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luliski

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My boyfriend wants/needs new skis. He's looking for a one ski quiver for Tahoe. Right now he's skiing on 5 year old K2 Aftershocks, with an 86 mm waist. They were demo skis when he bought them. They are heavy, and I think he would like lighter skis. A little wider would probably be good, too.

He's 5'10", 230 lbs., advanced skier, but tends to go too fast. He's athletic, but has bad knees. Ironically, he does some of his best skiing on bumps. He goes off-piste, but also skis groomers. Favorite runs in Tahoe are Burnout on Backside of Northstar and Prosser on Lookout Mountain (at Northstar). I'm thinking he needs a strong ski that is still easy to turn, but I' m not good at describing ski's characteristics, and he's even worse.

Would appreciate any advice on where to start in this search!
 

Philpug

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My boyfriend wants/needs new skis. He's looking for a one ski quiver for Tahoe. Right now he's skiing on 5 year old K2 Aftershocks, with an 86 mm waist. They were demo skis when he bought them. They are heavy, and I think he would like lighter skis. A little wider would probably be good, too.

He's 5'10", 230 lbs., advanced skier, but tends to go too fast. He's athletic, but has bad knees. Ironically, he does some of his best skiing on bumps. He goes off-piste, but also skis groomers. Favorite runs in Tahoe are Burnout on Backside of Northstar and Prosser on Lookout Mountain (at Northstar). I'm thinking he needs a strong ski that is still easy to turn, but I' m not good at describing ski's characteristics, and he's even worse.

Would appreciate any advice on where to start in this search!
The first ski that came to mind is the Blizzard Brahma for the balance you are looking for. Second is the Armada Invictus 89Ti. Both of these are strong yet will still be good in the bumps that he likes.
 

coskigirl

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Step 1. Demo

Step 2. Report back

With hundreds of skis to choose from it's reasonable to ask for recommendations on where to start. Just saying demo doesn’t give much help.

I don’t know much about men’s skis but I’m thinking one of the Head Kore models should be included in a demo list.
 

PTskier

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"Head Kore"

They're made of unobtainium. So good that you can't obtain any. Even in Europe...the 3s-ski.de has the Kore 93 in only 171 cm (they had 189 on Friday), and no 105. The price is right--US$580 delivered, including the VAT refund. Sports-discount.net in Lausanne, Switzerland has the 105 in 171 (for CHF499 less VAT refund plus air freight) and expects 180 & 189 in stock by December 20. They have the Kore 93 in very short stock in 162 & 189...still CHF499. Everything is 10% off for Black Friday. One Swiss franc is worth about a buck & a nickel.

Someone somewhere said that Head would have more Kore skis out in December from new production. The dates here indicate that. It might be January here in North America.
 

peterm

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I rented the Aftershocks for a few days once and thought they were pretty OK - how's that for faint praise LOL. Anyways I eventually bought myself the Enforcer 93 which I think is a good example of your "a strong ski that is still easy to turn" description and is a decent 1 ski quiver around Tahoe. 177 is likely too short for your boyfriend but if he's comfortable skiing a 185 it'd be worth a demo. But, as is usually the case, probably Phil's suggestions are better :)
 

GregK

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Hope I’m not the only one that lol at the “he skis too fast” like skiing too fast is even possible! Haha

Agree with others here that the Head Kore 93 or 105 Skis in the 180cm or even 189cm length at his weight with Attack 13 bindings would be great, light options that do well all over the mountain.
Stock is harder to get in some of the smaller sizes like 171cm but the 180cm and 189cm sizes are in stock in Canadian places that ship to the States.

Nordica Enforcer 93 or even 100 with a light binding might also be good options.
 
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luliski

luliski

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The first ski that came to mind is the Blizzard Brahma for the balance you are looking for. Second is the Armada Invictus 89Ti. Both of these are strong yet will still be good in the bumps that he likes.
Funny, because he randomly mentioned the Brahma. I'd like to see him try the Armada Invictus. When we first skied together, he had Atomic Betacarves, but he hardly turned. It was all long swooping turns. With the K2s, he does a lot of quick turns, and I think he'd enjoy it more if he had a lighter ski. In bumps he does a zipper line style. He was a soccer goalie growing up, and still has great reflexes , agility and balance. I'm hoping we can find skis that would let him enjoy his strengths, even with those bad knees.
 

Philpug

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Funny, because he randomly mentioned the Brahma. I'd like to see him try the Armada Invictus. When we first skied together, he had Atomic Betacarves, but he hardly turned. It was all long swooping turns. With the K2s, he does a lot of quick turns, and I think he'd enjoy it more if he had a lighter ski. In bumps he does a zipper line style. He was a soccer goalie growing up, and still has great reflexes , agility and balance. I'm hoping we can find skis that would let him enjoy his strengths, even with those bad knees.
With the bad knees, don't go over anything above the low 90mm underfoot. If price is not an issue, the dampening characteristics of the Renoun could be beneficial .
 

oswaldr2

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"Head Kore"

They're made of unobtainium. So good that you can't obtain any. Even in Europe...the 3s-ski.de has the Kore 93 in only 171 cm (they had 189 on Friday), and no 105. The price is right--US$580 delivered, including the VAT refund. Sports-discount.net in Lausanne, Switzerland has the 105 in 171 (for CHF499 less VAT refund plus air freight) and expects 180 & 189 in stock by December 20. They have the Kore 93 in very short stock in 162 & 189...still CHF499. Everything is 10% off for Black Friday. One Swiss franc is worth about a buck & a nickel.

Someone somewhere said that Head would have more Kore skis out in December from new production. The dates here indicate that. It might be January here in North America.

REI has both the 93 & 105 in stock in what appears to be the good sizes

https://www.rei.com/product/122785/...MI9-jSg8Xd1wIVUbnACh1CuQjaEAQYASABEgKJifD_BwE


https://www.rei.com/product/122786/...MIzeWytsTd1wIVSrjACh2a5AhWEAQYAyABEgIUcvD_BwE
 

Ken_R

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At his size and weight he should love the Head Monster 98's in 184cm. Awesome ski and it was easy for me (6-2 185). I personally own the Monster 88's in 184cm as my narrow ski of my 2 ski quiver. The other is a pair of Moment Deathwish 190cm (112mm wide).

If I could only have one ski for the entire season out west I would choose a ski wider than 100mm. I demoed a bunch of one oh somethings the other day at Loveland and really liked the Dynastar Legend X106 188cm. Do everything, easy but stable, dampens the rough stuff, good in bumps and off piste but rails groomers as well.

The Head Monster series of skis are awesome in that (for me) they make typical resort conditions more comfortable and smooth. They are stiff but feel quite maneuverable underfoot but at the same time are very stable and secure on edge.

If he were lighter then I would recommend the Head Kore 93 180cm but at my weight I could start to feel its limits, specially compared to the Dynastar I mentioned and of course the Monsters.
 
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luliski

luliski

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Thanks everyone for the ideas. I'm going to see if I can get him to demo some of these. I'll report back.
 

PTskier

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Crank

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Definitely have him demo. I used to ski in a similar style and also used to weigh close to what he does. An ex girlfriend bought me a pair of skis based on recommendations from guys who worked at the shop she worked at. I should add that I had skied with those guys before. The ski was way beefier and more stable than I like. Fortunately I tried some a friend owned before mounting them with bindings and we were able to return the ones she bought.

I prefer a softer, more turny ski and can easily handle some squirreliness at speed. Much preferred to a stable, high-speed charger in my book.

Not saying has the same preferences as me, but he might.
 

fasteddie

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SO.....I finally got the 2018 Blizzard Brahmas 180 and I LOVE THEM!!! Thanks all for the coaching and I am one happy Camper. Tahoe Daves in Tahoe City did an excellent job as I demoed, then they take cost of demo and put into new skis and great Salomon STH 13 bindings and away I go zipping down the hill at great controlled and responsive speed!! YYYAAAHHOOOOO!!!!!!:daffy:
 

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