Buying skiis, should I go longer?

For the past two seasons, I've rented Rossignol Bandit's length 184. I
enjoyed them quite a bit.

I'm novice to intermediate. I like carving wide graceful turns across
the whole mountain on my way down. Cordoroy and ice suck, hard-pack is
Ok but I enjoy some thin powder the most. I stick mainly to greens and
blues. Blacks just poop me out too fast and I want to ski all day.

I liked the way those 184s turned for me, but occasionally had problems
keeping up momentum in deeper snow or flatter trails.

Now I'm looking into buying a set of used Bandit's for myself. I've
seen them in 182, 184, 190, 193 and 195 lengths for various years of
mfg.

I'm 6'5", 275lbs. Last year, friends commented that my skiis may be
too short for me.

Would I see any problems going with a longer ski? I liked the way
those Bandit 184's were so easy to set into a turn. I could turn them
real gracefully. I'm primarily concerned about how well the longer
skiis will turn. Anything else I should be worried about?

Thanks,
Buster

wrote:

For the past two seasons, I've rented Rossignol Bandit's length 184. I
enjoyed them quite a bit.

Now I'm looking into buying a set of used Bandit's for myself. I've
seen them in 182, 184, 190, 193 and 195 lengths for various years of
mfg.

I'm 6'5", 275lbs. Last year, friends commented that my skiis may be
too short for me.

Would I see any problems going with a longer ski?

Yeah, you may have trouble finding them. The trend for the last decade
has been shorter and shorter skis. I ski with a guy about your size
who's on 160cm skis. 184 cm is not too short for you.

You might want to follow the herd onto the new shorter skis. Or you may
want to stick with longer boards - really it's your choice and should be
based on what you like, not fashion or trends or whatever. But you
should definitely check out some shorter skis, just to see what they'll
do. IOW demo demo demo. Then pick what you like.

//Walt

wrote:

I'm novice to intermediate. I like carving wide graceful turns across
the whole mountain on my way down. Cordoroy and ice suck, hard-pack is
Ok but I enjoy some thin powder the most. I stick mainly to greens and
blues. Blacks just poop me out too fast and I want to ski all day.

CLIP

I'm 6'5", 275lbs. Last year, friends commented that my skiis may be
too short for me.

Would I see any problems going with a longer ski?

Walt wrote:

Yeah, you may have trouble finding them. The trend for the last decade
has been shorter and shorter skis. I ski with a guy about your size
who's on 160cm skis. 184 cm is not too short for you.

Depends on whether he's washing them out or not. His description of what
he enjoys skiing and where he has problems suggests to me the skis are
washing out and either a longer ski in the same line or a stiffer ski of
the same length should be tried. As you say, only demoing will confirm
the issue, but some indicators can be identified. The guy is a tall
275lbs, after all. (Where the hell is Horvath when we need him?) People
half his size (literally) overpower bandits at 184.

I'd suggest longer and/or stiffer, and believe he could easily find used
models; I also suggest he drop the idea of staying on a particular model
ski and look at everything that's available in the used market.

Well that just complicates things a bunch now.

What's washing out? Is it when I take a corner too fast and start to
slide a little? I've noticed that just a couple of times when trying
to carry some speed in a turn to cut across through the trees between
runs. Doesn't bother me too much though. I'm sure if the skiis didn't
start sliding out, my legs would give out from the G-forces. ;-)

The hassle with Demoing skiis is that I'm in Arizona and Ski mostly at
Sunrise, but I've been tempted to check out Snowbowl in Flagstaff.
I've been renting for the past 3 seasons up at Sunrise, and the best
ski's I've tried have been the Bandit's. The rental places don't
really have a vast selection of demo skiis.

I don't get much skiing in. The season is pretty short here. I got a
whopping 12 days of skiing in last year. In the beginning of the
season I'm sure the Bandits would be fine. By the end of the season my
skill level increases and I suppose I'll start washing them out again.

Conditions can vary quite a bit from trip to trip. Hardpack is common
with some icy spots. I lucked out last year with new snow on almost
every trip. The last couple of trips we'd encounter slush at the
bottom of the mountain.

I tried a couple of sets of older skiis (not as shaped). One set was
pretty stiff. Both sets I could barely get turned though.

As far as stiffness in skiis goes, is there some sort of scale used for
comparison or is it just anecdotal?

Thanks,
Buster

wrote:
Well that just complicates things a bunch now.

The hassle with Demoing skiis is that I'm in Arizona and Ski mostly at
Sunrise, but I've been tempted to check out Snowbowl in Flagstaff.

Snowbowl is nice; the view from atop the summit is breathtaking. But it
can get *really* crowded on the weekend.

As others have stated, the Rossi B2s might not be stiff enough for you.
Unfortuantely, comparable skis in the same class are priced a few
hundred dollars more. From what I've seen, the 2006 B2s are a *lot*
stiffer than the 2005s. You might want to demo those before you try
more expensive skis. (Unless you've got money to burn, in which case
you should demo the Stoekli Storm Riders or the K2 Apaches.) At 184, I
don't think length is a problem. That's actually a long ski by today's
standards.

Jeff

wrote in message
oups.com...
For the past two seasons, I've rented Rossignol Bandit's length 184. I
enjoyed them quite a bit.

I'm novice to intermediate. I like carving wide graceful turns across
the whole mountain on my way down. Cordoroy and ice suck, hard-pack is
Ok but I enjoy some thin powder the most. I stick mainly to greens and
blues. Blacks just poop me out too fast and I want to ski all day.

Black runs shouldn't poop you out any more than a blue run unless you are
skiing them differently.
You need to ski them relaxed and make sure you complete your turns to
control your speed.
Have someone that is you feel is a good skier watch you and tell you what
you are doing or not doing.
Take a private or semi-private lesson, it will help.


I liked the way those 184s turned for me, but occasionally had problems
keeping up momentum in deeper snow or flatter trails.

Since they are rental skis they may not be tuned up, edges sharpened and
base waxed.
It also may not have anything to do with the skis but how you are skiing
those trails.


Now I'm looking into buying a set of used Bandit's for myself. I've
seen them in 182, 184, 190, 193 and 195 lengths for various years of
mfg.

Buy one that is as new as possible with a few mileage as possible. If you
are buying from a
store look at the 184 and 190 and check how much flex are in the ski. Buy
the one that is
the stiffest (hardest to bend) and stay far away from the one that is the
softest (easiest to bend).
Check the edges making sure you do not see any damage on them from top to
bottom. Check
the bases make sure there is no real base damage or large gouges that had
been repaired. Last
check the bindings make sure they are on nice and tight with now wobble and
will accomodate
your boots. If you do not have ski boots don't even think about buying skis
yet. Buy a great
fitting boot first, this will be a chore in itself.


I'm 6'5", 275lbs. Last year, friends commented that my skiis may be
too short for me.

I wouldn't go with anything longer than 190, you will notice they will be a
little
harder to turn and control but will glide a little better provided you keep
them
waxed.

Would I see any problems going with a longer ski? I liked the way
those Bandit 184's were so easy to set into a turn. I could turn them
real gracefully. I'm primarily concerned about how well the longer
skiis will turn. Anything else I should be worried about?

Thanks,
Buster
Answered above... Have a great ski season with many smiles.

JQ
Dancing on the edge

Jeff wrote:

As others have stated, the Rossi B2s might not be stiff enough for you.
Unfortuantely, comparable skis in the same class are priced a few
hundred dollars more. From what I've seen, the 2006 B2s are a *lot*
stiffer than the 2005s. You might want to demo those before you try
more expensive skis. (Unless you've got money to burn, in which case
you should demo the Stoekli Storm Riders or the K2 Apaches.) At 184, I
don't think length is a problem. That's actually a long ski by today's
standards.

He said he was looking for used skis; I'd suggest maybe a 3-4 year old
X-Scream class ski in a longish length or something else in that class.
Dam things are nearly ubiquitous on the used market, they were
originally purchased by upscale skiers who replace their equipment
regularly so what you find likely wouldn't be worn out. Something
appropriate should be available cheap enough that if it doesn't suit
it's no great loss. He just needs to look around.

Yes, I do have my own boots. That was my first purchase two years ago.
I have a high-volume foot and the boots the rental shops had that fit
me were ancient and fit horribly. Salomon Performa 7 Size 14 1/2 and I
love 'em. I even wear my arch supports/orthotics in them. Real comfy
and great control. I can really crank 'em down and no hotspots.

I have another question, but I'll start a new thread for that if I
don't find the answer with a search. It's about bindings.

I'll keep an eye out to look at the X-Screams.

I've started to see some of the 2005 Rossi B2's on clearance, so I'll
keep an eye out for good deals on those also.

BTW. What is "Washing out"?

Buster

Walt, thanks for explaining wash-out.

Last year I thought my boots weren't tight enough a couple of times as
it felt like the skiis were flattening out and loosing grip on the
edge.

So I guess either stick with the B2's from 2005 for more torsional
rigidity. Or, maybe the X-Stream's are better?

Buster

Actually, upon reading more. I doubt the B2's would be rigid enough.
They're a bit fatter and I betcha I'd wash them out. Probably Bandit
B1's from 2005 or the x-screams.

The x-screams seem a bit better priced too.

Buster