Thread: Ski Quiver Slots/Characteristics

My choices would be:

Everyday hard snow that is stiff and can run. 90-105 range. Tip rocker only. (currently deciding if 188 Moment Tahoe or the 192 belafonte will take this place)

Soft snow with tip/tail rocker and a surfy sort of feel. (currently 190 wailer112rp)

Soft snow charger.( Currently renegades)

Three from current quiver. Maybe I'll actually reduce the quiver down to only these. Or not.

Tele / groomers / low angle tours. Tip rocker, medium stiff, normal camber, 100-ish mm. (187 Bonafide, NTN)

Less snow / longer tours. Tip rocker, medium stiff, normal camber, ~105 mm. (190 Praxis BC, dynalook)

More snow / shorter tours. Tip/tail rocker, medium stiff, bit of camber, 115-120 mm (191 ON3P BG tours, dynalook)

Alright - so really the whole reason I started this thread was to figure out how many skis I can reasonably have (this season) and still be able to ski most all conditions. Realistically I will probably only have 2 sets of skis this winter due to cost and opportunity to use more than 2 sets.

Currently I have 192cm Rocker2s and 185 Salomon Lords. I bought the Lords as a midwest all-around ski and pseudo all mountain ski for out west. The R2s fills the deep snow spot for now and will stay.

What I am considering though is whether or not to get rid of the Lords.

I like them enough - they seem fine to me (mind you, I have not skied any other skies beyond the two listed and several hand-me-down beginner carve skis when I first started skiing), but maybe I am missing out a ton on something way better.

The goal if replaced would be to fulfill the roll of all-mountain (good carving for groomers/handling chopped and crud) as a stable ski for all non powder days. Looking at this years 186 ON3P Vicik, last years 192 Moment Belafonte and 193 Blizzard Cochise (in that order of preference).

Could this 2 ski quiver really work for resort skiing/resort accessed sidecountry?

Really want the Vicik - but need reassurance of performance on groomers. Or do I need to keep the Lord's and go with 3 sets of skis, keeping the Lords for us on harder snow?

Originally Posted by gointhedistance

Alright - so really the whole reason I started this thread was to figure out how many skis I can reasonably have (this season) and still be able to ski most all conditions. Realistically I will probably only have 2 sets of skis this winter due to cost and opportunity to use more than 2 sets.

Currently I have 192cm Rocker2s and 185 Salomon Lords. I bought the Lords as a midwest all-around ski and pseudo all mountain ski for out west. The R2s fills the deep snow spot for now and will stay.

What I am considering though is whether or not to get rid of the Lords.

I like them enough - they seem fine to me (mind you, I have not skied any other skies beyond the two listed and several hand-me-down beginner carve skis when I first started skiing), but maybe I am missing out a ton on something way better.

The goal if replaced would be to fulfill the roll of all-mountain (good carving for groomers/handling chopped and crud) as a stable ski for all non powder days. Looking at this years 186 ON3P Vicik, last years 192 Moment Belafonte and 193 Blizzard Cochise (in that order of preference).

Could this 2 ski quiver really work for resort skiing/resort accessed sidecountry?

Really want the Vicik - but need reassurance of performance on groomers. Or do I need to keep the Lord's and go with 3 sets of skis, keeping the Lords for us on harder snow?

Vicik or similar will be fine for getting around on groomers (at least as good as Lords I should think). If you want something that is excellent on groomers you should be able to pick up something for very little money here or on ebay, such as Super Bros, Elan 777's or some old Stockli Stormriders.

Originally Posted by gointhedistance

Alright - so really the whole reason I started this thread was to figure out how many skis I can reasonably have (this season) and still be able to ski most all conditions. Realistically I will probably only have 2 sets of skis this winter due to cost and opportunity to use more than 2 sets.

Currently I have 192cm Rocker2s and 185 Salomon Lords. I bought the Lords as a midwest all-around ski and pseudo all mountain ski for out west. The R2s fills the deep snow spot for now and will stay.

What I am considering though is whether or not to get rid of the Lords.

I like them enough - they seem fine to me (mind you, I have not skied any other skies beyond the two listed and several hand-me-down beginner carve skis when I first started skiing), but maybe I am missing out a ton on something way better.

The goal if replaced would be to fulfill the roll of all-mountain (good carving for groomers/handling chopped and crud) as a stable ski for all non powder days. Looking at this years 186 ON3P Vicik, last years 192 Moment Belafonte and 193 Blizzard Cochise (in that order of preference).

Could this 2 ski quiver really work for resort skiing/resort accessed sidecountry?

Really want the Vicik - but need reassurance of performance on groomers. Or do I need to keep the Lord's and go with 3 sets of skis, keeping the Lords for us on harder snow?

I am on ON3P fan - 191 Billy's, 191 Wren and 2 pairs of Viciks... I love them all and loved the Vicik so much I bought a second pair as backup due to a smoking deal... The ski absolutely kills it on groomers, is snappy, kills it in crud and does a good job in the POW... I am 6'4" and 205 lbs so my Grizzlycorn 186 Viciks had an additional carbon added to it to stiffen it up a bit for me and the ski to me is not demanding at all... If I were only allowed to own two pairs of skis it would be 191 Billy's and 186 Viciks...!

Originally Posted by I've seen black diamonds!

Vicik or similar will be fine for getting around on groomers (at least as good as Lords I should think). If you want something that is excellent on groomers you should be able to pick up something for very little money here or on ebay, such as Super Bros, Elan 777's or some old Stockli Stormriders.

Agree completely. I feel something like the Bibby is totally fine on groomers, so the vicik can only be better. I had lords in the past and they really weren't better than the Bibbys on groomers. Then I picked up a cheap pair of old stockli scot schmidt pros and compared to my other skis they are simply amazing on groomers and smooth hard pack. So either get a true great hard pack ski if you value that or skip it altogether and go for that 105-115 range

I have

186 Vicik (Soon to have Guardians/Trackers)
185 Opus (PX18)
Need to fill out this third spot...Suggestions? East Coast skier btw.

Need to fill out this third spot...Suggestions? East Coast skier btw.

I've got some 184 Volkl Kendos I'd sell you. Make a great EC versatile hardpack ski. Anything else in that class like a mantra, bushwacker, or the like would work great too.

Originally Posted by gointhedistance

If you could only have 3 skis for a season, with matched bindings - what characteristics and combos would you choose?

I had to limit the quiver to 3 due to economic realities, but others obviously have a bigger budget. If you want to make a 3-pair quiver thread, you can, but it looks to me like this one has become a "what roles does a quiver cover for you and what skis are in it?"

Forthwith:
For a skier who really only skis the resort to get in shape for the BC, occasional "only have an hour or two" days and on the random days with high avy danger (an occurence almost completely eliminated by moving from CO to Tahoe...suck on that), I have no resort-dedicated setups.

*Most of the time, for powder touring in trees, chutes, bowls, anywhere really, I have Lhasa Pow 191 with Radical FT

*For days with little to no new snow (I thought we banned those?), long tours in spring, early season on the WROD, and ski-mountaineering, Goode carbon 88 with Vertical ST

*What I use 90% of the time I do ski inbounds and also as a non-tech boot touring loaner: Volkl Bridge (ELP-rockered version) with Tour F10

AAAAaaand the 4th, thread-premise-busting role (which everyone else has in their quivers too):
deep powder touring, pow all day, slarvy/jibby/playful PHAT boards: Moment Ghost Chant or G3 Highball or Lotus 120 w/ Radical ST

Pretty straight forward quiver for the upcoming season. It would certainly be different if I lived out West:

1. Early/late season rock skis. 184 Volkl Mantra/Rossi FKS 18. Kinda fat, several years old, beat but still functional, the ski for skiing powder or slush with not much underneath.

2. Skinny groomer ski. 186 Rossi S86/Look PX14. Big shovel, narrow but wide enough to handle different snow types, stiff, fast. For the days when its going to be fast groomers all day long.

3. Daily driver ski around 100 mm under foot. I still need to fill this gap, leaning towards a Moment Tahoe or Belafonte with Dukes. Tip rocker, some camber, a ski to use when a single day will involve groomers, powder, trees and/or moguls. Also, a ski for short VT tours.

4. Big ski. 184 Salomon Rocker 2/Dukes. Not too stiff, lots of rocker, not too heavy, around 120 under foot. A powder ski that goes in the Vermont trees, floats over everything and the go to ski for the trips out West.

Early season: 192 Elan m777 mounted with STH16 to help counter their ungodly weight

Every day: 189 4frnt Turbo and Dukes

Pow: 190 Elan Boomerang mounted with 916s

Norquay: 176 Elan SLX with 916s

Just because: Spats and Shanetoons

Last season at Alta my quiver consisted of:

180 Volkl Explosiv for groomers and rock hard off piste

179 4Frnt EHP's with Pivot 14's and Dukes. This was my go to in bounds/touring ski. I wished I had the 186 by about February, but the shorter length was nice for touring at least.

191cm ON3P Caylor Lites were my powder day boards.

192cm non-rockered Atomic Thugs were my early season pow/rock boards. Awesome skis.

Haha. The way a potentially defensible quiver should look (for me: 30-day a year skier in Europe)

1. Piste carver / early season ski: waist 75-85mm, length = height or a little less,
2. Euro powder ski, waist around 110, length = my height+ 10cm, Dukes/Barons/equivalent
3. Touring ski: light, 85-95mm, length = my height, tech bindings

The way it actually looks:
- 2 pairs of 112 mm waisted skis, length = height+10 (though one is a charger and one more playful), QKs + Barons
- an older 93mm heavy charger ski, length=my height, with Barons. Low snow ski.
- (new this year) - semi touring ski, 106mm waist, length = height + 4

Too much overlap...

Originally Posted by VTsession

Pretty straight forward quiver for the upcoming season. It would certainly be different if I lived out West:

1. Early/late season rock skis. 184 Volkl Mantra/Rossi FKS 18. Kinda fat, several years old, beat but still functional, the ski for skiing powder or slush with not much underneath.

2. Skinny groomer ski. 186 Rossi S86/Look PX14. Big shovel, narrow but wide enough to handle different snow types, stiff, fast. For the days when its going to be fast groomers all day long.

3. Daily driver ski around 100 mm under foot. I still need to fill this gap, leaning towards a Moment Tahoe or Belafonte with Dukes. Tip rocker, some camber, a ski to use when a single day will involve groomers, powder, trees and/or moguls. Also, a ski for short VT tours.

You do realize that 1 ski covers all 3, right?

Rule #1 of fight club: don't talk about fight club.
Rule #2: all skis are rock skis.

Originally Posted by PappaG

You do realize that 1 ski covers all 3, right?

Rule #1 of fight club: don't talk about fight club.
Rule #2: all skis are rock skis.

Yeah but who wants to just have one pair of skis?

And all skis eventually become rock skis

Quiver (noun):
one pair each:
-early season man-made/rock skis
-mid season pow/rock skis
-spring slush/rock skis

I agree with earlier posts saying 4 skis is a better quiver minimum (mainly to satisfy the gear crave and because there are so many awesome skis these days). However three skis can be more than adequate for most situations.

As someone who spends my resort time mainly as a volunteer patroller and then the rest in the BC of the cascades my current 3 choices would be:

105ish waisted all-arounder that can be my patrol/resort ski. QK'd for barons and dynafits (vicik is an awesome choice for this IMO).

99 waisted ski for spring touring/ hard snow/mountaineering. Yes I know it's fat for a mountaineering ski but it's a stiff bro with radical speeds and it's light.

110-120ish powder touring ski. QK'd for barons and dynafits.

I prefer a flat tail and a modern traditional shape on all my skis, especially my touring sticks.

Much more can be said but that's my $.02

Crud monster (110-120mm, directional, long radius, stiff, metal preferred): Big Dumps, XXL's, bodacious, ect.

Playful Ski (100-???mm, twin tip, tip and tail rocker, shorter radius, light weight): jj, obsethed, bentchetler, PB&J

Both of these can obviously ski powder and must be able to hold there own on groomers. When it comes to choosing the right ski for the right day, its more about what mood am I in more than what are the conditions like?

The new Hellderado may be a quiver killer for me, fills both of my categories well, I really want to try it

Originally Posted by sneaky_steve

I agree with earlier posts saying 4 skis is a better quiver minimum (mainly to satisfy the gear crave and because there are so many awesome skis these days). However three skis can be more than adequate for most situations.

As someone who spends my resort time mainly as a volunteer patroller and then the rest in the BC of the cascades my current 3 choices would be:

105ish waisted all-arounder that can be my patrol/resort ski. QK'd for barons and dynafits (vicik is an awesome choice for this IMO).

99 waisted ski for spring touring/ hard snow/mountaineering. Yes I know it's fat for a mountaineering ski but it's a stiff bro with radical speeds and it's light.

110-120ish powder touring ski. QK'd for barons and dynafits.

I prefer a flat tail and a modern traditional shape on all my skis, especially my touring sticks.

Much more can be said but that's my $.02

Vicik's arrived in the mail today!!! So happy! The eternal mount question is still perplexing me....

sneaky steve-

would you want to elaborate on the difference(s) between these two slots in your quiver?

105ish waisted all-arounder that can be my patrol/resort ski. QK'd for barons and dynafits (vicik is an awesome choice for this IMO).

99 waisted ski for spring touring/ hard snow/mountaineering. Yes I know it's fat for a mountaineering ski but it's a stiff bro with radical speeds and it's light.

i am curious about which shape(s) for each size, how they differ in your objectives, etc.

i like your thinking so wanted to hear more-

add-cant figure the quoting thing, wtf?

I have 8+ pairs of skis. I used my 193 Cease and Desist 2x last year, and my 191 BGs and 186 Viciks for everything elses
If I was limmited to 2 pairs of skis it would be:
191 Billy Goats
186 Vicik tours, both mounted with dynalook plates.
YMMV

My quiver will always include a <90mm waist c. 25m radius 6 lb./pair or less torsionally stiff flat tail lightweight touring ski with tech bindings for post-consolidation touring in May, June and July. We PNW tourists put lots of days on skis in that slot. YMMV if you live in the interior.

186 Vicik (non tours)

Originally Posted by ate'em

sneaky steve-

would you want to elaborate on the difference(s) between these two slots in your quiver?

i am curious about which shape(s) for each size, how they differ in your objectives, etc.

i like your thinking so wanted to hear more-

add-cant figure the quoting thing, wtf?

So a couple things influence my choices:

1) I'm a small dude. 5'11" and 155 pounds. For this reason I don't see a huge need to get a very large waisted ski (120+). I know many will disagree and I'm not saying I wouldn't like to have one in my quiver but for the sake of "only three" I can be very happy in the 112-115+ range. Because my goal is to primarily ski powder in the backcountry and on the Cascade volcanoes, this ski slot needs to be a relatively light ski at minimum < 9lbs. Dynafits help allow for some adjustment of the ski weight itself but the combo must be under 10 lbs. As for the shape of the ski, I prefer a ski with a modern traditional shape and some camber underfoot to allow for less-than-optimal conditions often found in a maritime PNW snowpack. I like a medium to stiff flex. Some early rise is nice and I prefer a flat tail to use for digging pits, anchors, skin attachment ease, etc. Some skis that fit the bill for me include: PMG Fat Bro/Lhasa, Voile Drifter, BD Zealot/Megawatt, DPS 112RP, and to some extent the 4frnt Hoji and Praxis Wootest. I know some of those don't fit every criteria I listed, but they fall into the quiver slot and I'm flexible.

The 105ish width "daily driver" for my days patrolling at the resort is really met perfectly by the Vicik. A very versatile choice. Camber underfoot, rise in the tip and tail, 106 waist is a good middle of the road width and I'd be happy skiing it in a foot of fresh. 26m turn radius is good for use as a patroller. Does well skiing through chop, chunks, and the like.The Vicik tour this year is appealing to reduce weight but for my main use, I might not want to trade the weight for a possible change in the way it skis.

As for the 99 waisted spring/mountaineering ski: it must be light, moderately stiff, and have flat tails. A good lightweight choice for winter tours as well when there is not a lot of fresh snow or when the temps are warm.