Atomic Maverick 88 Ti for beginner?

[Chris_E]

Hello there, I just signed up. Not sure if I should use existing threads for these type of things, I see there have been others like me, asking similar questions.

Anyway, classic story: used to ski regularly during the winters as a child, up until the age of 10-11 or so. Since then, nothing at all. Fast forward 30+ years, to last week, when I made the spontaneous decision to go with a group of people, with similar lack of skiing ability. And we had a blast. In the children's track. So much fun. And now I know I have to do more of it.

I tend to get a little over-excited and rash with my decisions when I'm hooked on new things, so I'll need to check with you guys if this is stupid:

I've been checking the second hand market, and found a pair of these skis at a decent price. With bindings. I'm buying boots from a friend of mine.

I've been watching reviews of the Atomics, and people seem to love them. However, those people are very good at skiing. I'm not. They're saying the skis are awesome, but better suited for people who aren't beginners. So, the question is: are the skis too good for me?

Appreciate any input here.

 

[dbostedo]

I'm buying boots from a friend of mine.

Welcome to SkiTalk!

I'd say don't worry about skis at all, until you get boots sorted. I wouldn't spend any significant money on skis, unless I'd already bought properly fitting boots.

Getting properly fitting boots - from a good boot-fitter - will help with EVERYTHING else about skiing and re-learning to ski. I'd rather buy good fitting boots and ski junk skis, than ill-fitting boots on the best skis.

If you're going to buy your friends boots for just your learning phase, and you got a really cheap deal on the skis, that may make sense. And it's possible that your friends boots may fit well - but highly unlikely given how different everyone's feet are. So I'd say stay cheap for now

As far as the brand and model - what's your height and weight (weight especially)? And what length are the skis? That has a large bearing on whether on not they'll be OK for you. That model may be OK - it's an "all-mountain" ski with a little bit of tip and tail rocker, which would be OK. But narrower would generally be better for learning/re-learning.

 

[Chris_E]

@dbostedo Thank you!

Yeah, I tried the boots the other day, compared our feet and all. Another friend who's a pretty experienced skier said ideally they could maybe have been slightly shorter, but to me they felt good. Snug, without feeling tight. I had some rentals when I went skiing, and these seem to fit me much better. Plus I get them super cheap.

The skis are 169cm long, I'm 175cm and 90kg. What's that, roughly 5'9" and 200lbs?

 

[Jilly]

I would say no. These are not beginner skis, but more advanced.

If you think the boots are too big, they probably are!!

 

[dbostedo]

@dbostedo Thank you!

Yeah, I tried the boots the other day, compared our feet and all. Another friend who's a pretty experienced skier said ideally they could maybe have been slightly shorter, but to me they felt good. Snug, without feeling tight. I had some rentals when I went skiing, and these seem to fit me much better. Plus I get them super cheap.

The skis are 169cm long, I'm 175cm and 90kg. What's that, roughly 5'9" and 200lbs?

At that weight, I think the skis will be fine. But how good a deal are you getting? They aren't really beginner skis, and there are TONS of good skis out there, many usually available used, and many that may suit you better. I don't know what deals or availability are like in Norway though.

One thing a lot of newer skiers do, is buy boots, and rent skis... that way they can try different skis out, or "upgrade" as their skills improve. Might be worth looking into.

And again, if you're going to put money in - put it into boots and a visit to a good boot-fitter!

 

[Chris_E]

At that weight, I think the skis will be fine. But how good a deal are you getting? They aren't really beginner skis, and there are TONS of good skis out there, many usually available used, and many that may suit you better. I don't know what deals or availability are like in Norway though.

One thing a lot of newer skiers do, is buy boots, and rent skis... that way they can try different skis out, or "upgrade" as their skills improve. Might be worth looking into.

And again, if you're going to put money in - put it into boots and a visit to a good boot-fitter!

Excellent, thanks a lot!
I think you just saved me roughly 380 USD

 

[Chris_E]

Ok, another question:

I could buy a pair of carving skis, from the same friend who has the boots. I'd be paying about $60 for both skis and boots, which is basically the price of two rentals. However, the skis are 2-3 inches longer than me, which makes me guess they could be tricky to manouvre, now that I'm about to learn and re-learn the basics.

Should I not worry too much about that? Are we coming back to the boots again i.e. fitted boots giving better control?

 

[Philpug]

Are we coming back to the boots again i.e. fitted boots giving better control?

Yup. And not necessarly a top end custom boot but a boot that is actually the shape and size of your foot.

 

[Ivan]

I agree on the importance of boots. But also I'd look at where you ski and how you want to ski. I think that way too many people these days are on wide skis (especially in North America), and for a beginner, 88mm may be an overkill. If you are skiing on groomed runs most of the time, I'd look for a low to mid 70mm ski.

 

[DocGKR]

Not the right ski at this time for you.

Get good boots, fitted by an expert. Take some lessons. Only then worry about skis....

 

[Bad Bob]

Welcome back to skiing.
What everyone else said about boots. If there is a fit issue in your boots, go see a good boot fitter. They can do amazing things for your skiing. A custom footbed (which is reusable in future boots) can make a huge difference.
Suggest you not go longer on the skis. You might want to look into having your skis 'tuned' if they have been sitting long or used much.

The worst mistake you can make is not going skiing.

 

[Lvovsky /Pasha/Pavel]

169cm for 175cm tall 200lb person? Could be just fine to grow into. Especially if the price is right. Do Mavericks have a reputation for being a strong skis? 88mm is another story but depending on how much soft snow will OP see, it may work.

Try them. If they do not work for you, sell them.

Get equipment to get you on the snow. Figure out what works and what you like. Visit several bootfitters. Upgrade equipment as necessary.

 

[Chris_E]

Fantastic, you're all great, cheers for all your input and advice so far

 

[Chris_E]

169cm for 175cm tall 200lb person? Could be just fine to grow into. Especially if the price is right. Do Mavericks have a reputation for being a strong skis? 88mm is another story but depending on how much soft snow will OP see, it may work.

Try them. If they do not work for you, sell them.

Get equipment to get you on the snow. Figure out what works and what you like. Visit several bootfitters. Upgrade equipment as necessary.

Bolded bit: this is so true for me when it comes to motivation in general. If I'm learning how to play an instrument, it requires having one I want to play. Similarly when going to the gym: choosing the excercises that makes me want to go back again and again.

 

[François Pugh]

Boots: No doubt about it, you are far better off getting boots that fit from a good boot fitter.
Skis: It depends. It depends on how soft or hard your groomed snow is. I see you are in Norway, which I hear is pretty cold, if your snow is like ours usually is here in Sudbury Ontario Canada, you should not go wider than 76 mm at the waist. Since you weigh about 200 lbs, I advise against getting a beginner ski; you need a ski with enough strength to turn you. It so happens that I swapped skis with another patroller for three runs last Saturday. Compared to my Fischer SCs the front end felt kind of wishy washy and disconnected on our very hard snow, and a little too much effort to put on edge and engage the tips. The SC is one step down from FIS SL. I think they (the Mavericks) would have felt great on Sunday after we just got a few inches of snow. They were not as confidence inspiring at 40 to 50 mph. Turn radius not perfect (shorter would have been better) for our tiny hill, but would be fine on a larger hill. So depends on how beginner are you, really, and how hard is your snow. I would not advise a ski length over head height unless you are a speed demon. 165 cm would be fine for hard groomers, 170 cm better for hard snow, 175 ok too for soft snow. Longer if going at GS racing speeds.

 

[Chris_E]

@François Pugh

Great stuff, thanks a lot. Further food for thought, appreciate it

It's not particularly cold where I live (mid-west near the coast), temperatures in the winter are usually from around 5 degrees plus down to minus 10. Lower than minus 10 for longer periods is less common, but it happens some winters. This is celcius obviously, I didn't do the fahrenheit conversion, hope it makes sense.

 

[François Pugh]

If when you tip the ski up onto its edge it sinks in an inch or more, you are good with the Maverick.
The wishy-washy front end is likely due to the tip rocker. Some folk highly recommend tip rocker for beginners, as it makes the ski more forgiving, unlike the full camber on my ski which makes the ski very responsive and precise from the get go. The Maverick handles fine once you get it into the turn turn, but I prefer the feed back, quick and strong response and precision all the time of the full camber. I am not a beginner though (my deep snow ski is 108 mm wide and full rocker - horses for courses).

 

[Scrundy]

. I think they (the Mavericks) would have felt great on Sunday after we just got a few inches of snow. They were not as confidence inspiring at 40 to 50 mph. Turn radius not perfect

I prefer these skis with some fresh snow for sure. They engage well under those conditions and handle skied out snow well. I find them very stable at speeds under those conditions. They are light, that I like, but still a stout ski for heavier skiers. I do wish the turn radius was shorter but find it fairly easy to push into a tighter radius unlike the 100, that ski is locked in. The whole Maverick line is geared for a all mountain carver for sure, they like to turn after you lay them over, and with the 3* side they bite. Fairly impressed with them so far.

 

[DocGKR]

I enjoyed the Stance 84 & 90 way more than the Mavericks....

 

[ted]

I have an alternative view point. I think all mountain skis are better than more carve oriented skis for beginning skiers. The width makes balance easier and the rocker/taper makes them easier to pivot on. Not all skiing is carving. If you feel you need a carving ski later,get one then. If the Atomics feel like they are too advanced for you have the tips and tails beveled to 1.5*.