New wide boards: Gecko, Firemove etc

[KC7777]

I'm looking at some Cochises for this year too, nice boots,

I'm still a fan of camber, a set back stance makes up for rocker and still rips on groomers.

KC 7's, that's a lot of gear, I don't see the need for more than 2 pair, maybe 3 of skis, something around 115-120 under foot and then something racy with camber for the harder packed days.
See you on the hill!

Hey Joost,

I love my Tecnica Cochise 120 boots, great if you have a a higher instep. Full tilts are great for my kids (flat feet) and they do a ton of pipe, jumps and 360s etc. I don't spin in the air!

Re needing more than 2 pairs of skis. It is not a matter of need with me. It is want. I could get by with just my Moment Deathwish skis (112mm waist) all day every day. I want variety. I am facing a potentially 70+ day season this year. And at Baker you can park 20 ft from the lift so changing skis 3 - 4 times a day is the norm for me. Keeps it interesting. Also, each ski I have is different in terms of width, camber profile, stiffness, mount position etc.

Not justifying here (maybe just a bit), but 1 year old new skis cost approx. $300 - $500. And I buy 5 pairs of decent bindings at a time when they are on Steep and Cheap for $125.....so my 7 pairs of skis with bindings cost approx. $4,000? I figure. Which is pretty much the same a new board + 2 masts + 1 boom + 2 sails, bases, extension etc.

I also buy used gear for my kids as they destroy their skis....ie most of my kids gear are demos, or used skis bought off Gear Swap on tetongravity.com Plus I do all my own mounting which saves $40 per pair.

As for the cambered skis with a set back stance. Great for open bowls and ripping, and I did that for years but find I am faster at Baker (lots of little steeps, hits, trees, deep pow, chunder) with a stiff, wide ski with rocker and a more centered stance.

And I will shut up now so you all can get back to windsurfing.

Off to tetongravity.com for the winter (I am kc_7777 over there).

See you back here in May!

Keith

[slats]

Interesting you say that about the Solomon Quest Max. I tried on a multitude of boots this year after making a bad decision on buying a pair Rossi 90's last year for fit alone and an acceptance that at age 50 my skills are much lower than when I was younger. I couldn't get the Technica's to feel like I had a connection to the foot bed under the toe (last) even though they were 98mm. In my mind, I wanted the Cochise but the fit was not there like my last tns's. I like the Dalbello's but it was not quite right either. When I tried the Quest max 130, the fit was awesome but the liner is exactly like you said. I talked to my boot fitter just a couple days ago and said that if I'm going to shell out 700 beans, I am looking for perfect fit. Now you have me rethinking this.
As for the ski's, well, I guess it's to each their own. It's great to have floaty pivot right under your foot for steep's and crud but the reverse camber is a chatter box on the groomers; they don't carve as you can't set an edge. Neither are they good if you get into some bumpage.
I like a ski that has a stiff shovel which you can use to slow yourself down with or, conversely, a still tail to drive the ski through the turn. The only non camber under the foot, and reversed at the tip ski that was half decent at that was the Gotama. I don't like slowing myself down with an edge under my boot..it's too park like and hard on the outside of my lower leg with wider skis. Younger and more fit guys can deal with that better.
I use the rule that my ski of choice for the day should be the one that I am using for 70% of the days terrain. My Sir Francis Bacon's are great for those days in the pow and I even still have a pair of Scratch's that I love nite skiing in the park with my kids , still huckin' some smaller ones and gutzing it on the odd rail or tabletop. Man, I wish I could ski like some of the kids do now...soooo damn jealous...I hate getting old...lol

[Joostio]

I got the Salomon quest 110 on a pro deal, I used to be a ski tech and worked in the ski industry for almost 10 years. The Salomons fit different, I'm normally a 27.5 but shell fitting the boots you could tell they were to big, the 26.5 were the right fit. I heat moulded the liners and even punched the boots a few times, like I said, in the store they felt great, even if I wore them for an hour. I gave up on them, currently I have some Garmont G rides with a Rossi race boot liners, not at all a good set up but at least I'm not in agony anymore. I have pretty normal shaped feet and many people love their Quests, they just didn't work for me.

[slats]

Right. What piqued my interest was your comment about the liner not changing after the heat fit. I never expect to have a boot fit out of the box and my left foot was pretty bad but I like the fit around the calf and the stiffness of the boot and the density of the liner. My right foot was much better and thinking/expecting/believing that the tech and heat mold would alleviate some of the minor issues on the right foot, I was really surprised that almost nothing has changed. My left foot is nowhere near even close but the tech assures me it is fixable. If I get these right I think I have the right boot for me but your comments have me second guessing the ability for a Solomon liner to do what the tech or the manufacturer says It's going to do.
hmmmm....

[nanmoo]

...or avoid all this boot and binding back and forth and just snowboard...

[KC7777]

Hey nanmoo,

I took 4 years off of skiing and just boarded from '96 - 2000. This year I have a Burton Barracuda 157cm snowboard board for first tracks.
Because of boarding I think I ski way different now.

I am more like a boarder now (ie ride the big rockered skis with less turns, go off way more hits, and am faster vs the "old school" skiers with their legs together who do way too many turns.) Oh ya and it is more fun.

Nanmoo - Go and check out the "Now ipo snowboard bindings". The bindings move with the board (see vid). Feels like surfing in powder. You can even ride them without highbacks in pow.

Expensive but worth it.

Keith

[nanmoo]

Skiing definitely has its advantages, actually quite a few (traversing, flats and uphills, ease of jumping, ice days) but comfy gear surely isn't one of them!

[mark atkins]

Hey KC,
Did you sell a pair of 185 Blizzard Cochise a sort time ago on one of the ski forums??
-asking b/c I was thinking of buying a pair given all of the hype & was wondering if there was something you didn't like about them. For me this ski would be mostly for Mt. Washington & Whistler...
Cheers,
Mark

[Joostio]

Mark, you can demo the Blizzards from Ski Tak Hut in Courtenay, the owner of the store has a pair as his own.

[KC7777]

Hey KC,
Did you sell a pair of 185 Blizzard Cochise a sort time ago on one of the ski forums??-asking b/c I was thinking of buying a pair given all of the hype & was wondering if there was something you didn't like about them. For me this ski would be mostly for Mt. Washington & Whistler...
Cheers, Mark

Hey Mark,

Ya had a pair of last years 185cm Cochises. Sold them after 10 days on em at Baker. Bought them late Feb for $499 all in.....sold them for $380 on ebay and bought some Moment Deatwishes for $450....so in my world they cost me $7/ski day ($380 in and $450 out = $70 to switch / 10 days on them = $7 per day. As long as the per day cost is less than the demo cost per day I am good.

Anyway....a great rippin' ski. Perfect if you GS big open bowls and rip groomers.

I love rockered (reverse camber) stiff skis and Blizzards "flipcore" works.

Evne though I am only 5'7" I typically ski 182cm - 187cm skis on the stiffer side, and like my mounts at approx. -5 to -6cm from ski true center (which makes them ski shorter). The 185cm Cochises were mounted at rec -11cm, and they felt "long" in the tip in the tight areas . I just found at Baker (where I ski most) I could not let them run as I am usually in tight trees and the runs are pretty short.

The edges were also psycho sharp. Should have detuned the first few inches. I ate it once so bad at mach speeds, crossed the "long" feeling tips and the one ski almost cut the other in half. This happened in a very bad spot on Gabls where you should never fall. I was hurt pretty bad.

So I sold them as I liked my Moment Bibbys and 4FRNT Hojis better at Baker and knew I would probably kill myself if I kept them at Baker.

But if I skiied Whistler regularly I could see owning a pair for ripping high alpine stuff and groomers. They have no speed limit. Another ski to check out is the Volkl Katana V-Werks.

Keith

[KC7777]

Hey Mark,

Another ski in the reverse camber genre is the Rossignol Sickle (110mm waist) and Rossignol Scimitar (98mm waist).

Both get rave reviews on blistergearreview:

http://blistergearreview.com/gear-revie ... l-s6-186cm

Not as stiff as the Cochises, but the Sickle could be a great one ski quiver I think.

I just bought some new 2012 185cm Scimitars for $299....sold my 2012 183cm Line Blends (camber) for $250. I even want a rockered ski for non-pow days now!

Sickles can be found for approx. $349 (check out "The House").....get them shipped into Sumas Ship Happens, pick em up on the way to Baker.

Keith

[KC7777]

OK....one more "useless" Keith tip re winter gear.

For you snowboarders out there.....check out the "Now ipo bindings"

My son has been on these for 1 year. We met JP (french cdn dude in vid inventor) at the Baker Banked slalom race last year. Nice guy. Gave my son Scotty a ton of free Now swag and some new low backs for his ipo bindings. The low backs are sick in deep pow.

These Now bindings make snowboarding feel exactly like surfing. Caveat is once you try them you can't use anything else as it takes way less pressure to edge the board.

Expensive but worth it ($279 at Evo.com)

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKpbb6QD8vE[/youtube]

[mortontoemike]

KC. I looked at the video and listened to the rationale for these bindings and I think it is bunk. I understand that the underlying philosophy for the binding is that it simulates a skateboard truck. However, the binding flex is front to back and is unlike a skateboard truck which is primarily side to side and is necessary for turning. You don't need that kind of flexing on a snowboard unless the snow is as hard as asphalt and even then I don't see how it would help. To me this has gimmick written all over it. As it is it takes hardly any pressure to edge a snowboard - especially in powder. I can't see that these would so anything in powder. I haven't tried them, BUT, I am sticking with my Burton Mission bindings. The banana board shape is another matter. Got one last year and I will NEVER go back!

[KC7777]

You are bunk.

I liked them better than Burton Malavitas.....but I am am skier who boards just a few times a year so what do I know.

Probably this needs to be rehashed over many beers this winter.....and it helps if you are drunk and talk about them in a thick french accent.

KC

[KUS]

holy shit KC, good thing this was YOUR thread so I suppose you can drift the crap out of it and make it BigPowDave

AND you better buck up with some o dat disposable income, don't see yer sorry name on the donations page this year.....or last year unless Dave misspelled yer last name "Losie"