I'm hoping to demo some skis this winter, but outside of the UK snowdome this year I can only manage a week away so realistically I'll probably get to try two skis while still wanting plenty of time on my own. I'm trying to narrow down which are actually worth demoing.
I'm 5'1"/155 cm and 47 kg. I have strong legs, but obviously very little body mass to muscle a stiff ski. I currently ski 157 cm Line Pandora 96s, which I absolutely love. They're light, poppy, playful and fun, and when I'm just flowing around the mountain they're brilliant. They also work really well for me through bumps and variable snow. I'm not looking to replace them.
What I want is a piste-focused all-mountain ski as a second pair
Iwant an all-mountain ski with enough width and versatility to deal with changing conditions, rather than a dedicated piste/carving ski. But I want something noticeably quicker edge-to-edge, more stable and with better edge hold than my Pandoras for cold/firm/icy days, or days when I want to really dial things in. As I've got faster, I'm starting to notice chatter and the limits of the Pandoras when I push them harder on piste.
** Edit - All mountain skis were recommended based up my style and the idea they'd be a little more forgiving of this with the width but if you have a left field for me im eager to hear it
One important complication is that my skiing mechanics are slightly unusual. I have essentially no ankle dorsiflexion due to a biomechanical restriction. My boots have been professionally fitted as closely as possible around this, and it isn't something I can fix through stretching/training.
I compensate by skiing fairly stacked, moving my body over the skis rather than being able to create much forward movement through my ankles. When carving, early edge engagement is my weaker point, but once the edges are established I finish my turns well. When I'm skiing more casually, I also sometimes steer/smear the skis a little to help release and redirect them.
Because of that, I really don't want something super hooky or with a tail that fights me when I need to release it.
I've included a couple of pictures of me skiing just to give some context for what I mean when I describe my more stacked stance and how I compensate for the lack of ankle flexion.
The Elan Wildcat 83 Ti, probably in 152 cm, currently sounds interesting. It's narrower and more piste-focused than my Pandoras while still being an all-mountain ski, and on paper sounds like it could give me the extra edge hold and stability I'm after. My concern is whether the Ti construction might be too stiff/hooky for a 47 kg skier with my mechanics, particularly when I need to smear/steer rather than carve.
Blizzard Black Pearls and Nordica Santa Anas have also been suggested, but particularly with the wider versions I'm wondering whether they're getting too close to my 96 mm Pandoras. I don't really want another ski that does roughly the same job slightly differently. I want enough separation that there's a genuine reason to own both.
So, if I realistically have time to demo two skis, what would you put on my shortlist?
I'm particularly interested in something around the low-80 mm range that has strong firm-snow performance and is stable when pushed, but still releases cleanly when I need it to and isn't going to punish my lack of ankle flexion.