What corn ski do I want? (also open to offers)

And by 'corn' I mean sideslipping into frozen shit fuck coral entrances and flying over the bars onto my face on rotten sludge on the flats at 3pm. Something 178-185 depending on camber.

I've got some old surfboard legend pros I've been skiing the last few years. Still love'em but with the intimacy with which my raw bone femur clacks my raw bone tibia these days, I need something less manly. Lighter too.

Looking for something to hike on. 90-100mm waist. Lil bit rockered tip. Kinda stiff but not too planky.

I found some fischer wateas locally for cheapish (94 I think?). The ones with the stupid tip and the stupid tail. Seem okay flexing them on carpet while I'm wearing shorts. Any good? Found some old praxis freerides too but I remember them being kinda rock hard like my abs. Might just plop down for some new praxis yetis but figured I'd see what's out there. Drought years and knee surgeries have culled my interest in skis. I don't know doodly squat about what's out there these days.

I use piste jibs for that. Flying over the bars onto my face that is. Actually they save me from that. 183's and mine are stock medium flex. At 165 they're playful. Med/stiff for maching thru corn would be great.
I'm fine with med as I'm hoping a soon to be mine med/stiff MVP will do that duty but you said 90-100 and pj's are orrsum

Get some yetis. I love mine for corn harvest.

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Originally Posted by NW_SKIER

Get some yetis. I love mine for corn harvest.

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You don't ever feel like they're too short on edge contact on hard stuff?

Sorry I missed the hike bit. Yeti has a nice rocker for varying depths o corn. Miss mine. Not manly but not noodles. I guess exp is too narrow than your numbers

Tell Keith to make narrow Freerides like I've been telling him to for fucking ever. Aka order Freerides 10mm narrower than stock in whatever flex you like.

179 hybrid bro was a tits spring ski.

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Originally Posted by grinch

I guess exp is too narrow than your numbers

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Not necessarily. I just don't think the likelihood of getting any is that high. Keith operates on a 'what orders do I have to fill' basis and I try to get in on the dregs. Yetis seem pretty popular so I just figured they'd be easier to get. The exp looks pretty good I think. I'm picking up something else from him this week so I'll ask. Mostly this thread is just to find out what's out there. I want some skis yesterday. I feel like an idiot for selling a few pairs that I thought were too soft. My knee is too soft now so I wish I'd held onto some of them.

I used to hike on mtn jibs so even the piste jib is still a legit option. But yeah, corn au naturale mostly. Piste jibs seem pretty legit for that.

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Originally Posted by adrenalated

Tell Keith to make narrow Freerides like I've been telling him to for fucking ever. Aka order Freerides 10mm narrower than stock in whatever flex you like.

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Okay :)

The way that dude operates, get 12 friends and he'll probably do it. That's all that happened with the wootest.

Bonafide (lift served)
Vector (tour)

been giving this some thought myself. I want a pair of Zero 85 but they may be a little light for a resort ski. missed the hike part. would think be a great ski for the Sierras,

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Originally Posted by kidwoo

You don't ever feel like they're too short on edge contact on hard stuff?

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Yes. But I didn't buy them for the hard stuff.

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Originally Posted by NW_SKIER

Yes. But I didn't buy them for the hard stuff.

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For sure. But sometimes corn is an asshole and doesn't show up on time. Just curious. Thanks for the info. Still up on the list for sure.

I'm selling some 177 Nordica Hell 'N Backs with skins for $150. They are pretty much the old Enforcers with some early rise and a lighter (about 4.4 lbs per ski) but remarkably stable layup. They ski similar to the Mantras that had early rise and camber, but quicker and not as damp. Great spring ski.

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Originally Posted by kidwoo

For sure. But sometimes corn is an asshole and doesn't show up on time. Just curious. Thanks for the info. Still up on the list for sure.

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They will ski hard stuff. Just not in a badass way. It's a little bit more survival skiing. They will do it though. I skied the death ice at 17BBI on them.

For spring conditions I have a pair of Moment PB&J's for (resort) and a pair of DPS Wailer 99's (touring) that are 5 years old, and I feel no need to get anything newer.

Down Lowdown 90
0G 95
Wailer 95 (if you can find an old pair)

Yetis are nice, but they have an generous amount of rocker for their waist.

I like my Volkl BMT 94's with speeds for this type of skiing.

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Originally Posted by flowing alpy

Praxis Rx

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Took you long enough...

Well, get the womens version. Softer.
If they go long enough for ya, there's usually more choices *On Sale* than for mens gear.
It's what vets did, picking up a few Cham107 W's. Fantastic ski.
A coupla-seasons ago Cham would be a good choice.
97 or 107.
High Mountain or Womens.

Yetis all the way. Great on hard snow, with the small "magnetraction" spot under foot. Absolutely slays corn, carves and slarves. Light enough to hike with, but not so light as to suck at skiing which is the real objective of hiking anyway. Confidence inspiring in no fall zones. After trying some really light skis for spring skiing and hating them, I got Yetis and couldn't be happier. Love mine, wish Keith made the exact ski in a 188 and 108 under foot, would be the ultimate everyday board. I did custom order them super stiff. I normally ski Hoji designed skis and feel the Yeti compliments that style.

You should've just mentioned the flex you ordered, dude^^ We're talking about the standard flex map core here. They don't excel in super firm snow.

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Originally Posted by DGamms

Took you long enough...

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He had to ponder.

+1 for the vector.

I've always thought that the explosive is a great spring ski.

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Originally Posted by bodywhomper

I've always thought that the explosive is a great spring ski.

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Me too. I used to have some (with the great injustice of skiing them on old fritschis).

There's something to be had in taper and rocker profiles now though without losing the rails. The legend pros have been a good (better) explosive replacement. I need something thought up in this decade however.

Didn't know there was women's cham line. Would match the women's underwear I've got on.

Thanks for all the responses guys.

Bonafide if you want metal.

Praxis 9D8 if you don't want metal.

Fischer Motive 95 or whatever they're called now.

Light, stable, smooth and has early rise. Not overly stiff either.

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Originally Posted by The Tortoise

Fischer Motive 95 or whatever they're called now.

Light, stable, smooth and has early rise. Not overly stiff either.

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Fischer Ranger Ti is not quite as damp but significantly lighter. Would be a nice option as well. Sig less tip rocker than the Yeti.

I really like my Yeti's but they are not a pure corn slayer. They are pretty great for those days you might ski some hard stuff and find pockets of deeper softer snow. If I was buying them to be more hardsnow centric I'd certainly size up.

The old Rossi S5/Scratch BC was a killer ski in those conditions.

Surprised no one has mentioned Kastle...I ski the FX104..great corn ski, and I bet the FX95 would be even better....TX series too, if you're looking to go light.

I think the 17/18 Head Monster 88 I tried yesterday would be an awesome corn slayer, probably the 98 too. Head tweaked the camber and rocker in the fore body next year and added a touch of early rise in the tail. Nice, easy turning and no speed limit I could find on soft and hard groomers and chewed up wind buff.

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Originally Posted by auvgeek

Down Lowdown 90

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ja mon. my CD102Ls rip so hard in corn and that 41m radius gives you plenty of effective edge for steep places. just skied em again after spending most of the winter on my pow setup and remembered how hard those things rip.

Do the major manufacturers not make specific skis for corn? This may be an untapped niche market for an aspiring indie.

And also 2 pages on, and no one has mentioned Rax yet? You people are slipping.

Volkl - BMT 94 - Look for them on close out.

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Originally Posted by ACH

Volkl - BMT 94 - Look for them on close out.

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My knee twitches whenever I read 'carbon'. I've still never skied a carbon layup ski that didn't seem unnecessarily chattery. These any different?

Just for clarification, are we talking resort "corn" or real backcountry corn? The requirements are different for each type. A stupid light ski is fine for smooth backcountry corn but I like a ski with a bit more heft for inbounds "corn".

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Originally Posted by kidwoo

My knee twitches whenever I read 'carbon'. I've still never skied a carbon layup ski that didn't seem unnecessarily chattery. These any different?

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Generally speaking - the are not a very damp ski. Energy goes in, and comes out directly.
Given that, the wont soak up the vibration from frozen corn as well as others, but they do have really good edge hold.
Once things soften up a little though, they are money.

I took me a while to get the (de)tune right on mine, but since I dialed it in they have been awesome.

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Originally Posted by AaronWright

Just for clarification, are we talking resort "corn" or real backcountry corn? The requirements are different for each type. A stupid light ski is fine for smooth backcountry corn but I like a ski with a bit more heft for inbounds "corn".

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Backcountry mostly. The real corn. I know what you're saying but I don't want some pinner chattery deflecting piece of shit that sucks when I want to open it up in anger over weird snow. And the usual high elevation windboard crap still happens even though I officially declare corn season. I'm putting cast plates and alpine binders on them and these will be my only pair of skinny skis so I'm sure I'll still take them on some lifts. I'm just developing a pretty severe allergy to ski areas. Stuff like those hell n'backs, dynastar chams are the general idea. Same ski you'd take on a mixed snow day at a resort if it hasn't snowed in a few days. The corn thing is just where they'll mostly be used in my case.

ACH: thanks for the response

I've been extremely happy with my 185cm Blizzard Zero G 95s as Eastern Sierra spring skis. I haven't tried any of the other skis in this category though.

Anyhow, they are very light (much lighter than most of the skis being mentioned) but have fantastic edge grip. If I were dropping into a couloir that had an icy 50 degree entrance that quickly transitioned into 40-ish degree corn, I'd want this ski above all others. When conditions suck in the BC, I sometimes skin up Diamond Peak and ski down the groomers before work. While I'm not recommending them as a resort ski, the Zero G 95s are bar none best groomer skis I've had this millennium. They also rip in corn, but most skis do. I wouldn't say they are surfy, slarvers though. But you can go fast with confidence.

Downsides? The stubby tip sometimes annoys me when I'm skinning over undulating terrain with its tendency to stab into things. One at least one occasion, I've gone ass-over-tea kettle with a heavy pack and cursed them. They manage in deep powder but you have to be vigilant of tip dive. (My Praxis Backcountries went out of commission a couple months ago, so I've been on the ZeroGs through all the deep storms in Tahoe recently.)

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Shouldn't you be sleeping? ;)

I was actually going to call you and ask what you'd been dragging along lately.

325 BSL give or take if you wanted to try them.