reference. With the bindings mounted closer to center, the addition of tail rocker and the fact that the turned up tail is not making snow contact all add up to twin tips skiing shorter than your current ski so you would be in the 169-176 range for sizing.

The Volkl Kink was mentioned and it's a great all mountain twin as is their Revolt 95 when mounted back a bit from the "park" mounting point. Some other skis that are fun, playful and light that come to mind that would work for your needs would be the Armada ARV86, Head Caddy, Atomic Seven, Line Tigershark, Skis The Whipit, Nordica Soul Rider 87. Any one of these would be fun and playful all mountain twin tips, so it might come down to what deals you could get in your size.

Light bindings like the Attack 13 would also help reduce the weight and increase the playfulness of the ski. Great bindings!

 

[BC.]

^^^^Incredible advice.

Armada ARV 86 and Line Tigersharks are very popular here in NEPA.....mounted a bunch this weekend. Most with either Attack 13...or Warden 11...both great choices.

 

[GregK]

The "gun to my head, pick one ski most people will like" twin tip ski for the original poster, it would be the 170cm Armada ARV 86 with Attack 13 bindings mounted on the "All Mountain/5cm back of center" mounting position. Lots of great deals on those skis and bindings too which makes it an easy recommendation.

 

[dean_spirito]

@dean_spirito can recommend them.

As others have mentioned, twin tips can take a lot of different forms. It really comes down to OP's personal preference. Without more information, we're basically just drawing skis out of a hat.

Why exactly are you looking for a twin tip, as opposed to a partial twin or flat tail? Twin tips were really designed to improve control when skiing switch. Are you planning to spend a lot of time skiing switch? If not, a lot of partial twins could also be considered.

How tall are you?
How much do you weigh?
Describe your style (technical, finesse, aggressive, carvy, slarvy, slashy, buttery, etc.)
Preferred stiffness

Lastly, what other skis are in your quiver?

 

[SpikeDog]

How much do you like the people skiing behind you? Those twin tips throw up an annoying spray of snow from the back tip.

 

[MikeS]

I guess my question is, why a twin tip? I've spent most of my skiing life on twin tips, but I had an explicit reason for wanting the specific ski I was on. In my younger days I was a park rat and a full time instructor, which meant I spent a large part of my time on snow going backwards, whether landing switch, or just skiing backwards in front of a brightly colored marshmallow. So a twin tip was always a necessary part of my quiver. When I moved to more advanced lessons, and toward the off piste aspect, it happened that most of the fatter, rockered skis I wanted were also twin tipped. I'm running a 3 ski quiver now. 2 are fully twin, and the other is a partial twin tip. None of the skis I run today did I pick because they are a twin, I picked them for the attributes I wanted, the twin tip was incidental.

If you just want a difference, then go ahead and find a different ski from what you have. Don't limit your quest for difference by saying you want a specific attribute for no discernable reason.

 

[GregK]

Although I do spend a bit of time in the park, I too really like the attributes that happen to come in twin tip skis rather than looking for twin tips specifically. Find that many "Park/Freeride" skis have even flex throughout as they are meant to ski forward/switch without issue but I find that flex is fun and playful all over the hill. Most park skis are solid in the center but more playful/soft tip and tail which make for lots of fun in soft snow or bumps yet can still hold an edge with their solid mid section. Most on piste skis have increasing flex from front to back which is great on hard pack but not as funor forgiving in bumps etc. Don't like noodles but somewhere in the middle I guess.

Just ordered a pair of Armada ARV 86 myself n 184cm with Attack 13 bindings for my "86mm fun ski".

 

[James]

Good advice here. The big issue is the center mount. Anyone patrolling on centermount?
I'd imagine wedging with a sled could be a pain.

"Twin tip" used to be a category as I think the op meant it. It's been many years since it's been used that way on a ski forum unless it's referring to actually skiing and particularly landing switch. One can ski switch on a slalom ski within limits. I was in a shop last year where a women came in saying "I need a twin tip". What she really meant is a non carving oriented ski as all her sks and kids skis were race skis. With a whole rack of all mountain, "freeride" skis (do we really use that term now?) very few were actual twin tips.

So the "twin tip" category would be broken down to "directional" and "symmetric"?

 

[GregK]

Most 85mm plus skis are now classified by most companies, retailers and magazines as either Freeride (Directional all mountain or powder skis with flat or just semi twin tip i.e. Head Kore/Nordica Enforcer 100 etc.) and freestyle(Directional or Symmetrical twin tip i.e. Armada ARV/Nordica Enforcer 110 etc.) and then Park(twin tip with features tailored to park use). Freestyle twins for all mountain use come from almost everyone that makes skis, so I'm surprised their weren't many in the shop where you were in. Armada, 4Frnt, J Skis, Sego, Volkl, Head, Icelantic, Faction, Line, Lib Tech etc all have lines of all mountain twins. More of an attitude of making the "whole mountain your terrain park" with these lines of skis and there are lots of models that do just that. So I guess under about 85mm are considered your "on piste/carving" skis by most now.

Most symmetrical skis mounted center reside in the "Park" skis although lots of kids seem to want to mount directional Park skis center too which drives me insane so I guess I try to patrol that! haha
If you ski nothing but rails in the park sure but as soon as you hit jumps or want stability at speed, the center mounted directional ski suffers. A few centimetres back of center is where you want to be to. The "all mountain" mounting points on most of the Freestyle directional twins are about 4-6cm back from center for decent carving performance and stability while still feeling playful.