One of the things I realized this ski season is that my knees cannot take the beatings and remain in control the way they once did. Even with braces on both knees they feel like wet noodles after half a day. 

I figure end of ski season is a good time to look for new skis, and this is some of my criteria:

• While I can ski most of a mountain, I don't HAVE to. 
• I need something with more dampening to absorb bumps/ruts
• Feels stable crossing between "packed powder", crud, wet man made snow and powder
• Ski the northeast/mid-Atlantic. 
• Don't like to ski moguls. 
• Weight 215lb Height 5'8"

Gemini seems to think the Volkl M7 Mantas are the ticket, but I just wanted to see if anyone else had an opinion.  

I was going to suggest a fat, light and flexible ski to dampen the shock, but if you're mostly on groomed/packed granular in the Mid-A, but occasionally do powder and then also the ice and crud that inevitably surfaces...  I would actually go with something that's light but performs more like a solid and heavy ski, like the Elan Ripstick.

I am still skiing K2 Rictors, which is kind of an all-mountain ski, and I also get noodly in the middle of a long day of skiing.  

Contrast -My son skis Line Honey Badgers, which are admittedly really light and playful (think park), but maybe you'd do better with something slightly stiffer (not too stiff), and less fat for mid-A skiing.

In mid atlantic skiing, we typically ski with the boots tighter then maybe "normal" whatever that is, in order to be able to transfer that pressure into the ski in mid-a conditions.  But I'm rethinking that now.  I think with the right ski and perhaps just a tiny bit of slop in the boot, that might be better for anyone whose knees are barking.

Yes, demo or find a good shop to find your way...

Well documented that wider skis stress the knees more if edging on hardpack... likewise, higher boot sole heights like demo bindings can do the same...

But find your way... I have skied on and off for many, many years and have stayed with longer and narrow skis. This just works for me as I love stability and hardpack.

Enjoy

 nice.  I am also still skiing the Kanjos and find them less intimidating for my bad knee than my big bad go west skis.  That may be entirely mental rather than physiological, but so be it.  They are quite versatile and maybe that is the key.  As long as I don't fall I don't worry about it.  I'd be interested in what GGNagyfinds out. 

snowsmith wrote:

I have Volkl Kanjos. I find them perfect for skiing groomed and east coast skiing. I also have a pair of Kastle MX88’s that I use for crud and powder. The Kastle’s have 2 layers of titanol making them stiff and unforgiving. I rarely use them for hard pack conditions. However, I love them in crud and ‘west coast conditions’.  The Kanjo’s on the other hand have a single band of titanol giving them enough stiffness for groomed hard pack but at the same time these skis are versatile and forgiving. I find them squirrelly in crud. That’s why I have the Kastle’s. I have not tried the Mantras. I am 72 yrs of age, 5’8”, 208 lbs. 

Perhaps the Mandela effect, but I thought you were a ski instructor. 😉😄

If it were mid season, I might have considered doing demos but my season is over and I think I skied one day where there was a ski shop on site I would have trusted for variety and support. 

imp wrote:

demo skis . the way you ski,stand, everything is different from the rest of us!  and never take advice from a ski istructor cause he gets free stuff 

 "Forgiving" is a highly appealing description these days. Valuable information, thanks. 

snowsmith wrote:

I have Volkl Kanjos. I find them perfect for skiing groomed and east coast skiing. I also have a pair of Kastle MX88’s that I use for crud and powder. The Kastle’s have 2 layers of titanol making them stiff and unforgiving. I rarely use them for hard pack conditions. However, I love them in crud and ‘west coast conditions’.  The Kanjo’s on the other hand have a single band of titanol giving them enough stiffness for groomed hard pack but at the same time these skis are versatile and forgiving. I find them squirrelly in crud. That’s why I have the Kastle’s. I have not tried the Mantras. I am 72 yrs of age, 5’8”, 208 lbs.