Rimmel,
My wife is exactly the same height and weight as yours, and she demoed a bunch of skis last year, some of which may still be available as current carry-over models, or you might pick up a new 06/07 model for a great discount (a great way to save money on a starter ski). Having said that, she skied quite a bit as a kid, and then only a couple of times since then (she is now in her 40's), and started up skiing again 3 years ago. She is quite athletic, and was at an advanced level of skiing when she demoed, so keep her perspective in mind when you read her comments.
She demoed four skis:
Fischer Vision 73 -- women's all mountain ski, 73mm waist, 163 length. Nice ski...relatively agile, stable, well-behaved, reasonably quick edge-to-edge (not great, but pretty good for a wider ski), good in chopped up snow and crud; very good edge hold on icy eastern runs. Nice and light, too. She liked these, but wanted something more high-performance (see below).
K2 Burnin Luv -- women's all mountain ski (not sure of the sidecut dimensions. 68mm waist, I think), 160 length. Somewhat heavy underfoot, not lively, not agile, not quick edge-to-edge. Basically she thought these were dull and boring, and too much effort to get some fun out of them. Lifeless and lacklustre.
Stockli Laser Cross -- unisex all mountain ski, 72 mm waist, 160 length. Swiss-made performance ski; quite stiff; great edge hold; reasonably quick edge-to-edge, super stable and blasted through all crud and junk that she could find. Great ski, very fast, but lacked the agility and lightness she was looking for. She would recommend this only for experienced skiers, and heavier women who could flex them; she was too light. Not good for learning.
Head Hot Thang -- carving ski, 63 mm waist, 163 length. Very agile! She was smiling ear-to-ear when she skied these. She was able to make super quick short turns, and then open them up on long wide runs without problem. Very light underfoot; OK stability in crud, good edge grip on ice, lots of fun in bumps. A ski for groomers only because of the narrow waist. These would be very easy to learn on. Very forgiving and not demanding, but not a wimpy beginner ski either. She could grow into these nicely. In general, Head makes damp, well-behaved skis, that are still agile and fun, without being overly heavy and cumbersome. They seem to have this equation figured out, as opposed to other makers.
Atomic Balanze -- women's all mountain ski; not sure which model. Her friend skis these, and is about the same height as my wife but a little heavier (~150 lbs.). These are her friend's comments: very heavy underfoot; too wide in the shovel and tail for eastern conditions (when do we ever get enough powder where we need a 125mm tip? or whatever the dimension is...let's just say they're too wide for the east); reasonably good at short turns; not quick edge-to-edge; stable at speed and in the crud. But...they're just no fun. Basically she bought these without demoing or reading any reviews -- walked into a big box sports store, they were on sale, they looked pretty, she bought them. Skied on them 2 years, and now she regrets buying them. She hates them. She always complains that they weigh too much, and feel that way when she skis, too.
At the end of all this, my wife chose the Head Supershape Speed, 163 cm, which is basically a high-performance, detuned racing ski. She wanted something with some horsepower and agility too, and got it in spades. This is not a ski for learning on, but for her style of skiing, she loves it. She didn't demo these, but went on recommendations and reviews. She couldn't be happier. Sadly for me, she now skis waaay faster than me, and I am in need of new boards just to keep up
Hope this helps. Let me know if you have any other questions.
Svend
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