Valetmont advices to choose your All-Mountains Ski

Choosing an All-Mountain ski for what ?

Wanting an All-Mountain ski is fine, but is it really what you need?

The range of all-mountain skis has expanded greatly in recent years. There are skis with similar size and shape but with some important differences. 

First, there are important differences in level. There are skis for intermediate skiers, they are shaped more for slopes / side of the slopes. Their essential qualities are to be easy to use, safe and tolerant. There are also more technical skis for advanced skiers. They allow faster turns : performance and efficiency are the keywords.

There is also a slight difference in the practice. On the one hand, the all mountain skis which give access to the slopes and off-piste. On the other side, skis more oriented to the slopes but with a wide range of use (small turns / large turns).

 

The characteristics of an All-Mountains ski

What are the characteristics of an All-Mountains ski?

- First, a ski width between the ski slope and the Freeride ski. The width of these skis are between 75 mm and 90 mm. The narrower the ski, the faster it will turn. The transition from edge to edge during the turns will be faster. On the other hand, a wider ski will be more supportive in all snow and more secure in difficult terrain.

- Then, we find particularities in the shape of the ski. The camber of the ski is its shape in relation to the ground. The camber of an All-Mountain ski is generally traditional under the foot, with a Rocker in the tip, more or less pronounced. The classic camber offers power and grip. The Rocker allows easier pivoting. The Rocker offers a better lift and a better off-piste lift. It has the disadvantage of causing vibrations on the slopes. A large rocker will be an asset in off-piste, but a limited performance on hard snow.

 

Is the Rocker in the tip an asset for your skiing ?
 

YES IF	NO IF
You have difficulty changing the radius of a turn You have trouble staying on top of the snow in powder You have difficulty linking turns	You are an athletic or powerful skier You favor speed on the slope You have difficulty stabilizing your ski in a curve

Finally, the rigidity of the skis:

For each level of skiing or depending on the size, there are All-Mountains skis with different stiffness. The more rigid a ski is, the more stable and grippy it will be. On the other hand it will be more difficult to move and more sporty.

 

Advantage Soft Ski	Advantage Hard Ski
Small Size Average speed of evolution Advanced intermediate technical level	Large size Fast evolution speed Confirmed or expert technical level

 

Find all our ski buying advices on the ValetMont website or on the Blog.