Freeheel on alpine boards vs. tele-specific?

[davidwh_us@yahoo.com]

So I just finished my first season with tele gear and loved it. I found some decent skis on e-bay and bought new boots. I'm no tele-god, but I'm getting the hang of it, and next season I may be on tele gear almost all the time (the exception would be on steep, often-icy moguls; I'm an Eastern skier). But the skis are very touring-oriented, nice and light but a little narrow and old-school, especially in powder and spring corn snow, so I'm looking for something a bit beefier and maybe slightly shorter, mainly for in-bounds resort-type skiing. I can't spend a lot, so my question is should I convert some nimble alpine skis I have or go for something made for tele gear? Advantages, disadvantages? Is the softer flex of a tele-specific ski worth it? What would I give up if I convert the alpine ski?

 

[Harvey]

Bump. I'd like to know more about this too. I've always assumed that tele-specific skis would be lighter and more even flexing. But would love some expert opinions.

 

[Lifty@50]

I've skied tele for six years now and have always bought tele skis. I was introduced to tele by my wife's family in WY. I know that many of the locals out there use alpine skies with a tele binding (hardwire) because they pick them up cheap in the local ski swaps, and anyway, they could rip on a fence slat if they had to. There are many tele skis on the market now that will perform as well as a fat apline ski in crud and powder. Keep in mind that with a stiffer ski, you will need a stiffer boot. Rossi makes a tele ski line that is pretty much built on the Bandit serie format, but does not have the mounting plate, and is softer in the middle. I ski on Karhu Jak BC and Kodiaks, depending on the terrain with Garmont Ener-G boots. I find that tele skis are generally cheaper to buy than alpine. One popular alpine ski to put a tele binding on is the Dynastar Legend series (8000, Mythic Rider, Pros). They are a bit heavy, but if you are only ripping lift access, it does not matter.