Editor’s top 10s – Skis to Try Now

August 24th, 2010


Will Clifford showing you can get a carve out of the Liberty Morphics. Image:: Ben Hansen

Words | Tess Cook

The never-ending search for the ultimate set of planks… The other day I encountered a man looking for the ski that does everything. He was in the Jindabyne Sports Demo Centre at Valley Terminal in Thredbo. He wanted to demo the skis that would be stable at speed, responsive in bumps, float in powder and (he didn’t say this but it was implied) make him look good.

Does such a ski exist? It’s debatable. Plenty of skis will satisfactorily handle most things, but no ski will perform amazingly at everything; every ski is specialised.

Which is why we need multiple skis. So, in the spirit of buying new toys, here, in no particular order, are the skis you should have a go on soon. There’s something for every taste and some new technology thrown in for good measure.

  • The Rossignol CX80 & Strato CX80. People who know skis love this ski. It’s, dare I say it, a man’s ski. This ski will lay down a challenge but it’ll reward you with feelings of ski-mastery when you tame it. That being said, it’s not a GS ski, even when driven by less-than-dynamic leg muscles it’s still responsive. At 80 under foot you might take it off piste too.
    What you want it for: charging the groomers
    What you don’t want it for: serious powder
  • The K2 Rictor. Reverse camber technology is the most exciting thing in ski development in the past few years and K2 is proving it’s not just for super-fat powder skis. If you want to taste the rocker phenomenon but you’re not going to Alaska any time soon, these are the go. They use the reverse camber technology to make the ski super responsive for on-piste adventures.
    What you want them for: Mastering the piste
    What you don’t want them for: Alaska
  • The Liberty Range. New to Australia, Liberty Skis is changing perceptions; park skis that eat up the groomers and twin tips for all mountain skiing, made using supple but strong bamboo. Perhaps it’s cheating to sneak four skis into one in a list of 10 skis, but what I’m trying to say is, try the range; experience how they’re pushing the boundaries of what twin tips do.
    The Jinx is the girls’ ski with guts, if you’re sick of skis with all flowers and no power, try the Jinx – the pink graphics are ironic because these rip.
    The Lte is the park ski that holds its own all over the resort, springy but stable.
    The Morphic is the all mountain machine, try it on groomers, you’ll be surprised
    The Helix is the first of the big mountain skis they smash powder and love groomers. The Double Helix and the Genome aren’t available to demo in Australia but if the performance of their brothers is anything to go on, these guys are good!
    What you want them for: Park/Powder/piste/off piste
    What you don’t want them for: slalom racing
  • The Volkl Attiva women’s range. There are 13 skis in the Attiva range and they all feature female-specific bio-logic construction. Girls have a different stance and different centre of gravity, which the Attivas cater for. So if you’ve been skiing on a unisex ski, give these a go to see how they flatter your female form. There’s a ski for every lady in the Attiva range, from the ever-forgiving Cielo to the power horse Aurora.
    What you want them for: feeling fantastic on skis
    What you don’t want them for: lending to your boyfriend/husband/son

Zoe Jaboor on her JJs. Image:: Courtesy Rip Curl Pro

  • The Head iSupershape Titan. This is a ski for cutting railway tracks into the groomers. If you want to make turns like a GS racer, get on a pair of these and feel the pure carve. They have a turning radius of 13.5m at 170cm, so they’re ideal for bouncing around the mountain. Olympian Jono Brauer skis on head and he calls these the ones to check out; good recommendation.
    What you want them for: carving
    What you don’t want them for: the park
  • Salomon Lord & Lady. One graphic for girls, another for boys, but these are essentially the same ski. These are putting smiles on faces all over the place because they’re an honest, hardworking, good ski. At 87 underfoot they’ll do you proud off piste but they’re not going to punish you on the groomers; Versatile. If you want to try something that just works, grab yourself a lord or a lady.
    What you want them for: skiing everywhere, all day
    What you don’t want them for: freestyle
  • The Rossignol Alias auto-turn. They’ll suck you in for the novelty value and keep you with their turning satisfaction. This innovative new ski from Rossignol uses camber to promote turning action – the skis have a rocker shape that helps initiate the turn! I’ve seen one skier nearly tackle another for a second turn of the Alias on a demo day; these skis are for anyone who just wants to feel great when they ski.
    What you want them for: really satisfying turns.
    What you don’t want them for: super G.
  • The Elan Waveflex 78 Fusion. Big skis for big skiing are always talked about, but what about the skis that make recreational skiers feel great and look better? The 78 Fusions are part of the Waveflex range that incorporates all Elan’s – make-turning-effortless technology. There’s a ski for every skier in the range but these ones are spot on for the mountain cruiser. If you love being on the snow but want to cruise blue runs all day feeling fantastic, give these a try.
    What you want them for: blue run cruising
    What you don’t want them for: racing
  • The Dynastar Legend Sultan 94. A perennial favourite with people who like to ski, seriously, the Legend Sultan in the 94 underfoot is the skiers’ all mountain ski, ready to drop off into the untracked at a moment’s notice. Dare we say it; they cut a swath through the Aussie slush too!
    What you want them for: destroying anything soft
    What you don’t want them for: the halfpipe
  • The Armada JJ. Any ski that has five width measurements, not three is worth a second glance. These monsters are for powder, they measure 126/136/115/133/121 – yep, they narrow out at the tip and tail, so they’re like strapping canoes to your feet when you want to float in powder. Aussie ski queen Zoe Jaboor just took out the Rip Curl pro on her JJs, for the rest of us though these are the skis to take overseas.
    What you want them for: Heli skiing
    What you don’t want them for: turning much

Demoing skis is a buyer’s must. Visit a ski shop at or near the resort you ski at to demo before you settle on the right skis to buy. Try Buller Sports in Buller, Jindabyne Sports, in Jindabyne and Thredbo and Larry Adler in Jindabyne.

Liberty Skis are currently only available to demo at Perisher’s Slopestyle Mountain Sports.