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Looking for All Mountain/ Some Park Skis

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SWmich
Posts: 3 - Karma: 24
Looking at getting a new pair of skis, started skiing 10 years ago, but took a break for the past 2 and am now just getting back into it.

I'm from SW Michigan, 19 yrs. 5' 9" 135 lbs. I've been doing research but it seems like most people are atleast 50 pounds heavier than me haha.

I want to get a pair of skis that's good for the park, but isn't afraid of the rest of the mountain. I mainly hit jumps for now and have just started learning to hit rails. I ski on groomed, hardly any powder. I'm on a budget around $300 w/o bindings. I've been looking at last years skis on ebay and evo.com.

Here's some skis that I've been looking at-
Atomic Infamous
Volkl Kink or Ledge
Salomon Twenty Twelves

Any suggestions would be great. Thanks..


Dec 22 2013 8:10PM
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Park.
Posts: 2480 - Karma: 4,582
volkl kinks are great all mountain skis that hold up well on jumps. out of your choices I would pick the kinks, definitely not the 2012s, probably not the Infamous since it is a bit more park oriented and wont hold its own as well on the all mountain side
Dec 22 2013 8:27PM
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soupcan
Posts: 364 - Karma: 562
If you can find the armada ar7 it is supposed to be an amazing all mountain park ski from what I hear
Dec 22 2013 10:04PM
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tsk94
Posts: 184 - Karma: 122
I have the Ledges and they are great. I'm not very good at park, but have been skiing forever. For an all mountain ski they work really well being symmetrical, carve good, nice stability. Rocker in the tip and tail is nice and playful and lets you slash in the trees easily. For park, they are light, snappy and again stable. I owned then 2012's and hated them, sold them after a day they were so bad. I was worried with the Ledges after that experience but good ol' Volkl can actually make a stable park ski that carves, thank god.
Dec 22 2013 10:55PM
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SWmich
Posts: 3 - Karma: 24
Thanks guys for your advice. I think I'll go with the Volkl Ledges or Kinks. I looked before at the Armada Ar7's but haven't been able to find a decent deal on them.

I know I'm going to get flamed for this one but.. I'm coming from a pair of Salomon skiblades(holding up my flame shield as I speak) There I said it. Back in the day they were fun as hell, but coming back after 2 years no one uses them anymore with good reason. I ski with a group of boarders that mostly hang out in the park. I was trying a box the other night and took a spill and I thought I broke my ankle at first thanks to the sh!t non releasable bindings.

After that I made my mind up that I need to invest in actual skis. I'm starting to get into biggers jumps and rails and don't want to break a leg because of sh!t ski blades. Plus ski blades are just kinda... dumb, I was a broke HS student at the time though and bought them for $50.

I'm wondering what length I should get? Since I came from blades I'm use to shorter ski's. I'm sure it'll take a little getting use too. Evo has a nice deal on a pair of 2013's Volkl 163 cm Ledges for $276. Or an Ebay store has a new pair of Kinks 171 cm for $305.
Dec 23 2013 12:01AM
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tsk94
Posts: 184 - Karma: 122
I'm 5'5 and got the 171 Ledges, a little long for park considering I'm not great at it, but for skiing all over I like a longer ski. I wouldn't get the 163's if I were you, they'd simply be to short with the rocker. The 171's would probably be a good size considering that you are coming off of.
Dec 23 2013 12:27AM
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MartianMan
Posts: 1101 - Karma: 2,098
I would pass on the Ledges. I'm sure they are a great park ski, but considering that they are fully symmetrical and soft flexing, they are not gonna be a good all mountain choice. Go with the Kinks. My local shop cannot stop raving about how well they ski in pretty much every condition, from park to groomers, to crud or light powder. As for the 2012's, I haven't skied them myself, but my cousin has been using them as his East Coast 1 ski quiver for three seasons now, and he has no complaints. They do have a good amount of rocker compared to most park skis, so I would watch out for that if you are a full camber guy. But at the end of the day, it's your call. You'll have fun skiing no matter what.
Dec 23 2013 12:38AM
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cr1080cbr
Posts: 92 - Karma: -10
Just rode my Kinks for the first time over the weekend and they are truly amazing!  Really enjoyed them in and out of the park.  Skied great all-mountain and were really playful in the park.  I'm 6ft and have the 179, which are closer to 182ish, so if I were you I'd go with the 171 especially because you are coming from snow blades. 
Dec 23 2013 11:15AM
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SWmich
Posts: 3 - Karma: 24
Thanks for all your help guys! I just bought a pair of 2013 Volkl Kink 171cm from an ebay store!! Should be here in a week and be shredding in 2 weeks after I get them mounted which leads me to my next question.

This is the first new pair of skis that I've bought so never had to choose bindings, I was looking at some Salomon STH 12 bindings w/ 100mm brakes. The side cut of the Kinks is 89 so they should work fine? Or should I be looking at the 90 mm brakes? Also what does the Oversize mean, if anything?


The DIN goes up to 12 so I should be fine since I only weigh 135 lbs. but it still allows me to gain some weight haha and I want something that won't pop off too easy.
Dec 23 2013 6:20PM
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srg_bchkv
Posts: 200 - Karma: 170
90mm brakes will fit better. And if you can, go for the sth drivers, they are better bindings than the oversize.
Dec 24 2013 2:01AM
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