I am considering buying a new ski.
But In France we do not have much choice and I am thinking of buying it without trying it.
Does it sound crazy for you ?
I am not a very good skier but I want to please myself with a nice ski.
Do you think I am making a mistake ?
Thank you for your answers.
Nicolas
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Comments
@desmonipoux what is your skiing level? Height, weight ?
@scotchipman be honest with your self we all know you will never get off a Goode for too long.
In my case, I was coming off a 1980's era ski, so most anything would be an improvement. I'm a better than average free skier (there's no local courses here ), but I don't envision working to achieve 38 off at this point in my life either. Based on that, I wanted a quality ski that has somewhat of a reputation of being easy and fun to ride. Did some research here and found a deal on a D3 RCX that was a couple years old.
I am 47, 5,9 and 165 pounds.
I ski for only 4 years and I ski at 34, my best of the best is 22 off.
I ski with my muscles and not with my technique I must say.
I honestly think that I am very very close to my best level, if I go to 28 off one day, it will be a miracle...
In France, we can buy most of the skis, D3, Reflex, HO, Radar, Sans Rival… but it is not easy to try them.
Actually, it is the winter season and in only 1 or 2 ski school, in the south of France, you can try before you buy, but not before April because of the weather.
I am going to ski in March in Saint Martin and I was considering buying a new ski and have it sent there for me.
In Saint Martin, they propose me to try the Quest only.
Then, the skis are 35 % cheaper in your country than in mine, that also makes a difference.
If I buy a 2013 new ski, then the difference in price is 50 %…
I am in touch with a famous ski store in Florida, they propose me the Nano one XT, but it is not the cheapest ski on the market…
Of course, I can wait till the sunny season and try many skis in my club, this might be the option and have the ski sent from Florida to LA in August where I will travel to before skiing in Cancun.
Can you explain what you mean, I do not understand when you say :
@scotchipman be honest with your self we all know you will never get off a Goode for too long.
Thank you for your comments.
Nicolas
What works for you may be different. The point is that there are so many really great skis and every one of them is capable of running 28 off and shorter line lengths. If you happen to find a gently used ski (less than 6 mos old), and later you decide that you do not like it, you may be able to resell it for nearly what you paid for it. Thus, any difference in sale price could be thought of as a "rental" fee.
Unless you ski just about daily all year long, or have been an avid skier for a very long time, most of the differences you'll find while demoing different brands will be more due to the normal day-to-day variables in your skiing ability than to the subtle differences between today's crop of high-end skis.
If your technique isn't cast in stone, then you will likely adapt to whatever ski you end up using. Sure it would be ideal to demo all the skis that interest you. But if you can't, buy the ski that you think is the sexiest of the lot. Loving your new ski is good for your expectations, commitment, and even confidence.
Just make sure it is properly set up.
I moved from a circa-1980 EP Super 2 to a 2005 Goode 9100 without trying it. I did run the course on the old ski and used it for free skiing for 25 years. But, I had been away from course skiing for a while when I bought the new one. It took me a while to adjust to the leap is ski technology and performance. I ended up totally reworking my technique and actually advanced. But, the ski didn't do that. More time on the water, coaching from my ski club friends, and some online video coaching on forum's like this one were the factors to help me get the most out of that ski and improve. One thing that was interesting for me was the difference in speed and handling, like going from Volkswagen Beetle to a Ferrari.
So, buying without trying can be done. I didn't see what ski you are using now. If it is recent, the change may be subtle. If it is not recent, just about any new ski on the market should help. Make sure to start with stock (factory-recommended) fin and binding settings and work on your technique first - especially body position.
Good luck.
Goode / Centurion Boats