Thanks for the help Elliot! The powder/tour pairing probably will make for a better balance. I was definitely trying to squeeze a lot of elements into 1 ski lol and thanks to everyone here in the comments as well it's been really helpful!
Put a shift 2.0 on a Salomon 98. All mountain, carving, powder, ski patrolling work and awesome for short tours. I was a patroller for 10 seasons in CO. You’re welcome!
I prioritize tree skiing whenever I can. Kore 93s are almost telepathic in tight spaces and the tips "rise" very easily. I've got 6 days in 24" snow. Kore 93 just straight up work,. They can get you through the trees in even 12"... assuming you're comfortable taking a few base dings. I'm 6'1", about 210 lbs and I have been astounded by my 180 cm head kore 93s My daughter raged Tahoe with 24" on kore 97w... same deal. Good carvers also. Not the best but they will lay down railroad tracks
Great video Elliot. I like these videos where you answer questions. On another note... First major snow storm coming in tonight and tomorrow. Little Cottonwood set to get 15"+ and SW Colorado going to hammerred with more than 2'. Bogus going to get a few inches. If anyone is interested, I follow Chris Tomer on RUclips. He does a decent job with snow forecasts that are relevant for ski resort locations. If you do not like the more technical data, you can just skip towards the end where he give the snow totals. The videos are only about 5 minutes long.
Nice call on the advice to the Canadian patroller. My 2 cents on a ski for resort served and backcountry: I'd much rather tour with heavier, more capable skis than ski light backcountry skis inbounds. There are a lot of inbounds skis that are reasonably light that will provide excellent in-bounds performance.
Awesome content as always. I just wanted to chime in on the hybrid ski suggestion - Faction Agent 3 or Enforcer Unlimited 104 would be fine. I am 5'9 180 and I love my Agent 3s with shift 13's. I use them all over the mountain to chase my kids from groomers to trees to powder all day long. I also use them to get to those backcountry runs that are not lift serviced. The only thing that those won't handle is boiler plate ice.
Being the owner of the blaze 86, in the east I would recommend the Blaze 94. My skis Blazes are light and maneuverable in the trees but grip very well in firm conditions. Though I don't use them for touring they have gotten good reviews for the purpose.
Extra thoughts from an internet random! Touring: I started touring last year so my experience is somewhat limited but I’ll base this off of me + what I’ve heard from friends that tour a lot and have for years. If you want a great in-bounds setup to go anywhere that you also tour sometimes (less than 30%), my genuine opinion is get an in-bounds setup with Duke PT 16s (12s have had weak plastics issues on the tour release in the past) and don’t worry about the uphill weight too much. If you’ll be doing mostly flats and you’re not in it for the downhill rush, a hyper light setup can be good, but carrying the extra weight up will just make you stronger anyway😉
I'm really enjoying learning so much about various skis, makes for good chairlift conversation! Just really enjoy ski-nerding out w/everyone here thanks E see ya next time!
I enjoy your videos, look forward to watching the channel grow, and would love on piste ski reviews. I would love to see collaboration videos with you and the guys from Ski Essentials. The push pull would be ski review Gold. Can you give your thoughts on the value of the Carve system?
Ripstick 96 Black Edition was my daily driver for the past 4 seasons. It's a great safe-bet ski doing most things well enough. That said, I wouldn't recommend it as a damp dedicated front side carver as it doesn't love firm snow (true of the Ripstick line in general).
I ride Marker Griffon 13s on one of my skis and they’re great bindings! Very “positive” step in which psychologically helps me feels secure and planted. In deep/soft snow, you may need to post the tail into the hill at a ~30°ish angle so the binding is out of the snow and you can flex into the binding. The thing is, I do this for all bindings in deep snow so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Great video. I might buy the Mirus Cor for trees and bumps. On MG bindings they are considered really good I have them on my Liberty Origin 96. They don't have a mounting plate so your foot is directly on the ski. Many people like that.
You got me thinking about inflation.. Actually I was thinking about inflation and then I saw a couple of your videos.. 25 years ago I bought my race skis for $625 that included bindings and risers and I am pretty sure that I did not get any deal on them.. Now I look at race skis and they are $1200+ with bindings.. I know they are expensive but they probably do match inflation..
The only ski I can think of that might work for such a strange combination would be a Head Core 99 or 105. Other than that, I would buy 2 separate skis.
Hey Elliot! TODAYY!! I would like a review of the black crows serpo. I live in Montana, and ski mainly packed powder and powder and it is my new daily driver. I ski a QST 106 on powder days. Curious to see how you think it stacks up next to these other skis in the same width. Always enjoy watching your RUclips, thanks!
If you buy skis, bindings, and boots the mounting is free at Evo. If you buy the skis and bindings then its like $35 to mount them. Normally its $70 to mount at Evo. I just got my Qsy 98s and spx 12s from them and it was $35 to mount at Evo Salt Lake.
For the East Coast tree skier, I wouldn't recommend the Mirus Cor's. I own them and they are super fun but with a heavy focus on trees I think you have better options. The MC's can get a bit hooky in trees although this can be lessened by detuning the tip and tail. They work best for someone who wants to combine freestyle and carving. I think your better options are the Blaze 94's and QST 92's both of which are very happy on or off trail. And I think Elliot is right, forget about touring on these. Use a dedicated set up for that. Anything light enough for touring is not going to perform all that well on trail.
For the dedicated front side carver. I don't think the Elan Ripsticks are your best option. You said you want a damp and smooth riding ski and the Ripsticks are much more lively not having metal in them. Also the Wingman Ti is not going to be a strong enough ski for you. It's kind of a wimpy front side ski tbh. I think the Head Supershape's have your name on them. Perfect for a strong carver working on their skills and they are very damp and smooth with two sheets of metal. The Rally's are probably the safest bet but they offer 5 options for a reason. Season to taste!
Important bindings question - I demo'd a pair of Mavericks with Tyrolia Attack (13s I think) bindings and noticed the heel-lever was incredibly easy and light to push down with your pole when stepping out of your skis. Are all of the Tyrolias like this or was there an issue with the bindings I had? If they are supposed to be easier to remove, I am surprised I don't hear about this often as the MarkerGriffons demand for more force on the heel-lever to remove.
Thanks for the help Elliot! The powder/tour pairing probably will make for a better balance. I was definitely trying to squeeze a lot of elements into 1 ski lol and thanks to everyone here in the comments as well it's been really helpful!
Finally a wood ski selection!
Finally someone who talks about the best ski for trees!!!
Thanks for watching everyone! Hope you enjoyed the Q+A!
Put a shift 2.0 on a Salomon 98. All mountain, carving, powder, ski patrolling work and awesome for short tours. I was a patroller for 10 seasons in CO. You’re welcome!
I prioritize tree skiing whenever I can. Kore 93s are almost telepathic in tight spaces and the tips "rise" very easily. I've got 6 days in 24" snow. Kore 93 just straight up work,. They can get you through the trees in even 12"... assuming you're comfortable taking a few base dings. I'm 6'1", about 210 lbs and I have been astounded by my 180 cm head kore 93s
My daughter raged Tahoe with 24" on kore 97w... same deal. Good carvers also. Not the best but they will lay down railroad tracks
Great video Elliot. I like these videos where you answer questions. On another note... First major snow storm coming in tonight and tomorrow. Little Cottonwood set to get 15"+ and SW Colorado going to hammerred with more than 2'. Bogus going to get a few inches. If anyone is interested, I follow Chris Tomer on RUclips. He does a decent job with snow forecasts that are relevant for ski resort locations. If you do not like the more technical data, you can just skip towards the end where he give the snow totals. The videos are only about 5 minutes long.
You're almost Ace Ventura with the hair today, Elliot. Haha
Nice call on the advice to the Canadian patroller. My 2 cents on a ski for resort served and backcountry: I'd much rather tour with heavier, more capable skis than ski light backcountry skis inbounds. There are a lot of inbounds skis that are reasonably light that will provide excellent in-bounds performance.
Awesome content as always. I just wanted to chime in on the hybrid ski suggestion - Faction Agent 3 or Enforcer Unlimited 104 would be fine. I am 5'9 180 and I love my Agent 3s with shift 13's. I use them all over the mountain to chase my kids from groomers to trees to powder all day long. I also use them to get to those backcountry runs that are not lift serviced. The only thing that those won't handle is boiler plate ice.
Being the owner of the blaze 86, in the east I would recommend the Blaze 94. My skis Blazes are light and maneuverable in the trees but grip very well in firm conditions. Though I don't use them for touring they have gotten good reviews for the purpose.
Blaze 94 is one of the best in the trees
Extra thoughts from an internet random!
Touring: I started touring last year so my experience is somewhat limited but I’ll base this off of me + what I’ve heard from friends that tour a lot and have for years. If you want a great in-bounds setup to go anywhere that you also tour sometimes (less than 30%), my genuine opinion is get an in-bounds setup with Duke PT 16s (12s have had weak plastics issues on the tour release in the past) and don’t worry about the uphill weight too much. If you’ll be doing mostly flats and you’re not in it for the downhill rush, a hyper light setup can be good, but carrying the extra weight up will just make you stronger anyway😉
I think both a Ripstick 96 Green or a Kore 93 could work as a tourable daily driver for the first guy. Specially with a Shift binding.
I'm really enjoying learning so much about various skis, makes for good chairlift conversation! Just really enjoy ski-nerding out w/everyone here thanks E see ya next time!
I enjoy your videos, look forward to watching the channel grow, and would love on piste ski reviews. I would love to see collaboration videos with you and the guys from Ski Essentials. The push pull would be ski review Gold. Can you give your thoughts on the value of the Carve system?
Ripstick 96 Black Edition was my daily driver for the past 4 seasons. It's a great safe-bet ski doing most things well enough. That said, I wouldn't recommend it as a damp dedicated front side carver as it doesn't love firm snow (true of the Ripstick line in general).
I love the Marker Griffon/Duke binding. That might be because my previous skis had SPX bindings that I didn't particularly like.
Yes, Look SPX 12 bindings are solid.
I ride Marker Griffon 13s on one of my skis and they’re great bindings! Very “positive” step in which psychologically helps me feels secure and planted. In deep/soft snow, you may need to post the tail into the hill at a ~30°ish angle so the binding is out of the snow and you can flex into the binding. The thing is, I do this for all bindings in deep snow so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Great video. I might buy the Mirus Cor for trees and bumps. On MG bindings they are considered really good I have them on my Liberty Origin 96. They don't have a mounting plate so your foot is directly on the ski. Many people like that.
You got me thinking about inflation.. Actually I was thinking about inflation and then I saw a couple of your videos.. 25 years ago I bought my race skis for $625 that included bindings and risers and I am pretty sure that I did not get any deal on them.. Now I look at race skis and they are $1200+ with bindings.. I know they are expensive but they probably do match inflation..
The only ski I can think of that might work for such a strange combination would be a Head Core 99 or 105. Other than that, I would buy 2 separate skis.
Hey Elliot! TODAYY!! I would like a review of the black crows serpo. I live in Montana, and ski mainly packed powder and powder and it is my new daily driver. I ski a QST 106 on powder days. Curious to see how you think it stacks up next to these other skis in the same width. Always enjoy watching your RUclips, thanks!
If you buy skis, bindings, and boots the mounting is free at Evo. If you buy the skis and bindings then its like $35 to mount them. Normally its $70 to mount at Evo. I just got my Qsy 98s and spx 12s from them and it was $35 to mount at Evo Salt Lake.
Mounting is free at skiessentials
Andrew, how about the Captis? Twin tip but directional.
For the East Coast tree skier, I wouldn't recommend the Mirus Cor's. I own them and they are super fun but with a heavy focus on trees I think you have better options. The MC's can get a bit hooky in trees although this can be lessened by detuning the tip and tail. They work best for someone who wants to combine freestyle and carving.
I think your better options are the Blaze 94's and QST 92's both of which are very happy on or off trail. And I think Elliot is right, forget about touring on these. Use a dedicated set up for that. Anything light enough for touring is not going to perform all that well on trail.
West Coast prefer the Mirus by far.
Actually, not even close.
For the dedicated front side carver. I don't think the Elan Ripsticks are your best option. You said you want a damp and smooth riding ski and the Ripsticks are much more lively not having metal in them. Also the Wingman Ti is not going to be a strong enough ski for you. It's kind of a wimpy front side ski tbh. I think the Head Supershape's have your name on them. Perfect for a strong carver working on their skills and they are very damp and smooth with two sheets of metal. The Rally's are probably the safest bet but they offer 5 options for a reason. Season to taste!
I’m the guy who asked that question and I really appreciate your input. I have K2 90C and that thing is a noodle.
Important bindings question - I demo'd a pair of Mavericks with Tyrolia Attack (13s I think) bindings and noticed the heel-lever was incredibly easy and light to push down with your pole when stepping out of your skis. Are all of the Tyrolias like this or was there an issue with the bindings I had? If they are supposed to be easier to remove, I am surprised I don't hear about this often as the MarkerGriffons demand for more force on the heel-lever to remove.
Normal for that Tyrolia binding
@GrampyScott Actually don't hear that aspect discussed much. It's a major convenience factor over competitors
Thank you so much dear Elliott! Tree/glade skiing ⛷️ is still too underrated and barely talked about yet! Always happy to hear your opinions 🙏