The #1 thing for 2011 season

[SnowHot]

If you had to pick ONE thing (ski/binding combo counts as one)? that you want or need for this season, and only one thing what would it be?


For me its a new heavy jacket.? I cleaned house and sold 6 of my 8 jackets leaving me with two soft shells.? ?


Ron, if this exercise is too much for you, you may be excused from participating?

[Philpug]

If you had to pick ONE thing (ski/binding combo counts as one)? that you want or need for this season, and only one thing what would it be?


For me its a new heavy jacket.? I cleaned house and sold 6 of my 8 jackets leaving me with two soft shells.? ?


Ron, if this exercise is too much for you, you may be excused from participating?

It is not a matter of being to much for Ron, there is limited bandwidth on the internet in its current incarnation.

[midwif]

Well, the "thing" I needed and wanted I already have purchased! 
New boots. 'course, now I'll need a bit of bootfitting.
Are we counting the things we 'want' but HAVEN'T purchased yet?

I don't need, but would like new skis (as mentioned in previous thread).
I can't buy anything at present, but patience is good for the soul.

[jim-ratliff]

(Snowhot, is this clever marketing for Phil, a way of asking us what things we need so we could get a sales call, sort of like Google tracking what things we are viewing).   
mmm.  Truth is that I wasn't needing anything.
I was sort of wanting wider skis, but now I have the best and most versatile wide ski ever discussed on this forum (at least for the past two weeks, who knows what tomorrow brings). 
  ;DNew boots last year. One new jacket last year.  1 pair of new goggles last year. New supershape magnums year before that.

I guess all I really want is the skills to use the tools (and those aren't available on eBay), snow to practice on, continued good health, and the ability to enjoy the heck out of skiing no matter how well or poorly I do it.

[SnowHot]

No marketing for Phil, however, I'm sure he'll do his best to give you his best. 

Actually I was thinking that I usually make several large purchases a year, as most of us do.  In fact, I've been called a gear **** more than once.
I was just thinking, if I could only buy ONE of the things on my want list(or need list) this year, what thing would I choose?

Thought it would be fun if we did some thinking on this and narrowed it down.

[jim-ratliff]

Ahhh. There is my problem.  I seldom have a list of what I want or need - I just develop an impulse NEED when I see or read something that I convince myself I like.   

External impulse buyer, that's me.

[ToddW]

#1 Need:? New boots.? I'm heading out to Colorado just after Jbotti for a November 6 bootfitting and on-snow alignment with Chris B.? I need a tighter fitting shell, especially through the midfoot, and a stiffer flex than I have now.? (Maybe some day when I've become a? technically strong enough skier, Phil will sell me a pair of those amazing Dodge boots....)

I'd also cheat and get 2 items off my list with the excuse the the 2nd isn't really ski gear.? Item 2 is Harald's new free skiing DVD due to come out in October -- the excerpts on youtube are amazing.

[jbotti]

We've been looking at trading up from our ski home in MT to a diffrent one, but I don't think Phil can help with this!!

I really don't have gear wishes for 2010. For the first time (maybe in my ski life) I know that I have plenty of great skis and 2 pairs of boots that rock (the Raptor 150's still need a little more work and alignment to be done by Harald Harb).

One thing that I did need was a new Patagonia Primo Down Jacket. Wow do I love this jacket. I took a spill at the end of last season and when I got up my Primo Down Jacket had come apart on one of the seams in the arm. I sent it back to Patgucci and they said that they couldn't fix it. They gave me a gift cert with full price credit including Ca state sales tax and I now have a new one (royal blue now instead of red). I think I'm set!!

Not to hijack the thread but the Primo Down is a great jacket. Bomber H2no (goretex like material) on the outside and 600 fill down inside (although it feels and skis much lighter). I like this much better than lots of layers. On really cold days I wear this over 1 long sleeve undershirt and a Patagucci down sweater. If I sweat on a powder iday t is so easy to open things up and cool down. much harder with lots of layers. Great Jacket!!

[SnowHot]

I have a patagonia down sweater that I wear under a shell on uber cold days.  LOVE it!

[Ron]

this one's easy:

1- find a perfect powder/soft snow ski, fun energetic, quick. good in trees, soft bumps.
the list:
Sir francis bacons
on3p Billy Goats
S7's

still looking, but there's nothing else that really trills me.

2- improve some things technique-wise. I still have some old muscle memory from 2 years ago (injury) that I have been working on. coming along.... 

[jbotti]

Ron, now I'm confused. I thought you just bought the Icelantic Keepers? My guess is that is your soft snow ski. Have you already decided in your mind that another ski might be better (Sir Francis Bacons, ON3P Billy Goats or S7's).

I feel like I may have been where you are at before. I have owned alot of different powder boards. At the end of the day I relaized it wasn't the boards it was the skier. I rededicated myself to work on some specific technique things that I knew needed to be in place in my skiing. Last year I didn't even ski on true powder boards and my off piste skiing was the best it has ever been, even was told by many that I was ripping.

We have different teachers and ski gurus, but I think we both agree that there is no substitute for improving technique. I say keep the Keepers, ski hard, work on those things that you know you don't do well yet and see if you aren't that much more satisfied with your skis at the end of the season.

It's painful, but I really do believe that going into powder and harder 3 d conditions wth the wrong skis (skinny ones) makes you a better skier. I ski pow on my progressors and my IM 78's (much easier than the progressors) 5-7 times per seaosn, mainly because I now it's harder and because I know it will alll fall apart unless I really focus on proper technique. If you do this, when you put on any fatter ski, it will seem like the easiest and best ski ever!!

[Ron]

although I am no pro, I am pretty satified with my powder skiing.? I can and will improve for sure but that's where I am most happy,? Long story on the keepers, a story best told later but they aren't really for me; for what I am looking for.

Since I wanted to go to a rocker since they are so much more fun in pow and variable, I got rid of my beloved Nomad SFT's which are fantastic skis BTW-?

I am totally hooked on the MX88's after skiing them in the worst conditions I have ever skied in; they are now my daily driver unless theres a lot of loose or fresh. That left me with a hole in the quiver, the keepers are 150-119-136 with rocker but its a 189, its a lot of ski! Most 189's out there are actually 2-3 cms shorter and with more rocker, these are big boards.. I am sure they are a great ski and will rip but I want more of a fun, jibby, tree ripper.? For steeper, more technincal stuff the 88's are so perfect, I just need a soft snow ski.?

So, long story short, yada, yada, yada, I ordered a pair of Bent Chetlers this Am and put this to rest. at 183, 140-122-134, a theroretical 19tr. it has 20/20 rocker. Its a fun, very playful ski. It should be a blast for anything over 6" or for leftovers and stashes.

So that leaves me with 1 thing I need to work on and that's better bump skiing in conjunction with above #2... I know what I need to do, I just need to work on it as much as I hate that thought.

[jbotti]

A buddy of mine in MT skis the BC's and loves them. They ski short. Should be exactly what you are looking for. The MX88's should be a good ski in softer bumps. If you want to ski hard bumps I would look at the Head TT 80. Excelent ski, short TR, soft enough for bumps but not a noodle. Tail releases real easy.

Did you ski the Keepers already?

[Ron]

I havent skied the keepers, unfortunately, the snow gods had different plans for me in Chile, which was a really good thing- you can't aways get what you want but you get what you need.... kinda' thing...  A little more soft snow (good soft snow; not rotten) would have been nice... 

The Chet's look fun, i always like to support the indies but this time, the chets just seemed like the right choice. At least my dollars will go to a small biz in Tahoe!!   

yeah the tails on the 88 are not soft by any means but I would rather improve on something like the 88 that will reward balance. It's my built-in correction system,,it will automatically spank you if you get in the wrong position....  Like I sad, I have been working on correcting some muscles in my leg and hips with a therapist and have seen great progress in havng the leg track and flex much better. Before, I had real difficulty in gettng my hip to release the leg to flex, it was weird! That was causing a lot of knee pain, since we have gotten it to release, I have almost no knee pain and I didn't have the issue in my boot where my ankle wanted to splay (lifting from ankle and rotate out) out when flexing forward. It's completely gone. I just really need to continue on some things I started last season.

[LivingProof]

My #1 thing is to ski more! Go west twice is on the list. Maybe a Stowe trip.

Simple, simple, simple!