Elan Ripstick 88 vs Atomic Maverick 86c

[JohnSKepler]

Kind of hoping to score a good deal on what I'll call a "pure piste ski" while things are on sale. I'll set it up to ski Meidjo and Transit (clearly not at the same time!) with Scarpa F1 or last-gen TXPro.

I can't really say how I came down on these two skis. Just a bunch of online research. Won't be using them as powder skis. I can't say on-piste only, but they are the skis I'll be taking to lift-served hills that use grooming equipment. I'm not looking to drive them all that hard. Would like something fairly forgiving and that comes out of turns smoothly. In fact, coming out of the turn smooth and easy is a higher priority for me than initiating the turn. I can start the turn, sometimes I just can't get out of it! Especially transitioning from a left turn into a right turn.

I'm also not concerned about outgrowing things. If I get too good for a ski, which ain't gonna happen, I'll go get a more appropriate ski. After a lifetime of buying things above my skill level, I want to get the right thing!

Thoughts?

[spopepro]

You have lots and lots of options. I haven't skied these, but the ripstick 88 is very well loved, and I know some tele folks who are among them. Haven't heard the same buzz around the maverick. The other ski that gets a lot of love is the blizzard brahma (take your pick 82 or 88) and blizzard skis can often be found very cheap.

I'm in love with my praxis mvp 94 (which I had them do a custom lighter flex profile) for lift-service all-conditions skiing. But while I think they are worth every penny, they will not be found as cheaply as the others.

[JohnSKepler]

You have lots and lots of options. I haven't skied these, but the ripstick 88 is very well loved, and I know some tele folks who are among them. Haven't heard the same buzz around the maverick. The other ski that gets a lot of love is the blizzard brahma (take your pick 82 or 88) and blizzard skis can often be found very cheap.

I'm in love with my praxis mvp 94 (which I had them do a custom lighter flex profile) for lift-service all-conditions skiing. But while I think they are worth every penny, they will not be found as cheaply as the others.

The problem is that there are too many options and not a lot of Tele demo opportunities. Paring it down to two was really hard!

[fisheater]

For a wood core piste ski I like my Summitcone Pariah. It’s 97 mm underfoot. I was kind of wary about all that width, but it was fine on Vermont firm. They have a ski in the high 80 mm for this year, similar core. That seems more reasonable to me, but I am handling 97 mm underfoot just fine.
Check them out on the Fey Bros site.
They sell the Ripstick as well.