In the Market for New Skis...Stockli SRs or what else??

[Lane Meyer]

SR95 tails are 123 mm. This width difference is most noticeable in bumps. If your stance is a bit wider, this won't be a problem. I don't know what the tail width for your Rictors is.

Travel - I usually am flying somewhere to ski, so having a shorter ski makes getting to and through airports a bit easier. 177 is already pretty long; the extra 2-3 inches would make it that much harder getting to/from airports.

The tails on the Rictor are 115, so smaller than the SR95. And, being a flatlander from the Midwest, I only fly out west once a year for the time being to ski 6-10 days, so completely agree with you on length regarding the flying dealio.


Thanks for input so far fellas….good stuff. That along with reading more reviews (i.e. – Blister, etc.) and seeing the Tester’s Choices on here, I’ve narrowed it down to these to help subside the headspin somewhat. LOL.

• Stockli SRs
• K2 Mindbender 90 Ti
• Armada Declivity 92 Ti
• Liberty Evolv90

I’ll be able to demo the SR95 and the K2 MB on an upcoming trip to ID. I missed the Declivity and Evolv90 initially, but am really intrigued by the specs and test reviews for these skis. Still keeping the Brahma, Kendo, and Stance on the radar. Anyone able to chime in to compare the Declivity vs. the Evolv90 that has skied both?

Really itchin to pull the trigger, but going to try and be patient...prob won't do anything until I can spend a couple of days demoing in ID.

Interesting info on the mount points…thanks for sharing.

 

[Tony S]

I see a couple notes on the sr 95 skiing short in 175 and wanted to give my 2cents,
I skied my 177 kendo yesterday, 180 atomic maverick 95ti (the 2022 one), and my 175 SR95, and SR95 skis longest and quietest of them all. ...

Anyway, we all feel different things, and imo Stöckli's don't ski short.

This is one of the few Stöcklis I've been on and TOTALLY seeing this impression of the SR 95. For what little it's worth.

 

[bremmick]

Yeah the SR95 skis short - there's a good bit of tip rocker. It felt more like a 177 when I demo'd it.

In my experience, the SR95 is a dream to ski when conditions are really good (within a day or 2 of some snow). It's still decent to ski when it hasn't snowed in a while, but some of the other narrower skis will manage better when conditions are not as good. So it's a trade between having a slightly better day when conditions are bleh, vs. a super amazing day when conditions are really good. The narrower skis will also be good in soft snow, just not as good as the SR95.

My 2c

I see a couple notes on the sr 95 skiing short in 175 and wanted to give my 2cents,
I skied my 177 kendo yesterday, 180 atomic maverick 95ti (the 2022 one), and my 175 SR95, and SR95 skis longest and quietest of them all. Stöckli mount points are also a good 1 to 2cm back from many others, like the atomic and nordicas, and that is part of why I think they feel more substaintial than the length.

Anyway, we all feel different things, and imo Stöckli's don't ski short.

Of your list and what I read about you, I'd also say kendo 88, enforcer 88 or something in that range. I think with this quiver building thing, many people don't consider the 1 ski for traveling anymore, and these two are right there. Mid to high 90mm skis just don't ski hardpack or bumps as well, and are harder on the knees on packed snow.

cheers!
W
[/QUOTE]

I'd love to har your feedback and comparison on those three, What was your experience like on the maverick?

 

[WadeHoliday]

I'd love to har your feedback and comparison on those three, What was your experience like on the maverick?
[/QUOTE]

Hi Bremmick,
not the best test, as there is a layer of boilerplate under a couple of light airey pow.
On the prepared slope, all 3 worked well, Maverick being best, as tune felt freshest. Off piste in the freakish snow, SR was best as it quieted down the noise best. Kendo and Maverick both are more communicative. I believe the Maverick shape is super versatile looking, more taper and rocker than the others here, but nothing over the top. I hope to get more time to give them a better run through, but all in all, seems like it's going to be a good one.

Cheers!
Wade

 

[Tom K.]

I certainly don't ski the number of skis that a lot of the commenters above do, but I ski the daylights out of a pair of Enforcer 100s and 88s and love them.

So I'll just add the E94 to your list.

However, if you ski a lot of the expert terrain at Big Sky, you might want to buy the cheapest pair on your list, because that place eats skis for lunch!

 

[x10003q]

Last winter, I demoed the SR 88,95 (184) and the AR (182) looking for an east coast daily driver. I found the 88 was too much of a compromise. I had real difficulty choosing between the 95 and the AR. I eventually went with the AR. It is an awesome ski. For me, the 88 was just a step down from the other 2 skis. The AR has worked for me on east coast tilted hockey rinks to 12" of blower to 5" of heavy, wet, spring snow - all with lots of tree skiing mixed in. It has become a 1 ski quiver.

 

[erdz]

Last winter, I demoed the SR 88,95 (184) and the AR (182) looking for an east coast daily driver. I found the 88 was too much of a compromise. I had real difficulty choosing between the 95 and the AR. I eventually went with the AR. It is an awesome ski. For me, the 88 was just a step down from the other 2 skis. The AR has worked for me on east coast tilted hockey rinks to 12" of blower to 5" of heavy, wet, spring snow - all with lots of tree skiing mixed in. It has become a 1 ski quiver.

I agree with you on the AR as a great all mt ski. The SR 95 is a great western daily driver.

 

[Lane Meyer]

Ok, this post was long overdue. First, I appreciate the those that replied here and to PMs when I was looking for skis last year. I wound up going with the Armada Declivity 92 Ti in the 180 length. Here’s my quick hit review after spending 10 days in Idaho last season (March 2021). I went to some smaller resorts for the first half of the trip, and finished up with three days at Sun Valley.

In summary, I’d say Blister was very spot on. The Declivity is a very fun ski. IMO, these are great all mountain skis for a frontside/off-piste ratio of say 60/40. They are fun to rip groomers and ski moguls/trees with…skis have a good flex pattern and energy, very solid edge hold, and can easily release/smear turns when needed. With the rocker and a little bit lighter weight the skis have, they’re good in up to 6-8” of fresh powder, but are not the best skis in deeper powder and will deflect/get pushed around in deeper chop/crud. Now, admittedly, I wasn’t in as good a shape for that trip as I normal am…spent half the amount of time working out as I normally do in preparation for a trip.

I left a little bit more of a detailed review of them on the Declivity page:
https://www.skitalk.com/threads/2021-armada-declivity-92-ti.20490/page-3

I started working out much earlier this off season…good thing, because I couldn’t help myself in picking up some K2 MB 99s, which I’m sure will demand a little more of my attention in comparison. Decided to add this to my quiver for something that appears will offer more all mountain versatility and will charge more. Hoping to get a preview on them in February at Mt. Bohemia before I go back to ID in March.

I also want to thank those that replied to my ski tuning thread. I’ve been tuning my skis for years, but didn’t realize how outdated I was with what I was doing and the tips/advice I received here definitely helped point me in the right direction. Much happier now with that. FYIW, I went with 1/2.5 on my Declivities, and I just tuned my MBs and according to EVO, factory bevels are 1.2/2, but I beveled the side edge to a 2.5 as well. Decided to go with 2.5 on my side edges as a happy medium to see how I liked it before going to a 3. Anyhow, thanks again as it really helped me out in updating/upgrading my tuning operation.