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In article ,
Uli Hausmann wrote:
Booker C. Bense schrieb:

_ I think there is a lot to be gained by skiing a wider ski in
off-piste conditions. Somewhere around 75mm-80mm underfoot seems to be the
sweet spot for a "does everything" ski. While wider skis have gotten
much better at dealing with hard snow in the last couple years, they
still are a struggle when it's bulletproof.

Not sure what you mean? Wider skis where better than smaller ones? Or
they got better (from worse)? As for the latter, i'd agree ...

_ I meant really wide skis, like 90mm or bigger underfoot. Things like K2's
Hippie Stix and the Karhu Jak. They are much more all-round skis
than similar wide skis of a few years ago, however IMHO the point
of diminishing returns has been reached and exceeded.

_ At least in California, the most popular off-piste ski seems to
get about 5mm wider every season. Now something like the 79mm
wide 8000 legend is seen as a "skinny" ski. 10 years ago it would
have been one of the widest skis available and a powder
specialist (i.e. the original Snow Ranger ). The happy middle
ground of the telemark ski market seems to be disappearing, you either
have really wide skis or very light skinny skis. For instance
G3's new ski line doesn't have a ski narrower than 81mm.

_ In my opinion the super wide skis are like buying an SUV as
your day to day commute car. These skis ( like SUV's) make
some conditions fun that would be a tremendous struggle with
narrow skis, but in most conditions they are just extra weight
to carry around. Even if you're riding the lifts, a lighter
rig means more runs.

_ Booker C. Bense


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