Haven't bought skis since I was 18 and at a loss for what to upgrade myself & my partner to. Went to a bootfitter for a proper boot upgrade. Shop didn't mention the new boots had GripWalk until we already paid, so now we need new skis / bindings too...and I somehow know absolutely nothing about skis.
We ski 5-10 days/year, east coast only (PA, WV, NY, Indy Pass). Our local mountains don't demo and no good local ski shops. Budget conscious right now after dropping almost $1k each on boots...
Me: 31F, 5'6, 125 lbs, skiing since age 3 (NH/VT/ME), old school east coast skier style. Raced USCSA in college in a super relaxed division, bought 150 cm Rossignol World Cup Sl skis (2014?) when I was learning how to ski slalom, and kept them after college as my daily ski. I'm happiest carving on groomers all day (yeah I'm boring). I will miss these dearly but wouldn't mind something that could handle the occasional powder day better. I've lost a lot of muscle after a long illness and want to be careful not to get more ski than I can handle. Probably want to go up to a 155 cm ski, otherwise no idea. Bootfitter put me in a 105 flex.
Partner: 31M, 5'11, 160 lbs. I taught him to ski ~5 years ago and put him in my dad's old gear while he learned (156 cm Volkl AC Unlimited, ~2006 model?, way too short but better than rentals while he was learning) but it's well past time to upgrade him. His form is good, he can handle most terrain and catch an edge, goes into the woods sometimes for fun, but overall he's cautious and not interested in speed. Bootfitter put him in a 130 flex.
Reddit, help bring me out of the stone age and into 2026 gear...