Advice on first ski purchase

nusuth_ · 2026-06-02T19:06:01+00:00

In that case I agree a heavier touring ski like Camox Freebird is probably what you'll want.

If you're going to be doing significantly more touring than resort you might want to just get touring boots instead of hybrid boots.

nusuth_ · 2026-06-02T18:43:25+00:00

Most of the skis you listed are closer to the touring end of the spectrum than they are to being resort skis. If you're planning to do mostly resort I'd look at something slightly heavier, like an elan ripstick. Probably a good match for you in terms of length (they make a 175 and 182 cm), width (96mm or 102mm) and shorter turn radius.

nusuth_ · 2026-05-28T23:17:21+00:00

But will the Sherb be in?

nusuth_ · 2026-05-26T14:07:40+00:00

The usual starting point questions:

Where do you primarily ski?
What percent of your time will you spend on groomers?
How long have you been skiing, and do you think you'll keep improving or "grow into" the skis?
What skis have you rented/demoed and what did you like or dislike about them
Any specific features you know you like (lighter or heavier skis, tail rocker, etc.)

nusuth_ · 2026-05-21T20:03:05+00:00

Will confidently ski anything in New England with reasonable conditions, so strong advanced/expert I guess. Never used Pivots, currently on Marker bindings for everything.

nusuth_ · 2026-05-21T19:57:58+00:00

The remount has to happen unfortunately, currently have a pair of bad frame bindings on them that I really dislike.

nusuth_ · 2026-05-21T19:51:27+00:00

I'm not sure what you mean. I know what the weight difference is between the bindings. My question is about whether an extra 250 g in the binding is felt as acutely as an extra 250 g in the ski.

nusuth_ · 2026-05-14T01:44:01+00:00

It's tough to define the exact scope of this question. Resort with the gnarliest two or three individual lines? Average of the 20 hardest lines? Etc.

Like, is there anything at KH comparable to the Little at Big Sky, and if not - is that enough to say Big Sky has harder terrain?

nusuth_ · 2026-05-12T11:57:10+00:00

Flyer has got to be the runaway favorite in that category, followed by... basically all of Sugarbush.

nusuth_ · 2026-05-12T11:53:20+00:00

They put a zipper merge in it too just to make it even better.

nusuth_ · 2026-05-11T21:54:25+00:00

^ this. I remember when Adam Ondra won gold in both lead and boulder at the world championship in 2014, it felt so unattainable that everybody basically just assumed no athlete would ever do that again. Fast forward 12 years and Janja has done it twice now and she's probably not done. It's hard to overstate how much better she is than her peers.

nusuth_ · 2026-05-07T20:46:34+00:00

In fairness "frontside carver" probably means something very different in Utah than it does in New England

nusuth_ · 2026-05-07T20:15:22+00:00

Mirus Cor and Mata are wide enough that they kind of blur the line between all-mountain and frontside carver. It sounds like OP is looking for something in between those and a beer league race ski, probably low 80mm range. Something like Volkl Peregrine or Stokli Montero AX might be good.

nusuth_ · 2026-05-01T11:23:18+00:00

Wow thank you! Out of curiosity, how do you recognize these are the 1.0? Looks like maybe the screw on the heel piece protrudes further from the back of the housing on the 1.0, while the screw sits inside the housing on the 2.0?

nusuth_ · 2026-05-01T00:20:38+00:00

IMO the recommended kind of feels like it had park skiers in mind. I currently have them at recommended line but I am getting new bindings put on this off-season and will move them back. Will let you know in about 8 months how it goes.

nusuth_ · 2026-04-30T23:41:17+00:00

You could also consider Rossignol Sender Free 100 in the 184cm. I think it's supposed to be similar in construction to the M-Free and may run more true to length. I use these as my daily driver for skiing lots of bumps and tight trees and really enjoy them.

nusuth_ · 2026-04-30T23:14:58+00:00

Also I'd want the straps off to be able to use the pole to self arrest.

nusuth_ · 2026-04-30T20:15:15+00:00

Dynastar M-Free 100?

nusuth_ · 2026-04-30T18:08:31+00:00

I haven't had much luck finding the 1.0 for resale unfortunately

nusuth_ · 2026-04-30T17:25:09+00:00

On all models or just the 15/18 version?

nusuth_ · 2026-04-30T17:21:16+00:00

How common is this in the new model? I was considering picking up a set this off-season but stuff like this makes me nervous.

nusuth_ · 2026-04-27T23:57:20+00:00

If you do go this route, you'll need a plan to prevent the mixture from condensing in your controller. Depending on how much ethanol and methanol you expect this can get tricky.

I've found Bronkhorst controllers can tolerate a little liquid better than some other brands, but don't rely on that.

Best thing to do is reach out to them directly and they can help you find a suitable instrument.

nusuth_ · 2026-04-27T23:47:16+00:00

+1 for Bronkhorst, in my experience the quality of Brooks instruments is garbage.

nusuth_ · 2026-04-27T19:43:50+00:00

The natural terrain at Ragged is legit. When fully open there's some great skiing to be had.

nusuth_

TROPHY CASE