so here's the issue, and i need several different outside opinions so thank you in advance and +K for your much appreciated input. i simply DO NOT know what ski to get for this season and im sick of not being able to come to a decision.
as for my stats i am 5'8, 145 lbs, the best way to describe my riding style would be, backcountry jibbing and just mostly pow and tree skiing.(eric pollard is my main influence) When I hit the park(about 25% of my riding) I can only play around on small rails and boxes, doing nose/tail butter spins, presses and shit like that, i can't hit big icy jumps at all because of my fucked up knees, so i dont really need stiffness for stability on hard landings or anything like that, because i am never hitting anything bigger than 20 feet or so of air at most , and if it is that big, its into a powder landing. and i also like to rip big mountain style lines, pillows and such, but there arent that many around where i live so thats only about 25% of my riding as well.
I have been riding hellbents for the last 2 seasons. 169s first, and then 179s the this last season. And now that tons of other companys have options for sick rockered skis, i need something that has less swing weight, more pop, and more all mountain preformance than what the hellbent was delivering. and keep in mind i rode the hellbents as my one ski quiver, for park, groomers and everything, so im looking for something that is just as "all mountain/park friendly" I know some people are thinking "the hellbents are anything but that!!" but im talking in terms of preference, and people who like to ride bent skis everywhere on the hill.
Something like the bent-chetler or the bibby pro from moment would be perfect, i would be getting the bent-chetlers without a doubt but the only problem is, I work for a shop that gives me a sick deal and I want to represent for them, so I only have a choice between these companys:
Armada (the JJ)
K2 (the hellbent, which is obvously out of the picture)
Rossignol (the S7)
Volkl (the chopstick)
Dynastar (no clue what they have for rockered goodness)
Line (ep pro)
Salomon (nothing really interests me from salomon except for my spk boots which i love)
I would dig the JJ but my concern with those, is that i have never skied anything any stiffer than an old pair of 1080s ( I'm very used to soft skis) so i dont know if they would be too stiff for my likings and for buttering around the park (not to mention i have never seen these skis in the park period. they seem way more "powder/backcountry jib specific")
I could get the hellbents again, but that is the obvious point of the thread, is that i need to try something different, and lighter.
as for the rossignol S7, i view these skis pretty much the same as the JJ, seems like they would be too much big mountain/powder spacific, and not symmetrical enough for my likings. (never seen these skis in the park either, and im not suprised, they dont look like that type of ski.)
as for the chopsticks, i love how they are completly symetrical, but i have heard bad reviews about the flex and weight and being a "non-responsive, non-playful" ski. -sounds like they would be even worse for me than the hellbents.
as for Dynastar, i can get a deal on them, but i have never been a fan and i dont even know what type of rockered, jib type skis they have. if any.
and as for the EP pro, (i pretty much have narowed it down to this or the JJ, like the tittle says) I am worried that after noticing how soft the hellbents were and riding them for 2 years, i'm scarred that i will get a pair of EPs and hate them because their even softer than the hellbents! (dont get me wrong, I LOVE buttery skis, im just afraid i will try a stiffer poppier ski for the first time and freakin love it) so im not sure if buying this ski would be going in the right direction, like what if i get on them and i feel like they are so soft that i dont have as much confidince as shredding the hellbents??
cuz i know they are like pretty much the same ski as the hells but with lighter swingweight, softer flex, and the early taper.
like i said ive never really tried a "stiff ski", i have only had a couple pairs of lines, ( assasins, elizabeths ) two pairs of 1080s (one pair of the OriGinal silver spaceframe robot ones, and then a pair of the 07 foils ) and then the 2 pairs of hellbents that i owned after that.
the only time i tried a really stiff ski was pair of those "chronic wides" a few years back and they were way too big for me.
NO CLUE WHAT TO GET> different oppinions wil be awesome and refreshing to hear. thanks.