Alpine skis will not be tackled. This article is not a test of existing models but rather an aid to choose your type of ski. Indeed, the range is very wide and the choice is not always easy! Of course, if you're a hiker in focus on the gear, this article isn't about you. On the other hand if you find that all the models look more or less alike, if you wonder about which length to choose, if your heart swings between several pairs, if you wonder why the neighbor has this or that type of skis then this article might help you!

•    "What skis do you have?"
•    "I have altitrail, it's a bomb!"
•    "Oranges?
•    "No mine are red, oranges I think are vertical altitrail, but they are almost the same it seems to me."
•    "And they hang your skis?"
•    "Of course! I like to go downhill with it! And it's nickel! »
•    "Slope? Like 5.4 and up? Do you have the same skis as Tardivel? «
•    "Well, No, I'm doing 4.3 and it's not bad.... »
•    "And in the powder, is it good? And how big are you? And how much do you weigh? And what kind of ray do they make? And how much do they have on the skate? And what is the weight of these skis? And how much disparus do you make with it? Etc.

So many questions and so many different skis to answer! Skiing is often not bad or good in itself: good skiing is the one that is suitable for practice and for the skier! Only the skier is bad! Of course, some models are more unanimous than others and the community agrees on the quality of manufacture, on versatility, but the right ski is - again - the one that suits you: in size, weight, technique, type of practice! The skis of P. Tardivel (steep slope) and S. Brosse (competitor) are very good skis, certainly. But the practice of one with the skis of the other is incompatible! Many magazines start by giving the program of skiers: 100%piste, 75/25 piste/off-piste, etc....We do not make this choice here as we cater to hikers. This is not to say that the track is excluded but that it is not the priority. In fact in our practice we can talk more about up/down. Buy your equipment ski touring at shop alpine touring.

Of course this remains very simplistic but has the advantage of allowing eliminating immediately a certain category of skis. For example, the freerider who does not want to compromise on the pleasure of the descent will already put aside the skis and start on a freeride model! Ditto for the tight-pipette that wants ultralight skis. Certainly things are not so simple and most hikers do not have such a sharp practice: "I would like a ski not too heavy but still comfortable downhill, which runs well between the vernes and also allows to attack in the powder. And as I do a little slope it will have to be eye-catching. Not too expensive and not too cut for my skins straight it will be even better! The internet users of the site had started to dream and had imagined the ski of their dreams at shop Alpine touring

a) the furious:

He does not necessarily compete (or occasionally) but he likes the big trips (2000m of dev - minimum, much more often!). Or the rinds in the cleat! He does not want to compromise (too much) on the weight of his boards and often gets the hang of it with his buddies (or with himself!). The furious will opt for a ski either competitive (around 900g the ski) or quite light (up to 1.2kg the ski). Of course the comfort on the descent will remain ok but it will not be comparable to a wider and heavier ski.

b) the traveller

Like the furious he likes big bambées but he is more contemplative. He doesn't care about the time (but don't have to do too much) as long as he sees the landscape and gets at least 2000m in the day before finding the kids! He needs some fairly light skis, but he also wants to be able to enjoy it a little downhill! The traveller will choose a fairly light ski also, around 1.2 kg per ski. Even if a slightly heavier ski can also do the trick: gaining size under the skate will allow a better descent!

c) the former:

He has more or less old stuff that suits him perfectly; he sees his friends with skis that are unfamiliar for him and wonders if it's really worth changing. He heard that the skis are now parabolic and occasionally he will try a pair of semi-parabolics (well yes do not push anyway!). He prefers comfort; he doesn't want to bother with gadgets. He has a very technical to himself anyway and will not necessarily be able to draw profile from new equipment (he thinks). He thinks that 1500m is good for a hike, but he is able to push a little (or not!). The problem of the old is that it has skis that are 65mm (or less) on the skate and that measure 190cm and that he has no idea of the happiness of having 75mm underfoot for 170cm (yes it measures 172cm the old one!): it will have to pass in the category of versatile and opt for for a shorter, wider pair.

d) the freerider:

What matters is the descent! Of course it is not the freerider of the TV otherwise we would not find it on this site and it would have skis of 105mm to skate ...! The freerider is here a hiker who wants above all to have fun on the descent! And for that he wants to drool at the climb (besides he does not care a little about the climb) as long as the descent is good! Pretty young skier who wants a ski that delivers! He plans to go out around 1000 to 1500m of a dozen, sometimes he can do more but he is aware that going out for 2000m of deniv at each outing is not for him, and will prefer to tease off piste when the conditions are good! The freerider will choose a wide and rather long pair (its own size or more) to send to the descent. Wide ski ingdling means 80mm to the skate for those who still want to enjoy it on the serious downhill (2000m?), 88mm for those who have fishing and want to attack the descent. Beyond 90mm it's still playable of course, but it starts to get a little heavy to follow the buddies over 2000m all 3 outputs!! I personally a pair in 94 with the tLT climbed skate: it's incomparable in the descent and I can do 1500m without problem on the occasion of a few outings but I do not plan a second to do a serious and complete season with this stuff!

e) the versatile:

Perhaps the most common profile: it's everyone! He mostly hikes, a bit of track with the children on occasion, likes the climb, likes to see the landscape. He also enjoys the descent, teases the slope a little (but not too much!). He wants the correct stuff, good everywhere and not too expensive! He doesn't want to look for hours on the net to find the magic pair: as long as his skis allow him to live comfortably his hikes! It will take a ski at its size, with a radius of about 20m, a weight around 2.5kg a pair and a skate not too narrow (between 75mm and 80mm max)

(f) the sloper:

His thing is the slope! But be careful, he knows that he is not Tardivel, otherwise he would have already sent an email to the gentleman and bought the same skis (in reality he has already done it but he knows that the 8800 legend of Dynastar are a bit heavy for hiking anyway!). He also knows that he will not only make steep slopes, that the powder will not always be guaranteed depending on the information he has had (or not) on a slope at the bottom of the Oisans (who said the northern corridor to the Olan?). He is a little obsessed with the radius of his skis, by the width to the skate, by the hardness of the flex, by the max size not to exceed, in short not easy to find the pair that goes well! He is looking for an eye-catching ski but still pleasant to ski off the slope which does not represent all his outings either. Radius (around 24m?), skate width (around 80mm?), hardness of the flex (a ski rather not too soft?) are the elements that will determine his choice!

What size to choose?

- I invite you to read this short summary of some weigh-ins live in the shops: The weight of the skis - You also have to keep in mind some small details: the weight is gained at the expense of something else: the core of the ski (a wood core will be heavier and stronger than a nest core of stuff or foam!) the thickness of the edge, the quality of the sole ... All this will not translate into a comfort gained or lost on the ascent/descent! - It is obvious that weight is an important data in hiking.

But it is also important to know: how many droppings am I able to keep up, at what rate, and over how long.... In short, the general trend is still: wider, shorter! Alpine skiers and other downhillers will tell you that you have to keep length to be able to attack and that's not wrong! But in hiking (except megapowder where even a toilet door in 2m04 climb TLT will go to match 12) you are never at the limit of breaking and therefore the skis can be a little short! Not?

I also take advantage of this scramble to answer questions read about volopress (questions asked by Nico Cardin, a fan of rather wide skis under foot: around 88mm.

The answers are not Nico's but mine!) - Are there situations (such as hard snow) where you would prefer to go back to narrower skis?

For my part, no! I think up to 88 on the skate there is no problem. You may need to take the "skins covering the edge" option so as not to get too bothered on the climb. Downhill, even in hard snow is better! (with the exception of a very narrow corridor). It is often read on forums that width under foot can be a problem with climbing into the spillway and on hard snow. It's not wrong but a wider ski is not synonymous with a systematic zipette ! Maybe we need to be a little more careful, but nothing more! I remain vigilant on the false door generated by this width and I am sometimes afraid to make the binding work too much on the great distance sun in spills. This remains the domain of fear and has never farted from the climb. On the other hand, when the trail is made and the snow too hard, the skis do not fit into the trace.

- Spatula. It seems to me that the snoop daddy, like a majority of modern skis, has a fairly low spatula. Did you feel any discomfort? Doesn't that force you to ski further back when it comes up against an irregularity (hard ball, stump, fall?). Uh... Not! No embarrassment! On the contrary, the slightly wider ski will be a little heavier and will tend to carve out the road with less concern for the irregularities of the terrain.

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