Early today I was skiing at Steamboat and while I did not feel myself hitting any rocks, somehow I had a received a nasty core shot with the edge breaking in two places and going inwards. I took them to the shop where they confirmed my suspicions that they were goners. It really is a shame because I did love those skis.
Sidenote: It has been less than two years since I got them and according to faction's website, there is a two year warranty but they say they do not honor the warranty from rock damage. Has anyone tried anyways and did they honor the warranty?
I have been researching buying new skis, and I am looking for the "unicorn ski." I realize it is impossible to get the playful and chargy ski, but I would like to get as close to possible to that. I am a pretty advanced skier and enjoy sending big cliffs, chutes, and steep terrain. I also enjoy skiing in the park, but that can be less of a concern for the next ski I'm buying because I'll probably repair the factions (even though they will still be kinda fucked) and use them as a park ski. Even so, Ill definitely be tossing 3s of of drops and just jibbing around the mountain no matter what so I definitely want a ski that is at least somewhat playful, but I also like to ski fast and charge so I would like something that is at least proficient in that as well and something that can cut through crud and tracked out days. I also want something that is at least decent on groomers. I am also primarily an east coast skier but normally go out west at least once or twice a year. I am also about 5'10" and 150. The factions I had were 177s.
Some skis that have stood out to me from researching are the dynastar mfree 99s which seem really playful, but also a little bit chargy and usable for groomers and other terrain. The moment wildcat 101s also stood out to me, but those seem to be more on the chargy side than the playful side as compared to the mfree 99s. I would get the 179 cm length for both. I also looked at the Black Crow Camox which seem to be in the middle ground.
Any advice on what to pick would be appreciated, also if you could compare what the primary differences would be between the different options and the factions as well it would be super useful.
Thanks!