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I am looking for my first skitour skis. I have main focus 90% on ascent, and 10% on descent (mostly on piste). I am 184 cm heigh, and weight is 87kg.

What should I consider?

  • my weight? inclusive a bagpack (extra 8kg)?
  • my height (how tall I am)?
  • my ski (on-piste) skill is somehow 7/10

I consider Volkl BMT 94 in length 176 is it good choice?

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  • Tough call and they are kind of expensive. Maybe get some cheaper used and get a feel.
    – paparazzo
    Feb 6, 2017 at 19:39
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    I think the focus on ascent and descent on-piste is a bad combination for a touring ski. A ski for ascent is light and not as stiff as skis for fun on descent. Therefore i sugest the same as @Paparazzi, maybe it's better to get a cheaper used one and get a feel. If you get a used one, you might reuse the binding once you get a new ski, therefore lowering the costs again for a new one.
    – jrast
    Feb 6, 2017 at 20:09
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    I am not entirely sure what you intend to do. Focus on ascend and descend on piste sounds like you are training for races or in general do it for fitness? In that case just get the lightest pair you can afford, descending is awful but that's not important for that.
    – imsodin
    Feb 6, 2017 at 21:14

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There are many factors to consider when purchasing skis, but for the most part, unless you're an avid skier and recognize the advantages of having one pair of skis over another then it's probably not going to make much of a difference for your first pair.

For example, I'm currently riding a pair of light camber 190's 130,95,110mm in the back country. They are excellent on the flat and on the ascent, and they keep me afloat when skinning, but they're a bit fast for my liking when I'm skiing glades, and they're a bit tough to keep my tips up. I know now that I would prefer to ride a shorter ski with more rocker, maybe even full rocker since I mostly ski off-piste. Since I'm going shorter I probably also want to go wider, since I don't want to lose any of the float my longer skis give me when skinning.

Until you understand how different styles of skis perform, and where you like to perform, then what type of ski you get is very subjective. The skis you've picked out sound like an excellent choice, and after skiing on them for a while you'll begin to recognize whether they're adequate for what you're doing or whether you need to switch to something else after a couple seasons for whatever advantage you feel you want from your skis. Your first pair will be your benchmark pair, and you'll learn pretty quick to recognize the advantages of other styles of ski.

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    Totally agree on that. One little addition: Even without prior knowledge/experience you may already feel which ski you like when testing them. So if you have the possibility to test skis (ask at ski shops and resorts), that is always a good thing to do. But even if the model you buy turns out to be a bad fit, you probably wont notice until you already had a good time on them and finally change to a new ski with a good fit - and that will be a blast. I can attest to that: I started with a narrow heavy pair (got the for free) - new skis felt like nothing and still performed better in descent :)
    – imsodin
    Feb 8, 2017 at 7:36

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