Ski equipment help

[Link]

I was a competitive freestyle skier in the late 70's, but haven't skied much since then for various reasons. I want to start skiing again, but am totally out of the loop equipment-wise. I am (or was!) an advanced skier, and am looking for "all mountain" type skis, bindings, and boots, to have fun with on our local mountains. I don't need or want new gear; stuff that is good quality, but a few years old, would be fine with me, as I'm looking to keep costs down. Any recommendations would be much appreciated. Thanks!

[big_perm]

start looking at shops now, they will be wanting to get rid of last years stock to make room for next seasons. If you buy a complete setup from the same shop, you can often get an even better deal than what the sale price is if you play your cards right, although it usually works better at the end of the season

[.max]

I think the general recommendation is to buy boots new (snowcovers is a safe bet). Once you have a rough idea of which ski dimensions you want, there are plenty of deals to be had on craigslist or MEC gearswap. Ski shapes are constantly evolving, I wouldn't get anything more than a few years old.

If you're going to be chasing powder, have you considered touring gear?

[Link]

Thanks for the tips, guys. I'm not going to be chasing powder, .max, not yet anyway. Just looking for gear to use on the local mountains (mostly Seymour) and the various snow conditions there.

I've been keeping an eye on Craigslist, and I know the big ski swap takes place in a couple of months. The problem is that I've been out of skiing for so long, I'm not sure what to look for. Any suggestions for particular skis, etc., that I'm likely to find used, and that would be good all-mountain type skis for our local hills? Thanks again.

[XXX_er]

BOOTS BOOTS BOOTS

spend money on boots 1st the rest is secondary IMO

something to be aware of is that heat molded boot liners have become popular in the last 10 years ,you get a shell roughly to your foot size , the liner goes into a convection oven ,foot into liner ,into boot ,buckle up, stand still for 15min and you got a perfect fit .My tele boots are heat molded and they are great ,I am gona spring for some garmonts with heat molded liners this fall

modern skis are short and wide UNDER FOOT ,way easier to ski and way more fun in the powder

[the flying moose]

get new boots and hit up the whistler turkey sale and score some sweet deals.

also bright one piece ski suits are no longer "cool".

[Ozibatla]

Ya definately gotta get new boots. Snowcovers are great, real pros. They'll sus out your feet and recomend the brand of boot that will fit you the best. As far as skis go, demo days are a good help and you can pick some wicked deals on new. I got some Volkl Karma's with Look P10's for 500 in 2006.

Its gonna be a whole new experience for ya and believe me your gonna have lotsa fun. Good luck.

[Link]

The one piece suit's not cool anymore?! Oh man ... I suppose "The Ski", Scott boots and Spademan bindings aren't cool either, huh? That was my set-up back in the day.

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone. Keep 'em coming.

[phat-phur-knee]

The one piece suit's not cool anymore?! Oh man ... I suppose "The Ski", Scott boots and Spademan bindings aren't cool either, huh? That was my set-up back in the day.

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone. Keep 'em coming.

I was just going to say... Scott no longer make boots, there's no more Olins as far as I know and as for bindings... hey if you have your stuff from the 70's still PM Patrolskid- he runs a ski museum and might be interested in that kind of thing.
Since you've been out of skiing for so long, maybe start with brands that you recognize from the 70's and are still around today. There's a lot of upstarts recently, but will you still see their gear around in 2020? Will we even be skiing still in 2020?

[XXX_er]

I know guys who went thru 6 pairs of scotts ... definatley underbuilt .I used spademans on my learn to ski week at grouse ,I thot they appeared to work pretty good for that app actualy


I got hard to fit feet ,so for me thermo fit is the one big techy breakthru that is leaps and bounds better for tele/AT/alpine boots.I should have just gone thermo fit on my last alpine boots but I cheaped out ... bad idea cuz now I gotta lay out 750$ for these

http://www.garmontusa.com/621005611.html

I could ski GS skis back in the day but it was definatley a workout ,wonder if I still could ,short & fat is nice

lotsa weekday regulars up here are on nice hardware & 20-30 year old software with ductape/aquaseal patches

[bcbud]

Pick up a new ski mag that has the buyers guide in them, they all came out recently, it will give you a good idea on where skiis are today, most models have not drasticly changed in the last few years so check em out.....

[.max]

A lot depends on preferences, weight, fitness, technique, etc., but something around 80mm wide (+/-) under foot would be good place to start ... which doesn't really tell you much other than to look for "all mountain" skis, which you already knew =/

I came back to skiing after some years off and got Rossignol B2s which I really liked, but after a season of skiing every weekend I wanted something more suited for charging and deep snow.

[Freighttrain]

Solomon boots and bindings..

[XXX_er]

Solomon boots and bindings..

uh what if he doesnt have a salomon foot and they don't fit his foot?

[gooch]

I don't think you want anything less than 85 underfoot

[Link]

Thanks again for all the suggestions, everyone. Gooch, why shouldn't I go less than 85 underfoot?

[gooch]

Thanks again for all the suggestions, everyone. Gooch, why shouldn't I go less than 85 underfoot?

Eventually you are gonna want to take em in the pow, I mean, that's the whole reason to ski right?

Even with a 85ish waist, you should be able to get decent all mountain ski, the only thing I find fat waist skis have a problem with is ice, which is why I just don't ski on those days.

With an 85 ish waist, and a shorter length say 179, you will have a ski ready for about anything

[Link]

Thanks Gooch, that sounds right. If you, or anyone else, has a lead on some decent used skis, let me know. Thanks.

[gooch]

Thanks Gooch, that sounds right. If you, or anyone else, has a lead on some decent used skis, let me know. Thanks.

Sure

[Link]

I came across a pair of Salomon Crossmax on Craigslist. Is this a good deal for the skis/bindings? Here's the link: http://vancouver.craigslist.org/spo/414836826.html

I think they're narrower underfoot than what Gooch recommended, but might be good for the local hills. What do you all think?

[LeeLau]

Good solid carving ski setup - nice price and good binders too.

[Poz]

My buddy has those Crossmax's and Ive taken them out a few days.
Like Lee says: good solid carving ski, and good bindings. Carve great, but they noticeably don't handle the powder that well.

edit: oh and decent price too.

[gooch]

yeah, hard to lose at $300 a pair, becareful with putting deals like that on teh board though, Lee can always add another pair or two to the quiver

[LeeLau]

No - I have atomic supercross's. I actually sold 3 pair of skis last year and still have to sell two pairs of Fritschi Freerides for next year.

btw - outdoorgearswap.com is a good place to look for used skis. So is the gear swap section of TGR - http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=&f=9

[gooch]

No - I have atomic supercross's. I actually sold 3 pair of skis last year and still have to sell two pairs of Fritschi Freerides for next year.

btw - outdoorgearswap.com is a good place to look for used skis. So is the gear swap section of TGR - http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=&f=9

What's wrong, had to clear out some room for another bike?

[LeeLau]

I had four Fritschi setups and three Dynafit setups. It was getting just a bit ridiculous.

[.max]

Link, how much have you skied on modern shaped skis? Picking up a "carving" style of skiing will be easier on a narrower ski, but once you have it down, it's more about balancing between something that works well in soft snow and that you can still carve on hardpack.

Lee, how much for your Fritchis?

[kalisto]

Link, how much have you skied on modern shaped skis? Picking up a "carving" style of skiing will be easier on a narrower ski, but once you have it down, it's more about balancing between something that works well in soft snow and that you can still carve on hardpack.

Lee, how much for your Fritchis?


Also semi-interested...

[LeeLau]

medium sized Fritschi Freerides - used about 10 times each. White toepiece versions from two years ago. Probably about $ 350 - as that was what they were being sold in the MEC gearswap last year in high season. Wide brakes

[Link]

.max, I haven't skied at all on modern shaped skis. The last time I skied was about 25 years ago! But I was a good skier, so I'm hoping I'll pick it up again quickly. Do you think I'll have a hard time with the Crossmax's? Think it'll be a good ski for bombing around on the local hills (mostly Seymour)?

[XXX_er]

I had four Fritschi setups and three Dynafit setups. It was getting just a bit ridiculous.


Its gods way of telling you you make too much money

[gooch]

god doesn't say things like that

[XXX_er]

You KNOW I will remind you of that statement during the next bear realestate market

[Link]

Another quick (and probably stupid) question - but cut me some slack, I've been out the ski game for a long time! The Crossmax's come with the pilot system bindings set up for a size 10.5 boot. I'm not familiar with this type of binding, but heard that they don't mount in the typical way. Can they be adjusted/remounted for a larger size boot (11.5 - 12)?

[Smoke]

Go and try on every pair of boots you can find. The ones that suck the least are the ones to get. Buck up the extra for the custom footbeds.

Then just slap on whatever skiis you can get. After that crap we skiied on twenty years ago ANYTHING will feel revolutionary to you.

You'll have to radically detune your technique too. Throw your knees into a turn like you used to and you're gonna blow em up. It's a real subtle ankle roll now. Kind of like point your big toe where you need to go and hang on.

[apeshape]

Hey lee

Ping me with pricing on the Fritschi set ups, I have been thinking about swapping out the binding on my gotamas for a touring setup. I miss the back country...

[apeshape]

Go and try on every pair of boots you can find. The ones that suck the least are the ones to get. Buck up the extra for the custom footbeds.

Then just slap on whatever skiis you can get. After that crap we skiied on twenty years ago ANYTHING will feel revolutionary to you.

You'll have to radically detune your technique too. Throw your knees into a turn like you used to and you're gonna blow em up. It's a real subtle ankle roll now. Kind of like point your big toe where you need to go and hang on.

I agree with most of that. Its not a radical detune but when I made my switch I found there was a bit of a shift towards opening up my stance a bit with the shaped skis. I still have a bit of the mt-baldy noodle style in my turns but opening up for a more aggressive stance let me get from edge to edge much faster.

[gooch]

You KNOW I will remind you of that statement during the next bear realestate market

We are just swinging into a bull which should last till about 2012, I'll have no brain cells left by then anyways