Help with new skis

[Catherine]

Hi there, I'm thinking of getting some new skis, but I have no idea what to look for, and am totally overwhelmed by all the options and the technical lingo, so I thought I would see if anyone has any suggestions!
I'm an intermediate skiier - can do blue runs and a few black ones (I'm a bit of a chicken when I don't already know the run). I'm looking for something that carves well on icy runs and isn't too hard to turn with. I'm 173cm and about 65kg. Any ideas?
Preferably not something too expensive. I'd love to get something which isn't too pricey but that I can still really enjoy. My skis at the moment are too long, don't really carve well and are hard to turn with, and it means my skiing is a bit too much out of my control.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

[klaski]

Hi Catherine. This is always a difficult question to answer. The reason is that every skier has a different demand on a ski, even simular standard skiers.

Re your statement about a ski holding on ice. Holding an edge on ice often has more to do with your skill level than the ski. Having that said a torsionally stiffer ski will perform better on ice, but then those ski's are a more difficult ski to use because they offer less margin for error. You are fairly light in weight so that is a very important issue, so I wouldn't be looking for a very stiff ski.

My advice is go to the ski shop on the mountain you are skiing at and ask about rental with a option to buy. That means you can rent your skis and continually swap them for different models over the rental period. These shops then usually give you some of your rental off the price of the new ski's.

If your not sure about the ski's from the first shop then try other brands from another shop and so on until you have tried everything you can and make a decision on which ones you liked the best.

This is not the cheapest way of going about it particulally if you rent from 3 or 4 shops over 3 or 4 days, because the place you finally buy the skis from will only give you a cut off the skis equivelent to the ski's rented from them. But it is the best way off buying skis. If you find a pair you are really comfortable with from the first shop then you are in front. Think of the cost this way, devide the total cost of the skis (including the extra hire fees) over the life of the skis and in the long term you will be well infront of hiring all the time or if you buy the best price ski and find it is no good for you. You will not get much back for second hand skis even if they are hardly used.

IMO An intermediate ski will be satisfactory (they are not that expensive), because if you ski alot you will need to move up to a higher performance ski in two or three years and if you don't ski that much they will be ideal for much longer.

Just go with what you feel comfortable on.

Hope this helps.

[Catherine]

Thanks for such a detailled reply! It was very helpful and will def do what you suggested, once it actually snows!!

Catherine

[klaski]

Well you have the snow now all you need are the ski's.
 

By the way which mountain do you ski at.

[damienkris66]

Try searching the net Catherine.. there are tons of websites that offer quality skis at very reasonable prices.. just make sure to compare first before buying..