Pow ski for intermediate wife?

[Judo Chop!]

Hey mags - yes, this is another 'what ski?' thread.

this is for my wife. She's in her 3rd season of skiing, but is now skiing very often and improving quickly.
6ft tall, but quite thin. 150lbs I think. rides @ Whistler/blackcomb.
currently has the Atomic Century 166 (100mm waist) and we're looking to get a powder ski to go with it. It's likely too short for her, especially for pow, but works as a quiver ski.

This is so foreign to me, I don't know which direction to go. Basically something that can be fun and easy for her to ski powder. Also being somewhat light is good as she'll occasionally be slackcountry touring on it.
I'm thinking high-170's length, and probably 110-115 ish width. but I could be wrong. She doesn't like super girly graphics - to the point where she wouldn't buy a ski because of it.

candidates:
- 177 Nordica La Nina (although I've read it's a bit much for intermediates)
- 178 Rossi Star 7 - I'm a little worried the tail might be a bit much for her, & maybe too wide? Can get a great deal though.
- 177 Atomic Millenium or blog. 110mm wide enough?
- 175 BD Amperage or Element.
- 178 Solly rockette 115

thanks for the thoughts guys.
and no... no pictures for you.

[LiveLarger]

Isn't this something for her to decide? She should try a few different and see what she likes. No offence, but I have a hard time believing you can pick the perfect ski for someone else.

[Judo Chop!]

yes, she'll decide (which is why I didn't buy them for her birthday).
She still wants advice, and doesn't post here. Shop advice is usually just based on what they have in stock.

[TAFKALVS]

How tall is she and how much does she weigh? What kind of terrain and turn shape/size does she prefer?

Also, depending on her weight - keep in mind a 110mm ski will float better for her than a 110mm would for a 180lb man. And it will probably be easier for her to manage on groomers and in tricky spots.

I tried getting my advanced-intermediate wife on rad fat pow skis but, her favorites are a pair of 85mm Rossi park skis. Don't over estimate what your wife needs for a desire to have a cool looking partner in the lift line like I did.

Is there away you can take her to a demo day or just try some demos at the ski area rental shop?

[adrenalated]

The 175 Armada VJJ should be on that list. My GF finds them dead easy to ski in powder, and they're reasonably light.

[Judo Chop!]

She should try a few different and see what she likes.

Touring soles. hard to demo.

Also, gotta figure out which skis to short-list for demo. doesn't hurt to ask advice.

[mfa81]

I'd go vjj or la nina, lots of rocker, plenty of float not demanding!

my wife did try the la nina on her second season coming from a 78mm 152cm and didn't find the 169 too much ski and said it was actually pretty easy to ski so not too much ski she is 5'2 / 120

if you wanna plan for the future and she will be touring on these I'd get this

http://www.2ndtracks.com/Ski/Skis/Fl...ure3-Skis.html

[Judo Chop!]

The 175 Armada VJJ should be on that list. My GF finds them dead easy to ski in powder, and they're reasonably light.

thanks. that was originally on the list but she read that they were difficult to ski for intermediates so took them off. They do look good though. I'll pass along the "dead easy" reference. thanks.
... I dunno about light though. I picked up a pair and was surprised by the weight.

[adrenalated]

Guess it depends on your definition of "light." If you're comparing to a ski designed with touring in mind - ie, DPS, etc. - then yeah, they're a bit on the heavy side. But in the class they should be considered in - downhill oriented skis from major manufacturers - they are very reasonable in weight.

My GF is much smaller than your wife and is on the 165s. I'd say she's on the upper end of advanced/lower end of expert now (comfortable in most terrain and conditions, but not quite charging down steeper pitches) but when she bought the skis early last season she was definitely more upper intermediate. They instantly made her a hero in soft snow.

VJJ is not as stiff as the BD Element/Amerage, FWIW.

[Judo Chop!]

good info. thanks man.

[LightRanger]

Not necessarily "pow" skis by 2015 standards, but the 178 Volkl Kikus up in Gear Swap for $250 shipped (US, dunno about Canuckistan) are a pretty solid deal on a well-regarded ski.

[smooth operator]

My GF loves her rossy Star7's, coming from similar sized gotback's that were 'meh'. Just a few days though, so the final verdict is still out. Initial impressions are good.

[BushwackerinPA]

To echo what other have said Id try the 177 La nina(IMO there is no precievable difference the majority of time between those, Patrons, and Unleashed hells if you can get a deal on them.)

[Gone Skiing]

Blizzard Gunsmoke 179 is easy to ski for its length, confidence inspiring, stable, floaty. My wife made huge improvements overnight when she got those skis (and immediately loved skiing more).

[sethschmautz]

Just bought my wife (5'10" and about 140#) a pair of Voile V8s - 174s I think. It get all around ski, but floats her plenty well at 112 underfoot. Should check all of your boxes.

What are you mounting them with? My wife has speed radicals on hers.

Seth

[mall walker]

My fiance (5,9", very slim, intermediate-advanced) is riding High Society Powchickawowwows (the full rocker version) at 185cm. Probably a little long for her, but she loves them - they have loads of tip and tail rocker, so the effective edge is closer to a 175 "normal" ski. They're uber light, fairly damp, surfy, etc. 122 underfoot IIRC. Mounted with Dynafit Radical STs, but we've mostly ridden inbounds thus far - even so, she prefers them to her 170cm x 90mm Rossis for all but the lowest of lowtide days.

You can get em fairly cheap, and so far she's been really pleased with them. About 25 days on them this season, they're holding up fine, no major wear and tear other than normal topsheet chipping.

[WaistDeepGroomers]

Bought my gal a pair of 165 BD Elements when we moved out west last winter. She was a very intermediate skier at the time, but has really excelled dramatically since getting her on those hybrid shapes. Good float, very light with fritschis, and turn stupid easily and intuitively. She really went from tolerating to enjoying skiing on those, and I barely had to give any instruction when it came to skiing pow. I highly recommend that ski. She's 5'4", 130 or so.

[GeezerSteve]

110mm waist is certainly wide enough if she's skinny, maybe wider than ideal. My wife is 5'9", 135, very athletic, can ski anything albeit not always with perfect form, skis 166cm Atomic Century for lift-served pow/soft snow, 165cm Voile V8s (107mm waist) for pow touring. Both float her like mad, she loves both and has no problem switching between the two. Both give her more float than I could ever get out of the fattest ski available. Effective length of V8s is shorter than spec, so she could have gone 176cm V8 in theory, but she prefers a shorter touring ski.

[Judo Chop!]

cool. lots of options. thanks mags. Sounds like she should just pick a shortlist then look for the best deal out of those and it'll probably work out well.

mounting with F12 EPF. She has touring soled boots, but vast majority of her days are inbounds. lightweight would be nice, but because these aren't a dedicated touring ski by any means, it's just a nice-to-have.

unfortunately this season really hasn't given us too many opportunities for her to demo a pow ski in powder.

[HHTELE]

Kind of a thread sidejack:

My wife is 5'7", 140-145, athletic. Strong tele skier, branching out to alpine for manky crappy crusty days when tele just isn't fun. Prolly use alpine for hut to huts, just for efficiency.

Powder rig is rockered anti pistes in a 167
General touring rig is Mt Baker SLs 167
Also, Vector BCs in a 170
All with clunky 7TM telemark.

Got a new pair of Reverts in a 172, gonna put Speed Radicals on them. Other choice in that ski was a 165, which seems too short. The 172 is a bit long for her, but I am thinking crust, mank, etc, the length will be stable, and the extra float may make them come around easier in shyte.



Anybody think this ski is a bad call?

[SunshineTom]

I hooked an ex girlfriend up with 179 Lhasa pows and she love, love,loved them. Cool carbon fiber top sheets with tebetian graphics were a big hit, and stupid easy to ski, she went from conservative beginner intermediate off piste on her 80 something groomer Solomon's to charger girl on the Lhasas....big grins from her and lots of appreciation for me...wink,wink.

[adrenalated]

Kind of a thread sidejack:

My wife is 5'7", 140-145, athletic. Strong tele skier, branching out to alpine for manky crappy crusty days when tele just isn't fun. Prolly use alpine for hut to huts, just for efficiency.

Powder rig is rockered anti pistes in a 167
General touring rig is Mt Baker SLs 167
Also, Vector BCs in a 170
All with clunky 7TM telemark.

Got a new pair of Reverts in a 172, gonna put Speed Radicals on them. Other choice in that ski was a 165, which seems too short. The 172 is a bit long for her, but I am thinking crust, mank, etc, the length will be stable, and the extra float may make them come around easier in shyte.

Anybody think this ski is a bad call?

Definitely not, Reverts ski really, really short. 172 is the correct length.

[TexasGortex]

My wife is 5'2", weighs... very little... and does Olympic lifting so she is very strong.

I bought her a pair of CoreUpt Sonars. 122mm under foot, 160cm long, 26m radius, full rocker, stiff. They are sick skis... For me. They beat her up. She chooses her 168cm S3s in all but the deepest snow.

My point is I suck at buying her skis. I'm 14" taller than her, so my frontside ski width is her powder. I can't even comprehend what she floats on, much less can and can't flex.

Have her go bananas with demos. Try things you wouldn't put on a list for her. You both might end up surprised.

[coldfeet]

Kind of a thread sidejack:
Powder rig is rockered anti pistes in a 167
General touring rig is Mt Baker SLs 167
Also, Vector BCs in a 170
All with clunky 7TM telemark.

Got a new pair of Reverts in a 172, gonna put Speed Radicals on them. Other choice in that ski was a 165, which seems too short. The 172 is a bit long for her, but I am thinking crust, mank, etc, the length will be stable, and the extra float may make them come around easier in shyte.

I don't know Reverts but Mt Baker SL 167cm are long, close to a 170 in most other brand definitions, so would guess it'll be fine.

[johnnyg82]

Didn't someone have some Volkl Kiku's for sale around here recently? Would those work?