Comments on: Demoing Demo Skis

By: Gary J Telega

Gary J Telega — Sat, 13 Jan 2024 19:52:55 +0000

My favorite ski is still a pair of Volant T3’s I purchased back in 2002.
They are about 72mm under foot, have some shape to them (nowhere near they parabolics of the past), the length is about 183cm. I had them stone ground a couple of years ago and they are still as sweet as ever.
I ski on a wider ski out west but they lack the precision of the Volants.

By: Jim L

Jim L — Mon, 12 Jul 2021 06:32:16 +0000

Thanks for this timely article about demoing skis. The last time I demoed was decades ago. One pair that ski reviewers raved about I found very uncomfortable. Another pair was effortless, turned when I thought “turn”. That’s the pair I purchased and have been skiing since.

This coming season I’ll hopefully demo and find my next pair… using your five tips above.

By: Sandra

Sandra — Wed, 07 Apr 2021 13:32:44 +0000

In reply to Bruce Boeder. Hmm

By: Mike Courts

Mike Courts — Thu, 01 Apr 2021 21:46:13 +0000

I am a 62 year old ski instructor at Summit Central in Washington State. I have settled in to using 4 pairs of skis, 2 pair of “teach skis” and 2 pair of “play skis”. I am supported by a ski rep who provides equipment at wholesale. I keep 1 pair of basic carving/GS cut skis for the groomers and a wider pair with more rocker for the occasional powder or slush days. Once a ski gets to around 150ish days of skiing I retire it from the “teach” role and graduate the “play ski” to the “teach role” I teach 4 days a week and free ski once each week, around 80 days per season. Because I have stayed on the same brand for over 25 years, I am generally able to just select the newest version of either a carving or wider ski when it comes time to upgrade. This has served me well for many years.

By: John J Nonenmacher

John J Nonenmacher — Fri, 19 Mar 2021 12:49:00 +0000

I have to agree with Geoff. Newer skis tend to be stiff. Camber has disappeared reducing the skis ability to absorb terrain. One thing to consider is the tuning the demo ski has. I have demo’d skis with gouged bottoms and no edges, typically from on mountain shops. On the other hand off mountain shops take very good care of their demos. However, I have had “all mountain” skis tuned with the same sharp side edge angles used for racing. I have returned more than a few pairs of skis where I couldn’t help wondering how good they might be with more appropriate tuning.

By: Geoff M Prescott

Geoff M Prescott — Wed, 17 Mar 2021 23:20:03 +0000

I presently have three pairs of skis, all from 2016. This season I demoed four new models from Rossignol and Salomon. Sad to report that I found nothing I liked more than the skis I already own. The ski industry seems to have decided that we all need flat, stiff tails on our skis. The easygoing, forgiving ski seems to be a thing of the past. So rather than try to decide what new ski to get, I am shopping for older skis in good shape.

By: Patti Farkas

Patti Farkas — Mon, 15 Mar 2021 00:42:03 +0000

We had a wonderful demoing experience at the Canyons in Park City, UT (pre-Vail takeover) several years ago. A tent was set up near the top of the mid-mountain terminus of their gondola which held a vast array of skis of different makes, models, and sizes. You could just point to the brand you’d like to try and the very friendly staff would get your size and fit them to your boots, and then off you would go to the nearest lift (about 50 feet away) and ski down a very varied run for a while which would ultimately take you right back to the tent. I’d never skied on so many different skis before, and even I (an intermediate skier) could tell the many differences in performance. Unfortunately, that was the last time we saw anything like that demo arrangement anywhere; it was ideal!! And yes, we did buy skis at the shop at the resort and skied on them happily for years.

By: Marc Liebman

Marc Liebman — Sun, 14 Mar 2021 01:17:20 +0000

In reply to Yvette Cardozo. Sorry you had a bad experience. Mine have been generally positive, but then again, I vet the shops in advance, know what brand and size I want and won't accept substitutions. I've also brought back skis that are poorly tuned.

By: Marc Liebman

Marc Liebman — Sun, 14 Mar 2021 01:15:20 +0000

In reply to Doug Werner.

Doug,
I just never heard the term rocker before. I’ve skied a lot of reverse camber skis – the last ones two years ago – and the few runs on them re-confirmed my dislike for them. I found them to be unstable when rolled on edge in a carved turn.

And, without getting into a discussion of short vs. wide and long vs. short, my conversations with several ski engineers two years ago leads me to believe that we are beginning to nearing the edges of the performance envelop of the current designs. The skis can only get so short for any given skier’s weight or they will become really unstable. And, increasing the width is a way to make the ski easier to turn for those who don’t carve (which is the majority of skiers), make them more stable in lumpy snow, and regain some of the contact patch area lost by shorter skis. Net net, we are beginning to run into some immutable laws of physics. Within a year or two, I think material science will help ski designers work their way out of the these limitations.

By: Yvette Cardozo

Yvette Cardozo — Sat, 13 Mar 2021 17:38:41 +0000

I learned the hard way about tail rocker…you just can’t stand those suckers up. Also never liked the way they skied, tho that’s probably just personal preference. Thanks for the detailed suggestions of how to demo. VERY helpful. Sadly, I also quit doing demos a bit back for the same reason as Bruce…can’t now remember where…but had a nasty accident. But might try again.