realskiers

Good topic, Michael.

I tend to buy skis somewhat like I do cars.? I seldom buy current year skis; I'm much more likely to buy an unused pair of skis that has been out for a year or two.? With cars, I never want a new model year, much prefer to give them a year to address any teething problems.? Same thing with skis (remember last years early production 160cm SuperShapes).? I seldom demo skis as part of a purchase decision, but use demos to correlate my impression of a ski with another reviewers so I can know how much their review of other skis would relate to my impression of that ski. Have never bought a pair of skis on the same day that I demoed them or as a result only of a demo.

I figure a really good ski from 2005 is still a really good ski in 2006/7 if it hasn't been redesigned.? Topskin changes don't count, they just increase the likelihood of getting a better price.? I tend to buy at the end of spring or at beginning of season fall clearances, and tend to buy based on service rather than absolutely lowest price (but I have a threshhold of about 10% premium for service).? For example, I bought my iM77's from Dawgcatching in appreciation of the service he provides on Epic.? Price was good, but I probably could have done a little better.? In general I pay about 50-60% of list price for new (or should I say unused) skis.

The toughest part of garnering ski knowledge is assessing the skiing abilities of the reviewer.? For example, in Dawgcatching's reviews of several skis he mentions his friend that skis with him who isn't a level 9 racer.? I learn a lot by comparing how the two of them felt about various skis.? The fact that his friend loved the iM77 in spite of it being a higher end ski was the deciding factor for me.? Similarly, SKI and SKIING don't have reviewers that I can relate to, and they don't even consistently relate reviews to each other.? Two skis on the same page may be rated on 3 different characteristics, so comparisons are basically useless (probably their intent).? But there is some information to be gleaned.? For example, the fact that one of then selected both the Magfire 10&12 in the all mountain expert category said a lot about the high end of the Magfire 10, which we already knew was a pretty forgiving ski.? And, the fact that the Magfire 10 was even submitted in that category by the manufacturer showed their confidence in the flexibility of the ski (an important characteristic for me).

However, I think the most important part is to recognize what kind of skier you are, realistically where you ski, and whether you want to spend your money on skis or ski outfits (or ski goggles).

[edit on 9/31 for jbotti below]
I have two current pairs of skis, but I don't think of myself as having a two ski quiver.  I have the Head i.SL chip for my east coast ski and the Head im77 for my "out west" ski.  The only exception to this is that I did take both last December and used the i.SL Chips's during the mornings at Harald's camp.  I remember a few years ago at Monarch (in Colorado, but not one of the biggies) with 24" of new snow.  There were a lot of local kids there with 10 year old skinny skis that were doing just fine, and the light sort of came on.  I had my iC160's at the time, and I was doing fine as well (less than 70mm waist).  I wasn't floating and smearing like Michaels Spatulas will, but I was having a blast.  I decided that living with a compromise wide ski, skiing in the powder instead of on it is OK for the snow that I usually encounter and is preferable to hauling two pair of skis from Virginia to Colorado.