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Help shopping for skis

great deals used. I ski patrolled on used equipment in my youth. awesome deals are out there..

but...short ski's suck, long ski's truck lol. just kidding. my fave ski's were 195 cm....lol

EDIT when ski conditions were terrible - dirt and gravel n rocks etc in late spring - I would rent a pair of ski's. it was a lot of fun coming up on a group picking through the rocks and gravel to protect their ski bottoms...and you just go right through the dirt and stones shooting out like snow and wrecking the bottom of the ski's. yikes, wasn't really too bad. people looked at me funny; as I would go right through well shoutin to them " there rentals ! "
 
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Relax said:
Actually, what do you mean by forward pressure?
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First link is not a bad overview but incomplete imo.
getcarv.com

How to Adjust Your Ski Bindings - The Ultimate Guide

Adjusting your own ski bindings can be a daunting prospect. But follow our simple guide below, and you’ll be safe and secure in your bindings in no time.
getcarv.com getcarv.com

Look at page 15 here. This manual is slightly older and I am not sure which method of indicating forward pressure is applicable to your bindings but the images show most of the systems.

issuu.com

Atomic Alpine Tech Manual 2018/19

Read Atomic Alpine Tech Manual 2018/19 by Salomon on Issuu and browse thousands of other publications on our platform. Start here!
issuu.com issuu.com

If you set the bindings properly for the boot length to engage at the right time, forward pressure will be right. The indicators are a good double check that you set it properly. Just because the boot locks in doesn't mean forward pressure is right. Incorrect forward pressure gives you incorrect release pressure for a given DIN setting.

I've never had gripwalk bindings. Check to make sure they are happy with her boots (which are presumably non-gripwalk).
 
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Separate thread jack...but where does one go skiing nowadays within the GTA?

Glen Eden / Hockley / Blue / Horseshoe / Mount St Louis and Snow Valley all come to mind.

Horseshoe - 15min from cottage
Blue - 40min from cottage
Glen Eden - 30min from house

Need something good for a 4 and 6 year old.
 
bitzz said:
Not to threadjack... but what length of ski would you put a male, 5'10" advanced FAST skier on these days.
The last skis I had were 239cm... Nishizawa's, with "ICE IS NICE" written on the left ski. Fastest ski I ever met.
I miss Blackcombe.
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I've got some 217 DH parabolic skiis that can be fun at Blue. No fun at all on any smaller hill as you can't get enough speed to lean into a ~40m radius. They start to become fun once speed approaches triple digits.

Ski shape and design matters a lot. For most hills in Ontario, 170-180 is probably in the ballpark. FWIW, on smaller hills, I far prefer the shorter, short radius skis. You lose about 10 km/h on typical ontario hills but have a hell of a lot of fun and can try to get your hips to touch. Not enough vertical in most of Ontario to get large radius skiis that far over.

I have 155 (slalom, too short should be 165 but I found these cheap and wanted to see if I liked them, I love them), 160 (oldest set, ok, can't push them as hard as newer better skiis, hard to get your hips much inside, these are used for skiing with the kids most of the time), 182 (GS, wanted to like them, I really don't and every time I try them hoping for better it doesn't get better, maybe if used on a bigger hill) and 217 (DH, only used if I want to go really fast on a bigger hill, they are very heavy).
 
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mimico_polak said:
Separate thread jack...but where does one go skiing nowadays within the GTA?

Glen Eden / Hockley / Blue / Horseshoe / Mount St Louis and Snow Valley all come to mind.

Horseshoe - 15min from cottage
Blue - 40min from cottage
Glen Eden - 30min from house

Need something good for a 4 and 6 year old.
Click to expand...
For first slides, honestly most will be fine. I like ones with chalet close to bunny hill (also most of them). A few runs and then hot chocolate, rinse and repeat so skiing is fun and not painful. Some hills have special first time skier lessons so you can go skiing and enjoy your time instead of paying for a lift ticket to be stuck on the bunny hill.

Slide near me and I can help and/or bring the kids to cheer your kids on. If attitudes are good (from all the kids), the kids may even teach them. I've got a backpack with extendo leash you can borrow as they progress to bigger hills. I need it living here though for when I take other kids out.
 
bitzz said:
Not to threadjack... but what length of ski would you put a male, 5'10" advanced FAST skier on these days.
The last skis I had were 239cm... Nishizawa's, with "ICE IS NICE" written on the left ski. Fastest ski I ever met.
I miss Blackcombe.
Click to expand...

I’m a pretty advanced skier , not a fast as I once was , 5 10” 185lbs ish . I’d use 183-185 max in Ontario , and I I go west I’ll rent fatter if it snows or use whatever is available . Nobody on the WorldCup tour is using anything close to 239cm.



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crankcall said:
Nobody on the WorldCup tour is using anything close to 239cm.
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Not anymore they don't... that's why I asked.
My 'zawas weren't the longest ski around, there was 245s.
My 'zawas were the first radial ski I have met. Is radial a "thing" anymore
How 'bout "shock absorber " poles?
Nothin' would carve ice like those 'zawas (This was in the '80s. I used to live at Blackcombe) (Whistler is for tourists). I like to go FAST. Ricky Bobby FAST.
Right about when I quit skiing, skis started to get shorter... a friend recently was bragging about his spiffy new 175cm skis... and I was like... WTF? are you seven?... seems I looked dumb.
Nothin' new.
 
boyoboy said:
EDIT when ski conditions were terrible - dirt and gravel n rocks etc in late spring - I would rent a pair of ski's. it was a lot of fun coming up on a group picking through the rocks and gravel to protect their ski bottoms...and you just go right through the dirt and stones shooting out like snow and wrecking the bottom of the ski's. yikes, wasn't really too bad. people looked at me funny; as I would go right through well shoutin to them " there rentals ! "
Click to expand...
I give the kids crap if they run through the dirt. On the upside, that makes for good learning conditions as they need to turn quickly and with varied turn shape.
 
bitzz said:
Not anymore they don't... that's why I asked.
My 'zawas weren't the longest ski around, there was 245s.
My 'zawas were the first radial ski I have met. Is radial a "thing" anymore
How 'bout "shock absorber " poles?
Nothin' would carve ice like those 'zawas (This was in the '80s. I used to live at Blackcombe) (Whistler is for tourists). I like to go FAST. Ricky Bobby FAST.
Right about when I quit skiing, skis started to get shorter... a friend recently was bragging about his spiffy new 175cm skis... and I was like... WTF? are you seven?... seems I looked dumb.
Nothin' new.
Click to expand...
Yikkies did you actually do any turns on those skiies. That crazy long.
Even though skiis have gotten shorter, the tips and tails are wider, so they compressed that length into the widths, sort of, making turns easier and a hella lot more fun carving. You can still get speed if you want to.
 
sburns said:
Yikkies did you actually do any turns on those skiies. That crazy long.
Even though skiis have gotten shorter, the tips and tails are wider, so they compressed that length into the widths, sort of, making turns easier and a hella lot more fun carving. You can still get speed if you want to.
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I am guessing they were mostly straight sides which changes things a lot. They behave far differently and you need to ski them differently. I only skied on straight skis a few times and that was enough to know that I didn't really like it.

I will say, at speed on the long skis and locked into an edge is magical. You see crap ahead and they just eat it up with barely a wiggle. Try to slide them instead of carving though and they will kick your ass as they have far too much leverage over you when going sideways.
 
GreyGhost said:
I've never had gripwalk bindings. Check to make sure they are happy with her boots (which are presumably non-gripwalk).
Click to expand...

OK this is news to me, I had no idea alpine boots and bindings were no longer universally compatible. I'll have to check whether her boots are GW, but I doubt it.
 
Relax said:
OK this is news to me, I had no idea alpine boots and bindings were no longer universally compatible. I'll have to check whether her boots are GW, but I doubt it.
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They added traction for ski bunnies and casual skiers to make the boots easier to walk in (similar to fishing lures, something to draw them in in the showroom). Some boots can be converted by changing the blocks on toe and heel.
 
Relax said:
OK this is news to me, I had no idea alpine boots and bindings were no longer universally compatible. I'll have to check whether her boots are GW, but I doubt it.
Click to expand...

Phew, found this on the GripWalk FAQ:


I HAVE A GRIPWALK BINDING. CAN I STILL USE MY OLD TRADITIONAL ALPINE SKI BOOT?

YES, your alpine boots can be used with GripWalk bindings as long as they are within the standard ISO norm 5355 alpine.


WILL MY OLD BINDING BE COMPATIBLE WITH THE NEW GRIPWALK SOLES?

No. By switching to GripWalk soles it is compulsory to use a GripWalk compatible binding.
 
bitzz said:
Not anymore they don't... that's why I asked.
My 'zawas weren't the longest ski around, there was 245s.
My 'zawas were the first radial ski I have met. Is radial a "thing" anymore
How 'bout "shock absorber " poles?
Nothin' would carve ice like those 'zawas (This was in the '80s. I used to live at Blackcombe) (Whistler is for tourists). I like to go FAST. Ricky Bobby FAST.
Right about when I quit skiing, skis started to get shorter... a friend recently was bragging about his spiffy new 175cm skis... and I was like... WTF? are you seven?... seems I looked dumb.
Nothin' new.
Click to expand...

It’s been an evolution for sure , shock absorber poles are long dead . I was teaching at whistler the year before blackcomb opened, you could get snow cat rides up but the lifts weren’t in. Blackcomb is now for tourists , Kicking horse is the new deal. Last year Utah was $179US per day , so Canada here we stay . Longer skis are no longer required to go fast , the technology in base material and wave length fixed that .
I’m so happy the stupid short 110-120cm rage is over . That was just dumb .


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They will get a kid used to gliding and the sensation movement over the snow , but an ok pair of actual short skis will help them better and faster, They will get the "pizza and French frys" for going faster and slowing down and the use of edges happens organicaly when they are wearing ski boots. I hated the years my kids went through a boot size every season , but warm and dry was all that mattered in performance. I think the snow skate step would be wasting slope time.
Being the young instructor I had 3-5yr olds for a long time.....
 
crankcall said:
They will get a kid used to gliding and the sensation movement over the snow , but an ok pair of actual short skis will help them better and faster, They will get the "pizza and French frys" for going faster and slowing down and the use of edges happens organicaly when they are wearing ski boots. I hated the years my kids went through a boot size every season , but warm and dry was all that mattered in performance. I think the snow skate step would be wasting slope time.
Being the young instructor I had 3-5yr olds for a long time.....
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I want them for me, not the kids. More propulsion in the flats and easier to keep my skiis away from kids with Jimmy legs.

Last year, I moved the older kid from comfort boots to stiff boots and jumped ski size up 20 cm. Immediate huge improvement in skiing (i am assuming mostly boots). Only stiff boots for them from now on. If they are in the right mood, they have body height slalom race skis to play on this year. Those won't be the everyday play/learning skis as if they don't pay attention, the stiff skis will bite them.
 
crankcall said:
Blackcomb is now for tourists ,
Click to expand...
I hear there is a chair up the back bowl. We used to be the first on the chair in the morning, so we could hike over there. It would take till 1:30/2 PM. Ski down and go home. That was the day, 1 run.
Why I skied Blackcombe was, at the time, it was designed to go downhill as fast as humanly possible. They had the "pony trail" that wound down the mountain (at the time, it was the longest ski run in the world, a rookie would spend the day on one run), and there was trails looping off into the forest, and there this ONE run straight down the middle of the mountain. No trees, no bumps, groomed to within an inch of it's life... a 2+ mile giant slalom. YEE HAW
I should have said... the 239cm skis were for giant slalom... yeah I turned.
 
mimico_polak said:
Separate thread jack...but where does one go skiing nowadays within the GTA?

Glen Eden / Hockley / Blue / Horseshoe / Mount St Louis and Snow Valley all come to mind.

Horseshoe - 15min from cottage
Blue - 40min from cottage
Glen Eden - 30min from house

Need something good for a 4 and 6 year old.
Click to expand...
Start with Glen Eden in Milton.

After that Snow Valley (Barrie) is great for kids. Their night skiing starts at 3pm and of course is cheaper.
Kids that age wont last more than 2-3 hours on skis especially when starting out.

If you want to put them into lessons get on that now as they will book up quick.

My kids did lessons at Glen Eden several years ago between Christmas and New Years. It was really cool how they progressed each day and even between start and end of lesson. Better to do 4 consecutive days than spread out over 4 weekends.

We didn't ski last year with the kids at all as my sons hockey got in the way but hoping to jiggle it between the two this year.
 
I love glen eden, I taught my kids how to ski and snowboard there! It's great for kids and even though my kids are teens now we still go a couple times a year. A ski hill is what you make of it! We like the middle run and lift because it is always empty and you can get in like 20 runs. It's also great if there is a blizzard rolling through because you can get there in 30min. I also love watching the freight trains roll by, where else do you see that! Blue mountain is nice when it is not busy! Weekends are awful. Unfortunately most of the skiing in Ontario is private and unless you get invited you can't go. I went to Alpine last year for the first time, it was very nice, well groomed, not busy. Quebec and Vermont have some good skiing but its hit or miss with the weather and lines. Whistler is a tourist attraction. The ultimate is Banff Sunshine especially on a unforcasted POW day, it is literally heaven. Ski out is always fun! Banff has kind of turned touristy as well. Lake Louise was great until they replaced the tow at the top to the back bowls. Most people were simply not able to get there! That used to be the highlight, making it to the top, not falling off, and not getting hit by a skier on their way down (the tow went through several active runs)! First tracks at any hill are everything! Corduroy is amazing!
 
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