Best Skiing Equipment According to r/skiing

"These are the GOATs: [Men's RFL Over-the-Calf Ultra-Lightweight Ski & Snowboard Socks](https://darntough.com/products/mens-merino-wool-rfl-otc-no-cushion-ultra-lightweight-ski-snowboard-socks?variant=37874222530746)"

"I've never tried the thin nylon socks, but Darn Tough ski socks are the best invention since sliced bread. I wear them all the time in the winter, skiing or not. They're well worth the money. Also, good luck with your new boots! It's amazing how much easier it gets to ski when you move to the right boot. (You can imagine how I know.)"

"Merino wool or merino wool blend, lightweight or ultra lightweight, no cushion, over the calf. That's the criteria, you wanna hit on all 4 of those. Darn Tough or Smartwool are my favorite brands."

"they generally advertise the width of the last which is a good starting point beyond that everyone's bones are a little different, all the liners are slightly different, etc I just got zip fit so hopefully I don't have to worry about this as much anymore"

"I have been down that road in forums too. ZipFit Liners are undoubtedly colder than Intuition Liners. I know that because I have fit 1000's of Intuition Liners over the last 20 years. I have had to put very few of those clients in heated socks or heated footbeds to stay warm. I have been fitting ZipFit Liners for 5 years now (I would guess ~200-300 clients), and I have put a lot of those people in heated socks or footbeds. The percentages are not even close."

"Get zipfits, do not in any way get a single liner, that would likely be the most horrible skiing experience of your life."

"You know how a RAV4 or CR-V is a safe recommendation for a car that is decent at everything? I've demoed a ton of skis the last few years and the Salomon QST 94 is the RAV4 of skis. "

"There's no reason your ski brand need to match your boots, but if you did want to stick with Nordica the Unleashed 98 would be a great choice, Ti or CA depending on your preferences (more damp vs more lively), the 180 length is what I'd recommend"

"I would not describe the unleashed as a playful ski at all. It’s heavy and fairly stiff. It’s a softer and more fun enforcer, but not “fun”. A bent 100 or similar is a much more “fun” ski."

"I love love love my santa ana 88 and 92s. Just got the unleashed 98s and can’t wait to take them out this season."

"Declivity 92 is as close to a western North America one ski quiver as I've found. But i think it's more about the skier and their ability to make the ski work well in a variety of conditions."

"+1 on lessons to help solve your issues, I wld also recommend trying some used gear to hell dial in your preferences wo slending lots of cash. Personally I enjoy the Armada Declivity line for carving the IceCoast is various conditions. Found them to be a big help in confidence and control. Enjoy the ride!"

"I have the declivity 92ti and love them. Ski killington and bring them out west."

"If they ever try to change the Wildcat again I'm buying 3 pairs to hold me over until they inevitably reverse the error a second time"

"You should give the Moment Wildcat 108s a shot. They were my transition after my Candide 3.0’s broke and they have been unbelievable skis"

"Oh man if I hadn’t gotten wildcats last year I’d be on this deal before I can even finish this comment"

"If you can't flex the Brahma at 200 lbs then it's because you can't ski, not because you weigh less than you once did."

"I came from Brahma 88s and my Rusters are 400g lighter. The extra width means I need to move my weight a bit quicker to start a turn, but once on an edge they pivot with less effort than the Brahmas which were so stiff. I fly most of the time to go skiing and I only take one pair, and so far they have been great on everything from bluebird/spring days up to fresh powder coming down at Alta. I am sure there are a bunch of other skis I would also love, but my rustlers have been great."

"Maybe this is circular, but the Brahma is a good ski for Brahma conditions. Good east coast directional ski to push hard. Good for low tide out west. Some people like the Kendo better. I *think* the brahmas from that era are a bit burlier than the Kendo and are more happy pushing big fast GS style turns while the Kendos might be happier going slower and be easier to push into a variety of turn shapes. $220 for new unmounted seems like a fair price."

"The blades are bonkers fun if you like to see how many Gs you can pull in a turn and don't care about going straight Gonna probably find a pair in the off-season myself"

"That was my setup. Delammed tip to tail both skis. Was fun while it lasted I guess. I also had the titanal on Blades delam in less than a dozen days. It’s a fun ski to borrow for a day. The novelty wore off pretty quick on those. I never skied any optics but I’m sure a blue square would be like a can opener on them like any other line ski."

"I went through this when I moved back to Ontario from BC and taught my GF how to ski… basically I went from rocking super big Volkl katanas with a turn radius of “eventually” to shorter narrower playful skis ie; line blade, or elan wingman. Now my quiver is maverick88ti for serious days in Quebec or crushing laps with the boys and line blade for skiing with my missus and making more turns that ever before"

"Marcus goguen pro model top sheet on the sender free 110s. They are actually pretty sweet with the dark city scape of Vancouver on bottom and Mountains of Whistler on the top."

"Rossi sender 110 seems like it’s one of the most durable and powerful. But I understand aside from that ski I wouldn’t buy from them Moment is burly but doesn’t have traditional tail skis Stormrider 102 has got to a top pick but it’s not the same as their 2019-20 version was (much less stiff now) Maybe anomaly 102. If it just busts through everything it must be durable"

"I don’t like the new Enforcers. The older models worked much better for me. I’m very happy with my Sender Soul 102 and Sender Free 110."

"I’m 5’-9” and am on 180cm Ripstick 96s. They work great in the trees. Switching from 169 to 175 is not a very big change, but there is a lot more to skis than just the length. A wide lightweight playful 180cm ski with rocker is going to be way easier to ski in trees than a 170cm narrow stiff carving ski."

"Dude was barely out-skiing the Rossignol Sky 7 and you think the Ripstick 96 will be *"sloppy noodles"* for him? Please 🙄"

"As someone with different skies for all those conditions, I do have to say the Elan Ripstick comes close to being the one to rule them all."

"I’ve got a big noggin and like the Giro Jackson. But I also tried another Giro helmet (the grid I think) and it was way too small. Even within a brand sizing will vary. I’d recommend going to a brick & mortar store and trying them on in person. Helmets are one of those items where the safety and comfort are worth paying a premium for to get it right."

"I have been down that road in forums too. ZipFit Liners are undoubtedly colder than Intuition Liners. I know that because I have fit 1000's of Intuition Liners over the last 20 years. I have had to put very few of those clients in heated socks or heated footbeds to stay warm. I have been fitting ZipFit Liners for 5 years now (I would guess ~200-300 clients), and I have put a lot of those people in heated socks or footbeds. The percentages are not even close."

"Get Intuition Liners. If you are going to Whistler. Go see George McConkey at Evo Sports in Whistler. He is one of the best boot fitters out there, period. He will sort you out."

"I love my arv 106s dearly. They are a smidge heavy but that helps them eat chop way better than the bent. Bents are more fun at lower speed playing around since they’re lighter and easier to toss around. Arv is definitely a better daily if you like to go fast or charge in the slightest. I dont regret not buying bents but i can definitely see why people other than oem knees like them so much"

"Sweet. I have hawx hybrid boots as well. I think these would be sweet hybrid skis, i have the arv106 with dukes and those are really heavy lol. Those are fabulous for when an edge is needed. Do they feel supportive on landings?"

"I was a big fan of the ARV 106 188s I demoed this year. Maybe go a size or two down, but could carve, felt stable, slashy when wanted, and handled 6” of chop really well. Easy to ski."

"Salomon QST 92 or 100. Solid all around skis that you can progress on well, are user friendly, and hold up well enough. You’ll know what you really want after say 80-100 days on them."

"I mean the old QST 92 was quite floppy, much more than Oblivion skis wich are full twin tips. A twin tip doesnt make a ski floppy, the construction is."

"damn, are you me?? Started around 2021, Crystal is my home mountain, even bought the QST92s great arc! Totally relate - I’m become addicted to the progression and mourning the season winding down"

"Check out Trew. They have three different inseam lengths (and overall excellent stuff)."

"Yeah I’ve been totally satisfied with my primo jacket and trewth bibs. Aside from Improving the sliders on the suspenders, it’s about as good as you can get. And they’re cheap this time of year typically. I was able to find my first set, all black, for $200 each top and bottom. Used it all season, the pockets are perfect, it just gets out of the way Then, I saw the purps color and had to have it, so I stalked it and got it at 30% off late season (they sold out of XL before sale got any better, I think I payed around $350 per piece). You can see it in action if you look at my post history for my skiing feedback thread."

"Yep, I started using Trew bibs last season and I have 50+ days in them and they are great."

"Last time I skied in Europe, it was on the Swiss/Austrian border. I rented a pair of Elan Ripstick 106's without a problem. Bonus, they were brand new. I was there in mid-January and nobody had rented them yet."

"They are Ripsticks and they certainly do like to lose bits of the topsheet. Good point about water damage, I'll get the shop to tune them up."

"It's a combination of both. So no same weight does not mean same ski size instantly. This is why kids skis are usually dumbed down cores of the adult skis even in the same size. You can put a 5'5" 13 year old who ways 90lbs on that kids variation of the adult ski. Another example I use sometimes is myself. I'm an expert skier who is 6'4" and 170lbs, so I'm lighter than most at my height. I love the Elan Ripstick line, but despite my height and ability level, I prefer the normal Ripstick in a 188 as opposed to the ripstick black edition(stiffer core) in the same size. Now if I went down in size, I would prefer the Black edition. If you are on the extreme sides of weight, I would take that into account first, but if you are close to average weight, like most people are, then yes go with height first. You probably got downvoted because you just said he was wrong with 0 explanation, and he really isn't. At the end of the day, both matter and you can't really say one is way more important than the other."

"The Sender 100 is a great ski, but there are better ways to spend $1k right now. The [Unleashed 108](https://www.evo.com/outlet/skis/nordica-unleashed-108-ice) for $319 is an insanely good ski for that price."

"Very true about the construction - interesting to compare their skis from 10 years ago to today. I found the Countach line to be exactly what I wanted and something I wasn’t finding from other manufacturers. The Unleashed was the closest to what I was looking for, and I immediately sold my pair after I demo’d (and then bought) the Countach. You’re probably right about fine margins, in which case I don’t know how we can even give Moment grief about the prices. Seems like the whole industry might be in for a serious adjustment."

"The Nordica Unleashed 108 would be a better ski while also helping you become a better skier."

"Mfree 108s, 192cm. Mounted +1.5cm of rec. I love them. I'm not an expert by any means, but this is my favorite ski I've touched. They're a heavy and damp ski, but still have plenty of energy and pop. I can't imagine much better than this for the type of skiing I like to do. My only complaints are that they're not great in super tight terrain and if you're just puttering around mellow groomers... they're going to feel like dead planks. Of course, I don't know what else you'd expect from a 192cm heavy ass plank. Also very much a skill issue. Worth noting, though."

"I am also unimpressed with Ripsticks and enjoyed blasting groomed runs on e-rally’s.  Dynastar M-Frees. I’m on the 108 for my fat ski. Try the 100 for a width that’s OK for groomed runs. You could even go 108; they don’t suck on groomed runs but it’s not what they’re built for. "

"I second this recommendation. The mfree 108 is soooo good in so many circumstances and at least okay at everything else. They certainly aren’t a groomer ski but they don’t feel bad on groomers either.  My favorite thing about them is how fun they are in chop. Skiing chop in them makes you feel like invincible. You can just blast through everything. "

"Anyone who is saying running a booster under the shell is crazy needs to try it first. As big of an improvement over booster straps on top of the shell as going from a regular Velcro power strap to a booster is"

"> *"folks who modified their cabrio boots to allow a proper path for a booster."* - behind the tongue on a cabrio boot is not the fucking *"proper path for a booster*" though. You keep making this false claims and I will not stop acknowledging it. >*"if someone's putting their booster around the shell, they're wasting your money, because you're not getting the benefits that a booster strap conveys"* - as someone who has never skied a cabrio shell you simply do not know this. It's fucking false though, and I will call that lie out too. - If you think I am *"lawyer-ey"* you need to find better lawyers."

"Also if you feel your boot flex is too soft, add a Booster Strap (the authentic, brand name Booster Strap not a Velcro piece that probably came with your boot liner) for an inexpensive fix. FYI The Booster Strap goes over the boot liner shin tongue, but underneath the boot plastic. You then tighten it up and you’re basically pinning your shin to the boot tongue. Adds about 10-20 stiffness to the existing boot flex. 20-30 if you go with the heaviest duty one."

"They're 4FRNT MSP 107s. Huge fan of them. I hit a rock and compressed the inside edge on one of them (RIP) so they're relegated to wall art at this point, but I'll probably pick up another pair eventually."

"MSP 99s will make skiing hardpack a blast. Super lively skis and I love the progressive flex pattern. Enough stiffness for really great stability at speed but also not rigid, boring sticks. Just a lot of energy. Among the 12+ skis I have I’m always low key stoked when there’s been a drought and I can hop back on them"

"I have the MSPs and love em, but I don't think they are great in bowls/anything fresh/windblown. They are stiff, hold a good edge, and fun in bumps. The bents are flexy relatively. Riveter probably in the middle of these two."

"110 is more than plenty.  Frankly I would suggest something thinner and stiffer if you will only have the one pair.  There will be more days on groomers and crud than deep powder.  Both Fischer and Kastle make a better all around ski.  Something like the ranger 102 will likely treat you better."

"They changed the ski construction and shape after 2022, so all the rangers after that have not (in my opinion) been nearly as good as the 2021 and 2022 rangers I loved so much. So I’m not surprised you didn’t like the later blue ones."

"So true. I am still annoyed at the changes Fischer made to the Rangers. The 2021/2022 Ranger 102fr was practically perfect, not only did it ski amazingly it looked cool too. Now they dumbed the Ranger line down for the masses and the colorways are lame."

"Kastle. They've been trying to go out of business for 70 years. They design skis for nobody in particular, but the build quality is outstanding. My Fx85s absorb all chatter and vibration but give me an amazing snow feel. I wouldn't think that was possible but they did it. Bomb proof too."

"They were good. Those were my dailys prior to the bc corvus. They were very versatile, but I didn't have as much confidence on the edge with them as I felt I should have for them being kastles. They actually have a little life in them, I may put another binding on them and use them as rock skis. The only reason I retired them is because I broke the bindings that were on them."

"So an update for anyone who comes upon this thread while doing their own research. After 2 days of demoing, I ended up going with the Kastle MX88's 174cm (I'm about 5'9"). These skis are an absolute dream, more on this later. The skis I ended up trying with guidance from this reddit thread and the people at Christy Sports, and my impressions: * **Head Supershape E-Titan** \- These were super damp and felt very sturdy, but they were really only fun at 30-40mph+. At slow speeds, they just didn't carve super well and had basically 0 rebound. This felt like a pair of GS race skis. Performed decently well off-piste but they were a bit heavy for maneuvering through trees. * **Stockli Montero** \- A favorite in this reddit thread. These were super smooth carving, and better at low speeds than the E-Titan. Still, they only had rebound at high speed. At low speeds, these felt like driving a Lexus; buttery smooth but not particularly lively. At high speed they woke up and were really a lot of fun. These were my second favorite skis of the bunch. They also held up in crud and some off-piste. More maneuverable than the Supershape. * **Volkl Mantra and Nordica Enforcers** \- By this point, I well trusted James at Christy Sports. He accurately predicted how I'd feel about the Montero and E-Titans, and said these would be pretty similar. Stiff skis that don't have the liveliness I'm looking for. So I didn't end up trying these. * **Kastle Paragon 93** \- After trying and loving the MX88, I wanted to try something wider to see if I wanted to go in that direction. These still had quite a bit of rebound and liveliness like the MX88, but were definitely a little slower underfoot. That said, I had a lot of fun in the woods with these. * **Kastle MX88** \- I was dubious about these, I didn't even have them in my initial shortlist for demos because they have mixed reviews. The guy working at Christy's said I should give them a try, and boy was he right The MX88 is, in my opinion, the perfect one ski quiver and the best pair of skis I've tried by a mile. The energy return on these is like nothing I have ever experienced. I finished multiple runs just smiling and laughing. I'm not being dramatic when I say these renewed my love of skiing. But they're not for everyone. You **need** to have good form to enjoy these skis, and if you don't *they will tell you.* Reviewers call them touchy -- I call them communicative. It's not that they punish bad form -- they don't. It's that they have a very particular sweet spot that you can only hit with the right form. These skis train you. It's like playing guitar hero, they call out when you hit the perfect note by rebounding you so powerfully into the next turn that you feel like an olympic racer. When you chain perfect carves, they build on each other and you bounce side to side down the mountain feeling like a jet fighter in Top Gun. Crud - carves right through it. Ice - you're slamming and coming off your edges so hard they bite right through it. The catch is, they only do this when you ski them with great racing form. When I first started on them, I hit maybe 10% of the turns perfectly. After a few days, more like 60%. Bent at the waist? No bouncy. Too far in the back seat? No bouncy. Too far on your toes? No bouncy. They'll still carve, but no rebound. What's amazing is they can rebound you even at moderate speed. That means I can have fun skiing at 15-20mph with the family on crowded blues, but also rip 60+mph down a black. Off-piste, they perform admirably for a narrower ski. They sink a bit in powder like any 88 underfoot ski. But the lightweight front and low swing weight makes them great for the trees. They are amazing at quick turns and pivots. That lightness underfoot makes them great for weaving between obstacles. I'm used to doing powder and tree runs on race skis, so ymmv here. Turn variety is also a strength. You can rip tight slalom turns on the steep to control your speed, then open up to GS when you feel comfortable. Somehow these skis are both lively \*and\* damp. As long as you have the right size (the 167's were a little chattery for me, 174 were perfect). I would say the main weakness of these skis are twofold. First, these skis are high precision, fast underfoot, and want to be driven. If you're looking for a leisurely ski that's fun when you're being lazy, this is not it. Two, these are clearly built by experts for experts. They give quick feedback, but the sweet spot is narrow. If you're nowhere close to that sweet spot (ie can't hit it 5% of the time), that feedback will be useless and you won't have fun. Garbage in = dull out. You'll find them very touchy if your form is inconsistent. I am by no means the greatest racer -- I actually kind of sucked. But you do have to be able to carve aggressively and weight the skis in the right place at the right time. You probably don't need a racing background, but it certainly helps. The third weakness is that Kastle's are kind of ugly -- they look like a big toe. Cost of the hollowtech. But I'm at peace with that. Anyway, sorry for the book. Hoping it helps someone along the way doing similar research."