Women's skis

Sharon

New member
This is my sweet friend PJ (taken at Whiteface this past spring). She hasn't skied much in the last 25 years and is wearing some old straight Volkls and rear entry boots. She is a pretty good skier, and will be a very good skier on new gear this season. She bought a seasons pass at Greek Peak and is also considering Ski Patrol for next year. She is quite athletic and likes to go fast. I suspect she will be an excellent skier by the end of this season and may accompany us at Whiteface again...and this time, she will be following us onto the slides.

Typically she will be skiing on-piste at Greek Peak, however, an all-mountain ski is much more versatile. She seems to like Volkl.

Can anyone recommend a ski for her? Maybe a women's specific ski (she petite).

-Sharon
 

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Becky did very well with the 167cm K2 Lotta Luv demo in Utah and bought them from Canyon Sports when she went home.

Her ability profile (including no skiing at all from 1998 through 2006) sounds similar to PJ.
 
I've never met a woman who didn't like the Burnin' Luvs, and their dimensions make them quite versatile. I bought my wife a pair at the end of last season.
 
Burnin' Luv are 70mm underfoot vs. 78mm for Lotta Luv. If PJ is ever going to be interested in off-piste and/or powder, I'd lean toward wider.

In current trends, 78mm isn't really considered that wide. Becky was primarily on cruisers and very comfortable. Though admin and BobD did coax her onto Backside and Jitterbug.

Phat Luv has a good rep among the more powder dedicated.
 
Tony Crocker":vbqt6w0n said:
Burnin' Luv are 70mm underfoot vs. 78mm for Lotta Luv. If PJ is ever going to be interested in off-piste and/or powder, I'd lean toward wider.

True, however remember that the sidecut is rather dramatic, such that the shovel is 117mm. That'll give plenty of float!
 
The wide tip is good for powder. A deep sidecut may not be, for varied conditions, as the tip will tend to hook into the snow rather than float over it. This may not matter to the most experienced powderhounds, but remember here we're trying to make life easier with a versatile and forgiving ski.
 
I can't say for eastern ice & frequent slush/rain, but my wife, after ski testing 4 or 5 different pair of women's skis chose the burnin Luv from K2 as well... My wife is an advanced intermediate who does occasional powder (6-8" type stuff), double diamond, etc... though mostly standard trail fare.
 
My 160 cm K2 Lotta Luvs did great in Chile this past summer. They were very quick turning on the traverses, held well on the firm packed stuff, and skied the powder fabulously (of course, it was fabulous powder =P~ ). I know a lot of women who have the Lotta Luvs in lengths from 153 to 167, and all seem to be very pleased with them.

From what I've heard, the 160 will be measured as a 163 this season.
 
I bought my 16 year old daughter 2008 Volkl Pearl skis for Christmas and they have turned out to be a tremendous ski for her. She loved them from the first run and a couple of weeks ago got to really test them over 2 days at Jay Peak when there had been almost no snow for a couple of weeks. ie. typical NE conditions with morning groomed runs turning to ice fields in the afternoon. She said it was like there was no ice and she went over and through it without a problem. Earlier this year she used them on small local hills, and at Tremblant in nice packed powder conditions and really liked them as well. Even in good conditions though, the crud builds up at the bottom of many of Tremblant's runs and the skis proved to be good crud busters.

The idea was to find a twin tip for her that was also a good all-round ski and we seemed to have hit the mark with the Volkl Pearls. She also really likes the 2008 pattern, much more than the 2009. Pictures on the web don't do the 2008's justice. I was able to find these at O2gearshop for $169 but it looks like they have moved on to the 2009s, which are $249. At $169 and free shipping, these were a steal.

For reference, my daughter is about 5 foot and 155 pounds, improving upper intermediate skier, and a good athlete with excellent balance.
 
I posted this in another forum, but didn't get any bites... so thought I'd try it here.


Women's Ski setup advice


So, my lady is getting back into skiing for the first time in 18 yrs.. she was up in Mammoth this past week and rented some skis (159's I think.. and they weren't too fat) and did pretty good... I got her on some blue/blacks and she made it down fine. :)

Anyway, I know nothing about skis since I ride, but we are going to be on the mtn at least once a week now, and she is wanting to get a pair of skis/boots, etc... to get her back into form.

I guess I just don't know what the re-learning curve is for skiing and equipment... like, will she need to upgrade in a few months when she gets better or a year or what? She also really wants to try snowboarding, so who knows if she's even be on skis in a few months. :)

I suggested she go to some of the local rental shops here in my local town and see if they can work a deal with her on a long term rental, or even selling a pair of used skis. Obviously, she's not wanting to spend a fortune on something right now, but renting is getting $$ now since we are going to eb getting on the mountain weekly now.

any advice...?
Thanks
 
snowave":1zu37m3y said:
I guess I just don't know what the re-learning curve is for skiing and equipment... like, will she need to upgrade in a few months when she gets better or a year or what? She also really wants to try snowboarding, so who knows if she's even be on skis in a few months. :)

I suggested she go to some of the local rental shops here in my local town and see if they can work a deal with her on a long term rental, or even selling a pair of used skis. Obviously, she's not wanting to spend a fortune on something right now, but renting is getting $$ now since we are going to eb getting on the mountain weekly now.

any advice...?
Thanks

I spent a lot on my wife's boots, because her happy feet make a happy husband :-D . For skis she has Atomic Cloud 7s. They are plenty of ski for her to grow with but easy enough for the now (she's been skiing for the last 3 years, and hit her first diamond last year). The key, I believe, is comfort and consistency. She should have comfortable boots that are warm, and make her comfortable on the slopes. Her skis should give consistent performance so she can grow with them. For the purpose of price I would recommend long term rental on the skis, but the boots, those have to be good.

My wife tried boarding too, but spent so much time on her butt that she much preferred skiing.
 
Sno, check out DSES next time you're at Mammoth. Randy bought a pair of fairly fat (95 underfoot) B3s for $100. This will allow him to get a better idea of what he might enjoy in a fatter ski.

They have some snow boards as well.
 
Glad I found this thread. I need to replace my ski's because my little ray of sunshine destroyed then end of the left one two weeks ago. KIDS. My first ski trip of the season is scheduled for 2 weeks from tomorrow at Perfect North with some family so I need to find a pair fast. I'm also looking for a review of the womens ski jackets at that place. I have never bought anything online in my whole life so I am a little hesitant about where to buy them. I checked out coat factories in my town but I live in Indiana and they don't have a huge selection. I figured I would have to do some online shopping. Can anyone let me know if they have ever bought pants from there? Thanks mates.
 
Spensar":1ci0k7rl said:
I bought my 16 year old daughter 2008 Volkl Pearl skis for Christmas and they have turned out to be a tremendous ski for her. She loved them from the first run and a couple of weeks ago got to really test them over 2 days at Jay Peak when there had been almost no snow for a couple of weeks. ie. typical NE conditions with morning groomed runs turning to ice fields in the afternoon. She said it was like there was no ice and she went over and through it without a problem. Earlier this year she used them on small local hills, and at Tremblant in nice packed powder conditions and really liked them as well. Even in good conditions though, the crud builds up at the bottom of many of Tremblant's runs and the skis proved to be good crud busters.

The idea was to find a twin tip for her that was also a good all-round ski and we seemed to have hit the mark with the Volkl Pearls. She also really likes the 2008 pattern, much more than the 2009. Pictures on the web don't do the 2008's justice. I was able to find these at O2gearshop for $169 but it looks like they have moved on to the 2009s, which are $249. At $169 and free shipping, these were a steal.

For reference, my daughter is about 5 foot and 155 pounds, improving upper intermediate skier, and a good athlete with excellent balance.


Thanks for posting this info, such great help indeed. I'm searching for a good ski advice, glad I found this. Thanks! :)
 
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