Telemark Talk / Telemark Tips Forum

I'm new to telemarking and ready to buy a set.
NTN it will be...
deciding on the ski is the hard part. I don't want to buy every two year a new pair, so I'm looking forward in my 'evolution'. For now that means mostly slopes. In the years to come the ski should also be able to handle some off piste (let's say 75-25).
after way to many hours on the internet these 'stick':

- Line supernatural 86 - I've read some really good reviews and some bad ones. all NOT related to telemark unfortunately.
- Line supernatural 92 - mostly good reviews. does this mean that the 86 and 92 are really so much of a difference? wouldn't know what to choose...
- K2 wayback 88 - lots of good reviews, but seems to be focused on touring (which probably will not be the case for me in the near future).

anyone experience with the supernaturals (or even in comparison with the K2)?
oh yeah, the 'numbers': I'm 185cm, around 80 kgs and just started out to telemark (8 lessons - total of 16h). I never skied before, but do have 20 years of snowboard experience of which the last 12 'pureboarding/extreme carving' in hardboots.

thx

kricke

Where will you be skiing?

Line also makes a decent ski called the "Sick Day' in different widths. The Supernaturals, IIRC (you will want to verify), are heavier and stiffer than the Sick Days, and as someone who has never skied before you may enjoy them more without getting kicked around as much. Easier to throw around/pick up (less fatiguing) easier to turn, etc. Tough to say, really.

Talk it over with your instructor.

I believe that skis are similar for alpine or tele. Therefore ski reviews will generally apply similarly to one's tele experience. I read reviews of volkl kendos for ice skiing and they tele ski ice very very well.

I love Line's skis and so does my wife. I have skied Karhu Jak 90s (great on soft snow) which were a Line Prophet 90 and I have many great ski trip memories with my Line Prophet 100s (Very different ski from those Karhus) mounted alpine - which I remounted with a tele touring binding for this year. They skied alpine mode great and they ski tele great. Tomorrow we are headed to Whitefish, MT. My wife loves her Line Pandora 95 (mounted tele). LOVES them.

I haven't ridden the Supernaturals, but I recall reading the same thing, that the 95 was the way to go, or perhaps the 98? I think to some degree the Supernaturals are evolved from the Prophets. The Prophets feel burly and ready for anything, but when I flex them longitudinally, they are somewhat soft, surprisingly. This seems to give them a great versatility.

Enjoy the process. I hope you find a great pair of skis and really enjoy tele. There are a lot of new feels in your future!!

Thx for your answers. I ski in european alps, from early season hardpack to spring slush. All snow conditions. For now i will start with staying on the slopes, but as soon i feel confident enough, i'm off...but i will probably also keep enjoying the onslope carving feeling.

I'm still running the last incarnation of the Line Prophet 98's, which were a little different than the predecessor Prophet 90 and 100, as my pair has the early rise and metal matrix. I freaking love that ski pretty much anywhere I take it. It's playful/energetic, gets on edge quickly with the early rise, and has great edge-hold for it's size with the partial metal lay-up, but not quite the weight penalty of a full metal topsheet. That being said, wouldn't go dedicated touring on it obviously, but for a daily resort/side-country driver, it's a pretty good jack of all trades.

From what I can tell reading Line's descriptions, it looks like the Supernatural is the updated version of the prophet line, so I wouldn't hesitate to give one a try. I'm currently running Rotte Freerides on mine, but will probably transition to Outlaws if I can ever get my FR to break. For width, I'd go with the 92 (or 100 if you want to step it up a little more). I had demoed both the 90/98 in the Prophets, and could barely tell a difference between the two, so went up for the additional float capability.

On the K2 front, I was a long time K2 skier, and have demoed the way-back a few times. It skis just fine, just doesn't excite me at all, which is where my opinions have migrated on K2 in general. Most of their skis are consistent, so you know what you're getting, but they often just feel dead on my feet. I have a similar opinion of most of the Volkls I've tried over the years. Another line you might check is Blizzard's offerings in the comparable models to what you're looking at.

Well, if you ski on-piste, Line skis are alright (never tried though). But one thing I know: they are heavy... So if you are planning to skip on-piste skiing eventually — after getting confident — do not look into that direction. K2 Wayback are much better in that respect... Very polyvalent... And light...

Thx everyone for the input. I went to the shop today and got out with a new set. I ended up with something completely differen, focussed on the future and progress, so let's hope i made the rigjt choice. Ended up with the blizzard rustler 9, should be an all rounder for on and off piste.can't wait to test them out!

I also read reviews of VÖLKL Kendo 2019, it is selected as the best ski all mountain 70/30 2019 by Proskilab and Gearscore. It said that it's also one of the best skis for telemark, The Kendo is one of those skis that's become a real benchmark in its segment