AWSSIB - G3 Zenoxides-BD Converts-???

[mchin]

Warning - AWSSIB (another what ski should I buy) thread. I'd like to find a "lighter" ski for backcountry skiing that doesn't sacrifice too much downhill skiing for the up. Anyone skiing the Zenoxide C3 105 in "West Coast" conditions? What about the Converts?

About me:
145 lbs, 5'7"
Skis I like - G3 Rapid Transit, El Hombre, Voile Vector BC
Skis meh - G3 Tonic, DP Wailer 95
Binding - Axl
Boots - Scarpa T2X
Years tele - 20
Excuses - need a ski to keep up with my wife who is 14 yrs younger than I am!

Cheers and TIA!

[Greg]

I am getting new skis next year; those two and the Sportiva Vapor Nano are on the list, so if anyone has feedback on that ski, I would love to hear that as well.

[Quadzilla]

My wife who is about your size but 10# lighter got a pair of 172's Converts this year mounted AT and really likes the skis. Initially it was going to be a BC powder ski specific but the skis do so well mowing crust she uses them most of the time. The skis are light but not super light maybe in the low 7# range and have a lot of tip rise and rocker and some tail rise with a pin tail. Overall they fit into her quiver very well as her primary skis are 90 and 105 underfoot. I guess BD is coming out with a Carbon Convert and maybe 3/4# lighter. Not sure how these ski. She was also considering the Voile V8 which people are raving about but she wanted a vertical sidewall ski and 170ish and V8's didn't do that. You might want to consider that too.

[mchin]

Quad - thanks for this. Despite the rave reviews for the V8, I'm looking for smaller waisted skis, I seem to ski them better vs the phatties. I have a pair of Chargers that feel too wide for me or not the right tool for the conditions I've used them in. I'm looking for the G3/Paul Parker quiver of one luv I guess (and looking in all the wrong places?)

[maples]

If you like the Vector BC, you might possibly find the Zenoxide quite stiff.

Have a look at next years G3 Synapse Carbon 101.

[chamonix]

Here is a link to the BD Carbon Convert. At 6 lbs 8 ounces (claimed ) a pair for the 180 length, that's pretty fricking light. My 178 Nunataq are 7 lbs 14 ounces a pair (on my postal scale) before I mounted them.
Price for the Carbon Converts is $584 US

http://www.backcountry.com/black-diamond-carbon-convert-ski?ti=U2VhcmNoIFJlc3VsdHM6Y29udmVydDoxOjI6Y29udmVyd

I have been pretty happy on the Nunataqs, set up with Vertical ST. A light, versatile ski with the light Dynafit binding.
I am a hard core Paul Parker tele skier too, going back to my TUA Sumos with Superloops. Also have Rapid Transits, Tonics, Manhattans (good resort ski, both 180 and 185) and a pair of the early, pre-rocker Zenoxides.

Rapid Transits I don't ski much anymore. 178 Tonics are fun, quick on soft snow/touring, not fun on hard snow at the resort. Manhattans handle hard snow/resort better. Heavier with some metal in them.
Old 178 Zenoxides (136-105-124) are a bit of a workout. Good edging ski, and good float with the width, but stiff, and not as easy to ski as a modern rockered ski.

[tele.skier]

I have the non-carbon fibre lay up 185cm Zenoxides from last year. I am a large person (210lbs) First, G3 skis are not designed by paul parker anymore, and haven't been for a while...

Second, I am not impressed with the Zenoxides. The tip shape has very little taper to it. The early rise tip is also kind of small so it doesn't do much to improve handling in 3D snow.... mine look like a GS shape with a tiny bit of early tip rise.

.... and finally, It's my opinion that they added extra camber underfoot to try to make a longer effective edge to the ski after they lightened the ski so much that it was soft, so the handling completely disappeard. All the additional camber did was make the ski slower to unweight and release it's contact with the snow. So if you like sluggish responding skis the old version of the zenoxide would be a good choice..... (kidding there kinda...) I realize that not everyone weighs 210lbs, but a 185 ski needs to be stiff enough for a big person.

After skiing the Zen's the first few times, I knew that the softer ski, plus the high camber, was an issue and bitched to my friend that all G3 needed to do was lay up this ski with less camber but stiffen it with carbon fibre and it would handle much better and not be the slug that it is... Someone at G3 must have skied them and realized they needed to be stiffer,.... they suck by comparison to other skis in their class...

I still think G3's ski shaping today is way behind the curve of known excellent ski shapes... A Tapered tip helps a ski with significant sidecut, "straightline" better. G3 skis don't have that feature which is common on a lot of fatter skis now.

I have owned 4 of G3/paul parker skis. 2 were excellent. 1 was just too soft for a person my size, and the third was a useless design that was behind the times when rockered tips proved to be superior for fat ski design...

Ultimately, the Zen's needed a carbon layup, but if they still have a high camber, I would pass on them if I was you. I found it really annoying to get them to unweight in deep snow to make quick turns in the trees... The word "sluggish" is how I would describe mine.

Granted you are not my size, so a softer ski may work fine for you, but for a ski to work on soft snow it is better to be stiff and have less camber than be high cambered and soft...

That's my impression.. hope it helps you...

[dschane]

I'd like to find a "lighter" ski for backcountry skiing that doesn't sacrifice too much downhill skiing for the up.

The number of options that fit that bill seem to be multiplying each year. My guess is that if you can hold out for one more season, there will several skis to choose from (and hopefully at good prices): Sportiva Vapor Nano, BD Carbon Convert and the Carbon Aspect, Dynafit Denali, etc. According to the website, the Praxis Yeti with the UL core in 172 cm is under 6.5 lb. I'm clearing out space in my closet with that same thought in mind.

[jfb]

You might ping Seki. He has a new pair and likes them.

[Dostie]

Have a pair of Zen Oxide Carbon 95s. Ski most everything well except hard, icy snow. Can't buy a tele-carve, but they hold reasonable well with an alpine turn. Can't imagine the 105s are much different except better flotation in soft and worse edge hold on hard.

[Gunks Ray]

Warning - AWSSIB (another what ski should I buy) thread. I'd like to find a "lighter" ski for backcountry skiing that doesn't sacrifice too much downhill skiing for the up. Anyone skiing the Zenoxide C3 105 in "West Coast" conditions? What about the Converts?

About me:
145 lbs, 5'7"
Skis I like - G3 Rapid Transit, El Hombre, Voile Vector BC
Skis meh - G3 Tonic, DP Wailer 95
Binding - Axl
Boots - Scarpa T2X
Years tele - 20
Excuses - need a ski to keep up with my wife who is 14 yrs younger than I am!

Cheers and TIA!

I'm 150 lbs. 5' 8" wife is also 14 years younger.

Check out the Volkl Nanuq or the Praxis BC. The Nanuq is just a bit wider 96mm than the Vector BC (I have both in a 170) and a little heavier 6lbs 10 oz but the Nanuq has much better hard snow performance and a higher speed limit than the Vector and with the slight tip rocker should be quite good in soft snow as well.

I just picked up a used pair of 170 Praxis BC skis and have been just blown away by them, 105 waist 7lbs. 6oz per pair in the 170, tip rocker and taper, slight tail rocker just a blast to ski with NTN bindings. The Praxis handled firm snow just fine, yet were very easy to ski, I was comfortable right away on them, can't wait to get them on some soft snow. Great build quality on the Praxis as well big beefy edges and a rock hard thick base. To get the Volkl as light as it is they use thin edges and base and a not so durable top top sheet. I liked the Praxis so much I checked out their website for current model info and found out that the current Praxis BC in a 170 weighs in at 7.1 lbs and there is a lighter core carbon model that that ways only 6.6 lbs. Wow!

I have an upcoming Colorado mixed Resort + BC trip coming up in mid April still trying to decide out of those 3 skis, Praxis BC, Volkl Nanuq, or Voile Vector I'm going to take.

[mchin]

Thanks all for the wealth of input! This niche seems to have many options that I hadn't been aware of - Nano, Praxis, carbon versions of existing models, etc.

Dostie - can you explain your comment on tele-carve? Do you mean it doesn't carve well while teleing on hard pack/ice or?
G3/Paul Parker - yeah, I know he is no longer designing for them. I "followed" him from Tua (Montets, Sumo, Crossride 110's) to G3 and one of my all time fav's is the Rapid Transit.
G-ray - did we get separated at birth? You sound like my east coast twin....Have a blast in Colorado.

[LightRanger]

[cough]Praxis Backcountry[/cough]

[mulex]

Well, to confuse matters further- I just got some Carbon Megawatts and I love 'em. I have about 4 days on them and though I have yet to ski them in powder, they've handled other forms of soft snow really well. I was surprised how well they handle trees, as I came from 178 EHPs and the Megas are 188. Their relative weight helps to swing them around quickly. I prefer a big turning radius, so that's why I went with them. They get banged around a little bit in the mank, due to their weight, but not terribly bad.

[James]

I ski the Converts as my main BC ski. I really like them. They are very easy to ski and pretty light. I have skied the resort a few times and would say in cut up or crud at speed they will chatter like mad. The reason they make such a good soft snow BC ski that is light is the same reason they chatter like mad.