Thanks for watching, hope everyone had a great weekend and is excited for the Ski Season. Sorry for the Wind, I'm working on better ways of dealing with it, but as storms come through it's become an ongoing challenge.
Hey Elliott, big fan from Argentina, love your takes. Was wondering what your thoughts are on Binding Freedom inserts. I'd love to have more skis and wouldn't mind not having to purchase new bindings for every pair. Thanks!
LOL thanks for the name drop I was out on the Mav 86C's today ripping them in a blizzard! Had SO much fun craving and ripping packed powder moguls it's taken me 7 ski days but today felt like I was skiing as I'm capable of. Unsure if I'm improving or not yet but I'm miles ahead of last season. I heard on the lift the Mav 100 is a highly capable all mtn ski I'm considering them when my Stance 96's are done & hammered. Sorry to hear you've only a man made bunny hill I've had a 1,000' of vert intermediate terrain since Nov 8th I'm even more grateful now thanks!
@@res_ipsa-REX The 86C Mavs have been great on hardpack and moderate powder, very stable zero chatter. It's a really fun ski I'm very impressed. Holds a nice edge after the groomed has been peeled off. Frustrated though I am at times in hardpacked moguls the 86C kept me coming back for more credit to this great ski!
I just picked up a very gently used demo 2018 Stockli Stormrider 88 (177 cm) for $230 off of KSL. The seller took great care of them and they were freshly tuned. I know they were redesigned in 2022 & 2025, but for the price why not get a stockli, right?? I primarily bought them as an extra ski for friends and family so they do not have to rent skis (they do have demo bindings). But I am excitied to try them out since I have never skied a Stockli. As for adjustable poles, I really appreciate them for resort skiing. I will often adjust them between 118 cm (carving on piste) and 128 cm (off piste steep terrain where jump turns are required or on deeper pow days). A normal ski pole length for me would be 125cm. I also like the slightly heavier weight of the adjustable poles as I think they add to my balance at speed. FYI... Level 9 has adjustable poles on sale right now for $40.
Thanks for speaking on my comments. I know you said those QST 98s will handle groomers and powder, but I just want to know your opinion on how they would handle wet heavy PNW crud without having a sheet of metal. Thanks!
Question: I have an old pair of nordica dobbermann slr (156cm 11m radius). I love them but they are almost done. 1.5mm of edge left. Any recommendations for a new 11m radius beer league slalom ski?
On adjustible poles... I use them - and bought them for my daughter as well - simply because they're far easier to pack for getting on the airplane when the poles are much shorter. And less likely to get bent.
Hey! Been loving the videos and have helped me choose a lot of my gear. I am pretty hung up on boots right now. I know that boot fits are highly personalized and might be hard to give a recommendation, but.... So I am in my third year of skiing and would say I am pretty intermediate. I am also a pretty heavy skier, 240, and 6'2. I am coming from a very soft boot salomon qst 70. It might be a skill thing, Ive never had any lessons but I felt the boot might not be stiff enough to for me, but I might not know what I am talking about at all. I have managed to get a new setup (minus boots, still shopping deals and figuring things out) but I grabbed a Faction 3 prodigy and am hoping to find a boot that'll lend itself to some off-piste, freeride/freeski sorta vibe. Anyone have any recommendations? Thanks!
hi, can i ask for ski recomendation Im beetwen 2 bind adn 2 skies, dynafit rotation 12 vs salomon shift 13 and salomon qst 98 and elan ripstick 96. I want to make 1 ski quiver for skituring mostly focused on downhill that i can take for few days on rest too
Adjustable poles are really nice. I only got one pair of poles , and they are some cheap adjustable k2 ones i got for 30 euro (sale) . They came with regular and powder baskets. Where I ski I often end up stuck in some low land, and also just getting to different parts of the hill is so much easier with 110 -145 cm poles. If you land hard on the poles they might get a little shorter, that can be annoying, but also probably better than bending the pole. When the pow is deep you want shorter poles when going down since you sink down with feet, and longer poles when transporting out of that.
Elliott I’m with you on the silliness of comparing an “Octo” to F.I.S slalom ski. Asking Julien Regnier if the “Octo” would be as solid as the “Serpo” or “Justis” on a groomed slope, he would say that the metal in the skis would be a difference maker. Hopefully you will review the “Serpo”. I am sure you’ll appreciate the beefiness of the metal carving on your Super - G piste… “Paradise” is the name correct?
I just bought the QST 98 skis with Marker Griffon 13 ID bindings and tried them for the first time yesterday. They seem really heavy to me for some reason. My other skis are Volkl Blaze 94 with pin bindings. The Volkl's are noticeably lighter. I'm finding it hard to get used to the weight of the QST 98's. Have you ever had issues with differences in weight between skis?
Ok I’ll give this a shot although I’m not a donor. But I do enjoy your reviews and have come to respect your views on equipment and skiing styles. I’ll be demoing skis trying to find the perfect skis for me. Resort skier that likes to ski groomers, trees, and powder when it’s there. I ski in CO. Fairly new to carving but have skied all my life. I’d love a video that gives me a couple tips for how to get the most out of a demo day. What should I look for, how should I compare, what are red flags. That would be great as the snow is starting to fly and I can’t image buying new skis without trying them first. Thanks for sharing your wealth of knowledge! 👍
I just wanted to first say that I love your videos and they help me a lot. I saw that you reviewed the Draco Freebird and was interested in getting a pair myself. I am around 179cm right now but am still growing as I am only 16 turning 17. I was wondering whether I should get the 181cm ones or the 189cm skis. I would be using these skis for powder and backcountry/touring. I say that I am quite an experienced skier however have never had very long skis before. What size would you reckon is best for me.
I really like my adjustable poles for 1) backcountry uphill 2) in bounds alpine 3) in bounds telemark! I set them about 130cm, 120cm, 110-115cm respectively as a 6’0” guy. They also have tour grips below the main hand grab. Big fan for my use case.
Hey Elliot. I like your ski reviews a lot and now I'm interested in buying an own pair. Because of your reviews I'm thinking between the völkl mantra 88 and the atomic maverick 88 ti (669€ and 619€ with binding in Germany). I mostly ski in austria. I'm 16 so i'm still going to grow a bit. But since i've been skiing for about 9 years i think i'm an advanced/expert skier. I'm 180cm and 70kg. I also have a very good deal for a völkl mantra 102 right now (530€ with marker griffon 13). Have you ever skied one of these? I'm interested in these but i also think they are a little bit tooo wide. Which ski and which length would you recommend? Sorry for the long text and thank you anyway.
Hi Ricky, I'm thinking of buying a new ski and wondering what should I buy. My main focus would be carving the groomers early morning and then trying to ride switch, jumping and doing some tricks. However, most of that is on piste, we rarely have a lot of powder to ride on here but I surely go off-piste when I get the chance.. What would you recommend?
That's alot of different things for one ski, so it will be hard for one ski to do all that. I would look at the Mirus Cor, I think it suits a lot of what you're saying, but it's also pretty short radius. Might also consider the Bent 100 but I only really like the 2025 and newer.
@@RicketySkiReviews What do you think about the QST 92 and QST 98(was also looking at the salomon stance 84), don't know if they will be suitable for it. If only consider carving on groomers and doing some tricks on-piste. In my opinion, the stance 84 may be the most appropriate option here.
I'm an intermediate-advanced skier in Utah and I'm planning on demoing a lot of skis this year, but I don't know what kind of skis I like. Are there some skis I should try first that are representative of the extremes of different styles? I don't really understand what people mean when they talk about skis being surfy, poppy, damp, hooky and all that. I skiied on the qst 98s last season and this season I've got the nordica navigator 85 ca and the elan ripstick 106 and I'll be skiing Snowbasin and Alta.
In regards to EVO used gear - my anecdotal experience is they underrate the equipment. Got my son a pair of used Dalbello boots a few months ago since they were CHEAP. Listed as "USED - Standard Plus" condition. The boots we got were basically brand new, nearly no scuffs on the soles and just minor scuffs on the sides so guessing they were probably display model or something. My son scratched them up more his first time using them.
oooo that is Bogus.. h aha... i can relate to tons of people and only green runs are open.. i don't want to run into someone and i don't want anyone to run into me.. mantra, maverick, QST.... tough choice.. 88s and 110s.. Depending on where you ski.. I am in Colorado and my widest ski is is a 105 but my 100 has a lot more tip and tail rocker so it floats better.. I had my 88s out the other day and they just rocked.. i don't get too many POW days but if I do my 100s will be just fine.. Since I am 70% on the groomers all of the time I could probably use my 88s all of the time.. When the snow gets slushy then I want to be on at least 100.. The question I would want answered is how do the Bent 110s handle in slush.. That first hour of rock hard groomers is not the right conditions for that ski but when stuff gets really slushy that ski might excel.. If you start filming out of your shed will you then be Corporate;( Poles.. I have 2 pairs of poles.. One is aluminum with a smaller basket and the other is an adjustable carbon with a larger basket.. I would like to get some of those bamboo poles with the big basket.. Those look cool.. I could also see getting a pair of solid carbon poles.. Actually my favorite poles I had were a solid aluminum.. I know the top wore off of one of the poles so I got rid of them but I loved those poles.. I would use them for racing and I would hit the gates with them.. They never bent.. I could ski skis from both Bob's and Jeff's Quiver.. As far as the Monteros go.. I think the wider ones have the longer turning radius.. I would probably get those because I could really open them up but I could make a case for the shorter turn radius when there are a ton of people on the hill.. I am learning to try to get my turns in before for the hill gets packed.. I have adjustable but mine don't go as small as the picture in this video.. Sometimes they will collapse when I ski.. I think I just need to tighten them down a little more.. That and they aren't as stable as my solid poles.. They are Leki Helicon Lite.. I haven't skied the Octo but those other skis sound like they have no speed limit and it does sound like the Octo does.. It also sounds like the Octo is a reactive ski.. I returned my Kastle 95 FX because they were reactive.. I would say I folded them and I got bucked.. A lot of DPS skis are reactive.. My DPS skis are not the really expensive ones that have all that Nasa carbon in them.. I would compare mine to the Salomon QST..mSo are Head Kore.. I prefer skiing stable/damp skis but that is just my style.. If you learned on reactive skis then chances are that is your preference over damp/stable skis..
What do you think about Bonafide 97? They seem to have a cult following. Discontinued and super cheap right now. I’m an ex-racer, but now 42 y/o dad who would use these a handful of times. Not a big skier 5’9” 170, definitely not strong enough to over power these but they wouldn’t throw me around either.
I ski ATOMIC 205cm. It's great. You can get skis for a buck at our thrift outlet. If you can ski, it doesn't matter that much what you ski on. Tune matters though.
Thanks for watching, hope everyone had a great weekend and is excited for the Ski Season. Sorry for the Wind, I'm working on better ways of dealing with it, but as storms come through it's become an ongoing challenge.
Hey Elliott, big fan from Argentina, love your takes. Was wondering what your thoughts are on Binding Freedom inserts. I'd love to have more skis and wouldn't mind not having to purchase new bindings for every pair. Thanks!
LOL thanks for the name drop I was out on the Mav 86C's today ripping them in a blizzard! Had SO much fun craving and ripping packed powder moguls it's taken me 7 ski days but today felt like I was skiing as I'm capable of. Unsure if I'm improving or not yet but I'm miles ahead of last season. I heard on the lift the Mav 100 is a highly capable all mtn ski I'm considering them when my Stance 96's are done & hammered. Sorry to hear you've only a man made bunny hill I've had a 1,000' of vert intermediate terrain since Nov 8th I'm even more grateful now thanks!
How are those Mav 86C's on the hardpack (like on opening day at Rose)? Stable and damp? Not too much chatter? Edge holds while carving at 30ish mph?
@@res_ipsa-REX The 86C Mavs have been great on hardpack and moderate powder, very stable zero chatter. It's a really fun ski I'm very impressed. Holds a nice edge after the groomed has been peeled off. Frustrated though I am at times in hardpacked moguls the 86C kept me coming back for more credit to this great ski!
@@anthonyalpha4118 Thanks for the info. I will give them a try when I am having a demo day at JH in February.
I bought my wife the maven 93c and she feels very safe on firm
@@res_ipsa-REXso jealous. I moved states and skied 25 years at rose. Miss that gem of a mountain
I just picked up a very gently used demo 2018 Stockli Stormrider 88 (177 cm) for $230 off of KSL. The seller took great care of them and they were freshly tuned. I know they were redesigned in 2022 & 2025, but for the price why not get a stockli, right?? I primarily bought them as an extra ski for friends and family so they do not have to rent skis (they do have demo bindings). But I am excitied to try them out since I have never skied a Stockli. As for adjustable poles, I really appreciate them for resort skiing. I will often adjust them between 118 cm (carving on piste) and 128 cm (off piste steep terrain where jump turns are required or on deeper pow days). A normal ski pole length for me would be 125cm. I also like the slightly heavier weight of the adjustable poles as I think they add to my balance at speed. FYI... Level 9 has adjustable poles on sale right now for $40.
Just got back from a 3 day weekend in Breckenridge! My ski quiver has grown significantly due to watching your videos…wife thinks I’m crazy.
“It ain’t stupid works!” I like the backyard setup a lot. The amount of content that it enables is premier.
57 years old and love the Deacon 84. 85% front side Thoughts It is fast and I loved the demo thinking about buying!!!!
Thanks for speaking on my comments. I know you said those QST 98s will handle groomers and powder, but I just want to know your opinion on how they would handle wet heavy PNW crud without having a sheet of metal. Thanks!
Would you go with a Salomon qst 98 ski for a all mountain ski, mostly using for trees and steep chutes and bowls?
Totally, it can go over it's head with like 10 inches of snow plus, but it's so versatile and fun.
Question: I have an old pair of nordica dobbermann slr (156cm 11m radius). I love them but they are almost done. 1.5mm of edge left. Any recommendations for a new 11m radius beer league slalom ski?
On adjustible poles... I use them - and bought them for my daughter as well - simply because they're far easier to pack for getting on the airplane when the poles are much shorter. And less likely to get bent.
Oh that's brilliant!
good point. I can't believe I had never thought of it that way... interesting.
Hey! Been loving the videos and have helped me choose a lot of my gear. I am pretty hung up on boots right now. I know that boot fits are highly personalized and might be hard to give a recommendation, but....
So I am in my third year of skiing and would say I am pretty intermediate. I am also a pretty heavy skier, 240, and 6'2. I am coming from a very soft boot salomon qst 70. It might be a skill thing, Ive never had any lessons but I felt the boot might not be stiff enough to for me, but I might not know what I am talking about at all.
I have managed to get a new setup (minus boots, still shopping deals and figuring things out) but I grabbed a Faction 3 prodigy and am hoping to find a boot that'll lend itself to some off-piste, freeride/freeski sorta vibe. Anyone have any recommendations? Thanks!
Also, I have been to a bootfitter, just exploring brands and reviews!
hi, can i ask for ski recomendation
Im beetwen 2 bind adn 2 skies, dynafit rotation 12 vs salomon shift 13 and salomon qst 98 and elan ripstick 96. I want to make 1 ski quiver for skituring mostly focused on downhill that i can take for few days on rest too
Adjustable poles are really nice. I only got one pair of poles , and they are some cheap adjustable k2 ones i got for 30 euro (sale) . They came with regular and powder baskets. Where I ski I often end up stuck in some low land, and also just getting to different parts of the hill is so much easier with 110 -145 cm poles. If you land hard on the poles they might get a little shorter, that can be annoying, but also probably better than bending the pole. When the pow is deep you want shorter poles when going down since you sink down with feet, and longer poles when transporting out of that.
Elliott I’m with you on the silliness of comparing an “Octo” to F.I.S slalom ski. Asking Julien Regnier if the “Octo” would be as solid as the “Serpo” or “Justis” on a groomed slope, he would say that the metal in the skis would be a difference maker. Hopefully you will review the “Serpo”. I am sure you’ll appreciate the beefiness of the metal carving on your Super - G piste… “Paradise” is the name correct?
Yes, good memory!
I just bought the QST 98 skis with Marker Griffon 13 ID bindings and tried them for the first time yesterday. They seem really heavy to me for some reason. My other skis are Volkl Blaze 94 with pin bindings. The Volkl's are noticeably lighter. I'm finding it hard to get used to the weight of the QST 98's. Have you ever had issues with differences in weight between skis?
Ok I’ll give this a shot although I’m not a donor. But I do enjoy your reviews and have come to respect your views on equipment and skiing styles. I’ll be demoing skis trying to find the perfect skis for me. Resort skier that likes to ski groomers, trees, and powder when it’s there. I ski in CO. Fairly new to carving but have skied all my life. I’d love a video that gives me a couple tips for how to get the most out of a demo day. What should I look for, how should I compare, what are red flags. That would be great as the snow is starting to fly and I can’t image buying new skis without trying them first. Thanks for sharing your wealth of knowledge! 👍
I just wanted to first say that I love your videos and they help me a lot. I saw that you reviewed the Draco Freebird and was interested in getting a pair myself. I am around 179cm right now but am still growing as I am only 16 turning 17. I was wondering whether I should get the 181cm ones or the 189cm skis. I would be using these skis for powder and backcountry/touring. I say that I am quite an experienced skier however have never had very long skis before. What size would you reckon is best for me.
I really like my adjustable poles for 1) backcountry uphill 2) in bounds alpine 3) in bounds telemark! I set them about 130cm, 120cm, 110-115cm respectively as a 6’0” guy. They also have tour grips below the main hand grab. Big fan for my use case.
Hey Elliot. I like your ski reviews a lot and now I'm interested in buying an own pair. Because of your reviews I'm thinking between the völkl mantra 88 and the atomic maverick 88 ti (669€ and 619€ with binding in Germany). I mostly ski in austria. I'm 16 so i'm still going to grow a bit. But since i've been skiing for about 9 years i think i'm an advanced/expert skier. I'm 180cm and 70kg.
I also have a very good deal for a völkl mantra 102 right now (530€ with marker griffon 13). Have you ever skied one of these? I'm interested in these but i also think they are a little bit tooo wide. Which ski and which length would you recommend?
Sorry for the long text and thank you anyway.
Hi Ricky, I'm thinking of buying a new ski and wondering what should I buy. My main focus would be carving the groomers early morning and then trying to ride switch, jumping and doing some tricks. However, most of that is on piste, we rarely have a lot of powder to ride on here but I surely go off-piste when I get the chance.. What would you recommend?
That's alot of different things for one ski, so it will be hard for one ski to do all that. I would look at the Mirus Cor, I think it suits a lot of what you're saying, but it's also pretty short radius. Might also consider the Bent 100 but I only really like the 2025 and newer.
@@RicketySkiReviews What do you think about the QST 92 and QST 98(was also looking at the salomon stance 84), don't know if they will be suitable for it. If only consider carving on groomers and doing some tricks on-piste. In my opinion, the stance 84 may be the most appropriate option here.
I'm an intermediate-advanced skier in Utah and I'm planning on demoing a lot of skis this year, but I don't know what kind of skis I like. Are there some skis I should try first that are representative of the extremes of different styles? I don't really understand what people mean when they talk about skis being surfy, poppy, damp, hooky and all that. I skiied on the qst 98s last season and this season I've got the nordica navigator 85 ca and the elan ripstick 106 and I'll be skiing Snowbasin and Alta.
Thanks for answering my question about used premium. I’ll equate it to “new take off” on bike components
What would you think of mirrus Cors and sakanas as a two ski quiver for Europe?
"you probably don't need another pair of skis?" Need? maybe not, but want? You bet!
Haha, I had that same thought when I said it!
In regards to EVO used gear - my anecdotal experience is they underrate the equipment. Got my son a pair of used Dalbello boots a few months ago since they were CHEAP. Listed as "USED - Standard Plus" condition. The boots we got were basically brand new, nearly no scuffs on the soles and just minor scuffs on the sides so guessing they were probably display model or something. My son scratched them up more his first time using them.
Thanks
oooo that is Bogus.. h aha... i can relate to tons of people and only green runs are open.. i don't want to run into someone and i don't want anyone to run into me..
mantra, maverick, QST.... tough choice..
88s and 110s.. Depending on where you ski.. I am in Colorado and my widest ski is is a 105 but my 100 has a lot more tip and tail rocker so it floats better.. I had my 88s out the other day and they just rocked.. i don't get too many POW days but if I do my 100s will be just fine.. Since I am 70% on the groomers all of the time I could probably use my 88s all of the time.. When the snow gets slushy then I want to be on at least 100.. The question I would want answered is how do the Bent 110s handle in slush.. That first hour of rock hard groomers is not the right conditions for that ski but when stuff gets really slushy that ski might excel..
If you start filming out of your shed will you then be Corporate;(
Poles.. I have 2 pairs of poles.. One is aluminum with a smaller basket and the other is an adjustable carbon with a larger basket.. I would like to get some of those bamboo poles with the big basket.. Those look cool.. I could also see getting a pair of solid carbon poles.. Actually my favorite poles I had were a solid aluminum.. I know the top wore off of one of the poles so I got rid of them but I loved those poles.. I would use them for racing and I would hit the gates with them.. They never bent..
I could ski skis from both Bob's and Jeff's Quiver.. As far as the Monteros go.. I think the wider ones have the longer turning radius.. I would probably get those because I could really open them up but I could make a case for the shorter turn radius when there are a ton of people on the hill.. I am learning to try to get my turns in before for the hill gets packed..
I have adjustable but mine don't go as small as the picture in this video.. Sometimes they will collapse when I ski.. I think I just need to tighten them down a little more.. That and they aren't as stable as my solid poles.. They are Leki Helicon Lite..
I haven't skied the Octo but those other skis sound like they have no speed limit and it does sound like the Octo does.. It also sounds like the Octo is a reactive ski.. I returned my Kastle 95 FX because they were reactive.. I would say I folded them and I got bucked.. A lot of DPS skis are reactive.. My DPS skis are not the really expensive ones that have all that Nasa carbon in them.. I would compare mine to the Salomon QST..mSo are Head Kore.. I prefer skiing stable/damp skis but that is just my style.. If you learned on reactive skis then chances are that is your preference over damp/stable skis..
What do you think about Bonafide 97? They seem to have a cult following. Discontinued and super cheap right now. I’m an ex-racer, but now 42 y/o dad who would use these a handful of times. Not a big skier 5’9” 170, definitely not strong enough to over power these but they wouldn’t throw me around either.
I ski ATOMIC 205cm. It's great. You can get skis for a buck at our thrift outlet. If you can ski, it doesn't matter that much what you ski on. Tune matters though.
Nice find, that's awesome. I used to go through the thrift store in Sun Valley and get snowpants for $12
Thanks for the content!
I tune into every video hoping one day we can see you climb those monkey bars behind you :p
I haven't used poles in twelve years.
Skinning up I use them but on the resort, empty hands
I got the QST 98, model 23/24, for 462€ incl. Salomon STRIVE 12 GW in blue/orange color 😁, incl. shipment (Black Friday)
That's funny cause I've never given your "backdrop" a second thought... Let me know when your coming to Utah, maybe we can make a few turns together.
How many skis do I want in my quiver = n+1, where n is the number of skis I currently have in my quiver 🤣
Haha, a philosophy I can get behind!
Algebra…BAH. Skiing is not math. Or is it??? No such thing as too many skis.
Maybe it's a snow condition issue for the different perspectives on the octo? Snow looks so good at your local mountain.