Rossi 88's are a good all around ski. They like to carve when on edge but can ski trees or bumps just fine. You'll have s hard time not liking them. Other all mountain type ski that I recommend would be the Volkl kendo. For boots... Find a good boot fitter as that's very important. If the "80" in the salamons represents the stiffness and you like high speeds, I'd recommend at least a 90 if not 100.
You obviously have some product knowledge and insight... I do not. I've always just used what I have and never thought twice about it. I'm looking for some input on finally getting some new skis. I'm currently using a pair of K2 Apache Radius X skis (they are like 6 years old, relabeled skis for Sports Authority and other big box places to sell). I live in the Front Range and I typically get 15-20 or so days per season of skiing in. I'm 6'2" and about 200 lbs. My typical day of skiing is get there early to beat the crowds, do a groomed run as a warm up then spend the rest of the day in the bowls and in the trees with the occasional high speed groomer.
The other weekend we were supposed to get some new snow so I decided it was a good time to demo some skis. There was some powder, some skied out powder turned crud, some groomed, and there was even some icy areas. I took a set of 180cm Atomic Automatic 102 freeride/powder skis to use for the weekend.
Compared to my old skis these felt awesome. They felt more on the snow than in the snow, they went right through the crud and powder no problem. They seemed to have a lot less edge grip then my old ones, they weren't nearly as stable at high speed but in the dense steep tree bumps the the less edge grip felt great. The tips and tails had a lot more ability to slide rather than carve. I felt like I could ski that stuff at higher speeds yet more controlled. It's like the skis went where I wanted them to go instead of wanting to grab and always go forward to where the tips are aimed. On the icy stuff they felt like they had no grip but that's not necessarily a bad thing because they didn't chatter trying to get an edge which normally really hurts my bony ass ankle bones. The lack of edge also made stopping distance longer, not dangerously long or anything, just not the stop on a dime while throwing snow 30-40 feet like I'm used to. Overall I really liked them a lot, the maneuverability in the trees and the ability to plow through crud are really what appealed to me, real powder days are rare for me.
I'm wanting some input based on my situation regarding Atomic Automatic 102 vs Atomic Vantage Alibi. Unfortunately there isn't a pair of Alibi skis around for me to demo but the rocker/camber/rocker profiles are similar, the tip and tail widths are similar, it seems like main differences are a narrower waist and the titanium backbone in the Alibi? It seems like with Alibi I'd give up some powder ability in exchange for some high speed stability. Would I loose any of the maneuverability, capability in the crud, or the ability for the tips and tails to slide a bit without always catching and trying to push me forward?
It's between those 2 skis. I plan on using these all the time in all conditions. I'll still use my old K2s for early and late season when there isn't much base so i can fuck those up instead of tearing up the bases on the skis.
I'm probably going to demo those Automatics for another weekend.