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Josh Matta

Skiing the powder
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those are 187......
 

neonorchid

Making fresh tracks
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Ken_R

Living the Dream
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@Scruffy thanks for all those links. All those links are for narrow skis. I had a waist width ideal between 90-100 underfoot. I guess i didn't realize AT could be narrow too.

Those skis are mainly for skimo. That is why they are narrow, to be fast and light on the skin track and when climbing Definitely NOT for powder! :ogcool:
 

JPM

Booting up
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Surfsnowgirl,

Give these people a look seein' how they are sort of near you. Andrew Drummond is an ambassador for Fischer and has some killer deals on kits and equipment. The store may not be open yet but has contact info in "About"

skithewhites.com
 

neonorchid

Making fresh tracks
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Those skis are mainly for skimo. That is why they are narrow, to be fast and light on the skin track and when climbing Definitely NOT for powder! :ogcool:
Right, those rando racers run up the mountain in boots wthe weight of tennis sneakers, and hang on for dear life on the descents with those skinny light skis they can barely coax into a turn of which they rarely do because they can't!
 

Scruffy

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Those skis are mainly for skimo. That is why they are narrow, to be fast and light on the skin track and when climbing Definitely NOT for powder! :ogcool:

My understanding is: she is skinning in the east on what I presume mostly ski resort runs for exercise. She wants to get into it on a budget and also has not skinned before. 82mm under foot is very much sufficient for Dawn Patrol type skiing in that form. She'd be lucky to get 6 inches of fresh on top of groomed runs.

Edit to add: I skin up mountains in the east ( not resorts ) and ski all conditions in 82mm waisted G3 skis. I only do this when there is powder. No problem even in a foot or more. You don't want to haul a huge ski up the mountain with you.

These are Rando race skis, most skis for AT/Rando race are in the 60-70s waisted.
http://www.skintrack.com/skis-comparison/

For skinning, you need to balance not only the weight of the ski but the girth. Do you want to pick up a big shovel full of snow every step? Skinning for turns is a balance between the uphill and the downhill. Save your 100mm waist skis for the lifts.
 
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Slim

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Skinning up on icy snow is another case where narrower is better.
 

jmeb

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Save your 100mm waist skis for the lifts.

I wouldn't go that far.

But in general I agree. A 75-85mm ski makes a lot of sense if you just want to get some exercise and ski a little bit of fresh snow over groomed surfaces. If you're seriously planning on skiing backcountry -- untracked, unconsolidated snow - then a wider ski has merits. Those who don't think an 85 is fine in a bit of fresh haven't been on a new 85 shape with tip taper and rocker IMHO. None of the skis posted are skiMo (in the sense of skiMo racing) skis.

That said, 100mm skis certainly have their place in the backcountry. Its the sweet spot for a touring ski in a mid-snow place like Colorado, and maybe a bit narrower for snowier places like interior BC.

There is no reason to think that the ideal ski is close to the same when one use case is east coast groomers with a bit of fresh, and the other is backcountry in the Rockies.
 

Scruffy

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There is no reason to think that the ideal ski is close to the same when one use case is east coast groomers with a bit of fresh, and the other is backcountry in the Rockies.

Exactly! She needs to fit herself out with what she wants to accomplish in the geography she is skiing. The problem with making a mistake for her could be not enjoying the sport of skinning and then not doing it, and then selling everything, or worst just keeping them in the closet collecting dust.

@surfsnowgirl Did you ever stop in and talk to Mike at Base Camp Outfitters in Killington? Even if you don't buy from him, he has a wealth of knowledge you could glean from just stopping in and doing some tire kicking.
 

neonorchid

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@Scruffy thanks for all those links. All those links are for narrow skis. I had a waist width ideal between 90-100 underfoot. I guess i didn't realize AT could be narrow too.
I say stick with 90 - 100 waist. You now have a place in VT, with a good snow year it won't be long before you go from hiking up mellow groomers for exercise to dawn patrol and twilight missions for first tracks and free refills! Besides I seriously doubt you'll be very happy skiing down a hardpack groomer on sketchy skinny light floopy gear, my guess, you'll head for the trees where you'll want that 90 - 100mm waist ... and whats another pound of gear to you who are strong as ox;)
 
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surfsnowgirl

surfsnowgirl

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I say stick with 90 - 100 waist. You now have a place in VT, with a good snow year it won't be long before you go from hiking up mellow groomers for exercise to dawn patrol and twilight missions for first tracks and free refills! Besides I seriously doubt you'll be very happy skiing down a hardpack groomer on sketchy skinny light floopy gear, my guess, you'll head for the trees where you'll want that 90 - 100mm waist ... and whats another pound of gear to you who are strong as ox;)

I knew i liked you

:beercheer:
 

Analisa

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I'd go back to the rental/demo idea to try at least one setup before buying. I've been touring for four or five years and seen a lot of people have experiences similar to my own where the setup recommended by the boyfriend/friends/internet strangers didn't end up being a great match. In my case, I bought a brand new light ski that's similar to ones my friends used, but at the time I didn't realize that they moved to low angle terrain on high avy/powder days. I'd rather go inbounds and get more laps & less risk, so my tour days are on more variable snow and really appreciate the extra weight from a 50/50 ski to muscle through it. I lost a lot of money on the resale. And the people I ski now most often are the same - lots of Backlands, Tracers, etc. East/West coast is a good place to start, but there are also some personal preferences about uphill/downhill performance and when/what conditions you tour in that are hard to gauge until you get out there and do it.

I'd also keep in mind that there's a broad spectrum between 3lb skimo race noodles and the 7-8lb pair that wouldn't make a single sacrifice on the downhill. ~5lb options like the Ova Freebird, Helio 88 and VTA 88s are somewhat popular even out here (PNW) as a second setup for late spring/summer touring ski and they have some decent backbone. Every ski's a compromise, so it's mainly about finding a ski where you're just as unhappy on the uphill as you are the downhill ;) Skiing an option or two will be super helpful to see where you want to land along the scale.
 

ScottB

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I am picking up my first time "eva" (East Coast give away) AT set up tomorrow. I went with shifts, Blizzard Zero G 108's (185) and Atomix Hawx XTD 130's. I focused on the down and weight. Since I am 240lbs, I need about 10 cm more width than your average sized human. For me, I was considering 90-110 width skis and bought the width for the snow I most like to ski in the glades. A 95 would have worked as well, but I wanted the burlyness of the Zero G 108.

@surfsnowgirl I would suggest your width range should be 80-100 and buy the width you most want to ski on the snow you want to ski in. If your on groomers, you don't need wide unlless you plan to chase some fresh powder. You got a lot of good choices and the weight versus performance seems to be the most important issue in these type of skis.

I'll let you know what I think of my new setup in a few weeks after I try it out on some groomers.
 

Ken_R

Living the Dream
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Denver, CO
I am picking up my first time "eva" (East Coast give away) AT set up tomorrow. I went with shifts, Blizzard Zero G 108's (185) and Atomix Hawx XTD 130's. I focused on the down and weight. Since I am 240lbs, I need about 10 cm more width than your average sized human. For me, I was considering 90-110 width skis and bought the width for the snow I most like to ski in the glades. A 95 would have worked as well, but I wanted the burlyness of the Zero G 108.

@surfsnowgirl I would suggest your width range should be 80-100 and buy the width you most want to ski on the snow you want to ski in. If your on groomers, you don't need wide unlless you plan to chase some fresh powder. You got a lot of good choices and the weight versus performance seems to be the most important issue in these type of skis.

I'll let you know what I think of my new setup in a few weeks after I try it out on some groomers.

That is a really good ski. I checked them out when I was in Powder7. The boots I love. You can get lace up liners later. They help when hiking by reducing rubbing when the boots are loose in walk mode.
 

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