When are Skis Outdated?

[Wilhelmson]

Are 5 year old skis in good condition outdated, or are skis evolving slowly and should be good until a big breakthrough?

 

[slowrider]

Hell I ski on 15 yr old ski that carve just fine.

 

[Winks]

Are 5 year old skis in good condition outdated, or are skis evolving slowly and should be good until a big breakthrough?

It depends really, some certain skis or models have some nostalgia in the market as being game changers but most of the time within one or two redesigns the skis have lost their magic.

 

[Core2]

The technology in the last 10-15 years is drastically better than everything before that in my opinion. So if you are on good condition skis newer than 10 years, probably okay if you don't want latest and greatest.

 

[Sibhusky]

I'm on five+ year old skis, since I buy skis that are new old stock. They don't suddenly stop working. My 2014 (bought 2015) K2 AMP Rictor 82 xTi's are only being retired because at 237 days they've lost a bit of torsional rigidity, but I still love them and am not done with them yet.

My 2012 Hell n Back's, less beloved, are also still in service. They are still in service mostly because I don't love them as much. They haven't stopped doing what I ask of them.

 

[Philpug]

As soon as next years models are teased. NGT (New Graphic Technology) is way underrated.

 

[vindibona1]

IMO there are always modification going on. But in the last several years I think the industry has zeroed on on specialty skis rather than redesigning the "basic" ski. Folks who want to play in the park get skis with double-rocker tips and there are some newer designs that turn into rockers when you reverse the camber under pressure. But from what I see there isn't much in the design change that causes skiers to ski differently from those produced 5 or 10 or even 15 years ago. I've been skiing on some Nordica Firearrows for 6 years or so now and they're still in good shape. Before that I had some HEAD skis for 10 years that I'd probably still be skiing on had I not noodled them.

IMO it's great to buy new skis. But I don't think any skis built in the modern era would be considered obsolete. Worn our, maybe. Perhaps my response is do to my total disinterest in the newest-latest-greatest stuff, which often provide incremental improvement in function. Next year is my year for new skis. Perhaps I'll change my tune by then.

 

[PNWRod]

They are outdated as soon as a new, younger, less cranky, more attractive one comes along.

 

[crgildart]

As long as camber, flex, and edges are still decent they'll handle the same snow conditions the exact same way they did 40 years ago. Might want to take a closer look at the bindings though.

 

[Philpug]

Every year skis get better and better, some incrementally, some dramatically. And every year I keep saying dman these are as good as it gets and the next year, I will say, damn, they made them better. I will add, some skis have stood the test of time more than others, some didn't age as well and each have to rated on their own merits.

 

[Mike King]

Well, you can blame your equipment or blame your technique. It is easier on the ego, but harder on the pocket book, to blame your equipment...

 

[Prosper]

What I like about my equipment is that it never argues back when I blame it for my bad skiing.

 

[François Pugh]

It depends on how much technology has advanced for the type of ski. Excellent carving skis from 10+ years ago are still good; deep snow skis on the other hand, have been outdated in the last few years.

 

[Core2]

Every year skis get better and better, some incrementally, some dramatically. And every year I keep saying dman these are as good as it gets and the next year, I will say, damn, they made them better. I will add, some skis have stood the test of time more than others, some didn't age as well and each have to rated on their own merits.

Has there ever been a thread here on skis that stand the test of time or game changer skis like the Mantra and Enforcer? I know some of that is subjective opinion but I'm sure this board could outline the true standouts.

 

[Mike King]

Well, there was the Volkl Explosiv...

 

[Bad Bob]

When you're tired of them they are worn out; time for new skis.

 

[François Pugh]

Has there ever been a thread here on skis that stand the test of time or game changer skis like the Mantra and Enforcer? I know some of that is subjective opinion but I'm sure this board could outline the true standouts.

My top three choices for carving skis that were good a long time ago and still would be good today if freshly minted:
Fischer RC4 WC SC;
Fischer RX8;
Head Supershape.
They "improved" them by adding rocker and increasing width to make them more versatile, but imho that was pointless, the newer models still don't compare to real off-piste skis and are not so good at carving on groomers (except for the SC).. They are a little more versatile, but so what?

 

[slowrider]

A skier should be more versatile than the skis.

 

[Ken_R]

Well, you can blame your equipment or blame your technique. It is easier on the ego, but harder on the pocket book, to blame your equipment...

Yep. Improve your skiing and automatically every ski you ski will be better.

 

[Dadier]

Phil

Every year skis get better and better, some incrementally, some dramatically. And every year I keep saying dman these are as good as it gets and the next year, I will say, damn, they made them better. I will add, some skis have stood the test of time more than others, some didn't age as well and each have to rated on their own merits.

I've always valued your opinion, so ...
I'd love to hear if there were skis from several years ago you thought were fantastic but now think otherwise.
Skis you now "get" that didn't in the way back
Discontinued skis you think would still be top in their class nowadays