Traveling from the uk to Europe for skiing is exactly why I went for an arv 94. I know it’s not some peoples favourite but it seems to fit the “safe ski” brackets pretty well, as always, love the vids
My safe bet ski is the Faction Prodigy 2.0... if I don't know how the conditions will be this is what I reach for. It's not a pure anything ski but it carves well, goes through crud and can handle a bit of pow and park.
Thank you for your continued content. I have a quiver of 8 skis all off piste focust . My safebet ski for last season has been the Mindbender 108 Im a tall heavy guy and find these great in all conditions, just a little heavy. I've got them with shift bindings but considering mounting ATK Raider 13 Evo pin bindings but that remains to be seen. I ski mainly in Europe
Love to hear you talk specifics with these skis- especially identifying the good points, weak points, and overall value. In terms of what I might choose, I think for 4-6 inches of powder a 92-94 width is plenty. I think technique matters more than the specific ski. For more powder, I think the skis you talk about here make total sense. I would wonder about the head kore 99 if they still make it. My experience with Salomon qst 106 is that it would be good but carving might take extra work but might be still worth it.
That IMO is way too much ski for 4-6 inches of powder, if you can ski at an advanced and up level, you can ski 4-6 inches of powder on a 70mm ski. I used to have a pair of Stockli Laser Cross Pro's that were 72mm and I got them new in 2007 and they could ski 6 inches of powder without a problem. If someone cannot ski 4-6 inches of powder on these new tongue depressors that are over 80mm, they should either take multiple lessons or just not ski at all. I currently have a pair of Stockli Stormrider 88's and I have skied over knee deep powder in Whistler with them and they were great! This year I am trying to decide on either a pair of Stockli Laser SX's or Stockli Montero AX's. I live out west and ski in Utah, Colorado and Wyoming and you never need a pair of skis more than 80mm for almost 95% of the ski season, max one needs are 95mm skis for more than 18inches of snow. The percentage of the ski population that can actually ski and make full use of a ski more than 80mm is probably less than 3%, it is absolutely laughable when I hear skiers say that they only have skis that are over 90mm.
I don’t disagree with you. I personally tend to like the mid 80s, but my reference to 92-94 being plenty was my stab at an upper range. I can make an 84 work on powder/deep crud. As you noted it’s really more about technique. I carve more than adequately on 92 especially with damp/stiff skis. Again it’s skill>ski. Thats partly why my quiver consists of only two skis.
My safe bet ski is the Liberty Origin 96, which is also my tree ski. Another safe bet ski I have heard, although not skied is the Nordica Enforcer 104.
New to the channel and love the content! As someone who is pretty new to skiing, I was surprised to hear that the Salomon QST 98 is possibly slightly *better* on powder than the Peak 104 but much worse on groomers. From my understanding, more width is better for powder, so why is the 98 worse for groomers but better on powder than the 104? Thanks!
Great video. My buddy raves about the QST. I tried it for the day at Solitude but didn’t care for it but in fairness I don’t think it was the right conditions. Heavy & crusty snow off the groomers.
I like the term. This seems to be the western NA demo shop default kinda ski. Like, narrower than 98, I'm sure shops would get people looking like they just got insulted considering how wide of skis people are using on the East Coast and even in the Midwest these days.
@RicketySkiReviews thanks for all this content. Curious if you have ever skied Schweitzer mountain in north Idaho. A mountain I ski a lot. I’d be curious what ski you’d recommend for skiing Schweitzer? I’m 6’1 almost 6’2 and weigh 208lbs. I love to ski the north bowl skiing the trees and powder and then bomb down groomers. I like to make quick turns and be able to float a little powder. Thanks in advance
I was curious where the Black Crows Atris would fall on this list. You seemed to talk more highly of it compared to the Maverick 105 but gave it a lower score in your individual review.
tbh I've found the unleashed 98 to be a better mid-width 1-ski quiver model than the enforcer 99. It's way more playful, but still damp enough to bust through most stuff. Edit: the main difference is the twin tip on the unleashed. Even if the enforcer has fixed the problems Elliot has mentioned, it likely still locks in turns because you can't as easily pivot and wash out a turn. Skiing tight trees necessitates that for me, which is another plus for the unleashed
Sam, have you ever skied a kore93? How does unleashed 98 compare? The kore has been my daily driver, but I’m looking for something a little more playful and better in bumps and trees (which I’d like to ski more of)
@@ericfluhler4080 I skied the 99, but only in alpine (I telemark, so my unleashed is set up from that). The unleashed is not as good for carving for sure, but it feels better for busting through very heavy "cascade cement" for its width. Unleashed is slightly better in that snow and damper when busting through crud, while the Kore felt better carving and was slightly more jittery when plowing through tracked up messy snow. Tbh if I had known about the Kore and could've found it for the same price, I probably would've gone with it
When you say “2 clicks back” for the peaks. Is that for the standard mount or from center? I have mine currently at standard mount and I’m gonna throw a pair of demo bindings on to play with mount point. Want to make sure the shop I send it to gets it right!
Safe bet ski for me? Elan Ripstick 96 black. Not the highest performing ski ever but narrow enough to rip a groomed run and wide enough not to feel horrible in 6 inches of powder.
Thanks. I’m interested in a frontside carver. My dobby slr have lost their pop and hold. I’m in Wenatchee and there’s no swap meet around here. Looking for an 11m r ski for not a ton of money
@@45shrikeyes I’ll be at mission. I just moved here after 25 years in Reno skiing squaw etc. I’ve never skied mission. But I bought my ssn pass. I’m coming back from a patellar tendon injury so I’m planning to go slow on groomers. That’s why I like 12 ish meter skis. But I’ll be skiing some 15m skis this ssn (black pearl 78 and some temptation 84s). But I’m always looking for a new or used super short beer league slalom ski.
I have been thinking about what skis I would like to use for early season.. I was thinking about using my old race skis that are 70mm under foot.. They are easy to get on and off edges and they have a shorter turn radius.. When conditions turn to crud I can turn around it.. Race skis aren't meant for crud.. That is why we would slip the course.. My 2021 DPS Wailer RP F100 x 184 have a 15m turn radius so I can do short turns and they are good on softer groomers and crud and slush.. They will slide and or chatter on rock hard groomers or ice.. I even had a wipeout in a bowl because they slid on the ice and the tips caught on some crud.. The other thing with these skis is that I have to ski them forward.. If I am upright or back the tails will catch and spin me around.. I also do not like skiing narrow cat tracks or through the woods with these skis.. Maybe it is the long length.. I do have to mention that I got my top speed of 77.8 mph with these skis.. Shocking right because most of the time my speed is less than 50 mph.. Ski Tracks don't like;)
They are actually two different things. OSQ suggests that one ski can do it all which they can't. Safe bet says what is a good ski for unknown conditions, with the understanding it won't be good for all conditions.
It’s the old school way of pronouncing it. In the 70’s that is definitely the way it is pronounced by 100% of the skiing community. It somehow has evolved. I agree with Elliot.
Love your commentary and reviews. I don't think that 98-105mm underfoot should be called mid-width though, those are certainly fat skis and are definitely too much ski for when people are skiing groomers, moguls or when it has snowed less than 12 inches. I qualify mid-width as 80-90mm. Anything over 90mm+ is a fat ski, then anything over 105mm+ would be a super fat ski! I know that you see people ski all the time and are they actually carving on those skis or just sliding around on them pretending to ski?. I know that not everyone that skis has a race background like you, but they can certainly take a few ski lessons to try and get better so that they don't hurt their knees.
Your widths are on the narrow side. Skis in the range he suggests are better at carving than narrower skis are at skiing powder and hence are all around safer bets. And 90mm is the middle of the all mountain range of ski widths (85-95mm). Definitely not a fat (powder oriented) ski which are 100mm+.
@@robruf yeah I worry about fat skis and knee injuries. I think the shape of the ski also makes a difference certainly. a fatter ski that has more shape to it seems safer to me than a fat ski that is more like a tongue depressor.
@@robruf your width range is from about 20 years ago. I’ve skied M-Free 108s on groomed runs ; they’re more work to get on edge than my Kendo 88s but Dynastar’s European heritage means you can pull big fast GS turns on those planks. Something like a Volkl Katana 108 would be even better thanks to their more directional shape.
This is not an recensie for a experience skier. Testing is one! I don`t buy a ski for my car. I buy a ski that`s great! I miss The Whitedot ski, The Zag ski.
In fact I wanted a fat powder/freeride ski but then I thought I also needed something for the groomers as well 🫤 - so I toned it down to QST 98. You can call it a safe bet indeed. 🙂
Thanks everyone for watching, took a few days off to travel with my family, but happy to be back making videos! Hope you enjoy.
Traveling from the uk to Europe for skiing is exactly why I went for an arv 94. I know it’s not some peoples favourite but it seems to fit the “safe ski” brackets pretty well, as always, love the vids
My safe bet ski is the Faction Prodigy 2.0... if I don't know how the conditions will be this is what I reach for. It's not a pure anything ski but it carves well, goes through crud and can handle a bit of pow and park.
Thank you for your continued content.
I have a quiver of 8 skis all off piste focust .
My safebet ski for last season has been the Mindbender 108
Im a tall heavy guy and find these great in all conditions, just a little heavy.
I've got them with shift bindings but considering mounting ATK Raider 13 Evo pin bindings but that remains to be seen.
I ski mainly in Europe
8 skis, that’s awesome
Great comment! this will be featured in the next video so keep an eye out!
Safe Bet = All Arounder = Most Versatile or in a slightly different context, the mythical One Ski Quiver
Love to hear you talk specifics with these skis- especially identifying the good points, weak points, and overall value.
In terms of what I might choose, I think for 4-6 inches of powder a 92-94 width is plenty. I think technique matters more than the specific ski. For more powder, I think the skis you talk about here make total sense. I would wonder about the head kore 99 if they still make it. My experience with Salomon qst 106 is that it would be good but carving might take extra work but might be still worth it.
That IMO is way too much ski for 4-6 inches of powder, if you can ski at an advanced and up level, you can ski 4-6 inches of powder on a 70mm ski. I used to have a pair of Stockli Laser Cross Pro's that were 72mm and I got them new in 2007 and they could ski 6 inches of powder without a problem. If someone cannot ski 4-6 inches of powder on these new tongue depressors that are over 80mm, they should either take multiple lessons or just not ski at all. I currently have a pair of Stockli Stormrider 88's and I have skied over knee deep powder in Whistler with them and they were great! This year I am trying to decide on either a pair of Stockli Laser SX's or Stockli Montero AX's. I live out west and ski in Utah, Colorado and Wyoming and you never need a pair of skis more than 80mm for almost 95% of the ski season, max one needs are 95mm skis for more than 18inches of snow. The percentage of the ski population that can actually ski and make full use of a ski more than 80mm is probably less than 3%, it is absolutely laughable when I hear skiers say that they only have skis that are over 90mm.
I don’t disagree with you. I personally tend to like the mid 80s, but my reference to 92-94 being plenty was my stab at an upper range. I can make an 84 work on powder/deep crud. As you noted it’s really more about technique. I carve more than adequately on 92 especially with damp/stiff skis. Again it’s skill>ski. Thats partly why my quiver consists of only two skis.
My safe bet ski is the Liberty Origin 96, which is also my tree ski. Another safe bet ski I have heard, although not skied is the Nordica Enforcer 104.
New to the channel and love the content! As someone who is pretty new to skiing, I was surprised to hear that the Salomon QST 98 is possibly slightly *better* on powder than the Peak 104 but much worse on groomers. From my understanding, more width is better for powder, so why is the 98 worse for groomers but better on powder than the 104? Thanks!
Great video. My buddy raves about the QST. I tried it for the day at Solitude but didn’t care for it but in fairness I don’t think it was the right conditions. Heavy & crusty snow off the groomers.
Thanks Elliot. Great episode.
Wow, all of these skis nail the “safe bet” category.
I like the term. This seems to be the western NA demo shop default kinda ski. Like, narrower than 98, I'm sure shops would get people looking like they just got insulted considering how wide of skis people are using on the East Coast and even in the Midwest these days.
Safe betski. Hahaha
Just the way those two words roll off the tongue.
@RicketySkiReviews thanks for all this content. Curious if you have ever skied Schweitzer mountain in north Idaho. A mountain I ski a lot. I’d be curious what ski you’d recommend for skiing Schweitzer? I’m 6’1 almost 6’2 and weigh 208lbs. I love to ski the north bowl skiing the trees and powder and then bomb down groomers. I like to make quick turns and be able to float a little powder. Thanks in advance
I was curious where the Black Crows Atris would fall on this list. You seemed to talk more highly of it compared to the Maverick 105 but gave it a lower score in your individual review.
Hey I own the Atris and demoed the Mav 105. Prefer the Mav, it's an amazing ski. Faction Dancer 2 is epic as well.
tbh I've found the unleashed 98 to be a better mid-width 1-ski quiver model than the enforcer 99. It's way more playful, but still damp enough to bust through most stuff. Edit: the main difference is the twin tip on the unleashed. Even if the enforcer has fixed the problems Elliot has mentioned, it likely still locks in turns because you can't as easily pivot and wash out a turn. Skiing tight trees necessitates that for me, which is another plus for the unleashed
Elliot, ever ski the unleashed 98? Thoughts as compared to something like a kore 93?
Sam, have you ever skied a kore93? How does unleashed 98 compare? The kore has been my daily driver, but I’m looking for something a little more playful and better in bumps and trees (which I’d like to ski more of)
@@ericfluhler4080 I skied the 99, but only in alpine (I telemark, so my unleashed is set up from that). The unleashed is not as good for carving for sure, but it feels better for busting through very heavy "cascade cement" for its width. Unleashed is slightly better in that snow and damper when busting through crud, while the Kore felt better carving and was slightly more jittery when plowing through tracked up messy snow. Tbh if I had known about the Kore and could've found it for the same price, I probably would've gone with it
@@SamWhitlock thanks a bunch
Hi Eliott. Have you ever tried Blizzard Brahma 82? ANy thoughts about them? Thanks
If I may weigh in: Great ski! Carves great, quick edge to edge, great fun!
@@frederikvermote1960 thanks!!!
wildcat 108s in a size down from my regular skis (190 -> 184)
When you say “2 clicks back” for the peaks. Is that for the standard mount or from center? I have mine currently at standard mount and I’m gonna throw a pair of demo bindings on to play with mount point. Want to make sure the shop I send it to gets it right!
No Rossignol? You should try a pair easy snow person
Safe bet ski for me? Elan Ripstick 96 black. Not the highest performing ski ever but narrow enough to rip a groomed run and wide enough not to feel horrible in 6 inches of powder.
Thanks. I’m interested in a frontside carver. My dobby slr have lost their pop and hold. I’m in Wenatchee and there’s no swap meet around here. Looking for an 11m r ski for not a ton of money
You’re probably skiing Mission; 11 meters is a tiny radius. I had tons of fun up there with 15m radius skis.
@@45shrikeyes I’ll be at mission. I just moved here after 25 years in Reno skiing squaw etc. I’ve never skied mission. But I bought my ssn pass. I’m coming back from a patellar tendon injury so I’m planning to go slow on groomers. That’s why I like 12 ish meter skis. But I’ll be skiing some 15m skis this ssn (black pearl 78 and some temptation 84s). But I’m always looking for a new or used super short beer league slalom ski.
Maverick 95 or 100 could be an argument
Totally, I just figured since the 100 has one foot in the grave and the 105cti had a slightly higher score
This comment will be in the next video, so keep an eye out!
I have been thinking about what skis I would like to use for early season.. I was thinking about using my old race skis that are 70mm under foot.. They are easy to get on and off edges and they have a shorter turn radius.. When conditions turn to crud I can turn around it.. Race skis aren't meant for crud.. That is why we would slip the course..
My 2021 DPS Wailer RP F100 x 184 have a 15m turn radius so I can do short turns and they are good on softer groomers and crud and slush.. They will slide and or chatter on rock hard groomers or ice.. I even had a wipeout in a bowl because they slid on the ice and the tips caught on some crud.. The other thing with these skis is that I have to ski them forward.. If I am upright or back the tails will catch and spin me around.. I also do not like skiing narrow cat tracks or through the woods with these skis.. Maybe it is the long length.. I do have to mention that I got my top speed of 77.8 mph with these skis.. Shocking right because most of the time my speed is less than 50 mph.. Ski Tracks don't like;)
Shocking because it's likely a measurement error. Those Wailer's are literally the last ski you'd expect to see travelling that fast.
@@bearclaw5115 I am pretty sure Ski Tracks uses GPS.. I didn't go off any cliffs.. I don't know what would make me go that fast..
@@darinsmith2458 for almost 80 mph I’d guess you were on some GS skis with around a 20 meter radius, not some DPSes.
@@45shrike That makes sense..
Surprised the title is not "One ski quiver"? 🤣
They are actually two different things. OSQ suggests that one ski can do it all which they can't. Safe bet says what is a good ski for unknown conditions, with the understanding it won't be good for all conditions.
@@doppster1 - be careful, the wrath of Elliot will be upon you- lol 😆😆😆
It's a one ski quiver if that's all you can afford.
Is it really pronounced blizz-ARD? I'm ok with it, I've just never heard it pronounced that way.
It’s the old school way of pronouncing it. In the 70’s that is definitely the way it is pronounced by 100% of the skiing community. It somehow has evolved. I agree with Elliot.
@@Ceemysix In German - "Blitz - aard"
It depends who you ask. The technically most correct would be the original German "BLITZ-aard".
Too funny, yeah in German language zz does not really make sense so blizzard is an odd name anyway given its Austrian manufacturing
@@simonorr594Per the skiessentials trip, it is a German mispronunciation of blizzard. They wanted an English name after WWII.
Love your commentary and reviews. I don't think that 98-105mm underfoot should be called mid-width though, those are certainly fat skis and are definitely too much ski for when people are skiing groomers, moguls or when it has snowed less than 12 inches. I qualify mid-width as 80-90mm. Anything over 90mm+ is a fat ski, then anything over 105mm+ would be a super fat ski! I know that you see people ski all the time and are they actually carving on those skis or just sliding around on them pretending to ski?. I know that not everyone that skis has a race background like you, but they can certainly take a few ski lessons to try and get better so that they don't hurt their knees.
Your widths are on the narrow side. Skis in the range he suggests are better at carving than narrower skis are at skiing powder and hence are all around safer bets. And 90mm is the middle of the all mountain range of ski widths (85-95mm). Definitely not a fat (powder oriented) ski which are 100mm+.
@@robruf yeah I worry about fat skis and knee injuries. I think the shape of the ski also makes a difference certainly. a fatter ski that has more shape to it seems safer to me than a fat ski that is more like a tongue depressor.
@@robruf your width range is from about 20 years ago.
I’ve skied M-Free 108s on groomed runs ; they’re more work to get on edge than my Kendo 88s but Dynastar’s European heritage means you can pull big fast GS turns on those planks. Something like a Volkl Katana 108 would be even better thanks to their more directional shape.
This is not an recensie for a experience skier. Testing is one! I don`t buy a ski for my car. I buy a ski that`s great! I miss The Whitedot ski, The Zag ski.
Maybe check out the daily driver video for more relevant skis. Don't fully understand your comment
In fact I wanted a fat powder/freeride ski but then I thought I also needed something for the groomers as well 🫤 - so I toned it down to QST 98. You can call it a safe bet indeed. 🙂