How to Pick the Perfect East Coast Ski

[@faceinthecrowd5810]

As an east coast skier for 60 plus years I’ve seen and skied a lot of trends the latest being the wider ski fad. For the last 2 years I have skied 89 to 104 underfoot and my experiences have brought me back to skiing a 74 under foot. Why? I am an advanced carver that skis the edge of the trail with a variety of short turns and opening it up to more GS at 40 to 50 MPH, 5’8” and 155lbs. I found my K2 mindbender 89TI in 177cm as an east coast daily driver to be solid but not as good on hardpack/ “ice” as I prefer. The edge to edge response was sort of sluggish and not as playful as I like. I took my Elan fusion 14’s out for a try after dusting them off and immediately wondered why I ever thought I wanted to follow the trends! 168cm, 74 under foot and super heavy with 2 full layers of TI, the grip…..holy shit…amazing! Radius, tight and speeds, stable. People pick skis for personal reasons and at the end of the day I don’t care what anyone one else likes, it’s about what I like or what you like. But as a ski culture observer what I see on the east coast in lift lines and coming down the hill is a reflection of intermediate skiers on wider, rockered skis and the result is more straight line skiing, more skidded turns and less carving. The skiers who carve and handle the ice, the afternoon scratch snow are not on powder park west coast planks they ski the more narrow waisted heavy axes.

[@kreska2022]

thanks a lot. I am 68 and getting a new ski this year. I love your comments. i am an intermediate skier, woman 158, 115 lb on 72 and 156 length Liquid heads. they hold well on an icy slope. I am considering wildcat 82 ti, 152 and wonder if they will hold on ice

[@faceinthecrowd5810]

@ mileage may vary but, a ski with metal(Ti) and not a super wide shoulder do ok on “ice”, or firm as we call it in the east. I have not skied a wildcat 82ti,but my 89Ti k2 Mindbenders do well on …..firm snow.

[@kreska2022]

@@faceinthecrowd5810 thanks, your answer means a lot. Buying a new equipment at the expert age is difficult.

[@newagain9964]

@@kreska2022at “expert age” u should be able to narrow it down far faster than others. Esp if ur an expert at a thing. Stop dwelling on marketing specs and ski what feels the best.

[@kreska2022]

@@newagain9964thanks , we all have our moments when we simply wander is it the skill or the equipment😊 however at the end of the road safety and fun are the only things that matter .

[@jeffmorrow7243]

I'm a ski tech from New England with 50 yrs on skis who skis primarily in the Whites, Greens, and the mountains of Western Maine. I'm 5"11, 185lbs. These are the same three questions I ask people when they ask me to recommend a ski. My go to ski is the Volkl Mantra M5 (96cm underfoot and 177cm long) ) but I will go to the Rossi Experience 82Ti in 178cm for those pure groomer days. I prefer to wander off trail but sometimes in the East groomers are all you get. The Mantra is exceptionally stable, good on hardpack, can rip, and excel in the crude and chopped up snow, but not much float in the deep stuff (over 5-6 inches). I find that with All-Mountain skies you got to give up something. But for the majority of what we ski in the East, the Mantra gets in done very well. They are also the skis I take West and have found its a good big mountain all mountain ski except for those big powder days. For that 1-3 days a year when the Nor'Easter hits us just right and dumps 2-feet on us and you get to be out there, or if your out west when the big storm hits rent yourself a playful powder ski in the 105-110cm range, maybe wider if your west. For those days where for whatever reason you're limited to the groomers, and that's a lot of the time in the East, I've found the Rossi Experience 82Ti to be a fun ski that's stable at speed and a quick turner so its good in the bumps, and even in the trees when they're skied out. Everybody's different and will settle on a ski they think in the best, but focusing on the three areas highlighted in the video will help you zero in on the best ski for you. The skis I mentioned here work best for me. Your "best ski" might be different. If you're looking for a "one ski quiver" get a ski that does most of the stuff you like to do. That's the Mantra for me. Lot's of good skis mentioned in these posts. If you can, demo multiple skis before you buy. It is the best way to find the ski that's right for you.

[@mitchellhart182]

I worked by butt off as a ski instructor and picked up a pair of atomic bent chetlers 100s last year. Love those sticks, they are my babies

[@chrism9976]

0:25 Those are Rossignol 4M Equipe. Got those for my birthday back in 88. Great mogul ski.,

[@fortyfour8160]

K2 102 Reckoner 177cm did well for me this season on the east coast!

[@SkitheEast]

the K2 reckoner is an office favorite of ours!

[@chrisdelbonis7533]

my go to ski is the k2 shredditor 102 perfect for everyday ripper and handles the pow just fine

[@davidgrattan673]

Holy smokes. That was an insanely well done tutorial.

[@SkitheEast]

Much appreciated!

[@karlhoffman9817]

pretty good advise, also true for west coast.

[@fastbladeproductions7961]

Eastcoast Frontside aggressive skier here....this relates back to 5:29 time mark.... Morning I run my Fischer Rc One 86 gt and in the afternoon I run my Kore 93... love this combo so much I bought another pair of both....

[@ardenpowers7730]

I ski only groomed and hardpacked conditions in NH. I will not ski anything over 80mm under foot. BTW, I'm a retired Ski Instructor who has been skiing for 70 seasons . . . so far ! Have fun . . .

[@WayneInRome]

I'm riding Dynastar Legends 96 underfoot - I love them, powder, carve, whatever. Fantastic ski.

[@sulydog]

How about the best ski for the iciest of east coast days when there is no fresh snow to be found whether in the woods or otherwise (I have others for less treacherous days.)

[@levrac68]

I have both the 2023 Elan 96 RS Black in 172 and the Atomic Maverick 95tis in 180. I'm a solid intermediate (5'11" 190LBS) middle aged male doing 3 trips out west and 6 weekends up to Vermont. I'd like a better choice for the Vermont/NH hard pack/ice. I've been looking at the K2 Mindbender 89s, the Nordica Enforcer 88s, Volkl Mantra M6 and the Kendo 88s. Whatever I get will be strictly for the East Coast. Thoughts???

[@jonnytest55]

I got atomic backland 100's. They are the perfect ski for me. Im pretty tall so i guess they might feel like a 90mm ski for someone like 5'10 or below. they are light, poppie, turn pretty good and float thru just about anything on the east coast.

[@James_Cy]

100s are way too thick for the East my guy trim that shit down.

[@joshuagravel2565]

I loved them so much that I got a pair of Maverick 100's, which are pretty much Backlands with two sheets of metal and a little more rocker and camber.

[@MineGames131]

Any thoughts on the K2 Mindbender 85s? I'm an intermediate to advanced skier that is mostly targeting glades and lumpy snow as well as groomers. The 85 seems like a good width for my Michigan conditions (powder is rare and never more than a few inches) but it seems like the 85 is more of a beginner ski. Would these be too flexible for aggressive carving?

[@daver7013]

Very well done.

[@SkitheEast]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@greensombrero3641]

great video - i'm thinking about Elan Ripsticks - anyone have any comments or experiences to share?

[@matthewcooper3774]

They are amazing. I have ripstick 88s. They aren’t the best in icy conditions but other than that they are a great ski in my one ski quiver. I think I may get a more narrow ski as my next purchase but I don’t feel it’s a necessity. Ice is part of the East Coast experience!

[@philipgardiner2003]

Check out Ski Essentials reviews of Ripsticks as well as their reveiw of mid 90's and 100mm skis. Jeff and Bob are the best reviewers on You Tube. Personally I was all over the Ripstick 106 Black but after serious due diligence and going from Black Crows Camox to Armada Locator 104 to Volkl Mantra 102 to Head Kore 105, to Solomon QST 106 to Atomic Backland 107's and a bunch of boutique skis- Meier, Renoun, Liberty, etc. I chose the Nordica Enforcer 104 Unlimited. It checks every box for a one quiver ski including being a lightweight tourer, a carver on hard pack yet playful in the trees and bumps. Putting a Solomon Shit on it for extreme versatility. Good luck man! Now all we need is snow!

[@DuxGoProvids]

Rustler 9 or 10s are perfect for everything.

[@rasik3880]

Ok man I have seen a lot of ski reviews! This has been the most entertaining and informative. I ski in mid west we don't have deep powder days but the logic applies 😁

[@SkitheEast]

Glad you enjoyed!

[@adubs6848]

So, the take away is to have more than one pair of skis?

[@predatorpwr]

The real solution, have multiple options and deploy the pow slappers when needed.

[@HelloWorld-zg3gs]

You can tell he's from Vermont because of the way he is.

[@petarpavlovic5669]

I'm 15 and not so heavy ,so when i switched my stockli sl to my dads wrt st for a day to try them it felt like I was pushing against concret as they were very stiff.

[@bensch9459]

k2 mindbender 99ti

[@mikehoffman7131]

I discovered the Lib Tech Backwards. i think it is the perfect East Coast ski

[@DrewishBear]

Step 1: Sell all your belongings. Step 2: Move to the west coast. Step 3: Purchase yourself a pair of K2’s. Step 4:Rejoice.

[@_curtis3200]

Your width scale needs to slide down! Groomers:

[@maxwellsleeper7528]

Stuck in the past are we?

[@TheGreatAbis]

Completely agree

[@sleuth2077]

@@maxwellsleeper7528 why would you need all that extra width for groomers?

[@zanaevans7403]

I ski Mad River Glen I ski the M Free 108 the ultimate 1 ski quiver

[@stephenbarradell4043]

​@@maxwellsleeper7528 no. That's reality. 100 mm is big enough for any pow day in the resort.

[@shirleyracing5283]

I’m 6ft and 155lbs, is the 184 (182 measured) armada arv 96 too long for an all mount playful ski

[@bojyles]

2011 K2 hellbent! 131 underfoot. Deep powder lover!

[@therealdgh13]

Need a new pair, but what I really need are some boots lmao

[@bradl1369]

I'm going with 2 icelantic 86 and 109

[@zanaevans7403]

I'm so tried of chubb's & PSA instructor types saying you can't ski the east coast with skis wider then 90mm under foot. Come on out to Mad River Glen we'll show you how it's done. I don't care if small width skis are for you, but don't tell me I can't ski 108 under foot skis! You have no idea

[@kylerexford1311]

Bubs, get you self over to your local ski swap and pic up a pair of beaters, something you kid rip pow, corduroy, ice, rocks and grass with without a worry of ruinin em

[@gabrielblain6229]

Line sick day 104 :D

[@Treeman1177]

I can and do ski everything with my 76 underfoot

[@phyein4815]

Same. Absolutely love em.

[@WesteProductions31]

Subtract those waist widths by 10

[@jackbarnhart7394]

I have had the same pair of skinny twin tips since I was 10 never been waxed or sharpened and I ski on ice and rocks and powder at mad river glen. They come up to just under my armpits and are the novice ski to end all novice skis. They are more dinged up than if I had taken a weed eater to them. If you think you brought the wrong ski to the mountain I have one piece of advice: STOP WASTING YOUR MONEY AND GET GOOD.

[@keVINlizzo]

Aren’t all skis the same?

[@SkitheEast]

they all go fast if you point 'em downhill! hope this video provided some clarity on how skis are different, and can be beneficial for different kinds of skiing!

[@sleuth2077]

Save up your money and buy more than one pair, so you can have specific skis for specific situations. Sure you can find a ski that does everything “ok," but why not get ones that are dialed in for exactly what you need them for? If money is an issue, spend the most money on the ski you will be using the most and then find a cheaper used pair for your 2nd pair. This fad of people using super wide skis for a front side ski, just seems silly too me. Buy an appropriate carving ski and your technique and knees will thank you.

[@SkitheEast]

that's the ideal! everybody skis differently, though, and if you choose a ski that best suits your needs it can be the perfect east coast ski for you!

[@joelberman5981]

Way too wide for groomers! Stay well under 80 mm

[@ironore8677]

Psss or just pick up a set of RC4’s bud ….

[@jasonmathews1685]

Sorry I ruined your 420 thumbs up 😑😂

[@holdenbaldassi3697]

Surface Giver