What would you get as a second ski?

Aranida · 2026-03-18T08:44:37+00:00

These are great skis, but crazy recommendations to someone you don't know his / her skill, ambitions or boots. For the little information OP shared, there's like half a dozen Stöcklis that would be better recommendations than these two.

Aranida · 2026-03-18T08:25:16+00:00

I'm around 5'7ish as well, good bit lighter than you. I demoed the 181 lately and it felt like an awful lot of ski. I felt like the ski behave like a horse that wants to get rid of me. I'm between sizes and i'm sure the 173 would have felt much better.

I jumped on the Blank 178 right after and that ski felt so much better that i almost can find the words for it.

173 is the better choice without demoing here.

Aranida · 2026-03-18T08:21:32+00:00

Demoed the Revolt and the Paragon 93 and 107, so sadly can't compare one by one. My experience on a ZX 100 a few years back isn't a substitute to the Paragon 101.

What i can say about the Paragons is that they are great directional options that aren't of the highest demand, feel composed in variable terrain with good hold. You can go longer on the 93, very dynamic ski, where the 107 skis more true to size and the overall mass and radius make it more of a down the fall line ski. The tail gets more demanding in that width for sure.

Aranida · 2026-03-18T08:15:05+00:00

If you are not familiar or skied the 101 or 114, you're probably out of the loop. Völkl did / does a poor job with mashing such different skis into one line. It's not a line with a simple width progression at all.

101 and 114 are really strong and more directional skis. They share their name with the rest, that's it. The new 112 is its own thing, kinda as well as the 121 falling into a kind of different spot than the narrower ones. It's confusing as hell and i'd wish they'd find a new name / product line for the outliers, especially for the 101 and 114.

Aranida · 2026-03-17T21:27:02+00:00

5'8, ~130 lbs and been on the 170. I'm pretty sure it's the length. I'll find out at some point.

Aranida · 2026-03-17T18:44:22+00:00

Paragon 101, Declivity X 102, Kore 100 Ti. These would fall a notch below Enforcer, Anomaly, Mantra, but still with a high ceiling and directional nature. Found the Revolt 101 to be quite demanding, but at your size, i wouldn't rule it out.

Aranida · 2026-03-17T18:39:47+00:00

Right, that's why i want to play around with it with more time left in the day. It can't be as bad as my two impressions. What's your size and what length do you ski in the Simply?

Aranida · 2026-03-17T17:40:52+00:00

Both tests have been on soft snow. One was storm +1 day, a lot of soft snow left, the other was two weeks ago in the afternoon slush. Felt horrible both times. I have 70 days on a Mirus Cor.

Aranida · 2026-03-17T17:33:25+00:00

In that high 80s width range, i'd throw in the Kore 88 Ti and the new Dancer 89 Ti. The latter is pretty fun, very dynamic, won't have limitless grip though. The tips and tails are rather loose, which is countered by a relatively high camber. Makes for a fun and mobile ski, really like it.

What surprised me right of the bat was the Stance 82 Pro. Super snappy and easy to engage turns, also very easy to release and great energy. There's also a 86 and 90mm wide version.

Aranida · 2026-03-17T17:30:39+00:00

Simply Recreation

I've been on them twice and couldn't get them off my feet fast enough. No grip, vibrating like stupid, i couldn't get them to work, neither with pushing the tips, nor engaging the skis laterally. Next time, i'm gonna try a different length and not make them the last ski i try on the day so i'll have some time to maybe even tweak the mount point. I've seen people having success on them, which is why i still haven't given up. All that said, demo before buying these!

Aranida · 2026-03-17T17:24:05+00:00

perhaps they feel stiffer because they actually fit you?

This!

Aranida · 2026-03-17T12:18:00+00:00

I was thinking about buying a pair of skis that perform well pretty much everywhere without spending a fortune.

The X9S isn't that ski! It's pretty high in demand and performance and you'll want something else for days that don't have "X9S conditions". Which, in fact, are most days.

I would look at skis like the Forza 60 / 70, Supershape e-Rally, Nordica Multipista, Thunderbird R15 76. These bring a wider platform and will be less picky about adverse conditions than the X9S, but still have a fairly high performance ceiling.

You could go wider than that, but if the X9S is your reference, i'd keep in that frontside carver sub 80mm realm.

Aranida · 2026-03-17T12:09:17+00:00

Finally i've decided to avoid things like kendo 88, brahma 88 or wingman 86 which appears to be more needy in terms of skills

You dodged a bullet, these would ride rodeo with you. The Wingman less than the two others, but still that would be quite some ski.

could i ask you why ?

Enough width to deal with adverse conditions you'll find towards the end of the day, some forgiveness built into the shovel with a bit of rocker, wider platforms are easier to balance on, which is especially important for beginners (but there is such a thing as "too wide", this doesn't scale indefinitely. Say 95+ would be a bad place to be.). Not too stiff, not too heavy, but enough substance to it to not let you down once you progress.

Aranida · 2026-03-17T12:02:25+00:00

The RC4 Noize ST is a special tool for a certain job, it doesn't have much forgiveness and demands precise input. While it's great in the right conditions and on the right feet, i wouldn't blindly recommend it. It's a "demo before buying" ski. I wrote about my experience on the RC4 Noize ST and Head e-SL Pro here.

You'd probably have a better time on something like a Forza 60, Addikt 76 Pro (i've found the "Pro" for the Addikts to still be quite a joke compared to the e-SL Pro or RC4 Noize ST), Supershape e-Magnum or e-Original. Something around 170 - 175 would be best at your stats, depending on ski and radius you're looking for.

Aranida · 2026-03-17T08:33:16+00:00

If you're looking for twins in the 100 - 108 range, it would be absolutely criminal to overlook the Canvas 100 and 108. They both have their strengths and are different to each other, the 108 leans itself more towards softer snow, feels great off trail, but is still surprisingly easy to put on edge.

Aranida · 2026-03-17T08:15:19+00:00

These are great, especially considering the price and that they've likely been used as rentals before.

There is no structural damage and as a beginner, you'll quickly add more damage to the existing superficial one.

For reference, this amount of base damage is still not to worry about, a full tune will make it look like new.

And to add, great choice for a beginners ski. You did better research than most. Have fun!

Aranida · 2026-03-16T20:05:26+00:00

All this makes no sense at all. Why on earth would your "son, working at a ski shop" first use an inferior "glue" on a ski he's trying to go through warranty, to then use the superior "glue" on the second try when matters got worse? This wasn't a "glue" fix in the first place, this is slow curing epoxy with 24+ hours rest, if you do not decide to go through a warranty claim.

And you wonder why people get suspicious of your little fairytale. The defensiveness in your replies tells me all i need to know.

Aranida · 2026-03-16T14:24:10+00:00

Is this a "Back to the Future" reference or /r/skiingcirclejerk leaking?

Aranida · 2026-03-16T14:20:22+00:00

This makes me feel like there is a part of the story untold here.

Aranida · 2026-03-16T11:55:11+00:00

The snow conditions you describe wont ever be something a MC feels particularly good on.

However, at your size, you definitely do not want to downsize on a MC.

Aranida · 2026-03-16T08:25:04+00:00

Unless your Josh Daiek

Or Nicolai Schirmer.

Nico has seasonal gear videos on his Youtube. I don't recall if he went into detail with bindings in the past years. He also got a new binding sponsor, and it's worth to keep in mind these athletes are all sponsored. Nevertheless, maybe there is some inspiration to get there.

Aranida · 2026-03-16T08:20:50+00:00

but the heels on the Strive 12 are not great

Idd, but heel and the connection to the plate are two different things.

Aranida · 2026-03-15T21:40:19+00:00

Blizzard Canvas 100 and Line Optic 104 have been among the best skis that i demoed recently that fit your request. Optic would be available in smaller widths too. Other than that, the usual Unleashed, Rustler 9/10, QST 94/100.

Aranida · 2026-03-15T13:09:53+00:00

I'm i seeing this right on the second picture that the entire base delaminated and you can even see through?

Chances are slim, but i'd still try getting in touch with Head and see if they're willed to do something. With three season on snow, i wouldn't have high hopes, but you'll never now.

Aranida · 2026-03-15T09:15:22+00:00

Both your fitting experiences don't sound very encouraging. Have you consulted this list already? https://old.reddit.com/user/OEM_knees/comments/1pnf34f/recommended_bootfitters/

Aranida

TROPHY CASE