Ski Testing

   Every year the manufacturers allow us to test the next year products. We don’t have    x racers, ski instructors, demo team members, world champions, or elite members of some elite ski team. We ask our customers to come with us to test skis. We don’t go to the elite skiers, we don’t ask the ski instructors, we go to the average guy (or girl) to tell us what they think of the new product for the upcoming season. Sometimes we agree with the testers but sometime the average guy thinks the ski is great and the testers think it’s the pits. Let us give you our what’s hot, and what’s not list. We test at Stratton in Vermont. The conditions in Vermont perhaps are slightly different than Colorado. If you only ski the West and have been on the U.S. Demo team, by all means, rely on the feedback from the ski or skiing reports. If you ski the East and have a real job perhaps OUR reports may have some validity.

We don’t have all the skis that the magazines offer just what we feel are the best products.

    Let me interject before we talk about some of our favorites.  We had two ladies and three guys at the Statton demo.  We also talked with the people who we rode the lifts with,  and the people who were in the know,  about all and anything that they thought was outstanding.  We also have to explain that this year the conditions were less than exemplary...it rained big time.  We look for skis that handle the type of Eastern conditions that the majority of our customers frequent.  The soft snow and rain made skis that in the past were marginal..now seemed OK.

   The favorite of all...guys and ladies alike was the AC 50 from Volkl..these skis handled the conditions tremendously,  they also had the “mega” version which we thought to stiff for the average person.  These skis replace the Volkl AC 40, one of this years top models..the change is two fold, more width and the new Marker “jester” binding.  Lets talk first about width.  The industry is gone supersize, what I mean is that wider waist skis are proliferating.  The 60-something waist for high performance skis is gone.  What it’s saying is that if you haven’t addressed the shape ski revolution, you are being left in the dust.  These skis have the shape ski sidecut but a waist of 74 or greater...why?? The answer is simple, as skis get shorter the running surface is getting smaller and smaller, as this happens the skis go slower and slower.  The only way to get more surface is to add length or width.  As the skis get shorter and shorter, they get wider and wider.   So we see fat( or Phat, meaning awesome) is where its at...not at the Beach but in ski shape.  The new Marker binding is addressing this new “fat” revolution by redesigning the binding so it is a wider platform to give more pressure on the wider portion of the ski. The 2007 season saw the “Duke”, the randonee version and the “Jester” the fixed heel version of the binding, both very expensive...next season two new less expensive versions will be available.

   The Volkl line,  other than name and cosmetic changes, remains very similar to the 2007 models and is our favorite performance ski line.  The joining of the K2 and Volkl brands under one parent has benefitted both brands.   K2 which was intermediated heaven now has some ice holding guts, and the Volkl line is benefitting from the MADE IN CHINA capabilities that K2 brings to the table... K2’s lady’s LOVE series seems to still kick butt.  The ladies who tested the lady’s models liked them, the K2 guys models still were OK but didn’t wet our pants.

   Rossignol seems to be floundering...these guys have been kicked around being bought by Quicksilver (bathing suits/surf wear) and now Berkley fishing line.  The king is dead...long live the king.   Lets wait and see if the Rossignol dynasty can be resurrected.   Dynastar who also went the Quicksilver/Berkley line route seems to be surviving as the premier specialty ski (with Lange,and Look) line.  They are coming on strong.

   We skied the new Fischer skis and were favorably impressed, they are trying to cover all bases, keeping a narrow waisted ski (East Coast), as well as the wider skis the industry is touting.  We liked the Progressor 8+ model and the wider Cool Heat model.  Fischer has been around forever but have made some lack luster skis in the past, just recently they are coming back into the market with some outstanding skis.   The Fischer boot that just a couple of years ago were (poop!!) are now giving the big guys a run for their money...They have abducted positioning...what the heck are we talking about???  Stand and look down at your feet, the heels are closer together than the toes.  That is an abducted (natural) stance.   The Fischer boots allow you to stand that way while allowing your skis to be parallel, ie. pointing forward.   You are not forced to twist your knees to make the boots go straight. Look for more superlatives for both the skis and boot for the coming season.

 

   Atomic has some new cosmetics on the winners in the Nomad series and some of their wide skis impressed us.  They have the “Daddy” series of wide skis.   The Snoop Daddy, waist around 95mm was awesome in the slop and powder.  We felt that it would be a great all terrain ski for some one who was both a Western and Eastern skier and wanted only one ski to do it all.  Ladies skis seem cosmetic in change, the 2007 models were hot and the 2008’s are likely to be the same, no major changes.  The ladies who skied the new ones said the reps said no new technology but reinforced last years exemplary ratings.

   The line that impressed us, that doesn’t get the recognition it deserves is the Head line.   We skied them to get a feel for what the line represented, after one model we went back for a second ...then a third, these guys have got it together.   If the fall ski magazines don’t rate these guys as some of the best, they are hiding their head in the sand.  We were impressed, from the recreational to the racing, they have a “chip technology” that makes the skis so stable, yet easy turning and tigers on the hard pack.   The technology isn’t inexpensive, but it’s real, it works and we were impressed.

   We didn’t ski the Nordica line...These guys are now trying to bring a line that is owned by Tecnica into the ski market...they have had some good models,but need a ground swell to get consumer confidence to switch from the big hitters.   Like the Blizzards that are trying to re-enter the market, it’s going to be an up hill battle. As OK as the skis were they need the “OH WOW FACTOR” to get them started..

   We skied Salomon,(owned by Atomic), and some of the other ski lines....not impressed.   The East vs. West dictates a different set of criterion.   To cover all bases is not easy with one ski but we hope that the ski we recommend is the one that covers 85% of your skiing needs.   Talk to us and sign up as a 2009 ski tester.

   Snowboard....we test them too!!

    Burton still rules, but has minimal in new technology.   We still love the custom X, the rest still kick butt, however there is a “Anti-Burton” movement.  It seems that Burton is the standard that all the others need to emulate.  We tried the new DC boards and loved them, the LibTec banana traction boards were hot, the transition from edge to edge was effortless.  We also rode the Ride boards and loved the ride quality vs. cost value.  For $50.00 to $75.00 less, they rode as well or better than the Burtons. There are a lot of options to look at, take the time to investigate the new hot models.

The straight dope!