Another recommend me a ski....snowboarder edition.

[lifelinksplit]

Alright so I've been snowboarding/splitboarding for 35+yrs. Thinking about mixing it up this year and grabbing a pair of skis. Would most likely be for light backcountry duty and making resort days more entertaining when lacking new snow.

I do have a pair of super old dynafit boots from when my work was a dynafit dealer. I grabbed them when I rocked hard boots on my split for a season or two. Not necessarily tied to them and they are super flexy. Honestly have 0 idea on what to look for on skis esp length/width. I'm 6'3" and bout 190. Havent skied since I was like 8 except splitboard which I'm pretty damn competent with even with big pack.

Curious to hear the collectives opinions/heckling/wild speculation about my manhood.

Thanks yall!

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[ClayCole]

How many days of light backcountry duty and how many days of resort messing around?

What will you be doing in the backcountry? Low-snow hiking around in the woods? Mid-winter low angle pow surfing? Spring ice and corn for longer missions?

What will you be doing at the resort (skiing greens and blues with a SO or child, messing around in the terrain park, focus on carving technique on groomers, focus on learning to ski the whole mountain).

Where are you located? Snow conditions and size of mountains is all good to know for picking something to compliment your split setup.

You'll progress quickly if you're already a strong snowboarder and splitter and you used to ski when you were 8 so you don't really need "beginner" gear, you need advanced level gear targeted at the terrain and snow you'll be using it on.

[tang]

^^^ These are all great questions, the answers to which will help determine whether you should get a pair of protests or billy goats

[SoVT Joey]

Red ones.

[EWG]

Soul 7

[nickwm21]

Models. Get something middle of the road in width - 108mm waist, 106mm waist etc… something marketed as a “50:50 ski” likely works for someone with your use case, especially since this is going to be a side hobby and you will likely board more often. Just acknowledge that you will be in the “jack off all trades / master of none” category with the ski.
- line sick day 104
- Volkl blaze 106
- Solly qst 106
- elan ripstick 106
- black crows atris

Size. You’re a big human. As an expert you would want to be on the longest ski in that model. Someone with zero on snow experience would want to be on something shorter. It’s hard to say how proficient you would be… If the decision is between 185 and 192, go 185. If the decision is between 180 and 187, go 187.

Hope that helps.


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[gregL]

You don't want to learn or re-learn how to ski on a light backcountry setup, much less cruise the ski area on it. Get some alpine skis/boots and put some miles on them.

[I've seen black diamonds!]

You don't want to learn or re-learn how to ski on a light backcountry setup, much less cruise the ski area on it. Get some alpine skis/boots and put some miles on them.

This.

[jackstraw]

Alright so I've been snowboarding/splitboarding for 35+yrs. Thinking about mixing it up this year and grabbing a pair of skis. Would most likely be for light backcountry duty and making resort days more entertaining when lacking new snow.

I do have a pair of super old dynafit boots from when my work was a dynafit dealer. I grabbed them when I rocked hard boots on my split for a season or two. Not necessarily tied to them and they are super flexy. Honestly have 0 idea on what to look for on skis esp length/width. I'm 6'3" and bout 190. Havent skied since I was like 8 except splitboard which I'm pretty damn competent with even with big pack.

Curious to hear the collectives opinions/heckling/wild speculation about my manhood.

Thanks yall!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using TGR Forums mobile app

Kudos for making something old new again. I think you might find it annoying at times, but stick with it. The two plank thing is goofy as fuck when you're used to a single plank. They just go all over the freakin place! I think what most people forget or don't do when skiing is to get lower. Bend the knees more...roll with it. When you're new (again) at something we tend to stiffen up a bit.

[lifelinksplit]

Ok the responses are confirming some of my thoughts so far. Mainly that I was looking for something around 188 and around 110ish underfoot. Also prob something a bit more resort focused but could be a heavier touring set-up as well(obv used to heavy being a splitborder).

To answer a few of the questions
-backountry would be more
mellow days to get the dog out when I'm not taking the split
-resort days are gonna mostly be low tide or not dump days with goal of becoming competent enough to ski whole hill which is Discovery ski area MT.
-also still hit places around SWMT since bridger was my stomping grounds for previous 20 something years.

I'll look into some of the skis mentioned. What bindings do people like for resort with touring option? Fully aware of the jack of all trades master of none situation. Just checked the gear room and the boots I have are old dynafit tlt 4s in a 30.0. Of course trying to find something used and cheapish.

So keep throwing out some ski/boot/binding suggestions or links if ya see anything that might work.

Strong work getting redpraxxissoul7s in quickly.

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[adrenalated]

I'll look into some of the skis mentioned. What bindings do people like for resort with touring option? Fully aware of the jack of all trades master of none situation. Just checked the gear room and the boots I have are old dynafit tlt 4s in a 30.0. Of course trying to find something used and cheapish.

So keep throwing out some ski/boot/binding suggestions or links if ya see anything that might work.

Ditch the TLT4s for sure. I think you could get by just fine with any of the stiff, 4 buckle, with walk mode type boots. Almost every manufacturer has a few options now so just buy whatever fits. Make sure it has tech fittings.

Bindings - I'd look into and do some research on the burly tech/alpine combo bindings like the Shift and Duke PT. I haven't looked closely at this class of binding but they'll ski more powerfully and release a lot more reliably than a full tech binding in the resort, and will tour a lot better than a frame binding despite being heavy.

Skis I think you're on the right track with something in the upper 180s length and around 105-110mm underfoot. I'd also look into something with a moderately progressive mount point (rather than a rearward, traditional mount) as snowboarders generally seem to have pretty neutral fore-aft balance when they switch to skiing. There are a LOT of skis in this category. My personal favorite is the ON3P Woodsman but it's far from the only good choice.

[2FUNKY]

You don't want to learn or re-learn how to ski on a light backcountry setup, much less cruise the ski area on it. Get some alpine skis/boots and put some miles on them.

All of this. ^
Get some Mfree 108’s, Enforcer 104, etc with alpine binders and an Alpine boot. Go ski a lot riding cable and boot pack to side country.

[juanrogera]

Lots of good advice here. I was in a similar situation 2 years ago. I skied from age 5-12 before snowboarding for ~20 years. I then found myself dating a gal that skied and I wanted to slow myself down. I'm 6'0" around 185lbs. Found myself a pair of used Line Prophets (100mm underfoot) mounted with alpine bindings. Snagged some new 130 flex boots and re-taught myself how to ski. After skiing daily on the 172's for a couple months I went to 184's, and now my quiver consists of anything between 184-190, 104-122 underfoot. 172 may be been too short for me, but it's what I found a deal on. That being said, I'd recommend starting shorter and get longer as you progress. Something 177-180 might be the sweet spot.

The Line Prophet was nice for me to transition back to skiing. If I were doing it again, I'd look at something like the Volkl Mantra or Gotama ($190 with alpine clamps here).

I second the sentiments from 2FUNKY and adrenalated are spot on here.

[Jason4]

I've been going through this over the last couple of seasons and can share my experience. I'm a splitboard guide/long time snowboarder but I'm determined to learn to ski well enough to pass the movement standard for a ski guide as well.
I bought a set of Lib UFO 115s from a friend and mounted them up with G3 Ions and skied them a bit on some Atomic Backland Carbon boots that I already had. I switched to Atomic Hawx Ultra XTD and immediately enjoyed those skis so much and found I was a better skier too.
Last season I switched skis to Bentchetler 120s with Shift bindings because most of my skiing is on the lifts, the little bit of backcountry skiing I do could be done on Shifts and if I want to go light I'll take my split. This year I've expanded my ski quiver because I want to get better at edging on firm snow (not the BC 120s happy place).
I now have a fresh set of Wunderstick 106s that I'll mount with demo bindings (I should have just asked the local rep for something out of his fleet but I got impatient). I went with demo bindings because I really want to be able to move the boot center around to learn how it impacts the feel of the ski. I also ordered some Hagan skis and bindings to get a lighter kit for longer days in the backcountry. I haven't given in to truly skinny skis yet so I got those in a 94mm width for shallow mid winter conditions and spring slush. Compared to the 137mm width of my split skis I think the 94mm skis will be absolutely luxurious.
The advice to get some alpine skis/bindings and focus on learning to ski on groomers is very good advice. I would have saved myself lots of money and time if I had just bought some cheap used alpine gear that was appropriate for my current ability first and not bought gear that was suitable for my end goals before I was ready.
Just remember, skiing will always be the tool when you want to be practical, snowboarding is not limited that way and will always be the best tool to have fun.

[ClayCole]

Spend some money on a pair of resort/backcountry crossover boots that fit your feet (with tech fittings) like adrenalated recommended, you’ll struggle to learn proper technique at a resort on super light BC gear.

Get some used resort skis with alpine bindings that work with whatever boots you get. Get something 95-105 waisted with some camber under foot and some sidecut to learn to turn on groomers.

get a second set of skis with pin bindings on them for BC use, these should be 105-115 waisted and softer flexing and more rockered.

If you must get just one setup get some Shift bindings and put them on QST 106 or similar.

[Reformed]

Just remember, skiing will always be the tool when you want to be practical, snowboarding is not limited that way and will always be the best tool to have fun.

This is the only suspect piece of advice in this thread so far. If skiing was practical and not fun this discussion wouldn't be a thing and the collective wouldn't be so dang passionate about the redsoul7billyprotest (note the addition of the billy, which was left out of the previous super ski mashup). BS and banter aside, I went through the same process years ago and echo GregL's suggestion to get some decent alpine gear and put the miles in. When conditions are good rip them on your board. When conditions are sub-par, ski and train for the good days in the future. Progress. Have fun.