Recommended Skis & Bindings List
THIS THREAD IS NOW BEING UPDATED HERE
RELATIVE FLEXES:
9 - titan pro / Squad / supa stiff bros (270)
8 - LP / Monster / explosiv / dp #3 / capital stiffs (260)
7 - big daddy / stockli dp (250)
6 - ANT / extra stiff kingswood / stiff bros
5 - mantra / ak swallowtail / dp #2 (240)
4 - gotama / soft bros / reg. kingswood (230)
3 - yellow ak rockets / sugar daddy ?
2 - PR / lawnchair (200 or less)
1 - sanouk/made'n
0 - green ak rockets
also, HERE is a pretty rad ski flex chart too
CUSTOM SKIS:
I highly recommended gettin a nicer, more durable, better made, slightly more expensive ski - so worth it in the long run
dp skis (80-138mm) - so light, so powerful, so sick. get a pair. www.dpskis.com
igneous (88-118mm) - fat shapes & custom flex. legendary. so worth it. www.igneousskis.com
kingswood (86-146mm) - custom fat twins from NZ www.kingswoodskis.com
birdos (102-137mm) - be that cool guy with the new shit! out of Switzerland www.birdos.com
capital (92-162mm) - tons of shapes and custom flexes put out of BC www.capitalskis.com
PM GEAR (99-???) - bro model = classic everyday ski. more to come??? ;) www.pmgearusa.com
STIFFER EVERYDAY SKIS:
dynastar legend pro (97mm-109mm) - not the fattest, but they rip. the XXL has a farily soft tail.
volkl mantra (94mm) - shaplier version of the explosiv wizards, lots of sidecut
blizzard titan pro (95mm) - long and stiff. they rule for charging hard.
stockli stormriders (88-94mm) - as well made as anything out there.
pmgear bros (99mm) - support you maggot bros. stiff and supa stiff options...
ak king salmon (94mm) - super bomber. the comp ski of choice. 180cm only.
Igneous FFL (98mm) - perfect everday ski for anywhere w/ more than 250" per year
dp wailer (95-105mm) - light, powerful, responsive. progressive shovel.
rossi squad (100-104mm) - 189 & 194 are BURL. expensive. rip.
STIFFER EVERYDAY TWINS:
4frnt MSP (90mm) - pretty fat, fairly stiff all mountain twin. for a fat twin, they'll still hold an edge
Head Mojo (90-105mm) - all mountian twin. med to siffish flex. the new 105 is NOT TORSIONALLY STIFF AT ALL.
prior original (90-102mm) - nice shape, moderate twin, can do med & stiff versions. handmade.
armada ant (106mm) - skis short. lots of camber. pretty stiff.
volkl karma (87mm) - nice stiff twintip. good bump ski.
K2 PE (85mm) - Feels very dead in park but its a solid ski for all mtn
SOFTER EVERYDAY SKIS:
rossi b4 (95mm) - not the fattest, not the stiffest, but great skis for lighter folks
salomon ak swallowtail (95mm) - new 05-06 have wood! i personally love these things
salomon sandstorm (101mm) - ripper. stiffer, flattail version of the s-lab gun (187cm)
prior doughboy (103-107mm) - ski. big old shovel. look pretty rad.
atomic sugar daddy (99mm) - pretty soft. light. make killer AT setups.
dynastar big/lbf/inspired (88mm) - great in shorter lengths for the GF
Phat Love (90mm) - the ski of choice for the GF
k2 apache chief (98mm) - i hate 'em but others like 'em. stiffer than a pistol, no twin.
bros (99mm) - the soft flex are about as light as anything in the size...
blizzard titan 9 (86-92mm) - nice medium flex. good a/m ski.
SOFTER EVERYDAY TWINS:
k2 seth (95-98mm) - mount 'em forward a bit for A/M
k2 maiden (108mm)- SOFT. FAT. FUN.
volkl gotama (105mm) - not too soft, not too stiff. great everyday ski for lightweights. skis short.
salomon s-lab gun (101mm) - wish the PR was stiffer, fatter and longer? here you go
Salomon Foil (87mm) - another twin thats good for everything, particularly carving all mtn
FAT SKIS:
igneous FFF (118mm) - possiblly the best traditional shaped pow ski ever made. go fast, go big.
dp lotus (120-138mm) - the best progressive pow skis on the market. smears turns as well as they rail and huck
volkl sumo (120mm) - fat twins with a more traditional shape. the 190's are fairly stiff, 175's are fairly soft.
big daddy (125mm) - sweet skis. nice flex, too bad they are made with atomic cap/edges
atomic Thug (120mm) - 190cm twin. too much tail for aggresive big mountain lines (IMHO).
sanouk (110mm) - very soft swallowtail.
crystal ship (115mm) - kinda silly. better off with icelantics
icelantic (115mm) - 161cm 115mm: tight tree ski = $$$ on the EC. pretty stiff.
praxxis POW (136mm) - basically a refined (lighter, wider) spatula. nicely made.
4frnt EHP (112mm) - bomber bases, rail well, ski fast. slay it.
CLASSIC SKIS: hard to find, but worth it if you can
atomic big daddy (107mm) - they rock, and are way easier to ski than you think
kneissl tanker (93mm) - basically they rule. low profile tip. they ski like a fat GS ski.
volkl explosiv (95mm) - the classic. not as stiff as you think.
volkl g4/40/41/ax4 (83mm) - classic. ski the 198 of you dare. perfect everyday ski.
spatulas (125mm) - yes they are as fun as you think
Atomic Powder Plus (110-115mm) - the ski that started it all. fat and stiff.
Rossi Axiom (110mm) - fat and stiff. straight sidecut. 183. foam or wood core. heavy.
Nordica W105/9.1FF (105mm) - super hard to find. they rip. buy 'em if you can find 'em
head monster/supermojo (103mm) - requires a strong pilot. but if you got the balls, they do too
volkl snowrangers (79mm) - classic. great bumpski, rock ski, billygoat ski
dynastar flame bigs/arnos (80mm) - classic. ditto the above
k2 extreme/TNC/MSL - if you don't know...
SKINNY/EC/EVERYDAY SKIS:
stockli stormrider XL (75mm) - the best skinny a/m ski out there, IMVHO
head monster (82-88mm) - pretty stiff, ripping everyday skis w/ a bit of sidecut.
ak no ka oi (83mm) - super well made mid-fat. nice shape.
PARK SKIS: (courtesy of skibackwards)
K2 Fujative - very soft park specific
Volkl Dogen - soft all over no hinge points
armada T-Hall Pro - alot like fujative. RIP tanner
4FRNT STL - pretty stiff compared to others skis. pretty good all mtn
Armada AR5 - Good all mountain and in the park
Salomon Foil - another ski thats good for everything, particularly carving all mtn
TOURING SKIS:
PM Gear Bros - get the 179 soft flex. super light, nice round flex.
trab freerando - tour it up, euro-boy
Voile Carbon surf - pretty darn soft, but light and fat. a classic.
Dynafit 10.0 - dimension of the Carbon Surf, snappiness of the Trab Freerando and light
r:ex - edges tend to crack, but they are awesome touring skis.
CMH explosiv - the cheap stiff touring ski of choice.
k2 lawnchair - the cheap soft touring ski of choice.
k2 shuksan - the ski mountaineering choice.
line mothership/karhu jak - light and fat. what more do you want?
ALPINE BINDINGS:
look/rossi p12/14 - develop play in the heel very quickly. brakes don' bend well. sux w/ trekkers
look tt09 - find 'em on ebay or play it again. sweet oldschool bindings vert release. sux w/ trekkers
look p18/zrs/rossi fks/pro - great light comp bindings , suck w/ trekkers. bending brakes sucks.
salomon s900/912/914 - locktite the toe wings if they some loose. 900s have metal heels and the best AFD.
salomon 997/977 - get the 14DIN equipes. best oldschool binding out there...
salomon s916/920 - for huckers, they are the way to go. easy to bend brakes.
tyrolia dx9/mojo15/fisher??? - lighter than race stock, burlier than retail, cheap too - HOWEVER: the toe is NOT torsionally rigid.
atomic 1018 - HEAVY AS HELL, but: move back/forward, can lock vert release, fatty brakes
TOURING BINDINGS:
Naxo 01 - durabuility issues on 1st gen. later model good for most people
naxo 13DIN - not as tall as the fritschi and stiffer. looks like the leader
fritschi Freeride - really tall stack. tele mode on soft skis. lots of heel settings. not torsionally stiff .
Fritschi FR plus - still really tall, but MUCH more torsionally stiff.
dynafit - LIGHT. skis like an alpine binding. 10DIN only... dont let it clog w. snow (PAM)
TELE BINDINGS: (thanks lemon boy & homejay & hop)
Linkens - step in, neutral, durability probs w/ toebar, snow buildup in wet snow
Bombers - bomber, heavy, expensive, adjustable active/neutral
R8's - relatively active, relatively solid, relatively cheap, no frills just performance
Hammerheads - highly adjustable from very active to very neutral in theory but a pain in the field
UTBs - 10 point crampon, semi step in, sweet heel lifter, expensive, between R8 & Linken active
G3 - relatively neutral, somewhat less durable, somewhat sloppier than others, relatively cheap
Voile Hardwire - similar to G3 - neutral - with rigid rods instead of cables - cheap & light.
3-pin hardwire - more active flex than reg. hardwire, for uphill freedom and reduncancy incase wires/cartriges break.
7TM - releaseable, available more active or tour friendly or active AND tour friendly
SKINS:
BD ascensions - WINNER great material, but clipfix sucks balls, go STS for sure.
bd glidelite - tail clip works well, but they tend to freeze up, and absorb h20
g3 - 2nd place. i'd go ascension if everything else is equal
BOOTS:
GO TO A FUCKING BOOT FITTER AND GET WHAT FITS.
read mntlion's postHERE:
if it don't fit your foot properly, it won't ski properly.
NOT RECOMMENDED:
atomic powder ride/powder cruise/heli star - delam machines. stay away
markers - just in general. they get slandered pretty hard around here.
fisher big stix - issues with delam and fragile edges.
silvretta pure freeride - negative ramp angle = bad skiing
THIS THREAD IS NOW BEING UPDATED HERE