I rented a pair of demos last week from Stowe Toys that I liked . Dynastar Contact Cross Ti. They are willing to part with them for 50% of retail. After reading some reviews I am leaning towards buying them. Wondering if anyone has any opinion on these skis. My current skis are super lightweight beginner skis (Rossi Actys 100's '08 models) that do pretty well but did not have the edge-hold or the ability to cut through heavy powder that these guys do. I do not have a lot of money to sink into skis so if waiting is smart I can do that as well. Any input is welcome.

If you really have not tried that many ski's, check with the Mountain Adventure Center at Snowshoe and see if they still offer the "demo platter". It used to be around $55 and you could try as many pairs as you like. This always worked well, especially for my wife who was real picky about her equipment. She would read up on what she wanted to try, then would take about 2-3 runs on each pair. It was real easy cause the MAC is located right off of the lift in the village. After she narrowed it down in the morning, she we go back and ski her top choices in different sizes to make her final selection. She never bought the demo's though, she would just go back home and look for the best price on line for new.

Well...I tried some Atomic VF D2s at Holiday Valley a few weeks ago as well. I liked those too. I think at my ability level I am going to like any ski that is fairly forgiving, fairly heavy, a good carver and good edge hold. The Dynastars seemed better in bumps though. (I am only just now starting to go after bumps).

Thanks for the info on the Demo Platter! Good to hear from you again.

50% off retail? Grab 'em and go ski.

Put 6-10 days on them and (if you find something better) sell them for almost what you paid come next Oct.

Don't get fussed about gear details just now. It's peak season.
Gear detail fussing is for September through November.


To my mind, waiting makes -no- sense right now. The snow is way too primo.

Well...when I called back someone had just rented those Dynastars for the week. Thats too much wear since the last time I saw them. Meanwhile skied a pair of Salomon X-Wing Storms (good for me) and some Heads that I can do without.

Gonna pick up either a pair of the Salomons or Atomic VF 75s this weekend.

Both of these skis were very stable at speed and handled the usual variety of conditions at Wintergreen.

Thanks for the advice.

Pretty much always the story with demo sales.

From my experience, if talking to the rep, one can bring cash in hand and the price is negotiable. But ya gotta jump on it then and there.

Well Comprex...it was live and learn for me. Anyway I am happy with I got. I put in 2 full days on the XWing Storms, got the rental money back off the purchase price and wound up paying about 30% of retail for a pair or in-stock new ones. Not a killer deal, but with a year of wax jobs thrown in not too bad.

Picked these up at the Freestyle shop at Wintergreen.

Thanks for the advice.

That's the 74mm waist one?

EDIT: have you had it out on ice yet?

Yes...74mm. I was at WTG last night with plenty of ice. They held really well.

Yup, that's what I remember from my demo. Decent in bumps too, IIRC. I would have picked the Dynastar for speed, but I don't think you lost anything by the exchange.

I just picked up the Atomic D2 select Varioflex in a 175 length..The Skis just stood out from the others & the Colors I got were unlike any other that I had seen. I have skied 210's down to 186 untill now so at 6' 225Lbs & being an agressive skier I was worried about them being too short..but then again with the big 50 around the corner..I went for them! Hope yours & yours work as well as mine..ski on!

Fish

I spent a day and some change on the Atomic D2s...very nice. Have fun with them!

Glenn

Thanks for Demo-ing them for me! I havn't used them yet & with the F-cast this week I'm Chomping at the bit..but I will have to wait till the following weekend. You have made me less nervous so Thanks Buddy!...allthough you did pass them up for a different ski

The reason I passed on the D2s. I thought they were for a bigger, more agressive, more experienced skier. For my skill level I thought the lighter ski was a better bet.

I will be interested to hear what you think of them.

Just wondering how you liked your new D2s.

I was telling everyone that I felt like I was skiing on Auto pilot this weekend! I felt so much more confident in every Cond..I even hit some jumps (3 foot Air )...There were some big Bumps on Gravity (Canaan) with a 6 inch layer of soft mushy stuff on top of the bumps that I skied down a lot better than with my older skiis but your post saying that they were just a touch behind the skis you ended up with for that type of condition seems about right..but they still rock & I feel like I'm a step up (right behind Bodie ) & I'm having a lot more fun!..Thanks for asking Bud!

Very Cool!