Dynastar, Exclusive 10s, 8s, or neither. Buying skis and a little lost :) Please help.

Right... So I have been skiing about once or twice a year for a week or so since about as soon as I could walk (I'm 16 now) and I am finally getting some skis as I am getting an instructing job this winter (finally moved to an area where it snows and has mountains Very Happy ... well hills anyway Confused ). So anyway, I have been looking through all the information on buying skis and on the skis themselves that I can possibly find on the web and I am a little lost as to what to buy.

I am an intermediate to advanced skier I suppose, I happily do blacks and my favorite place on the mountain is running through virgin or nearly untouched snow in the trees. That said I also like to have some fun with speed on piste and I have been known to do some jumps. I am looking for a ski to accommodate all of these. If it helps to know, I am 5'5" and weigh about 130lbs.

So far my search has found me looking at a pair of Dynastar Exclusive 10 Women's skis and a pair of Dynastar Exclusive 8 Women's skis. The 10s are $250 and the 8s are $150. I am currently trying to get in touch with the seller about whether or not they come with bindings as he manages to contradict himself and say once in the listing that they do and once that they don't Puzzled .

I am a little worried about getting women's skis as what I have been reading seems to indicate the "women's" actually means "non-aggressive skier/light skier" and I would describe myself as quite an aggressive skier. The review on the 10s describes them as aggressive skis however and everything else about them seems perfect.

I can't think of any other info to put in here, but if you would like any more information then please say.

I am really rather lost with all this and I very much appreciate any help I can get, even if it is just a one sentence reply so thanks a load in advance folks and happy skiing!

http://www.skireview.co.uk/skis/armada_arv.html armada ARV's if you like going backwards.. if not perhaps... http://www.rossignol.com/CF_product_RA7LD01_bandit-b83.html bandit B 83?

Ross

If you are in any doubt, snowdealsnow(on ebay)also has the 10s with bindings for $20 more. I have purchased several items from them and they are 100% reliable.

Trencher

Rossfra8 wrote:http://www.skireview.co.uk/skis/armada_arv.html armada ARV's if you like going backwards.. if not perhaps...

I really like the look of those Armada ARVs, but I'm not sure about the length. As far as I can see the shortest they come in is a 165cm, the longest I have skied is a 155cm. I have been thinking of going longer for quite a while, but I was going to do 5cm or so at a time not jump the whole 10cm up. Do you think that it would be ok for me to do such an increase in size?

As you like virgin snow, and black slopes, I would suggest the Dynastar Exclusive Legend Powder. I spent a couple of days on some 172's in Zermatt recently. I'm the same height as you, and I got the impression that the 165 would have been a really great ride. I found them very stable, easy turning, with good edge grip. They are supposed to have a 20 metre turn radius but I found I could push them much tighter than that.I would consider buying a pair, it's the 1st pair of womens' specific skis that really worked for me. I have about 75 weeks on snow. As with all skis, try before you buy :D

The most useful thing I found when first getting skis was to try some out first. It gives you a chance to compare what you do and don't like about the skis and to connect the sales pitch with the how the skis actually feel.

There are a few ways of getting to try them out. Sometimes ski manufacturers or local stores will have "demo days" where you can try out different skis. Other times a ski store will let you try out a number of types (but they usually expect you to buy from them in the end). Alternatively you can try hiring different skis over a few different days.

Although it might not work out in your particular circumstances, if you have the luxury of living very close to a ski hill, a good option can be to spend a week or so trying out different things before you buy.

And finally, just to throw another option in the mix, my wife is similar dimensions to you and possibly similar standard, she has the K2 one Luv and thinks they're excellent.

Good luck.

Thank you so much everyone for your replies! I have taken all of your recommendations into account and I have a truly enormous word document going with descriptions of each of the skis etc. etc.

I went off to some ski stores today and was dumb enough to buy myself a pair of used 2004/5 Salomon 1080s for $299, which I was assured were great skis for all mountain use. Having browsed the web I have given up the concept of these as all mountain skis and I have put their order on hold and will be canceling it soon unless I have a quite spectacular change of heart.

I have found myself a pair of used Armada ARVs for $259 + shipping ($29) which looks to me to be the pair I am going to buy. I will let y'all know when they arrive and I get them on the snow, tell y'all how they ride.

Thanks again for all of the help! It has been indispensable!