Line Pandora 84

Like I said, it's not like the stiffest flex pattern in the world, but you get enough stiffness out of this tail that you can ski it pretty aggressive...

84 millimeters underfoot, we're looking at a 13 meter turn radius. So pretty short turner, likes to be on edge, but overall just a really nice versati...

This is a super fun ski if you're an intermediate to advanced skier looking for a really lightweight all-mountain ski. It's super responsive and super...

This is a really fun ski. It's a good ski for intermediate to advanced skiers. It's a really poppy ski, but it's felt really stable and it held its ed...

Buy the Pandora 84 if you want a ski that inspires confidence and wants to help you grow as a skier.

The Black Pearl (88 or 82 *if* you’re on the East Coast), the Line Pandora (84) or something from the Salomon QST Lux series would be my first pulls over anything Volkl. Edit: somehow I forgot to ask this too — which Mindbender did she try? The 85C would be a good option in her range as well, but I would not recommend any of the TI models.

I demoed a bunch of skis when I was a beginner. The ones that stuck out as easiest to control were the dynastar legend 84w and the line Pandora 84. found the atomic vantage 86c not bad but less fun somehow, enjoyed the blizzard black pearl 88 a lot (the 19/20 version, i haven't been on the current one), found the sheeva 9 a bit less easy to engage on groomers than the BP88 (though the sheeva 9 is very easy to pivot). Don't know a lot about faction skis and haven't tried any. I'm 5'3 and was a beginner in 2019.

Line Pandora 84. Black Crows Vertis Birdie. Looking at last years' models to save some $$$. They all sorta blend together after a certain amount of research, but the general idea seems to be that the Black Pearl, Pandora, & Birdie trend towards groomer performance whereas the Ripstick & Maven will be a bit more playful.