What skis do the best skiers use? - And does that influence your ski purchases?

[Slalom.Steve]

1. What ski (ideally brand and model, but just brand is okay) do the world's top skiers use?

*answers added for quick reference

Men

WINTER, Frederick: D3 - NRG R1

ASHER, William: HO - HO, now called a Will

SMITH, Nate: D3 - ???

DESCUNS, Sacha: Connelly - Probably a GT

DETRICK, Brian: Goode

HOWLEY, Joel: Connelly - GTR

HOWLEY, Joel:

PIGOZZI, Robert:

DEGASPERI, Thomas:

Women

JAQUESS, Regina: Goode

MCCLINTOCK RINI, Whitney: Radar

COSTARD, Manon: Connelly

BULL, Jaimee: HO

DUMALA, Samantha: D3

FRANC, Ambre: Goode

 

2. And does that influence your ski purchases at all? I'm a professional drummer and drum endorsements don't matter much to me, but with drums and cymbals, those just might sound better but they don't make you actually play any better (excepting for true trash-level quality). The only exception would be bass drum pedals, as those are more of physics/construction thing that does relate more to your ability to actually pull off complicated things. Skis certainly fall into that category, of directly influencing your ability to excel. But drums are also a lot easier to try out. I might be intrigued by a pedal based off an endorsement, but then I can just go to a drum shop and try 8 different models back-to-back and see what I like best. That's not as easy with skis, so do the choices of the pros influence what you go out to buy?

 

[Horton]

D3

HO

D3

Connelly

Goode

Connelly

 

Goode

Radar

Connelly

HO

D3

Goode

[aupatking]

The fun part is adding the model to Hortons list. I’ll only go with the men’s

Make. Model

D3. NRG R1

HO. It started its life as an HO, now it’s a Will

D3. Only a couple guys really know

Connelly. Probably a GT

Goode. Maybe what it says it is

Connelly. GTR

 

As far as influencing me, maybe influences me to try a ski, but the buy decision all comes down to how I like the ride

[hemlock]

I'll admit, I'm a sucker for looks or graphics of the ski.

It's likely easier to test drive several trucks, vs test skiing several skis, so to me it's a lot harder to choose a ski brand because you can't "test ski" all of them. At least in the geographic region I live in.

Do pros influence my decision buying? Of course they do!

But budget and the looks of the ski make the final decision.

 

And to @SlalomSteve , my drum kit is old and crappy. But it looks cool.

I purchased it without any influence. (except it looked cool)

My 25 year old guitar however, was purchased with a little influence. (but mostly looks)

And even after several modifications over the years with pickups and other components, those decisions were again influenced by famous guitar players as well.

(I could not test those parts before buying)

Do I have any regrets? None what so ever.

 

Perhaps I'm naive, but don't most pro skiers *align* with a ski manufacturer that makes a high quality product, and pays them the most? I'm guessing this is the case with most pro athletes in all sports.

 

At the end of the day, when I'm ready to buy, I will research the hell out of it if I can.

But like I said, I'm a sucker for looks. :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[S1Pitts]

Guitars , drums and slalom skis are all the same. Anyone with talent can play, drum and ski on any level of product but for that product to allow you to perform at the users best they all need proper set up by someone who knows their stuff.

That's why guitar techs, drum techs, and ski schools with pro coaches exist however if the pros sound, play or ski great then that will always influence those out in the audience to look at what makes them able to be so damned good.

[BraceMaker]

2. I think it does positively and negatively - but I've always thought the brands had a specific "flavor" which is more influencing than anything else. D3 obviously caters to the 3 event crowd more than any other brand being the only real full line Trick/Jump/Slalom manufacturer - have always thought of them as high quality and used one for a number of years (8?) but then I tried some new ones and some different skis and have moved on not sure the ski I used so long really worked that well for me.

 

Goode maybe second to that with a ton of Podium finishers and now a trick ski (again) - to me their flavor was always high tech and crazy expensive. Skied a 9200 white top for a few years and remember loving it but it but when it broke

 

Radar and HO are visible in dealership and have a very established multi-brand entity including everything from Slalom skis to combos to wakeboards surfers and TUBES. But because of that have fairly large/famous pro-staffs (not a bad thing!) I have bought/used both of these brands for myself, my wife, my mother, my sister in law, and brothers in the past few years. Couple of reasons they both have a variety of skis for a variety of skiers in a way that neither D3 or Goode do and they're doing cool events around the country which I think is a big plus to supporting these brands.

 

Connelly is doing cool stuff too as a team, lots of big wins cool team and I love Joel's instagram and youtube content. I don't have anyone around with one to try but would surely give it a go.

 

So to me its maybe not who's skiing the best on what ski, its more what is the community around the brand and what does the brand put into the sport for the usual suspects.

[The_MS]

I will try 2-3 different skis this summer and end up on something new if it’s rides better then my KD.

Right now I’m looking at

1 Lapoint

2 GTR

3 9970

 

Availability of demo skis can influence my buying. Heading down to somewhere like @teammalibu is great cause he buys and sells ski like IPA. Try everything he doesn't like and maybe something will stuck out.

[swc5150]

My last couple of ski purchases have been directly related to reviews by members here. For example, when the '16 Vapor came out, people here were raving about it, so I got on the train and bought one. I've never 100% trusted what the pros are on, as ski cosmetics may not necessarily reflect what's underneath.

[jimski]

CUSTOMER SERVICE

And availability are my big influences

I’m sure any of the top skis would work great for my ability.

[teammalibu]

@The_MS Come on down there really piling up! Actually loving the 2020 Radar Vapor with the CG fin at the moment!!

[Slalom.Steve]

@hemlock yeah I feel like a little bit of suspicion is good lol. I know a drummer who is endorsed by Ludwig hardware, not because he particularly likes Ludwig, but because they're the ones willing to give him free gear lol. That said, I wonder if that becomes less and less of an issue as you get the the true peak performers, as they probably have more a pick of brands (ie, could get sponsored by several brands and gets to pick which they want). But I don't really know, it's certainly possible that they'd still get a better deal from one company than another.

 

I added a couple more Men skiers to the list, just to get a larger dataset, if anyone can fill those in too :)

HOWLEY, Joel

PIGOZZI, Robert

DEGASPERI, Thomas

[ski6jones]

Pros don't influence my ski buying at all. My main influences are experiences of other skiers I know personally or first hand experiences of respected BOS members. What I can get my hands on to try easily is probably as big a factor as any.

[JackQ]

I am with Horton, the how skis on whatmay influence what I try, but how the ski works for me is the only thing that counts, don't care if was purple pock-a-dots graphics.

 

I completely disagree with S1Pitts, there are significant difference between the various top end skis and how they work with your individual style/tenancies. My belief is that you need to find the ski that best forgives your weakness, more than one that complements your strengths. Personally, I have poor turns but strong pulls and pre-turns. So for me a slower forgiving ski, works for me, the ICONN in the past, and now the XTR. I don't care if I have to pull hard, long I can always rest when I am done.

[markn]

After watching my first episode of ESPN's "Hot Summer Nights" with Andy Mapple competing, the only skis I bought were his design....from the O'biens, the Jobe, SIXAM, AM-33, T-1 and T-3. Truly believe his designs were some of the best ever developed and I always seemed to ski my best on a Mapple design. (and it certainly helped to have him set up the ski too!) As I have worn out my trusty T-3, have gone to HO primarily due to local technical support potential at Swiss and Travers.

[ironhorse]

I try to follow reviews and this site has been a big influence in my decision. Last ski was a 2016 Vapor and current ski is a 2020 Vapor. My thought is that there are a lot of great skis being manufactured and if I was an elite skier, some of my decision would be based on the sponsorship offer as well as the ski. For example I would switch to a Goode or D3 over my Vapor if they provided me with free skis.....just in case they read this! :)

[mfjaegersr]

Connelly - Howley

Reflex RP

Goode -TGas

 

No influence on my buying, though I will *never* try or even consider any brand that sponsors/props-up a morally- challenged individual. D3 is a good example of a BAD example. Just sold my Eagle vest (finally) and will replace a Masterline rope and two handles (as soon as they’re worn out) with InTow...or ‘anybody’ that’s not sponsoring horrible behavior/actions.

 

#charactermatters

[rockdog]

Note that Piggozi is now on D3.

[gsm_peter]

Is it only one skier on Radar Vapor?

I would have guess that they had more top end skiers?!?

[Bill22]

@rockdog what?? He switched since Moomba? At Moomba he was on KD.

[kc]

Yes, Piggozi was on a KD at Moomba.

[aupatking]

@teammalibu what length Vapor and what are your CG fin settings?

[jpattigr]

Stephen Neveu = Radar

[Jmoski]

My perspective is the influence on what ski people get is much more local. Whatever brand/ski the best skier in your crew runs has more influence on what people get next than what the pro’s run.

[teammalibu]

68 6.922 tips 2.480 .750 flat 7 stock wing at 7 degrees. Just received a S Wing May try it today!

[Ed_Johnson]

DENALI all the way...And yes Cord and Caldwell, and even Horton, were big influences on that decision.

 

 

[Dirt]

Great comments above. What the pros ride influences me very little because I am not a pro and they are super talents and can ski on anything.

There skis are rarely stock. They get custom layups and/or try many skis from the same mold to find the one that works.

Riding the skis is the only way to tell which ones are better for me and then trying to borrow them from Horton is the most difficult part.

[Horton]

@Dirt No! Bad Dirt. Bad.

 

A fair % of the best skiers in the world are riding bone stock skis.

[DanE]

@rockdog Most secret rollout ever?

[Horton]

pretty sure Pigozzi is on KD

[savaiusini]

I think people forget sometimes, so it should be mentioned at least... but today's "stock" skis are oftentimes last year's stock skis that were modified; That's a big part of how we evolve ski designs. So when people say Will (or any pro athlete for that matter) is not on a stock ski, many times he is on a "stock" ski that is in some iteration of having been modified (cut, filed, Bondo'd, sanded, patched, etc) as a part of the design progression to get to the next stock ski. Circle of life!

 

It's certainly not the only way we do it though... Sometimes a ski begins as a pure concept on a computer screen based on theories and expectations of what we're pretty sure will be at least a good starting point. Sometimes we nail it... Sometimes it's just the beginning.

[unksskis]

I take note of what the top skiers in amateur divisions are riding, especially the divisions where they're paying for their gear.

[rockdog]

Apologies all, I meant KD.

[MuskokaKy]

Did anyone or does anyone ride a Monte Carlo? That's a brand you never hear much about these days but i still think of Manon and Freddie when i hear or see the brand. Seemed to be a staple in their progression / rising.

 

Maybe not a fair comparison but i feel like KD skis took their place on the list...

[MDB1056]

@Horton I thought Pigozzi is on Reflex

[Horton]

@MDB1056 I do not know the details. I understand he showed up at Moomba on a KD. He had a BAD Moomba but that happens.

[dbaconaz]

availability of demo options. with that being said, here in AZ it's hard to find anything to demo. Best bet is to go to Cali for a weekend to try things out. I would never buy a ski without getting a few sets on it first.