Thread: One ski quiver?

Ok a bit of a rerun, but from personal experience in the last 3 weeks I've been thinking about this one again.....is it really possible?

Due to the generosity of maggots and others I have a well rounded quiver this season.

CMH Exploders – From mtnlion - For Powderdays and blasting through crud
K2 (Oldschool Kahuna) launchers – Many thanks to P’OB - with freerides for BC
K2 X axis – My tahnks to Mike Gutt and Tim Petrick of K2 – for hardpack, pistes and ice
A bunch of beatup stuff and gaper piste skis for rockdays etc.

I could pick the X axis as the work very well on hardpack and are so much better than oldschool straight skinny skis in the soft and crud, but they are not very wide and are so different to the others.

My lawnchairs will work anywhere, hence the Freerides. They grip on steeps and ice due to their straight edges, they are fatter than your average plank and float ok in pow….but than again they are not in the same league as the exploders in pow and you have to really work to make them turn on a piste.

The Exploders will go anywhere …..fast, straight enough to grip an blue hardpack, float better than anything else I’ve owned, make crud smooth…..but to get short turns out of them…..put it this way my old 215 SuperG skis were easier!

One of my buddies skis Scratch BC’s and loves them…easy to turn, float…but they have a low speed limit and have no grip on steeps or real hardpack?

I've been using my R:ex / Freeride /Structura setup everywhere from Quebec to Chili . They have definitly been skiable everywhere but not optimal. One ski this would be it.

Soon I'll be using an additionnal Super Nobis Zr2 and yé old L10 for the move out west.

For sure there would be other additions and I'll never throw out my bent G4

Volkl 724 AX4
or
Volkl V-Pro

My do-it-all ski is a brand new Atomic TM;EX with Fritschi Diamir's...been a great ski on everything so far.

I've found no reason to go to another ski in the quiver, on everything from powder days to hardpack, it's an all-around great ski. 84mm at the waist, if you were wondering, but handles great...

Unfortunately, there will never be a perfect one ski quiver. What works on hardpack often sucks in powder, something good for the bumps might not be ideal for ripping open fields of deep pow, and you're always going to want to have a set of rock skis lying around.

But 1776's suggestions are pretty good- one of those two will probably be my next pair of skis.

V-Pro is a wonderfull ski. Durable as hell (believe me I just finished testing that). Stiff crud busting rocket monster ski that is soft enough for the park (barely) but blows throug the crud and cuts the groomers at mach schnell. Large carving arc.

The V-Pro demands a CONFIDENT and AGRESSIVE skier. If you hesistate with this ski or dare to get in the backseat, you will never have any fun with this ski (although thats true for many). There have been days where I took it out and had no fun because I wasn't in my prime.

Cool graphics.

Wide arcs and doesnt like tight trees or moguls vs a T50... not a fan of ice either.

I can't speak to the AX4 (G4) except that its stiffer, more sidecut, less twin.

If I had to narrow it down to one ski it would be my G4s. There are reasons for the other skis I own, and they perform better in specific areas, but the G4s are the most versatile. I'd be debating if I had to choose between 7 24 Pros and AX4s.

She is the only girl I know who skis the Fisher Big Stix 106.

G4's definately. That is, of course, if I could only have one pair. Luckily, I own 4 pairs and get to choose my weapon on a daily basis.

I have a 2 ski quiver :/ and one of them is the scratch bc. b/c i don't weigh all that much (150) and i'm not htat big (5'11'') I haven't had all that many problems on them. The edge grip is kinda sketch on real steeps, and they do top out like 10mph slower than my bandit xxs. but hell, they're a powder ski. I've still hit 69mph on em (GPS reading). And they're a helluva lot more fun to ski SLOW (as in with GF/with family) than the XXs are.

That said, my biggest complaint, and the reason that next time I buy skis I will be buying Volkls, is that rossi bases are simply pieces of crap. rocks you barely notice leave these huge gashes

/rant/

the v-pro looks really good for a 1 ski quiver.

despite what rossi may have said, the XX is not a 1 ski quiver. yeah, you can ski it in pow, but it only excels in light pow/laying down massive arcs on groomers.

note: all of this is from the perspective of a 5'11'', 150 pound person. if you weigh 250, maybe XXs are a short turning demon for you .
-john

I've got three pair in the quiver right now and if I had to go back to one ski - the cmh explosiv from mntlion would be it. If I was buying one ski to do it all - R:Ex or AX4.

I employ the one (and a half) ski quiver . . . .

I ski the AX4 as my do-all ski. Last year the G4 was the ski - I never found a situation or conditions that it didn't work fabulously.

This year - with the abundance of deep powder in the Wasatch - the AX4 stills works great. It doesn't happen often and it's a great problem to have; but, I've had several runs this year where I had wished for the longer 188 size. Or, maybe, just maybe, the Explosiv in a 190.

The half pair is a 156 team stock slalom ski I take out on those really hard-snow days when I need a change of pace from the G4/AX4.

IG

I have a 190 Vex and a 179 Public Enemy. I haven't used the PE in weeks. The ex does it all but requires tons of work for tight spots.

This seemed like a perfect non-overlapping quiver... a big ski for skiing and another for jibbing. However I don't like dragging around two skis everywhere. It is heavy as hell in one bag. Especially when traveling.

192 Mothership, 190 Tanker or 185 B3 might be the ticket for the one ski quiver. Or a 180 vex. Or a 186 Stormrider. I don't know.

My search for a one ski quiver extends to the need to ski technical hard steeps...The exploder is a bit wide but is a whole world better than almost anything else mentioned, because it is nearly straight!....I don't se anyone skiing anything more shaped than a Lawnchair or Big Pro model here...REX is ok when the going is soft, but even they get scary when the steeps are hardpack...almost all the routes here were put up in the days of 207 straight slalom skis that worked on steep ice...The nearest so far is my Launhers, can't find anything with as much grip on steeps that is easier to turn on a piste, bar an old school straight plank and they would be a let down in powder or crud.....good suggestions so far.

The old silver and yellow Stockli Asteroids: stiff, straight and (relatively) fat.

Ditto on the Stocklis. I have a recently purchased pair of the Stormrider XL midfats (waist = 75mm) and they are delightful skis, although the stiffness is taking some getting used to.

Since breaking my V-ex's and being forced to tele on my V-pros while the replacements show up, I've decided that a pair of VP's in a 190 is quite possibly the best all-around ski since they're relatively straight and relatively fat. I think they're very easy to ski and I don't know why people think they're so finicky, but hey, that's just me!
Edit: I have 180 VP and they could definitely be longer and they get jumpy on icy groomers at speed. And once the new exploders show up the VP's will probaby not get much use....

-hop-

want to sell your 180's when the v-ex comes ?????? or even your 190???? I would take them off your hands

I'm on a V-Pro 180 too

I'm 5'9" 150lbs.

The small sidecut feels great in the pow... they aren't prone to hooking as I have heard the G4s can because of their good sidecut.

I still find them finicky if you don't stay fast and forward.

Does anyone else wish for an explosiv with a full twin tip?? any suggestions??

I want something that has the stiffness of the explosiv but a twin tip... i don't land switch all that often, but i want the option.

and i'm NEVER in the park/pipe...


any ideas?

If I didn't have this years explosiv 173 I'd love a twin tip 180 vex.

Twins rule... tons of time ya need to back up.

After reading several of the responses above, might I suggest a pair of Volkl Snow Rangers.

The Snow Rangers:

• Perform well in junky snow - like the G4/AX4
• They have less sidecut - so they're not hooky at speed in tricky conditions
• They ski well on-piste
• Sidecut dimensions are: 105-79-98
• 30.2m turn radius @ 190cm

IG

190 iggy FFL, get it stiff for your weight. it will hold on the steeps, rail hardpack, it's quick, snappy, floaty, feels the way a ski should feel, and will muhfukkin MOW through everything.

Originally posted by seldon
Does anyone else wish for an explosiv with a full twin tip?? any suggestions??

I want something that has the stiffness of the explosiv but a twin tip... i don't land switch all that often, but i want the option.

and i'm NEVER in the park/pipe...


any ideas?

I wish the Vex was twin. I also would like a tiny bit more shape. A real twin with a 30m radius at 190cm would be perfect (it is 35 now). Or perhaps a true twin would decrease the edge enough to tighten up the turn.

Originally posted by InspectorGadget
After reading several of the responses above, might I suggest a pair of Volkl Snow Rangers.

The Snow Rangers:

• Perform well in junky snow - like the G4/AX4
• They have less sidecut - so they're not hooky at speed in tricky conditions
• They ski well on-piste
• Sidecut dimensions are: 105-79-98
• 30.2m turn radius @ 190cm

IG

Probably my all time fav ski. Hugh Jass supplied me with a brand spanking new pair of the black ones in a 200 cm. They are freshly mounted, awaiting their busting.