Has anyone had experience with Volkl Unlimited AC-40 skis or the AC-30s this year?

I skied with them (AC-40s) at Whistler last year (rentals) and they were absolutely outstanding. Glacier, groomed, slush, ice, it was all outstanding. Then I get back and find out that Snowshoe doesn't carry them anymore, so they don't get my business. And the Snowshoe Demo Days were in the midst of the heat wave in December.

Presently skiing on Volkl Supersport 6 stars. Outstanding ski but it is two years old already, so it begs for a change.

The AC-40 is a very good ski and gets a lot of respect on EpicSki forums, but I didn't fall in love with them when I demoed them. There are better skis in this mid-fat category in my opinion. I really like the Head iM77 / iM78 / iM82. They are a bit more forgiving and versatile than the Volkl mid-fats. Elan makes a couple good mid-fats, but they are similar to the Volkls and not quite as nice as the Heads to me.

The 6-star is a wonderful groomer zoomer ski. On hardpack, the 6-star is one of my favorite skis of all time. If you're a good skier, they are very rewarding skis. As you may have noticed, however, these skis are not great in soft snow, where something like the AC-40 makes a lot more sense. Actually, some of the mid-fats are also decent hardpack skis, and could conceivably give you a one-ski quiver. Myself, I like keeping a sub-70mm waist ski around for hard snow and ice, it's like an ace in the hole. I'd say keep the 6-stars around after you buy some mid-fats.

Thanks for the observation and the comments. I will be at the Shoe for almost a month, and they do carry Heads, so I'll demo them. The AC-40 was a great ski in Whistler. I had brougnt my 6-stars with me but once at the glacier level at Whistler, they sank like lead balloons. I'm certainly NOT getting rid of them, they're awesome on groomers and hold a great edge on ice.

I have to agree with Craig on this one. Keep the 6 stars. I have a pair of 5 stars for the hardpack, and sice I don't ski pow all that much, I opted for a pair of Karma's to use in pow & crud, plus they can still get me down a groomed run. I also have an older pair of g3's (now the AC-30) for those in between days. If you are a big volkl fan (like me), the perfect quiver would be the 6 star, AC-40, and maybe a Mantra or Gotama for the deep stuff!

Gee thanks... Wonder if I keep my 6-stars for groomer days and then get Heads or AC-40s for more subtle days... I'm just in the mood to shop...

Lou, there are some great deals out there right now, so it's a good time to shop around. I saw 2-3 great deals I would like to grab but I already have too many skis.

There's a fellow on EpicSki.com (dawgcatching) that works at a shop up in Sun River Oregon, and he offers good deals. Right now he has a post with some very good mid-season discounts. I have bought 3-4 skis from him in recent years.

Another guy on Epic (SierraJim) is affiliated with sierrasnowboard.com and they have a good sale right now, with a wide selection of skis.

REI is also having a big sale, and they carry Volkl. If you can get to a local store, might be some good deals.

Definitely check out the Head iM78 if you get a chance, it's a great ski. The Elan Magfire 12 is another nice ski, but heavier and more of a tank (good for crud though). AC-40 has to be on the list (since you already demo'ed and liked it), as well as the Fischer Cold Heat and Cool Heat. The Fischer Watea 78 and 84 are also good skis, but more biased to soft snow whereas the others I recommended can do some hard snow duty.

So Brian, what do you think of the Karmas?

Thanks Skir... Believe it or not, after almost 40 years of skiing, I have never skied on Fischers. Elan was the first parabolic I bought, remember the SCX Caps, clattering all the way down the mountain... Appreciate the heads up on dawgcatching... may save me some $$$

Thanks!!!!

Be sure to demo the K2 Recon's they are an excellent ski for Snowshoe, I demoed them and the Crossfires at Snowshoes demo days, I perfered the Recons, they didn't have the Crossfires in my ski size so I ski a shorter pair and didnt care for them as much.

Lou, I made a new thread for this, but wanted to post it here too:

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Fischer Ski sale:

I just saw this posted on Epic and nailed a pair of Watea 84 skis for $329. They also have Cold Heat and Cool Heat skis (with high-end system bindings) for well under $500. Worth a look:

http://www.o2gearshop.com/catalog/advanced_search_result.php?x=0&y=0&keywords=fischer

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The Cold Heat and Cool Heat are both great mid-fat skis that can handle hard snow with ease. For the price, I would have no qualms recommending these for purchase without a demo. If you like Volkls, then these skis will appeal to your taste in skis (actually, I like certain Fischers better than equivalent Volkls, but that's just me). At $429-469 on sale, including bindings and shipping, I'd jump on one of these skis if I was looking for a mid-fat. The Cold Heat has 82mm waist (similar to AC-40), the Cool Heat 76mm (similar to AC-30).

These skis can be sized nose height for on-piste bias and more maneuverability, or nose to head height for off-piste bias and high-speed stability. I would not go longer than head height on either ski as they are strong skis.

Awewsome! Appreciate the info!!! If you're ever at Snowshoe, beers are on me!

Thanks again. I just bought new AC-40s online through REI (appreciate letting me know about the sale) for $690, and with the dividend I applied to the purchase, they came in very cheap. Tried the Ski Center and several other sources, both retail and online. I'm short so I need the 170 and all I could get on EBay was 177. Still was a very good sale.

Cool -- let's hope we get some good natural snow!

Me too.... Do I gather the shorter skis are now the rule? I tried about 4 online retailers. Everyone had the 177s and longer skis by the bucketfull. Which tells me either they're not as popular or the maker overmanufactured these. Only one traditional retailer, and only one online retailer, had the 170s...

well ... k the maximum size for the dynastar legend 8800 is 188 ... the old super nobis was 198 i think ... and that was for his sort of skiing. i ski 178 and my volkl 6 stars r 161 ... i'm 5' 8" 145 lbs. back in the day circa the 90's i was on 207-210 ... so yup much shorter now.

I remember first time I got fitted with sticks, raising my hand as high as I could and the measurement for skis was from the floor to the top of my hands... I skied on 190-somethings...

Per the chart, I'm at 170, 5'6, 145 lbs. My Volkl superspors are a little longer, but are quite stable. However, the AC-40s I tried at Whistler were 170s and they rocked.

There was a fad to go with shorter skis about 3-5 years ago, and many people still stick with that (wrongly so in a lot of cases). It's OK on carver skis, but most other skis need to be chosen in longer lengths. A good rule of thumb nowadays is to size skis nose height for hardpack carver, head height for freeride, and greater than head height for big-mountain powder boards. Add length if you're heavy for your weight. At 6'1" 195lb, my shortest ski is a 175cm and my longest is 186cm.

OK so I just tried my brand new AC-40s. I am aghast that Snowshoe has done away with Volkls. They're missing thousands of dollars on sales. Just two years ago, my family from FL and TN spent about 10K in one shot on skis. This year, their intent was to upgrade. I'm taking them someplace else. They're sold on Volkls and after trying the AC-40s, so am I. I got mine through REI and they arrived two days later.

Anyway, they ROCKED. Ice, hardpack, corn, name it. Edging was beautiful. Stability awesome. If I wanted to carve, it held throughout the turn. A bit more flexible than the Volkl 6-Star Supersport from which I transitioned.

Awesome, glad to hear it. Volkl makes a great ski. Though, many other brands have superb skis too nowadays, depending on which category you're looking in. Ski technology and manufacturing has really advanced in the last 7-8 years, and I think it has leveled the field quite a bit.

I never saw any good ski deals at Snowshoe, so maybe it's good you're not buying there anymore. Even when they had sales, they were relative to the full retail price and not that great.