What have people found to be great skis.

[Paul Oberin]

For me I try to test as many new skis every year as I can, I seem to always find something new that I like.

I have gone from the Rossignol Soul 7 four years ago, to the Rossignol Sky 7 after that, then last year it was the Volkl 90eight, all of which I still rate as the best skis on the market.

Recently I got to test one of the new Kore skis from Head, I was quite impressed, this new ski will put Head back in demand for those wanting a good all round performer, something Head have been missing for a few years now.

I have been checking out some of the latest skis from Nordica such as the NRGy and its replacement the Navigator, they are an excellent choice for both Australia as well as those going overseas.

For the ladies I am hearing good things about the Volkl Flair series, especially the Flair UVO if you want an exceptional ski, it is not cheap though, Rossignol Temptation 84 and Nordica Belle are also quite popular choices.

There has been a lot of discussion about how wide do you go for a ski, this is a good question and everyone has their own opinion, I know as your skill level gets better you can go for a narrower ski even for very deep powder, I recently skied very deep powder overseas on a few skis that were less than 100mm under foot, at no stage did I wish I was on a wider ski.

Generally as you go wider the ski is less likely to hold and edge on icy snow and can be harder to use in the bigger moguls, certainly if you are on skis under 70mm under foot, you will need to be fairly skilled if in deep powder, but back in the days of narrow skis we did it, we had no choice back then.

One thing I was keen to test out in Japan recently was how much tip rocker do you need, I took over 3 sets of skis with varying amounts of tip rocker, no doubt the Volkl 90eight had the least amount of tip rocker compared to the Head Kore 105 and the Rossignol Sky 7, in the deeper light powder I was quite happy on the Volkl 90Eight as well as the other two choices, but when it came to the heavier deep snow the extra tip rocker certainly made it easier to get around.

In the true light powder I would use the Volkl 90eight as I prefer to stay deep under the snow rather than rise above it to turn, however this technique requires a much higher skill level, if you are new to skiing powder I suggest keep with a ski that has a decent amount of tip rocker, like a Rossignol Soul 7 or Sky 7, or one of the new Head Kore skis.

[Gallo]

Im still enjoying my K2 Amp Rictors although being a bigger bloke i do struggle sometimes in heavy conditions. I havent got the luxury to have a quiver of skis at hand but think im due for a new set.

[Paul Oberin]

Im still enjoying my K2 Amp Rictors although being a bigger bloke i do struggle sometimes in heavy conditions. I havent got the luxury to have a quiver of skis at hand but think im due for a new set.

The Rictor was a fantastic ski, I had a few sets of them myself.

They changed them slightly and renamed them Ikonic 80 and Ikonic 85 which were even better.

This years Ikonics are a lot stiffer, so I am not sure how they will go for lighter people, I am waiting to demo a set, K2 generally don't make mistakes, so they should be alright.

[DHS]

Second that with the K2 Rictors.
Mine have seen the crud and concrete in Oz, to the sweet knee deep powder of Niseko and Hakuba.
Best all mountain ski I have used

[longy66]

I had a bit of an epiphany last season.
My quiver over the past 20 years has included; Fischer RC4 SL and GS, Volkl P9/10 and Racetiger SC, K2 SL Race, Dynastar 4X4, Rossi Viper, and Kastle GS race. I know, there is a bit of a pattern of stiff edgy race skis but thats where I came from in comp skiing and instructing.
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The issue I, and most good skiers have always had is one of adaptability. I prefer a stiff fast ski with a small sweet spot, So GS and SL race skis have been my pick. But, that all comes undone in cruddy snow or navigating the late afternoon wet concrete and man made. So in the past I have had to have a pair of skis for when the groomers are a bit dodgy, hence the Vipers and the Dynastar 4x4's.
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The sloses I have ever come to a ski that will do everything is the Volkl Racetiger SC. Still unbeatable on groomers but wide enough in tip and tail to navigate soft snow. The other pick of the bunch were the Vipers but they fell apart and got binned.
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And now for the epiphany.
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Stockli AR and AX. I have posted on these things previously. They are hand made in Switzerland and are as good on the groomers as the Volkls and as good in the crud as the Dynastars. After using them for 1 day in Austria earlier last year, I demo'd a used pair of AR's and bought the demos the same day. You cant find second hand Stockli's as no one ever sells them. My mate bought a new pair of Stockli Laser AX's and they are even better.
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If you can find em - buy em.
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dave

[Paul Oberin]

After seeing how much stiffer the new Volkl RTM skis are this year, I have ordered myself a set of RTM84, I thought the last few years the RTM series were too soft for my kind of skiing, except the RTM86.

[Paul Oberin]

Some of the new 2019 skis that will be great value for money this season in Australia.

Dynastar Legend 84, and Legend 88, fantastic performance at a really good price, same for the ladies version the Legend 80W and Legend 84W, probably the best value for money skis you will find this year.

The all new Volkl Deacon 74 and 76, very high performance all round good ski for in resort use, not cheap but a lot of fun for a good skier.

The all new Rossignol Experience mens and Experience ladies skis, new construction for this year sees an improvement in performance.

K2 have new ladies skis called Endless Luv 80 and Secret Luv 76, both will be popular for use here in Australia.

K2 have revamped the Pinnacle 88 ski by making it stiffer, it needed this badly, I hear it is now a very good ski.

Atomic have an all new Vantage 90Ti, they are not just the old ski with a graphics change, this new 90Ti is said to be way better than last years model.

[The Frog]

I've got Rossignol Experience skis which are a few years old. Have been a great ski, best I've had.

[Paul Oberin]

I don't know which one you have but I really like the Rossignol Experience skis, I did find after testing the 80, 84 and 88 that they differ quite a lot based on width under foot alone.
I like the 84 the best for how I ski, the 88 is great as a good all rounder where you also spend time off piste, but the edge hold on the 84 and then the 80 is so much better when the snow is firm and you want stability at speed.

The 80 has exceptional edge hold compared to the 84 and even more so than the 88, but it can be quite a bit more work when off piste, the compromise I found was the great edge hold of the 84 mixed with how well it skis in most off piste conditions.

[The Frog]

Pretty sure they are the 88's.

[Paul Oberin]

The new mens experience, now with the tip used in the Soul 7 skis.

[The Frog]

Nice.

[DHS]

Noice!!!!

[Moe]

Rossi experience 88 my go to ski for everything below boot deep. Having said that Hakuba last season knee deep linked larger radius turns sitting back on the toilet skis close together no probs

[Paul Oberin]

Rossi experience 88 my go to ski for everything below boot deep. Having said that Hakuba last season knee deep linked larger radius turns sitting back on the toilet skis close together no probs

Yeah that does work but can be very tiring on the quads, you need to be very fit to remain in the back seat for a long time. If you had moved you toe and heel back a cm or so it would have been way easier for you, and it is easy to do on those skis if they have the Konect system.

[Moe]

Yeah that does work but can be very tiring on the quads, you need to be very fit to remain in the back seat for a long time. If you had moved you toe and heel back a cm or so it would have been way easier for you, and it is easy to do on those skis if they have the Konect system.

So true, the quads burn....Usually happens when I go to a different hill in the valley & regret not taking 100+ . You know the story, you're thinking....If I go back and grab my other skies will it be too tracked out by the time I get back, you just click in and go for it

[Paul Oberin]

After attending the USA trade show in Denver and testing next seasons skis on snow at Copper mountain in February, the skis that everyone were talking about for men and women were the all new Volkl Kendo 88 and Kenja 88, certainly was my pick of all the new skis coming out, close behind the Kendo 88 were the Head Kore 93 and Kore 93W for ladies, and the K2 Ikonic 84Ti. Another new ski for this coming 2019 season is the newly redesigned Black crows Orb, now at 88mm under foot, this great ski is now even better.