Demos?

[NMSKI]

Anybody know where I can demo some skis? Is it generally limited to demo days at various mountains, or can I demo skis any time at certain places? Info much appreciated.

 

As my skiing improves, I'm starting to hate my current skis. Plus they are nearing the end in terms of wear and tear.

[Johnny Law]

At the end of March through April, reps start hitting clients hard for sales for next year. Bigger shops or high volume in strange area type shops get their proverbial dicks sucked, lots have multiple day type events for employees.

 

If you are cool with a shop or know somebody get in on these type demo's as it is most of the manufacturers and all next years stuff.

[guitar73]

demo'ing equipment around here is very hard to do b/c none of the PA mtns have a "demo shop" (at least to my knowledge). your best bet is to head north to either hunter mtn, windham mtn, or killington. each of these mtns have demo shops in their base lodges and they have reasonble demo'ing fees. i'm sure other places up north have similar setups, but these were the locations that we researched this past fall.

[JFskiDan]

Around here i think its tough....seems like they do it pretty early in the season as opposed to later. i remember one day at Frost between Christmas and New Years they had a bunch of manufacturers there for demos. i think Alpina did the same just recently......Buckmans had their Customer appreciation deal like last monday....not sure if they had demos or just discount lift tix. you can also stop by Phillycores ski shop at Frost (aka the XL7) and see what he has to offer....lol.

[phillycore]

Around here i think its tough....seems like they do it pretty early in the season as opposed to later. i remember one day at Frost between Christmas and New Years they had a bunch of manufacturers there for demos. i think Alpina did the same just recently......Buckmans had their Customer appreciation deal like last monday....not sure if they had demos or just discount lift tix. you can also stop by Phillycores ski shop at Frost (aka the XL7) and see what he has to offer....lol.

not so fast... you are catching up quickly... Lol

[NMSKI]

Thanks for the replies guys.

 

I'll probably try to demo some skis when I'm out west in March. Only thing that sucks is that I might love something on soft snow that blows in PA conditions. This has got me thinking I'll need to suck it up and get a ski that I use only on icy groomers (PA), and something I can ski powder, crud, etc. with when I need that.

 

Liking the gear reviews thread for ideas of what I want to try.

[Johnny Law]

Thanks for the replies guys.

 

I'll probably try to demo some skis when I'm out west in March. Only thing that sucks is that I might love something on soft snow that blows in PA conditions. This has got me thinking I'll need to suck it up and get a ski that I use only on icy groomers (PA), and something I can ski powder, crud, etc. with when I need that.

 

Liking the gear reviews thread for ideas of what I want to try.

 

If you are going to be in CO in March I know of an excellent 4 day shop demo...Rossi, Head, Volkl, Elan, Dynastar and probably a couple more.

[NMSKI]

Hmmm tempting. Where in CO? I'll be mainly in northern NM and southern CO, but if I get a wild hair up my ass I might be down for a little more driving.

[RootDKJ]

Windham has a pretty nice settup for demo's. Costs around $40 for the day. You can reserve skis by calling ahead.

[Johnny Law]

Hmmm tempting. Where in CO? I'll be mainly in northern NM and southern CO, but if I get a wild hair up my ass I might be down for a little more driving.

 

Either Copper or Winter Park as they haven't decided yet. I'll pm you when they get it all set up and see if you are interested. I would need to know in advance as you'll need a pass but its free and there is no time limit, well you have to bring them back at the end of the day.

 

The best part of this demo is the shop is large so they get lots of stuff but it is pretty much all noobs so they have no interest in the cool shit.

[NMSKI]

Awesome. Appreciate it.

[NMSKI]

So I made a reservation to demo when I'm at Taos in a couple weeks, and the brands offered are K2, Salomon, Atomic, Rossignol, Fisher and Dynastar. I'm looking for something in 95-105mm range that is versatile enough to carve, handle some crud/pow, and fairly quick in the trees. Rather than waste half a ski day figuring it out which ones are good to try, does anyone have opinions for/against specific skis in the brands offered? Of course I can look up gear reviews online but I'm interested in what you guys think.

[Justo8484]

So I made a reservation to demo when I'm at Taos in a couple weeks, and the brands offered are K2, Salomon, Atomic, Rossignol, Fisher and Dynastar. I'm looking for something in 95-105mm range that is versatile enough to carve, handle some crud/pow, and fairly quick in the trees. Rather than waste half a ski day figuring it out which ones are good to try, does anyone have opinions for/against specific skis in the brands offered? Of course I can look up gear reviews online but I'm interested in what you guys think.

 

Just buy dynastars slicers. The only other ski worth checking out from those companies is the Rossi experience 98. K2's stuff in that waist range isn't that quick turning or lively, but the king fujas is a pretty fun ski for soft snow, but gets squirrelly at speed on groomers. Salomon shoguns are 2x4s. The atomic theory is on the narrower end of that spectrum but kinda fits what you're looking for, but I find them kinda dead feeling. Fischer's all mountain skis are solid, but I think the dynastars have similar characteristics, but ski better.

[NMSKI]

Just buy dynastars slicers. The only other ski worth checking out from those companies is the Rossi experience 98. K2's stuff in that waist range isn't that quick turning or lively, but the king fujas is a pretty fun ski for soft snow, but gets squirrelly at speed on groomers. Salomon shoguns are 2x4s. The atomic theory is on the narrower end of that spectrum but kinda fits what you're looking for, but I find them kinda dead feeling. Fischer's all mountain skis are solid, but I think the dynastars have similar characteristics, but ski better.

 

Thanks for helping me narrow it down a little. Those slicers are interesting from what I can tell. I'm not really a park guy, but as long as they can do the things I want and they feel good to me, I guess having the twin tip won't hurt me. Maybe It'll even give me reason to get in the park a little. Definitely going to start with these and the 98's.

 

I'm hoping for a pow day while I'm there because I've never skied a really fat pow ski and want to demo one as well (really just for the experience, would be a waste of money for me to buy one). If I'm lucky enough for a powder day, should I start with the Rossi Super 7's and Atomic Bentchetlers, or would you suggest something else? Thanks.

[toast21602]

I hope that you are not eliminating skis as options because they are twins. You would be missing out on a significant amount of great skis. Twins don't mean park ski anymore.

[JFskiDan]

So I made a reservation to demo when I'm at Taos in a couple weeks, and the brands offered are K2, Salomon, Atomic, Rossignol, Fisher and Dynastar. I'm looking for something in 95-105mm range that is versatile enough to carve, handle some crud/pow, and fairly quick in the trees. Rather than waste half a ski day figuring it out which ones are good to try, does anyone have opinions for/against specific skis in the brands offered? Of course I can look up gear reviews online but I'm interested in what you guys think.

 

Do they only have 1 demo shop? if they have a village it is likely they have more than 1 shop, and they will most likely have some other stuff. Steamboat and Alta had at least 2 shoppes within spitting distance of one another.

[Johnny Law]

The only other ski worth checking out from those companies is the Rossi experience 98.

 

Excellent carving ski, very LPish. Very easy to initate and can make all radius turns.

 

If I'm lucky enough for a powder day, should I start with the Rossi Super 7's

 

Try it on a hard pack day, the carving performance I think is what makes that ski and the other fun shapes interesting. The pow performance is almost guaranteed but the hard stuff is where it gets interesting. The Sup 7 is not a perfect ski, the pintail is fucked up and it needs to be stiffer, regardless it is still pretty interesting.

[guitar73]

if they have them, try the dynstar legends. they come in a few different waists. i demo'd the legend 94's at stowe and i loved them. conditions were 4" of fresh snow on top of hardpack/ ice. i found the legends to power through the crud like a cadillac, but had enough energy to do quick short radius turns. also, their edge grip was acceptable (compared to my atomic nomad blackeyes which have excellent edge grip).

[mbike-ski]

mythic legends or legend sultan's? totally different skis, sounds like your describing the sultan 94's. i ski the sultan 85's and dig 'em, i'm sure the 94's ski great as well

[guitar73]

mythic legends or legend sultan's?

 

i demo'ed the 2012 dynstar legend 94. the legend sultan 94's were the 2011 ski. you can check it out on the dynastar website.

[mbike-ski]

ahaaaa gotcha, i didn't realized they dropped the sultan

 

[Justo8484]

Thanks for helping me narrow it down a little. Those slicers are interesting from what I can tell. I'm not really a park guy, but as long as they can do the things I want and they feel good to me, I guess having the twin tip won't hurt me. Maybe It'll even give me reason to get in the park a little. Definitely going to start with these and the 98's.

 

I'm hoping for a pow day while I'm there because I've never skied a really fat pow ski and want to demo one as well (really just for the experience, would be a waste of money for me to buy one). If I'm lucky enough for a powder day, should I start with the Rossi Super 7's and Atomic Bentchetlers, or would you suggest something else? Thanks.

 

the slicers arent a park ski at all. it's an all mountain ski with the same construcion as dynastar's park ski, which makes it super lively. super 7s are fun, i haven't been on the bentchetlers, but i'd check out the k2 obsethed too. if they've got some of next year's stuff, check out the pettitor as well. kinda similar the the obsethed from two years ago, which is what i have. it's a much more versatile ski than the current one, and kind of replaces it, since seth's ski next year is a lot more AT oriented.

[NMSKI]

So I didn't demo a damn thing other than the Atomic Coax which I liked, but I found a pair of the slicers online for ridiculously cheap and since i just got my bonus at work I'm thinking about getting them without having demoed since I only hear great things about them. Seems low risk enough. Was wondering about bindings. I have a set of Salomon STH 14's I could swap onto them, or I also read that the Look PX 12 is recommended for the ski. Should I swap the STH 14's, or get new PX 12's? Other good options?

[Johnny Law]

Justo I think is a big fan of the PX series, I hate them and prefer the older P series or the FKS but I'm old and weird.

 

He's a mad good skier so if they work for him.....Solly's are allright but not as elastic as the Look/rossi's

[AtomicSkier]

Honestly, I wouldn't bother with PX12/14s...The 15's feel so much more solid than the 12/14s which feel very cheap/plasticy.