Just came back from a ski trip. I found that rocker skis are the latest norm in the West for powder skiing. I've skied on traditional powder skis but not rockers. I am getting disappointed by my AC50 on skiing in bowls (because the deep snow). Of course AC50 is not a powder skis. The problem of AC50 is that the center of the ski sinks, even though its tips still flow. I think that rockers should perform even better than the traditional flat powder skis. Any thought?

snowrider 寫:Just came back from a ski trip. I found that rocker skis are the latest norm in the West for powder skiing. I've skied on traditional powder skis but not rockers. I am getting disappointed by my AC50 on skiing in bowls (because the deep snow). Of course AC50 is not a powder skis. The problem of AC50 is that the center of the ski sinks, even though its tips still flow. I think that rockers should perform even better than the traditional flat powder skis. Any thought?

Well, I think that Volkl AC50 are groomer carver skis, narrow at waist, so they will sink on powder, and you cannot really "carve" on powder skiing, especially on "Sierra Cement" (a very bad form of snow/powder)—it will dig a hole for you—so you need to change your stance a little bit, sit on the "sweet spot," 永泉穴/a spot under the shin bones on the sole/腳底板, which would keep the tips afloat, and easier to smear the tails to make smear turns (brushed/skidded parallel turns). The rockers have both tips and tails turn upward, a banana shape, which have no "carving edges," so they make the smeared turns much easier. But we don't gain something for nothing, my impression is though rockers are good for western powder or big mountain skiing, but they sock big time on your icy New England skiing. And I don't like the big flat powder skiing for the same reason. I used free-riding skis/mid-fat, Salomon foil @166cm, good all around/all mountain skis. Good luck.

:)
IS

taichiskiing 寫:Well, I think that Atomic AC50 are groomer carver skis,...

According to the snowrider's user photo, I guess the skis should be Volkl AC50 that the dimension is 128-85-112.

Snowrider, which bindings are mounted on your skis?

PSBoy 寫:According to the snowrider's user photo, I guess the skis should be Volkl AC50 that the dimension is 128-85-112.

Snowrider, which bindings are mounted on your skis?

Thanks for the correction; I think I've mixed up the brands. Now you mentioned, the skis are really looked like "mid-fat."

:)
IS

taichiskiing 寫:Well, I think that Volkl AC50 are groomer carver skis, narrow at waist, so they will sink on powder, and you cannot really "carve" on powder skiing, especially on "Sierra Cement" (a very bad form of snow/powder)—it will dig a hole for you—so you need to change your stance a little bit, sit on the "sweet spot," 永泉穴/a spot under the shin bones on the sole/腳底板, which would keep the tips afloat, and easier to smear the tails to make smear turns (brushed/skidded parallel turns). The rockers have both tips and tails turn upward, a banana shape, which have no "carving edges," so they make the smeared turns much easier. But we don't gain something for nothing, my impression is though rockers are good for western powder or big mountain skiing, but they sock big time on your icy New England skiing. And I don't like the big flat powder skiing for the same reason. I used free-riding skis/mid-fat, Salomon foil @166cm, good all around/all mountain skis. Good luck.

:)
IS

Thanks Taichiskiing. That's my mistake, but I knew that before I bot my AC50 last year. AC50 are "All Mountain" skis. I wanted to bring only one pair of skis to ski the West instead of renting. I shopped around and did lots of research. I also demo-ed many famous skis before I made my decision. I was hoping that it would be the one that could help me to everything - house cleaning, laundry, cooking, ... etc. I knew that it's not possible for a pair of all mountain skis to master on powder, but I still hoped until I faced the reality.

Note that I also demo-ed your Salomon Foil and Salomon 1080 Gun (the advanced version of Foil). That's how I felt they both were too soft for carving. They are more like the skis for park and pipe. I found that my AC50 performs best on 6-8" of fresh snow. It becomes very dumb on anything deeper than 12". I still remembered how easy to keep me afloat on the snow last year when I rented a pair of traditional flat powder skis.

I have to admit that powder skis suck on groomed. (I needed to apply more edging and energy in order to drive the powder skis on the groomed trails.) Alas, there is no silver bullet for dealing with all conditions. At my local resort, people ski on 75 or under, and they see my AC50 funny (too wide).

PSBoy 寫:According to the snowrider's user photo, I guess the skis should be Volkl AC50 that the dimension is 128-85-112.

Snowrider, which bindings are mounted on your skis?

Hi PSBoy, yes, that's the correct dimension. My bindings are Marker iPT Wide Ride 12.0 I think.

I would guess AC50 is stiff just by looking. It is good against harder surface. I see it often around here, but it is in minority when compare to Gotama and others. It works on groomer and occasional powder. There are new rocker tech that does well for a wide ski. You need to look at the Amanda's 5 points design.

snowrider 寫:Thanks Taichiskiing. That's my mistake, but I knew that before I bot my AC50 last year. AC50 are "All Mountain" skis. I wanted to bring only one pair of skis to ski the West instead of renting. I shopped around and did lots of research. I also demo-ed many famous skis before I made my decision. I was hoping that it would be the one that could help me to everything - house cleaning, laundry, cooking, ... etc. I knew that it's not possible for a pair of all mountain skis to master on powder, but I still hoped until I faced the reality.

I think your AC50 is a little too stiff for powder skiing, so you need to adjust your riding style to accommodate it. I would stay off edges, use the "pressure" (which is controlled by body weight) instead, the stance I mentioned earlier (sit on the 永泉穴) would make you riding a little "softer."

Note that I also demo-ed your Salomon Foil and Salomon 1080 Gun (the advanced version of Foil). That's how I felt they both were too soft for carving. They are more like the skis for park and pipe. I found that my AC50 performs best on 6-8" of fresh snow. It becomes very dumb on anything deeper than 12". I still remembered how easy to keep me afloat on the snow last year when I rented a pair of traditional flat powder skis.

With "shaped skis," the sizes also make difference. When I first demoed Foil, I was on 174cm, it carved beautifully on the grooms, but really sucked on moguls. So I went back to the rental and changed for 166cm. Alas, I've found my match; it did everything I wanted it to do (all mountain skiing), and I had no "flat spot"/hestation on any or all of my maneuvers, so that's really good skis for me. And I was so impressive with the skis, so I brought another one at a preseason tent sales for my backup, a year older model than my first pair, which came with a demo binding, which is designed for rental so they can adjust the boot sizes in the flight, I shifted the whole binding sitting an inch forward, and instantly, it changed to a "carver" ski. Nevertheless, though it carves beautifully on the grooms, but for any other skiing, I like my/the original binding sitting better.

I have to admit that powder skis suck on groomed. (I needed to apply more edging and energy in order to drive the powder skis on the groomed trails.) Alas, there is no silver bullet for dealing with all conditions. At my local resort, people ski on 75 or under, and they see my AC50 funny (too wide).

For powder skiing, a softer ski does perform better, and Flatboarding(tm) is better than carving. But I think that AC50 should be a good ski for your New England Eastern Firm(tm) skiing. Good luck.

:)
IS

snowrider 寫:Hi PSBoy, yes, that's the correct dimension. My bindings are Marker iPT Wide Ride 12.0 I think.

I rode Volkl AC 50 and Dynastar Sultan 85 last year. I found that the flotation of Sultan 85 is better and can easily get more flex underfoot. I think one of reasons may be they use different bindings. The AC 50 comes with IPT 12 (adjustable) whereas Sultan 85 comes with Mojo 12 (fixed mount). Just my 2 cents

PSBoy 寫:I rode Volkl AC 50 and Dynastar Sultan 85 last year. I found that the flotation of Sultan 85 is better and can easily get more flex underfoot. I think one of reasons may be they use different bindings. The AC 50 comes with IPT 12 (adjustable) whereas Sultan 85 comes with Mojo 12 (fixed mount). Just my 2 cents

You should have noticed ac50 construction doesnot allow other binding and it is not sold flat for the same reason

skier888 寫:You should have noticed ac50 construction doesnot allow other binding and it is not sold flat for the same reason

Yes, I know

Referring to your previous post, do you have any recommendation of Amanda (I guess you were mentioning Armada)?

PSBoy 寫:Yes, I know

Referring to your previous post, do you have any recommendation of Amanda (I guess you were mentioning Armada)?

you are correct, sir

skier888 寫:I would guess AC50 is stiff just by looking. It is good against harder surface. I see it often around here, but it is in minority when compare to Gotama and others. It works on groomer and occasional powder. There are new rocker tech that does well for a wide ski. You need to look at the Amanda's 5 points design.

Hi skier888, Yes, AC50 is stiff (and heavy). My ski trip was in SLC (Snowbird, etc.), and I saw tons of people using rocker skis there.

taichiskiing 寫:... New England Eastern Firm(tm) ...

Interesting term, but it's so true - hard surface and sometimes icy.

I always sharpen my skis to make them like razors - every 3 or 4 ski days. I am just curious about you westerners, it seems that there is no need to sharpen for skiing in bowls and powder?

snowrider 寫:Interesting term, but it's so true - hard surface and sometimes icy.

I always sharpen my skis to make them like razors - every 3 or 4 ski days. I am just curious about you westerners, it seems that there is no need to sharpen for skiing in bowls and powder?

except yesterday

snowrider 寫:Interesting term, but it's so true - hard surface and sometimes icy.

Yup, that's a term coined by a Killington ambassador, and the worst snow surface I ever encountered was at the Killington, blue colored moguls (only ice reflection is "blue" color), and frozen moguls are NOT skiable.

I always sharpen my skis to make them like razors - every 3 or 4 ski days. I am just curious about you westerners, it seems that there is no need to sharpen for skiing in bowls and powder?

I have a different strategy regarding skiing the hard and icy surfaces, I "slipping turn" on icy conditions, and I only "carve" on soft snow, so I seldom sharpen my edges, and there's really no need to sharpen the skis edges for powder skiing, any edge pressure will do.

:)
IS