What "All Mountain West" Skis to Try?

[Tony S]

I've been on the Völkl Blaze 94 @172cm all week. It's a very fun and easy ski, but also rewarding. Conditions have suited it well. More detail later.

Here's the more detailed review.

 

[Fuller]

I'm keeping track of this thread because I'm also looking for something in the 100mm range - to replace my 2018 Sky 7 HD's. I acquired them on the rebound after briefly dating a pair of Nordica Enforcer 100's. It turns out at 155lbs I enjoy a ski that I can bend. The Sky 7 is easy to bend, especially the front third. It's fun on early morning western groomers and does well in the softer trees and powder. It is not a crud buster by any means, when the snow surface gets harder and stickier it can be a handful at any type of speed. I usually slow way down and pick my way down the mountain. I'm looking for a ski that has an incremental improvement in the crud category but doesn't give up the easy tree skiing aspect of the Sky 7.

One difference between me and @Tony S is that I have my quiver with me at WMR and can choose my ski according to the day. So my choices can be more specific than a travel ski.

On my radar:
Bent Chetler 100 (some good deals over @SkiEssentials)
MFree 99
Rossi Holyshred 98

Ok, I'll end the suspense...

Two days so far on my new Dynastar M-Free 99's. A few inches of new snow to work with and some easy tree skiing under my belt here in Whitefish. I don't have a lot of experience on twin tips so the amount of ski forward of the binding seemed quite short at first but I quickly became accustomed to it. I bought the 179 cm size based on my primary use which will be a slow flow through the trees. I could have sized up to 184 without any fuss but I like what I have.

You don't need to crush your boot cuff to get these on edge and the ease of pivoting and releasing the tails is unreal. The snow was a little dense but just a slight hop will get you from one tree to the next with an easy change of direction. I got the best results with a decided foot to foot approach but in dryer snow a quick pivot would work well. If I were younger and wanted to charge everything at mach schnell I might opt for a more substantial build but at 69 years old I'm more focused on technique and flow with speed being a secondary attribute.

I have not skied these in any substantial crud but I'm guessing that they will be better than the old Sky7's but not a huge improvement. I have other skis that will do that better if I'm feeling frisky and want to punish my knees for a day.

 

[Tony S]

Update one year on.

I love the Blaze 94s I got for cheap and plan to keep them. However, they are not the western daily driver I was looking for. They're really only good in soft snow (where they are a total hoot). As @KingGrump observers astutely, they have no suspension on snow that's even a little firm. They're also uninspiring in arced turns.

Meanwhile this fall I had a pair of NOS Nela 96s re-tuned and mounted up with an old pair of Pivots I had lying around. I only have about three days on them, in conditions that, mostly, were not targeted by their design spec. (Either too firm or too deep.) Even allowing for that, so far we have not bonded.

In hindsight I really wish that I'd sprung for a pair of demo binders so thati could experiment with mount point. But I didn't. Therefore I was faced with "sell them now or do an experimental remount first". I took a deep breath and did the latter. It took some faith to put a drill to that top sheet. In the end I made one set straighter than they were from the shop and one just slightly more crooked, so calling it a wash. I'll post when I get a chance to test out the mod. If I don't like it, expect a garage sale post.

 

[The Retired Skier]

Update one year on.

I love the Blaze 94s I got for cheap and plan to keep them. However, they are not the western daily driver I was looking for. They're really only good in soft snow (where they are a total hoot). As @KingGrump observers astutely, they have no suspension on snow that's even a little firm. They're also uninspiring in arced turns.

Meanwhile this fall I had a pair of NOS Nela 96s re-tuned and mounted up with an old pair of Pivots I had lying around. I only have about three days on them, in conditions that, mostly, were not targeted by their design spec. (Either too firm or too deep.) Even allowing for that, so far we have not bonded.

In hindsight I really wish that I'd sprung for a pair of demo binders so thati could experiment with mount point. But I didn't. Therefore I was faced with "sell them now or do an experimental remount first". I took a deep breath and did the latter. It took some faith to put a drill to that top sheet. In the end I made one set straighter than they were from the shop and one just slightly more crooked, so calling it a wash. I'll post when I get a chance to test out the mod. If I don't like it, expect a garage sale post.

View attachment 199222

You need to get on the Rossignol Sender 94 Ti.

 

[Philpug]

There are a few skis I'd like to see Tony try....

Augment 98
Lusti CWR+ 95
Fischer Ranger 96

...to start with.

 

[Vinnie]

I would add the 2024 Blizzard Rustler 9

 

[Tony S]

You need to get on the Rossignol Sender 94 Ti.

I did! Yesterday! I liked them. Not something I'm going to buy, but nice ski.

 

[Tony S]

Update one year on.

I love the Blaze 94s I got for cheap and plan to keep them. However, they are not the western daily driver I was looking for. They're really only good in soft snow (where they are a total hoot). As @KingGrump observers astutely, they have no suspension on snow that's even a little firm. They're also uninspiring in arced turns.

Meanwhile this fall I had a pair of NOS Nela 96s re-tuned and mounted up with an old pair of Pivots I had lying around. I only have about three days on them, in conditions that, mostly, were not targeted by their design spec. (Either too firm or too deep.) Even allowing for that, so far we have not bonded.

In hindsight I really wish that I'd sprung for a pair of demo binders so thati could experiment with mount point. But I didn't. Therefore I was faced with "sell them now or do an experimental remount first". I took a deep breath and did the latter. It took some faith to put a drill to that top sheet. In the end I made one set straighter than they were from the shop and one just slightly more crooked, so calling it a wash. I'll post when I get a chance to test out the mod. If I don't like it, expect a garage sale post.

View attachment 199222

Well, I tested out the mod. Jury is not entirely in, but I liked them better.

In practice what happened was I skied at Bachelor on them for a day and came to an initial conclusion that 15mm was too much. (I'd considered 10mm but decided that put the holes too close.) I had fixed one problem but caused others. Not really happy.

Next day, demoed a couple skis to see of I could find something that made me happier on the compacted jouncy wet chunder that prevailed both days. The Rossi Sender 94 ti seemed decent, but not a revelation. The other ski was wide and just a wrong choice outside of the untracked glop.

At the end of the day I went back to the Nelas for two runs, as a control. They were head and shoulders better than the other skis in just about every way except the few still-unskied sections.

FYI, no bumps or smooth cord was to be found. Everything was one flavor of heavy crud or another.

Conclusion: PNW snow can be a bitch.

 

[markojp]

Conclusion: PNW snow can be a bitch.

Welcome to hood!

 

[KingGrump]

Conclusion: PNW snow can be a bitch.

FIS SL.

 

[tromano]

Just a comment, but I have
Pro mtn 86, Qst 92, mantra m6, qst 98, qst 106. As my all mountain west skis. Each are really good at many things but all are different.

No one ski is going to satisfy the all mountain ski bug. You need a quiver of am west skis.

 

[Tony S]

FIS SL.

Thanks for meeting our expectations.

 

[KingGrump]

Thanks for meeting our expectations.

Skied Crystal couple weeks in 2020 just before the Covid shut down. The new snow was heavy crud. Par for course in PNW. Mamie had a technical break through on her SR85W in the crud. She was very happy. I thought my M5 needed more beef. Switched to the Kastle BMX 105. Still not happy. Took out the FIS SL. That was a sweet ski in that stuff. Was on it for over a week until Covid shut everything down.

 

[David Chaus]

Skied Crystal couple weeks in 2020 just before the Covid shut down. The new snow was heavy crud. Par for course in PNW. Mamie had a technical break through on her SR85W in the crud. She was very happy. I thought my M5 needed more beef. Switched to the Kastle BMX 105. Still not happy. Took out the FIS SL. That was a sweet ski in that stuff. Was on it for over a week until Covid shut everything down.

The takeaway, then, is skiing PNW heavy crud with a FIS SL ski causes Covid. I’m sorry, I just can’t take that chance.

 

[cantunamunch]

The takeaway, then, is skiing PNW heavy crud with a FIS SL ski causes Covid. I’m sorry, I just can’t take that chance.

No,no,no,no. The takeaway is you need at least one person on an M5 Mantra to keep hills from shutting down.

#wishIdknownthatfortheMA3weeksago

 

[KingGrump]

The takeaway, then, is skiing PNW heavy crud with a FIS SL ski causes Covid. I’m sorry, I just can’t take that chance.

No worries. Two shots and couple booster on a FIS SL will keep Covid away.

 

[mdf]

FIS SL ski causes Covid

Hmmm... I skied mine at Taos and then I got covid. Coincidence?

 

[tromano]

Two shots and couple booster on a FIS SL

What's a good shot chaser pairing for an fis SL?

 

[cantunamunch]

What's a good shot chaser pairing for an fis SL?

Depends... do you pronounce it F.I.S. or FISS?

 

[Scruffy]

What's a good shot chaser pairing for an fis SL?

Goldschlager.