Smevans

I am looking for suggestions on some twin tips to buy.

I currently ride 130cm SkiBoards. Love them, have been riding skiboards for about 8 years now. But this year I will be finally making the trek out west for a two week ski trip. I am looking to upgrade to some twin tip skis.

A little about my riding style: Most of my riding (75%) is on single and double black diamonds going as fast as I can. But on occasion I do like to get into the park for some jumps or off trail for some tree carving. So an all mountain/freestyle set would be good I assume? Any suggestions on length? I am about 6 foot and 180 pounds. I prefer to ski without polls.

Thanks

TURTLECON

A good rule of thumb is the skis length should be between your chin and your forehead. If you want quick short fast turns, err on the shorter side. I'm 5'10" 180lbs and I ski anywhere from 170-180 in length. Also, when looking at twin tips, keep an eye on whether the ski is engineered primarily for use in park or all-mountain. The rocker will be different depending on what type of ski too.

GearWhore

There are quite a few good skis that fall into your description. I agree with BigRedJK that everything depends on your ski style. For your size you will probably be in the 170-180cm range. If you're going to be out for 2 weeks you're kind of on the border between rent and buy. Most good ski shops have great demo programs where the $ you spend on demo/rental will be applied to your purchase. The biggest plus to ski shopping this way is you can usually try just about anything to get an idea for what you like with how you ski. I'd get at least 3-5 runs before you decide a ski isn't for you, but maybe 1/2 to full day on ones you really like. I've had several clients and friends who do this and will ski 3-10 pair over a couple days before finding what they like. And remember, the "rental" cost up-front will be deducted from the final cost of the skis.

Also, if you're looking for a versatile ski you can ride in Michigan, out West, and out East, probably stick to something with a 85-95mm waist, and probably 15-19m radius. The Line Prophet 90 is a great versatile twin-tip. I have been on and off that ski over the last several seasons. I also like the Salomon twins and have been on and off those since they re-introduced us to twin-tips in the late 90s.

Oh, and get some poles! They'll help your body position and timing if used properly. Also nice to get across the flats and to probe for skis lost in the pow!

Smevans

Thanks for the input.

The main reason I am moving up to big boy skis is because of the trip that I hope to start doing every year. But I do want something that I can ride here as well as out East. I would be looking to buy in the next couple weeks so that I can be comfortable on it before Colorado .

AK4Dave

Excuse me for asking, as I haven't kept up on skis since I was a kid in Tahoe.......what are "twin tipped" skis...???

pbloom95

make sure you ski on them before you buy them. it sucks when you spend alot of money on skis and hate them. My father did that when I was little, thats when i learned lots of "new" words

sway

essentially, their more non- directional in shape than a traditional downhill ski. Front, back, don't matter too much when in the right hands. Fat tips n tails to allow for easier backwards skiing and directional control; great for the parks, pipes, freestyle and pow. Numerous versions with thicker/thinner depending on what one's pref is. Salomon came out with a brand new design this season- looks like a surf board, and I forget what it's suited for, but I've heard lots of positives on it so far...I'll stick with my quiver of T-Nine K2's.

sringer

Check out the lib tech skis. They have wavy edges. (magnatraction) super nice skis. I ski them. They hold edges so nicely

Smevans

Thanks guys. Ima check out some of these after Christmas. I will let you know what I decided on.

nate_every

You may want to look on ebay, I used to ski when I was really little, like 9 years old, and then switched to snowboarding. Got tired of that and wanted to try skiing again, but didn't want the investment to be very deep. I got a pair of last year model, Saloman Gun 185's with bindings shipped for $185. I am 6'-6'1" and 180lbs, live in colorado and try to hit as much terrain as possible. The length is great. fast on the edges and agile enough in the trees, yet long enough to be a blast on powder days, despite how narrow they are. I am not too into parks, but from time to time, will hit some of the tables and they don't have any trouble there either.

Hope this helps.