Let’s talk about ski stance. Is there one correct stance? What is your preferred stance?
For most of us OGs, we learned decades ago to ski with our skis so close together that our boots were touching. Then came a revolution in ski design that made independent leg action much more advantageous for high performance. So, we all had to almost completely relearn our technique and try to get our feet a bit further apart.
So where are we today? I would say if you’re teaching someone to ski, you would start with trying to have their skis about hip width apart. This makes sense to me. Having the leg shafts basically vertical with a slight separation seems to be a very balanced position to start with.
One of the advantages of the after market Booster Straps for ski boots is the ability to custom place them. Ideally, this is where they can actually cinch the top of the boot liner as opposed to just the hard plastic shell above the top buckle which is not as effective.
If you have high end ski boots with a decent power strap, you can actually easily modify it to be more effective without completely replacing it.
Remove the power strap
Drill new matching holes as close to the top of the rear cuff as possible
Remount the strap in the higher holes
Now the strap is in a location where it can actually cinch the front of the upper liner snuggly around your lower leg:
Salomon has annouced a total revamp of their QST lineup for 2025/26. It appears they are intending to make the entire line even more freeride oriented. I guess I get it in a way. They want to differentiate it from their more directional Stance line.
So if I’m not really a big fan of significantly rockered skis, Salomon would tell me to go with the Stances. I like the Stances. They’re high on my list of good skis. I’ve had the 90s and still have the 84s as my teaching skis. What I wouldn’t call the Stances is “playful or exciting”. They are more like a Golden Retriever, very friendly and reliable – and don’t get me wrong, those ARE good things.
The trouble with this for me as a more traditional style skier, but still loves dynamic skiing, is that my ideal ski would actually be in the middle or basically a hybrid of the two lines. My favorite QSTs were the ones with a fairly traditional shape, but with almost no metal.
So anyway, just my two cents. Like I said, I get it – kind of…
UPDATE: (2022/23)
For the 2022/23 season, Salomon completely revamped the QST 99 to the new QST 98 and it remains unchanged through 2024/25. After being a huge fan of the series for nearly ten years and owning them all, I actually don’t really care much for this new iteration.
The QST series, with little or no metal, has always been defined as agile, playful, and quick. But at 98mm under foot, I would still expect an all-mountain ski that can basically provide good solid performance platform in all conditions and terrain. IMO, with this design they veered too far away from a traditional shape and went a bit too far in the freeride direction. The degree of tip and tail early-rise or splay is very high for a mid-fat ski. This, along with a healthy taper at either end, leaves very little effective edge and sacrifices some stability, directionality, and firm snow performance.
QST 98 Ski Tip Splay
QST 98 Ski Tail Splay
The tips begin to rise at @44cm and the tails at @40cm. On a 183cm length ski, this only leaves 99cm or 54% of the length as cambered edge.
I would expect and welcome these design characteristics to emerge as I go to wider, more deep snow oriented skis, but in fact their venerable and proven QST 106 actually has less tip splay on both ends. And to be honest, even in deeper conditions, I found a lack of longitudinal stability that I attribute to the overly high amount of rocker. Of course, surfy and smeary is fun, but just in reasonable doses please.
Suffice it to say that I was a long time fan of the QST 99 and would have preferred some tweaks as opposed to wholesale design change. Anyway, the current QST 92 is still a wonderful all-condition daily driver and the QST 106 is absolutely dreamy in resort deep powder.
UPDATE:
Exciting new changes for the Q Series lineup
For 2016/17 it will be renamed the QST Series and some key changes have garnered glowing early reviews.
1. All models will be slightly wider with the QST-92, 99, 106, and 118
2. All models will have a beefed up carbon/flax core
3. All models will have a Ti metal power platform underfoot
4. All models have the same waist width throughout all lengths and it is the “titled” width. (turning radius will vary between lengths)
5. The QST-106 will have a tighter turn radius at 20m
6. The QST-118 will now have four lengths available
7. Clean new graphics
If there was one knock on the Q Series, it was that on the spectrum between quickness/playfulness on the left, and power/stabilityon the right, they were a bit too far left for some expert skiers. It looks like these latest design tweaks adding carbon/flax and just a little metal were meant to address this issue and move them a bit more to the right.
Sometimes Keystone Resort seems to fall in the shadow of its nearby sister resort of Breckenridge. But it would be a huge mistake to underestimate this resort for many reasons. It has a total vertical of nearly the same at well over 3000’ and a stated total acreage larger than Breck. Keystone benefits from a very efficient mountain layout with long runs and consistent fall lines. Very little time is wasted moving around the mountain and instead you’re racking up the vertical!
If you want serious steeps and bowls, go to Breck. But if you’re looking for a family friendly area with some of the best long sustained groomers, endless bump runs, or some of the best tree skiing around, Keystone is your place of choice. On top of this, it’s one of the closest destination resorts to Denver and the most affordable of the four Vail owned resorts in the area.
You have the resort and you have the town. It’s the two together that make Breckenridge one of North America’s quintessential ski communities. And the draw is undeniable, as in two rather dubious distinctions. Behind big sister Vail, it has the second most skier visits and second highest ticket prices in the US. Despite this, the skiers keep coming. What’s the draw? The town has an endless variety of shopping, dining, and partying venues, and the mountain has a similar character of choices with plenty for everybody. Some knock it for its crowds, over-the-top social scene, and legendary wind chill. But, it’s popular for a reason. Some folks love the apres ski as much as the ski, and yes, Burrreckenfridge is high.
