Ranger 99 Ti vs Vantage 97 Ti?

[frorider]

Blister preferred the Ranger but I came away thinking their review of the 188 Vantage was skewed by being too long/stiff for the testers’ weight. There’s just not a lot of useful review info on the Vantage Ti…anyone got time on them? Are they really just another example of a ski that hasn’t got enough dampness & weight to balance the stiffness?

[El Chupacabra]

I have the 188 Vantage 97 Ti, use it mostly as the smaller travel ski, since it's pretty good on anything shallower than a big pow day. Good edge hold for when you get stuck on icy groomers. I like it, but rarely ski it around home - if it's deeper I'll bring a bigger ski. If it's hard pack I'll bring a GS ski.

I thought it got discontinued in favor of something softer - IIRC the Maverick? Not sure on that.

[frorider]

Both Fischer and Atomic discontinued these stiffer higher performance skis and went in a more intermediate-friendly direction (this is one reason I got the Fischer 107 Ti last year).

I don’t want to get into the details of my 15+ quiver but I’m looking for a 95-99 waisted ski, ideally 190 or 191 but I can live with 188 if it has only mild tail rise, that has the torsional and longitudinal stiffness for ripping hard pack but is somewhat skiable in bumps. My 191 Mantras are awesome at Mammoth but not great in kwood hardback bumps.

Blister found the vantage Ti got deflected in less than ideal snow. They were on the 188, longer than what those testers usually test.

[Hopeless Sinner]

Have you considered Heritage Lab R99 freeride at 188cm?

[frorider]

Yes. But I have beta on that ski. I’m just curious about the general lack of useful reviews on the Vantage Ti.