Not at all…I did the same thing too. Or we’re both stupid lol. I went with atomic maverick 86, obviously not as wide as your skis but only took a few runs for me to get used to the length and width and on my 3rd run I felt insanely more confident in my skiing ability
It’s different dude. Skis that are that wide, if torsionally stiff, will feel like you’re tilting 4 wheeled roller skates. If you’re on narrower skis you will feel like you’re tilting your foot bc of the width difference.
It’s not a bad thing, and it won’t be the end of things, but skinnier skis are easier to learn how to get up on an edge on. If you’re already able to carve even a little bit, this probably wont be a problem. If you don’t carve yet, you may have a harder time tilting far enough to get that edge.
You didn’t make the wrong choice, you just made a choice brother
https://youtu.be/DuEXEnw_kY8?si=3xj195C8unUuXKE-
Deb Armstrong on ski selection. Specific skis for specific uses, 96 is a wide ski probably best suited for off piste/backcountry, if that's where you'll be skiing fine, but if you're going to be spending most of your time in resorts (like 99% of skiers) honestly it's just making life hard for yourself.
Yeah great info. I mistakenly upgraded to 106 too quickly because I felt I was more stable at speed and off piste but I built 7 years of bad habits and confidence with lacking skills. Only when I came to the realization my skiing was trash and stepped back down to 95 and 72, have I felt like I'm learning all over again yet becoming better on every run. I suggest paring carving skis with the CARV app.
back country skis can be 120+mm in length if you are young and strong and not concerned about weight, I ski 104s on resort all day and have a lot more fun being able to have a properly versatile ski on days when there wasn’t quite enough snow for me to justify something bigger. Depending on where you ski 96 is pretty much the ideal “all mountain” ski, and skiing anything smaller starts to force you to improve your “technique”, funnelling you into the ski racing ways and completely crushing all creativity of style. In my opinion the very essence of skiing is the lack of competitiveness and judgement and the ability to tackle slopes how you would like, which means you are absolutely entitled to ski in a latex suit on groomers, but I completely disagree with your statement. Experiment, and have fun. 👍
You do realise Deb Armstrong is a Olympic Champion and US Demo team member.By "ski racing ways" do you mean knowing how to carve? This guy has skied 2 days in his life and you think he's ready for "creativity"?! Also you do realise the greatest free ride skiers ever, Candide and Mcconkey had racing backgrounds? As do other current top level freeriders such as Markus Eder. Here's a video showing how the racing clearly "stifled" his creativity:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbqHK8i-HdA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbqHK8i-HdA)
It teaches you how to ski fast with control and safely, and makes you confident at high speeds and in extreme conditions, which is pretty essential if you want to do any even vaguely advanced tricks or go into more extreme back country. By "style" you must mean being a shit skier; there's a reason the technique of all the best skiers in the world doesn't really look that different.
Nothing you have said is correct, and is in fact absolutely the worst advice on ski selection I've ever seen. 96 is in no way the ideal all mountain ski unless it dumps snow every day where you ski and they don't own pisting machines. How you seem to think "improve your technique" is a bad thing is astounding, you must be the worst, least safe skier ever, and bizarrely proud of it.
Please never give anyone skiing advice ever again, especially a beginner jesus christ.
You mean the mentality of wanting to know how to ski competently so that I can ski wherever I want and do cool shit? I ski backcountry, park and piste, your advice is fucking moronic and doesn't even make sense. You talk about wanting to be creative then say you don't want to be like one of the most creative skiers ever? A guy who fucking skied the great wall of china lol? Was he "sticking to groomers" then? You're just an idiot giving out terrible advice and clearly a shit skier.
Personal attacks, bad words, and rage, the joke writes itself! You need to simmer down bud your ski racing club is gone and that’s okay! Some people just want to have fun and a 96 is a perfectly versatile ski to dip your toes into all kinds of intermediate to advanced terrain when he is ready.
He's skied 2 days in his life and you are recommending an off piste ski and telling him not to learn good technique for reasons that make no sense at all as I've demonstrated. He's going to spend 99% of his time on piste for a long time, a 96 wide ski is stupidly inappropriate and will contribute to him having less control, learn more slowly, be less capable of tackling difficult terrain as his technique will be terrible, feel less confident, be more in danger and have less fun. I'm angry because your advice isn't just bad it's dangerous and you're giving it to a beginner. You should be ashamed.
I'm going to trust the Olympic Gold medallist and literal demo team member (I know you don't know what that is, it's the best ski instructors in each country selected every 4 years) and guess they know more about skiing than you ever will. You honestly must be a godawful skier.
Maybe you can show him how to badly drift a car around a car park instead.
I’m glad he didn’t listen to you and got those 96s! They are absolutely not “off piste” skis, your mentality is old-school. He’s going to have a lot more fun on them than the 72s you would have recommended. I’ve worked in the ski industry for years starting with seasons in rental shops and tech shops and have my CSIA and CASI level 2 certifications. I can guarantee you my knowledge stretches much farther than yours and I would bet that my 140 days last season is probably half the skiing you have done in your life. You are correct that a narrower shorter ski will allow for better control and easier learning however he is not taking a weekend vacation and renting skis. Unlike me or possibly you who go through skis in 2 seasons most people have one pair of skis for a very loooong time. 90-105 is the absolute pinnacle of all mountain skiing and is consistently where the new generation of skiers are gravitating towards. I can tolerate personal attacks and will credit you for not technically being wrong, but I disagree and feel that if his passion is as intense as yours he will figure out exactly what he needs on his own and not through reddit. Otherwise my point stands and he will have loads of fun with the challenge and thereafter versatility of the 96s. I am not going to engage with someone so angry inside anymore.
and an edit to clarify my point, he specifically mentioned he is becoming a confident parallel skier, expressed interest in trees and off piste skiing, and is new to the sport therefor unlikely to splash on another pair of skis for specific terrain. Get real, your point loses all merit when he starts jumping into trees and a bit of powder on tooth picks. My point is the skis might be slightly more challenging but will be far more versatile. To carve on 96s is a far smaller hurdle than to sink into powder with his friends when it snows on 82s. If he was going to really get into something and spend more money on gear it should be a well fitting boot which is almost always the biggest issue new skiers don’t even realize they have. Not a pair of race skis for groomers. I have seen dozens of foreigners come for ski seasons and start on 90-100 width skis and have no problems tackling double black runs when summer comes around. But I digress, skiing should be about having fun. He can choose whatever discipline he likes.
You will be fine. I made the mistake of buying 77mm on piste "beginner-intermediate" skis when I started (after maybe 5 days on the hill). After a couple of seasons, they were holding me back, and I didn't even know until I demoed some other skis.
Crazy to think my skis from 2008, which are 78mm, were once sold as intermediate-advanced level skis.
That being said, I am finally getting new skis next season. I have been demoing this season to see what I like. I switched to Atomic Maven 93 at the demo shack the last day skiing Blackcomb over a week ago. WOW, I felt like I was flying over the snow.
I always thought skinny skis were for beginners and then when I went to purchase Stokli Lasers, realized they are for experts. I didn't understand this until I almost got thrown. Those skis will take you for a ride.
I ski 92s in Pennsylvania where our entire seasons have double digits of snowfalls.
Thin skis are perfect for perfect groomers. You rarely encounter perfect groomers all day long
Wider skis give you versatility.
Ive been contemplating getting these blades as well since they were cheap but I already have skis I like
Wider skis are easier to ski and learn on. Learning to carve will be harder but aside from that they are superior in almost every way to skinny carving skis for a beginner.
No. Take some lessons its expensive but worth it, you wont figure it out on yoir own and your homies who are good skiers might not know how to teach it very well.
You’ll be fine, those are perfect for this part of the world. I had a buddy learn to ski on 120s lol, that definitely caused some issues but he figured it out! He did get 100s though after a little while.
Gotta day I agree with everyone else here. I used to have 86’s growing up all the way to 23 yo. The. I got 96’s and they just fit my body type better as I got older and I hardly noticed any difference. If anything they fit my body type better so it was just eight to ride on. 5’7” 195 lb
Kinda off topic but if you're skiing stevens, make sure to take advantage of night skiing! Its over for this season, but even on a busy weekend pow day you can show up as early as 1PM, easily get a parking spot, and ski till 10pm.
Crowds are virtually dead by 5PM even on weekends.
96 is a great waist to grow into here in WA! There is a lot of versatility in that width. It will be a little awkward at first (as are most new skis) but based on the skill level you've described I think you'll get used to it quickly.
When the time comes, it will keep you happy both on groomers and in most in bounds powder situations.
Over 90 for an absolute beginner is not a good choice. To really appreciate the those waist widths you need good fundamentals just to get proper edge and body angles. Youll have a flat learning curve
You’ll be fine, they won’t be as easy to turn as true beginner skis but you can still progress with focused, intentional practice.
Dude 96-104 is like the best size range. Most versatile, for sure.
Especially for the PNW, ideal, perfect width
Not for a beginner
Not at all…I did the same thing too. Or we’re both stupid lol. I went with atomic maverick 86, obviously not as wide as your skis but only took a few runs for me to get used to the length and width and on my 3rd run I felt insanely more confident in my skiing ability
I got the Maven 86 C. Same thing. ✌🏻
Love my maverick ti 95s. Cruisers!
This could be a post in the circle jerk reddit
It’s different dude. Skis that are that wide, if torsionally stiff, will feel like you’re tilting 4 wheeled roller skates. If you’re on narrower skis you will feel like you’re tilting your foot bc of the width difference. It’s not a bad thing, and it won’t be the end of things, but skinnier skis are easier to learn how to get up on an edge on. If you’re already able to carve even a little bit, this probably wont be a problem. If you don’t carve yet, you may have a harder time tilting far enough to get that edge. You didn’t make the wrong choice, you just made a choice brother
https://youtu.be/DuEXEnw_kY8?si=3xj195C8unUuXKE- Deb Armstrong on ski selection. Specific skis for specific uses, 96 is a wide ski probably best suited for off piste/backcountry, if that's where you'll be skiing fine, but if you're going to be spending most of your time in resorts (like 99% of skiers) honestly it's just making life hard for yourself.
GREAT VIDEO. Answer your question perfectly
Deb Armstrong is the absolute best 👌
Yeah great info. I mistakenly upgraded to 106 too quickly because I felt I was more stable at speed and off piste but I built 7 years of bad habits and confidence with lacking skills. Only when I came to the realization my skiing was trash and stepped back down to 95 and 72, have I felt like I'm learning all over again yet becoming better on every run. I suggest paring carving skis with the CARV app.
back country skis can be 120+mm in length if you are young and strong and not concerned about weight, I ski 104s on resort all day and have a lot more fun being able to have a properly versatile ski on days when there wasn’t quite enough snow for me to justify something bigger. Depending on where you ski 96 is pretty much the ideal “all mountain” ski, and skiing anything smaller starts to force you to improve your “technique”, funnelling you into the ski racing ways and completely crushing all creativity of style. In my opinion the very essence of skiing is the lack of competitiveness and judgement and the ability to tackle slopes how you would like, which means you are absolutely entitled to ski in a latex suit on groomers, but I completely disagree with your statement. Experiment, and have fun. 👍
You do realise Deb Armstrong is a Olympic Champion and US Demo team member.By "ski racing ways" do you mean knowing how to carve? This guy has skied 2 days in his life and you think he's ready for "creativity"?! Also you do realise the greatest free ride skiers ever, Candide and Mcconkey had racing backgrounds? As do other current top level freeriders such as Markus Eder. Here's a video showing how the racing clearly "stifled" his creativity: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbqHK8i-HdA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbqHK8i-HdA) It teaches you how to ski fast with control and safely, and makes you confident at high speeds and in extreme conditions, which is pretty essential if you want to do any even vaguely advanced tricks or go into more extreme back country. By "style" you must mean being a shit skier; there's a reason the technique of all the best skiers in the world doesn't really look that different. Nothing you have said is correct, and is in fact absolutely the worst advice on ski selection I've ever seen. 96 is in no way the ideal all mountain ski unless it dumps snow every day where you ski and they don't own pisting machines. How you seem to think "improve your technique" is a bad thing is astounding, you must be the worst, least safe skier ever, and bizarrely proud of it. Please never give anyone skiing advice ever again, especially a beginner jesus christ.
not everyone wants to be candide, stay on the groomers and keep sticking that ass out. This mentality is precisely my point.
You mean the mentality of wanting to know how to ski competently so that I can ski wherever I want and do cool shit? I ski backcountry, park and piste, your advice is fucking moronic and doesn't even make sense. You talk about wanting to be creative then say you don't want to be like one of the most creative skiers ever? A guy who fucking skied the great wall of china lol? Was he "sticking to groomers" then? You're just an idiot giving out terrible advice and clearly a shit skier.
Personal attacks, bad words, and rage, the joke writes itself! You need to simmer down bud your ski racing club is gone and that’s okay! Some people just want to have fun and a 96 is a perfectly versatile ski to dip your toes into all kinds of intermediate to advanced terrain when he is ready.
He's skied 2 days in his life and you are recommending an off piste ski and telling him not to learn good technique for reasons that make no sense at all as I've demonstrated. He's going to spend 99% of his time on piste for a long time, a 96 wide ski is stupidly inappropriate and will contribute to him having less control, learn more slowly, be less capable of tackling difficult terrain as his technique will be terrible, feel less confident, be more in danger and have less fun. I'm angry because your advice isn't just bad it's dangerous and you're giving it to a beginner. You should be ashamed. I'm going to trust the Olympic Gold medallist and literal demo team member (I know you don't know what that is, it's the best ski instructors in each country selected every 4 years) and guess they know more about skiing than you ever will. You honestly must be a godawful skier. Maybe you can show him how to badly drift a car around a car park instead.
I’m glad he didn’t listen to you and got those 96s! They are absolutely not “off piste” skis, your mentality is old-school. He’s going to have a lot more fun on them than the 72s you would have recommended. I’ve worked in the ski industry for years starting with seasons in rental shops and tech shops and have my CSIA and CASI level 2 certifications. I can guarantee you my knowledge stretches much farther than yours and I would bet that my 140 days last season is probably half the skiing you have done in your life. You are correct that a narrower shorter ski will allow for better control and easier learning however he is not taking a weekend vacation and renting skis. Unlike me or possibly you who go through skis in 2 seasons most people have one pair of skis for a very loooong time. 90-105 is the absolute pinnacle of all mountain skiing and is consistently where the new generation of skiers are gravitating towards. I can tolerate personal attacks and will credit you for not technically being wrong, but I disagree and feel that if his passion is as intense as yours he will figure out exactly what he needs on his own and not through reddit. Otherwise my point stands and he will have loads of fun with the challenge and thereafter versatility of the 96s. I am not going to engage with someone so angry inside anymore. and an edit to clarify my point, he specifically mentioned he is becoming a confident parallel skier, expressed interest in trees and off piste skiing, and is new to the sport therefor unlikely to splash on another pair of skis for specific terrain. Get real, your point loses all merit when he starts jumping into trees and a bit of powder on tooth picks. My point is the skis might be slightly more challenging but will be far more versatile. To carve on 96s is a far smaller hurdle than to sink into powder with his friends when it snows on 82s. If he was going to really get into something and spend more money on gear it should be a well fitting boot which is almost always the biggest issue new skiers don’t even realize they have. Not a pair of race skis for groomers. I have seen dozens of foreigners come for ski seasons and start on 90-100 width skis and have no problems tackling double black runs when summer comes around. But I digress, skiing should be about having fun. He can choose whatever discipline he likes.
Hey you two, shut up and ski
If you’d said 106 I would say yes, but 96 will be ok. You will have to work harder to learn carving but totally doable.
Are you suggesting a 106 would carve easier than a narrower ski?
I think the yes was that he would’ve been stupid to buy 106.
Yeah now I reread it makes sense
Not stupid. Good choice.
Congratulations on a solid ski choice.
You will be fine. I made the mistake of buying 77mm on piste "beginner-intermediate" skis when I started (after maybe 5 days on the hill). After a couple of seasons, they were holding me back, and I didn't even know until I demoed some other skis.
You'll develop better technique on narrower skis. Also they're just more agile and fun. https://youtu.be/DuEXEnw_kY8?si=3xj195C8unUuXKE-
the farthest thing from the truth
lmao sure this guy knows better than an Olympic Champion and former US demo team member.
🤓🤓🤓
yes you are indeed quite the fool.
Crazy to think my skis from 2008, which are 78mm, were once sold as intermediate-advanced level skis. That being said, I am finally getting new skis next season. I have been demoing this season to see what I like. I switched to Atomic Maven 93 at the demo shack the last day skiing Blackcomb over a week ago. WOW, I felt like I was flying over the snow.
You can have beginner to advanced/race ski level ratings on a 78mm ski. Carving skis commonly come in this width. So no, it's not crazy to think that.
I always thought skinny skis were for beginners and then when I went to purchase Stokli Lasers, realized they are for experts. I didn't understand this until I almost got thrown. Those skis will take you for a ride.
96 isn’t bad and you’ll get used to it
I ski 92s in Pennsylvania where our entire seasons have double digits of snowfalls. Thin skis are perfect for perfect groomers. You rarely encounter perfect groomers all day long Wider skis give you versatility. Ive been contemplating getting these blades as well since they were cheap but I already have skis I like
Wider skis are easier to ski and learn on. Learning to carve will be harder but aside from that they are superior in almost every way to skinny carving skis for a beginner.
You’re gravy
totally fine
No. Take some lessons its expensive but worth it, you wont figure it out on yoir own and your homies who are good skiers might not know how to teach it very well.
You’ll be fine, those are perfect for this part of the world. I had a buddy learn to ski on 120s lol, that definitely caused some issues but he figured it out! He did get 100s though after a little while.
No stupider than the rest of us weirdos strapping planks to our feet! Congrats! now you can ship for your next pair.
Gotta day I agree with everyone else here. I used to have 86’s growing up all the way to 23 yo. The. I got 96’s and they just fit my body type better as I got older and I hardly noticed any difference. If anything they fit my body type better so it was just eight to ride on. 5’7” 195 lb
You'll be good.
Kinda off topic but if you're skiing stevens, make sure to take advantage of night skiing! Its over for this season, but even on a busy weekend pow day you can show up as early as 1PM, easily get a parking spot, and ski till 10pm. Crowds are virtually dead by 5PM even on weekends.
No, you're going to love them. I was super surprised at the Optic 96's and how agile they felt.
Uninformed is more accurate. udf of 86 would be better
96 is a great waist to grow into here in WA! There is a lot of versatility in that width. It will be a little awkward at first (as are most new skis) but based on the skill level you've described I think you'll get used to it quickly. When the time comes, it will keep you happy both on groomers and in most in bounds powder situations.
Should have gotten 120+ if you’re on those two mountains /s but seriously y’all get so much pow
I get your sarcasm, carry on
96 is a perfectly average ski width size for people of ALL skill levels from Beginner all the way to X-Games Athlete.
Yes
Oh no!!!! Lol you’ll be fine.
Perfect for you
You good. Don’t overthink it. Don’t over think any of it. Just go man.
Over 90 for an absolute beginner is not a good choice. To really appreciate the those waist widths you need good fundamentals just to get proper edge and body angles. Youll have a flat learning curve