The Best Beginner Skis For 2022-2023 | Effortless Skis For Beginners - Mpora

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The Best Beginner Skis For 2022-2023 | Effortless Skis For Beginners

Here's our pick of the best skis for beginners – from easy carvers to newbie freeride planks

Finding the best skis for beginners can be a tricky task. It can be totally intimidating gazing at all the different shapes, lengths and widths when you’re first getting into skiing. Add to this the fact that some beginners might be extremely confident from the get-go, particularly if they excel in other sports.

First things first, you need to have a think about your aspirations before you go and drop a load of cash on the best beginner ski for you. Do you aspire to live in the park, explore the backcountry, or just do a bit of everything?

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This range of aspirations is why we’ve chosen to include a wide range of beginner skis: some that you might not initially think are suitable for beginners, and some that have been designed specifically for newbie skiers. Assuming you’re a fairly athletic person of an average weight, we’d bet that you’d be able to jump straight onto a slightly more forgiving ‘non-beginner’ ski. This ski will be a better investment as it’ll be able to serve you well as you improve and tune your technique.

It’s got to be said that buying skis is a reasonable financial commitment. Often beginner skiers start off by renting skis when they get to the resort (or a snow dome)  because they aren’t sure about the sport, and don’t have to worry about lugging skis on the plane. And this is certainly a good shout: it gives you time to try a wide range of skis out, see what you like and even gives you some much needed practice instead of quickly out-growing a pair of softer skis.

How To Choose A Pair Of Beginner Skis

Ski Widths Explained
How To Choose The Right Ski Length
Ski Shapes Explained
Ski Camber and Rocker Explained

 

Once you’ve got an idea of what you’d like from your first pair of skis, then getting down to your local brick-and-mortar ski shop should be your first port of call. Those guys will be able to chat to you about your ability level and find a range of skis that’ll work for you.

If you are doing your research in the meantime, take a look at the best skis for beginners below. These are the prices without bindings, unless otherwise stated.

Best Skis For Beginners


Volkl Flair 75

Price: £565 / €636 / $623 (with bindings)
Best For: Women-specific beginner skis
Ability Level: Beginner – Advanced

The Volkl Flair 75 is an ideal entry level women’s ski for beginners. It features a full sidewall and woodcore that spans the entire length of the ski. These have been tuned, alongside a thin layer of steel, to provide a smooth and stable connection to the snow. Slight tip and tail rocker has also been used to boost the turn initiation while also making the Flair 75 that bit more playful.

The Flair 75 comes with a pair of GripWalk compatible vMotion3 bindings mounted onto a rail system, which takes the pain of out selecting the right binding. You’ll be able to find some good deals on the Flair 75 online, giving you a great value pair of skis that’ll serve you well up to advanced level skiing.

Selected for the 21/22 Mpora Ski 100. Check out our full Volkl Flair 75 Review here

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Atomic E Vantage 75 C

Price: £320 / €430 / $408 (with bindings)
Best For: Ease of handling
Ability Level: Beginner – Advanced

The Atomic E Vantage 75 C has been built to provide stability, control and easy handling – making it an ideal ski for beginners.

The weight of the ski was the first thing to be addressed to help with the ease of handling. Coming in at a weight of 2,600 grams per ski, the E Vantage 75 C never feels too cumbersome when you’re looking to quickly kill some speed. This is thanks to a Densolite Core which makes use of foam to keep the ski super light and reduce any unwanted vibrations.

A boost to performance has been achieved through a responsive, yet lightweight, carbon tank mesh layer. The E Vantage 75 comes equipped with a pair of M 10 GripWalk bindings to give more than enough DIN range for a range of skiers from beginner to advanced.

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Scott Slight 93

Price: £550 / €630 / $800
Best For: Lightweight and versatile
Ability Level: Intermediate – Expert

The Scott Slight 93 is a real Swiss Army Knife of a ski. It combines a lightweight and responsive constriction with an all-mountain platform, based around a 93 mm waist, to bring a package that’s suitable for beginners looking to quickly progress. If you’re someone who aspires to ski beyond the piste boundaries, then the Scott Slight 93 would be a lightweight, and not too demanding, option for you.

Scott shaped an elliptical radius to the sidecut to offer a variety of turns on offer, depending on the speed you’re skiing. This is possible as a longer radius stretches from the tips to tails, while a shorter radius sits underfoot. This means that when you’re skiing at slower speeds, and lightly flexing the skis, you’re going to initiate the shorter turn radius for easy turn initiation.

Selected for the 21/22 Mpora Ski 100. Check out our full Scott Slight 93 Review here

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Line Vision 108

Price: £565 / €665 / $750
Best For: Beginner powder ski
Ability Level: Intermediate – Expert

Now hear us out: if you’ve had a few lessons, nailed the fundamentals of skiing, and are quickly getting bored of piste skiing, then looking at a ski like the Line Vision 108 could be a great shout for people who have taken to skiing like a duck to water. Young seasonaires and athletically minded beginners could all happily jump straight onto a ski like the Line Vision 108.

The Line Vision 108 is a freestyle-specific touring ski that provides enough width to give you enough floatation for the deepest of days, while also not being too wide to provide a playful ride on the pistes. Thanks to Line’s THC construction, the Vision 108s weigh in at an impressively lightweight 1,605 grams (no bindings), while not being overly stiff – this makes for an extremely forgiving ski that’ll help smooth out any mistakes.

If you do fall into this category of newbie skiers that can jump on a ski like this, then we’d highly recommend that you reinvest the money you’ve saved on ski lessons and book yourself onto an essential avalanche safety course.

Selected for the 21/22 Mpora Ski 100. Check out our full Line Vision 108 Review here

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Salomon S/force Fx.80

Price: £530 / €616 / $642 (with bindings)
Best For: A smooth ride
Ability Level: Beginner – Advanced

The Salomon S/Force Fx.80 is designed to be the perfect choice for aspirational beginner skiers looking to progress their technical skill on the pistes. The woodcore has been designed to work in conjunction with a strong camber profile to provide optimum stability and grip on groomed snow conditions.

A ‘Crossover Tip’ has been used to help absorb vibrations by effectively eliminating any tip chatter you usually get from skiing a softer ski at speed. This will help to keep the full length of the edge in contact as your carve your skis through a turn without the ski skidding out beneath you – a great feature for confidence-inspiring skiing.

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Volkl Blaze 106

Price: £525 / €550 / $600
Best For: Beginner freeride ski
Ability Level: Intermediate – Expert

The Volkl Blaze 106 has been designed to sit in the emerging category of lightweight and playful freeride skis for skiers who are after lightweight products that provide easy handling over a wide range of snow conditions. These traits make it an ideal ski for technically proficient beginners who aspire to dip their toe into freeride terrain.

The ski is constructed with a hybrid multi-layer wood core of Poplar, Paulownia and Isocore in tip to tail. The intention here is to make the ski floatier over soft snow, while keeping its flex and weight enough to remain poised and in control through challenging snow conditions.

Selected for the 21/22 Mpora Ski 100. Check out our full Volkl Blaze 106 Review here

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Nordica Belle DC 78

Price: £450 / €500 / $550 (with bindings)
Best For: Women-specific construction
Ability Level: Intermediate – Expert

Taking the acclaimed ISPO award in 2021, the new and updated Belle range shows us the levels of research and design the team at Nordica go through in designing a new ski.

This range features a totally new bit of technology from Nordica – Double Core Technology – which makes use of two separate core materials that are able to flex independently to provide improved flex, stability and dampening. These two cores are tuned specifically for women, giving a smooth and predictable ride for lightweight skiers.

Not only is the core a totally new construction, but Nordica has also shortened the length of a traditional binding plate to give a shorter mount location which lets the skis flex in a more natural curve, compared to a normal binding plate that restricts the flex of shorter skis.

Selected for the 21/22 Mpora Ski 100. Check out our full Nordica Belle DC 78 Review here

Line Honey Bee

Price: £320 / €343 / $325
Best For: Freestyle-focused women
Ability Level: Intermediate – Advanced

Back in 2017, Line modified their Honey Badger model to create the Honey Bee; a women’s specific freestyle ski. Coming in shorter lengths, with a thinner profile, and a lighter wood core (and one of our favourite women’s top-sheet graphics), the Honey Bee is a lightweight but tough ski equipped to help beginner park skiers take on the park.

With a max ski length of only 166 cm and a soft flex, the Honey Bee makes for an ideal skis for women who are looking to explore the park for the first time, without taking on an overly-demanding ski.

Selected for the 20/21 Mpora Ski 100. Check out our full Line Honey Bee Review here

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Head Oblivion 84

Price: £335 / €350 / $475
Best For: Freestyle ski for beginners
Ability Level: Intermediate – Expert

Skiers looking to progress into the park can’t go wrong with the all-new Head Oblivion 84. While they’re also used by Head’s athlete team, the Oblivion 84’s smooth flex and built-to-last durability makes for a great ski for capable beginners who have aspirations of exploring the park.

Subtle tip and tail rocker keeps the skis relatively easy to control with an easy turn initiation, while this rocker profile also keeps the skis nice and pivotable for when you’re looking to scrub a bit of speed. As expected with a freestyle-specific ski, traditional camber underfoot looks to provide pop for takeoffs and side hits.

One final note is on the durability of these skis – they’re built like a tank. This isn’t only ideal for when you’re looking to bash them through the park, but it’s also comforting knowing that you’ll be able to hold onto these skis for years to come, rather than throwing them out for another pair of skis.

Selected for the 21/22 Mpora Ski 100. Check out our full Head Oblivion 84 Review here

Salomon QST 98

Price: £320 / €605 / $630
Best For: Best all-mountain ski for beginners
Ability Level: Intermediate – Expert

Salomon’s QST range is great for beginners who want a ski that performs well on piste and is also good for those first powder turns. The QST 98 has camber underfoot which makes them a little more stable at speed plus gives extra grip on hard pack snow.

When you start to venture into powder, or even slush, the early rise tips will keep your tips out of the snow and make for easy turn initiation, while slight rocker in the tail won’t make them a chore to control in tricky snow conditions. The Salomon QST 98 is a great shout for skiers looking for an all-mountain ski they can progress on.

Selected for the 21/22 Mpora Ski 100. Check out our full Salomon QST 98 Review here

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Topics:

Atomic Gear Head Skis Line Skis Nordica Salomon Scott Skis Skiing Volkl Skis
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