East coast groomer skis

[carlh]

In a lapse of judgement I moved to the east coast for work and need skis that will make crappy snow fun. I like speed and long turns, and dislike skis that can't go straight. Current inbounds quiver is: Supergoats, Goliaths (191) and some legend 94s that I picked up from a mag for this winter. I want something for hard snow use only that will make GS/SG turns on hardpack at high but not silly speeds and won't kill me in the trees or bumps, I can ski the goliaths and trees and bumps and would be fine with that level of effort. I like to drive tips and poppy skis. I am a cheap ass and want to spend <$400 on a used full setup.
I tried a couple options at a stratton demo day:
Mindbender 90ti 184, fun and held an edge well but I wanted more stiffness, length and top end.
Rossi 15m carvers (step down from heros) : too turny and too soft.
Solomon Stance 186: fine but kind of dead, seemed like they would be good pnw crud skis but not enough pop on the groomers.

Current thought is 25m Masters GS skis, any reason not to go this way? I don't want 30m FIS versions so I don't get in trouble but race skis are fun on hard snow. I am also considering >20m carvers but they are the exception to the trend and hard to find.
There are a set of K2 speed chargers on another forum that look interesting (182, 72mm, ~24m) basically wider and maybe slightly softer GS skis.
Any suggestions or deals to be found?

[Brock Landers]

I like my Fischer motive from like 4 years ago.

[nyskirat]

GS skis in the bumps or trees won't be fun FWIW. If you plan on going in the woods or bumps on more than one occasion with these skis, I'd look elsewhere.

[rip]

Beer league gs skis are fun when it's not crowded and the snow is smooth.. they are technically demanding in rougher snow, which can be fun but is also alot of work. I'd say look for some head Monsters, 88 width. If you like the Goliath you will like the monsters. They slay crap snow on skied off trails, rip grooms and you can still take them off trail. Should be able to find a pair cheap.

Should be noted I do not live on the east coast. However I do have beer league gs skis and skied the shit out of some Goliath's and really like the monster line

[singlecross]

I have 191 Goliaths on the East Coast and they rule, but for pure hard snow carving I often grab my 188 Rossi Experience 98. But beware, it’s really locked into its 22 meter radius and only wants to carve, even mounted -2cm as recommended. Its like a Goliath World Cup GS ski. A bit one dimensional but fun to let rip!

edit: you’re welcome to try my E98 if you ever get up to Sugarloaf

[RShea]

Fischer and a few other GS cheater skis are something you need to be considering for going on groomers at pointing then down the hill (mention going straight) Not full on GS skis of the new 34 meter skis that FIS and similar racers. They are not going to be a pair of tree skis though for the most part unless you are really more glade skiing with a few trees and good at slivot turns with them.

If you want a pair of east coast all around skis then you need to be looking at some of the all mountain groomers- higher end recreational with a bit more turning radius - probably something around 20 meters or a bit less maybe (but then you have to work harder at pointing them straight and at a bit more speed on the groomers unless you go up to a long length. They will be a better choice for tree skiing if you stay in the shorter length.
I recently demoed a few pair like:
Elan Wingmans
Blizzard Brahma (I felt they were a bit damper than the Wingmans)
Probably similar from Atomic, Fischer, Rossignol, Volkl, and others that you should be able to investigate and possibly demo at some point.

[IanCH]

Let's not pretend that the good skiing on the east coast is on the trails. Sure get a trail ski for days when it's rock hard off piste, but that kind of ski blows in the trees and in my experience unless your skiing every day possible you only use your frontside skis a couple days a season.

My front side setup is blizzard Quattro 8.4 ti for those odd days and the rest I'm on my all mountain touring ski 100+ waist (currently wct 108)

Wide skis ski just fine on new England conditions, people skiing narrow shit just live in the past.

If your having traction trouble look at the tune.

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[gaijin]

The Mantra 102 is deserving of a demo on the spring refreeze.

[The Tortoise]

I like my Fischer motive from like 4 years ago.

I have the 86, I like it a lot.

The new version is supposed to be pretty stout.

Any mid 80's ski with metal and camber should work for you.

[carlh]

I realize race skis will be a handful in the woods but my current thought is a 3 ski quiver. 1 hardpack go fast skis that I am shopping for. 2 all mountain skis, currently the goliaths and will eventually move to something like mantra 102s or bonafides. 3 soft snow skis in the goats.
Thought process here is a real frontside ski will be much better on trail than a Brahma or monster 88 and a 100mm ski will be better than those on crud without giving up much on hard snow. Am I wrong in this assumption?
The downside of this is the goliaths are a bit of work in tight spots and might pull in a second ski purchase sooner but if I go cheap on the groomer skis as planned that will be in the budget in the next year or 2.

The goliaths are fine on hardpack but like more space than is often available and the sultans are too worn out to set an edge even after a sharpen tune.

[prsboogie]

I'd say go for the K2 beerleague cheaters

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[The Tortoise]

The master's GS ski is a good option. I bought a pair of mint Dynastar Speed Ti's for $225 this year. They are 177, 72mm waist with a 16m turn radius and the race plate. They will do any turn shape but they need a bit of speed and good pilot. As soon as you get to the consumer "race" level skis the sweet spot becomes a lot smaller and they really need good technique. But, if you can drive them they are fun as hell.

Generally speaking the frontside skis will be better than a mid 80's ski on the hardpack. There are exceptions though, the RTM 86/Deacon 84 barely give up anything and the Fischer RC GT 86 (what a dumb name) is supposed to be a beast. Same with the Kastle MX84/89, but that's whole 'nother pricepoint.

[turnfarmer]

It's really hard to find longer radius all mountainy skis. Those K2 Chargers mentioned sound good.

Older GS skis are dirt cheap on sideline swap. Name your radius.

Personally, I've been looking for a 23-25m 75-80 waist pair unsuccessfully.
Closest thing I've found is the Deacon 76 Pro 182 @19.5r, but it's still not really there.

[turnfarmer]

Volkl is on the right track with the new Kendo and and Kanjo sidecut rocker profile. relatively large radius sidecuts with straight-ish tails. Low camber with subtle rocker lines.

If they made those with a 75-80 mm waist in a race/deacon build up I'd be on board in a second.

If you are ok with the 88mm waist, the Kendo is worth a look. But it won't be cheap.

[DumbIdeasOnly]

I had a very similar want. I am happy with the Mantra 102 for it.

I agree that GS skis are pretty much the only dedicated carvers that have longer radiuses and I felt those fit poorly. The Kastles are still hard to use in bumps.

[singlecross]

I also have a 184cm Mantra 102 it is a good ski to build a quiver around. Not as damp as the 191cm Goliath (my soft snow ski)or able to carve as hard as the 188cm Rossi E98 (my hard snow ski)but if I could only keep one it would be the M102 (my all mountain and travel ski) which skis all conditions pretty damn well.

[Adrider83]

If you have a good all mountain ski (and it sounds like you do)...then get a real groomer ski, if you're hankering for something to really enjoy the extra firm east coast days. When I moved to Lake Placid, one of the first things I did was pick up a pair of Volkl Deacon 76s....just because I found a good deal. Are they versatile? No. Fun to slide turns on? Not particularly. Do the absolutely lay trenches on water ice and making lousy days an absolute blast? Definitely. Make no mistake, an all mountain ski, even a fairly traditional one like my Head Monster 88, isn't going to be nearly as glued to the firm snow as a true specialized carver.

[IanCH]

I find I have the most fun on groomers on something super tight radius stringing together as many trenches as I can. It'll wear you out real quick tho haha.

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[f=ma]

Buy my Dynastar Legend x88, https://www.tetongravity.com/forums/...gend-x88-180cm

[ticketchecker]

Buy my Dynastar Legend x88, https://www.tetongravity.com/forums/...gend-x88-180cm

I can vouch for the Motive 86ti and have heard nothing but good things about those Legend x88's

[handlebarsfsr]

If you have a good all mountain ski (and it sounds like you do)...then get a real groomer ski, if you're hankering for something to really enjoy the extra firm east coast days. When I moved to Lake Placid, one of the first things I did was pick up a pair of Volkl Deacon 76s....just because I found a good deal. Are they versatile? No. Fun to slide turns on? Not particularly. Do the absolutely lay trenches on water ice and making lousy days an absolute blast? Definitely. Make no mistake, an all mountain ski, even a fairly traditional one like my Head Monster 88, isn't going to be nearly as glued to the firm snow as a true specialized carver.

You hit the nail on the head. Just grabbed a set of clearance liberty vmt76 myself and they make boilerplate days more fun. Coming from a Rossi exp100, it is definitely an upgrade on hard snow.

[PB]

Listen to IanCH and Adrider83. Groomers tend to be crowded, especially with unpredictable newbs. A true carver with a wider radius (GS, SG) endangers those around you to much to really open them up. Something in the mid-teens would be much wiser, preferably with racing genetics. Unfortunately, there's a huge gaping hole, radius wise, between GS and SL skis. The best ones I've found are the WRT-ST and VRT-SL (Stockli), but they don't come cheap.

[liv2ski]

Pick up some Elan Amphibio 88 xti. You will like them and to be had cheap if used.

[axebiker]

Pick up some Elan Amphibio 88 xti. You will like them and to be had cheap if used.

Or some Elan Wingman’s once this season is over. Rippin groomer ski!!

[buttahflake]

Love my Wingman 86’s. Anyone touting skis for this purpose, over 90mm, yep, you got it.
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