# Best mid or 'fat' ski that can still hold an edge on hard snow in a pinch



## patentcad (Mar 24, 2005)

I'm an Eastern skier. My main skis are Volkl Five Stars. Love them, but I'm looking for something more suited to powder and junk, but that can also hold an edge on harder snow in a pinch. I'll mostly be bringing them out on soft snow days, so that's not a big priority. But ability to float in junk and powder is a MUST.  I'd prefer a ski/binding combination that is available at a good discount at the moment. Any suggestions welcome. Thanks in advance.


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## riverc0il (Mar 24, 2005)

if you like the 5star and the volkl feel, give the 7 24 pros a shot.  they are billed as volkl's frontside/backside ski, but i think they would like hard pack better than powder, especially given how heavy those suckers are.  i am of course partial to the dynastar 8000 for everything not groomed, but can still handle the groomers well to get to the goods.  you might also want to look at the elan m666, that's a friggin good ski.


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## thetrailboss (Mar 25, 2005)

Yep, the Volkl 724 is also good.

Read my review on the Head IM75's...man, can they hold on ice!!!

 :wink:


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## ALLSKIING (Mar 25, 2005)

I know the k2 crossfire is a really nice ski.


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## catskills (Mar 25, 2005)

Try picking up a used pair of FATS like Rossignol B3 or Pocket Rockets for powder days.  Nice to have a pair of FAT powder ski in your quiver for over the knee powder days. 

The Volkl 724 EXP is a nice mid fat with a 74mm width waist under foot. Your 5 stars are 68mm width waist. The 724 EXP is not as demanding as the 724 PRO.  
http://www.volkl.com/ski/7_24_series.shtml.  On eBay there starting to see some good discounts for the 724 EXP. 

Another mid fat that I thought carved well on groomers and handled the crud was the Dynastar Legend 4800 with its 74mm waist. 

If you really want a do anything ski take a look at next years '06 Volkl Unlimited AC4 and AC3.  For mid fats they have an awesome carve turn radius specs.  Sorry no discount on these skis for awhile.  See www.vokl.com/ski and click on sneak peak lower right.

FYI the '06 Volkl Allstars just got 2mm wider and is now 70mm waist under your foot. The Allstars replace the 6 Stars and are softer than the 6 Star but stiffer than the 5 star. 

Good luck.


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## Greg (Mar 26, 2005)

catskills said:
			
		

> The Volkl 724 EXP is a nice mid fat with a 74mm width waist under foot. Your 5 stars are 68mm width waist. The 724 EXP is not as demanding as the 724 PRO.


I demoed this ski and like it a lot. Like all Volkls, it wants to go *fast* though. I'm looking for a pair of Dyna 8000s as they're a bit softer than the Volkl and probably better for the terrain I prefer - natural snow trails and bumps.


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## patentcad (Mar 26, 2005)

Volkls are known for their wood core. Are there other skis with wood cores out there?


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## riverc0il (Mar 26, 2005)

dynastar   i've seen it myself


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## thetrailboss (Mar 26, 2005)

Most skis are woodcore.  Heads are.  Some Salomons are foam.


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## awf170 (Mar 26, 2005)

line skis are wood core


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## riverc0il (Mar 27, 2005)

there are a lot of hybrids out there merging woodcore with metal based cores.  rossis are foam to the best of my knowledge.  i would actually guess closer to less than half of skis have a true wood core.  i am surprised line is wood core, i would have figured they would be foam core to be extra light for the park kids.


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## highpeaksdrifter (Mar 27, 2005)

2005/2006 Nordica Hotrod Top Fuel. The best ski I've ever been on. I don't feel like typing alot right now, but check out the reviews at this link.

http://forums.epicski.com/showthread.php?t=24096


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## bigbog (Mar 28, 2005)

PC,
 I'm in agreement with *catskills*, I've seen a few segments of programs showing mention of the 05/06 Volkls....WoooHooo!  As Nordica and Head have come through with great skis...I doubt they'll be silent as to challenging Volkl....  ...Will also be interested in what Elan offers.


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## thaller1 (Apr 28, 2005)

I went from the Volkl 5 Stars to Fischer Bix Stix 7.6.  They are 76 underfoot.  Great skis for EVERYTHING.  Crud, powder, groomers, bumps.... they even have a great edge grip.  I fell in love with them at demo days last November and bought a pair the same week.


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## blacknblue (Apr 28, 2005)

I just got a pair of Volkl 724 PROs.  I'm lucky enough to demo a lot of skis and they were by far the most impressive.  I skied them in Snowbird and Alta through powder, heavy stuff, steep couloirs, groomers, bumps, and hard avy debris... they held up great!  Highly recommended.  Also, a lot of folks really enjoy the Salomon Pocket Rockets, so give those a test drive, too.


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## bigbog (Apr 30, 2005)

After demoeing some *Elan M666s*(~76mm underfoot) here in NewEngland over a month ago...I was immediately hooked.  I LOVE these things...and grabbed some off of eBay for a killer price 8) last week.  I think its competition is Dynastar's *Legend 8000*, Fischer's *BigStix*es, and a Volkl or two.  I've seen patrollers with Rossi *RPMs* for the last couple seasons...and Head has a number of nice skis out.


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## jerzeyjosh (May 4, 2005)

*Dynastar Legend 8000*

I was skiing Snowbird in early April.  We got dumped on.  I have a pair of Rossi Mtn Viper 9.9's, sweet ski for the east coast, but not the best in powder.  I demo'd a pair of *Dynastar Legend 8000's.*  I'M BUYING A PAIR OF THESE!  These skis were the sweetest ski's I've ever skied.  I ended up skiing on them for 4 days at Snowbird.  Crud, no problem.  Powder, the best, I floated through powder and steeps like.. wow.. it was awesome.  Good edge grip, no problem in the bumps.  Smooth turner.  Another thing, I saw more people riding these boards at Snowbird than any other ski.

You should try to demo these early next season before you buy anything.  Don't mix it up with the 8800.  The 8800 is more of a "fat" ski for heli' or living out west.  The 8000 excels in powder but is great all over the moutain too.  That's what I thought of it.[/b]


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## awf170 (May 4, 2005)

*Re: Dynastar Legend 8000*



			
				jerzeyjosh said:
			
		

> I was skiing Snowbird in early April.  We got dumped on.  I have a pair of Rossi Mtn Viper 9.9's, sweet ski for the east coast, but not the best in powder.  I demo'd a pair of *Dynastar Legend 8000's.*  I'M BUYING A PAIR OF THESE!  These skis were the sweetest ski's I've ever skied.  I ended up skiing on them for 4 days at Snowbird.  Crud, no problem.  Powder, the best, I floated through powder and steeps like.. wow.. it was awesome.  Good edge grip, no problem in the bumps.  Smooth turner.  Another thing, I saw more people riding these boards at Snowbird than any other ski.
> 
> You should try to demo these early next season before you buy anything.  Don't mix it up with the 8800.  The 8800 is more of a "fat" ski for heli' or living out west.  The 8000 excels in powder but is great all over the moutain too.  That's what I thought of it.[/b]



snowbird loves those dynastar, u see the snowbird custom ski, the legend 11,000(for the hieght of hidden peak) and my dad demoed them both and he liked the 8800 more on everything except groomed, so for the east the 8000 is a better ski and it can defently handle all of those huges dumps of snow we get :lol:


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## riverc0il (May 4, 2005)

jerzeyjosh, did you try the 8800?  that ski is something else for big mountain and powder skiing.  i've used the older model from last year twice in tucks this season and it just rips.  8000 is my main ski though, definitely preferable for tight and narrow places requiring quick turns and if you spend any time on the groomers, though it's also designed with natural snow in mind.  

i saw a pair of those legend 11000s with the snowbird logo on it selling on an ebay auction.  the snowbird legend is the exact same ski as the 8800.


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## jerzeyjosh (May 4, 2005)

I didn't try the 8800.  What I said about the 8800 was from other reviews.  8000 is so sweet though.  It really held a good edge and could carve some nice turns with it.  It was really an effortless ski for me to ride compared to what I'm used to.  My main skis, Rossi's, take a lot of muscle.  Great ski, quick turner, stable at speed, but takes a lot of muscle at a 193cm length.  I skied the 8000 at 165cm, and wow.. what a difference... all around.


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## jerzeyjosh (May 4, 2005)

The Rossi is great for out East, but out West it wears me out too quick in the 'off-piste' terrain (crud, powder, deeper snow).  Hardpack, ice, moguls, typical eastern ski conditions... I love my Rossi.  But I think that 8800 would be great out here too.  I know it was awesome out west.  I got to take it on some groomers and lay down some nice carves with it, both longer and shorter turns and it did well.


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## bigbog (Jun 23, 2005)

*....*

...Don't know if you've made a final decision yet *patentcad*, but have read/heard great reviews about Nordica's TopFuel, a 05/06 ski that came out ~March.  

$.01


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## awf170 (Jun 23, 2005)

ya i now this is an old thread and everything but here is my opinion about getting fat skis, skiing on groomed snow is easy, got good ski for groomed really easy, got fat skis just easy.  Skiing carvin ski on crud/powder hard... skiing a fat ski in it easy.
I hope that made sense, im just trying to say that i think groomed skiing is easy and boring so i would rather get a ski that worked good on powder/ crud.


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## riverc0il (Jun 25, 2005)

i wouldn't recommend any one ski much groomers on a pow or fat ski.  mid-fats with decent side cut are decent, but if you're interested in groomers you gotta go GS style ski.  so all groomers would be a GS styled ski, combo would be the mid-fat, and almost exlcusively natural and pow would be the fat.  not a lot of days to bust out the fatty in the northeast though.


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## kickstand (Jun 30, 2005)

I second the Volkl 724 EXP.  Just got a pair at the end of the season and love them.  Mine are a bit on the short side (170), so I need to really let them run to pick up speed.  They're great on edge, considering they are a mid-fat.  On true hardpack/icy conditions, I'll probably break out the Platinum's, but if you don't know what to expect for conditions, the 724 can handle it.


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## ctenidae (Jul 11, 2005)

On the bang-for-your-buck scale, what wins? 724's or 8000's? I've demoed the 724, and loved it (side by side with a B2, which I hated), but I'm partial to Dynastars, jsut because I am. I saw the Elans mentioned, too- worth checking out?


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## riverc0il (Jul 11, 2005)

ctenidae, here's my personal take...  your milage may vary.  i thought the 724's were better for someone occasionally doing pow/crud/natural snow but prefers groomers.  exactely the opposite for 8000s which were solid on the groomers but loved not groomed so so very much.  also, the volkl is much much more "damp" and heavier compared to the 8000 even though both are wood core.  8000 is "softer" and easier to flex and i would prefer them in the bumps.  take my comments coming from someone who is partial to the 8000 and bought two pair last season   also related, i also hated the B2 in all regards which is consistant with your thoughts on the ski.  elans are definitely worth checking out, i really liked the m666 but it wasn't my thing for O/B and off piste.  somewhere between the 724 and the 8000 in my opinion.  definitely preferred the m666 to the 724.

bang for the buck is a hard value to use as i think they are all at a similar price point.  volkl has a new ski coming out for 05-06 that is suppose to be the latest and greatest all around mid-fat blah blah blah while the 8000 remains unchanged except for the book center mark which is 1.5 cm's difference from the previous year for what reason i don't know.  i like the original boot center mark better and if i decide to re-mount i will have them adjust accordingly (okay, they would have to any ways to redrill  ).


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## awf170 (Jul 11, 2005)

riverc0il said:
			
		

> i also hated the B2 in all regards which is consistant with your thoughts on the ski.



i wonder if they are going to change those, ever single  person i talked to hated them


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## Starter Jackets Rule! (Jul 28, 2005)

Demo the Head monster I-75 chip lot's of fun.
But without seeing you ski or having any info on How you ski it is almost imposable to help you out...now don't get wrong here any one can buy a high end ski but can they use it?
You asked about edege hold that tells me that you seem to have an idea on how to get a ski up on edege and carve.
Also Keep E'm Sharp!
Demo-Demo-demo!


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## Brettski (Aug 30, 2005)

I love my Rockets...and with a good tune, I'm able to edge quite well even on the steepest hard pack

The only downside is the zipper in the bumps...but then again I got'em at 185


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## highpeaksdrifter (Aug 30, 2005)

patentcad said:
			
		

> I'm an Eastern skier. My main skis are Volkl Five Stars. Love them, but I'm looking for something more suited to powder and junk, but that can also hold an edge on harder snow in a pinch. I'll mostly be bringing them out on soft snow days, so that's not a big priority. But ability to float in junk and powder is a MUST.  I'd prefer a ski/binding combination that is available at a good discount at the moment. Any suggestions welcome. Thanks in advance.



Nordica Hot Rod Hot Fuel new for this season. I got mine in March and love them.

http://www.nordica.com/ski/scheda.php?s=3&target=445&


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