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Atomic Theory ski review

Bene288

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Had my first run out with these skis over the weekend at Gore Mountain. It was actually a great day for a first impression of a new ski because I got several kinds of snow. Hard pack and some loose granular in the morning, then packed pow and light pow in the afternoon.

I got the 186cm length, I'm glad I did. I've always skied on long skis. The rocker is fairly pronounced on this ski. I found it to be very forgiving for such a long ski. It's 95mm underfoot, which when I saw it in person I got kind of nervous. I had never skied on anything remotely that wide, the widest ski I have ever used was maybe in the upper 70's, so I thought it's carving would be very sloppy compared to what I was used to. Not true. I was amazed on how easy these got up on edge. I was cooking on the hard pack without any issue, not noticing much difference from my 77mm skis. They can certainly take off, especially with the longer length. On the really hard snow they may not grip as well. The only thing I would like is a bit more of a side cut for those natural turns.

I had read the online reviews of this ski and noticed it had scored low on stability with speed, but I didn't have any problem with chatter. They are incredibly responsive in a tuck, no unwanted floating. The full wood core is awesome, the thing really pops when you want it to. Very light weight. Toward the end of the day when the fresh snow started to get pushed around is when these really shined. I was blowing through the man made bumps and the crud with no problem. I didn't get into the trees, but judging by the turn on a dime performance in the man made bumps and crud, I'm pretty confident this ski would produce in the glades. It's so responsive and poppy, which made it a dream to maneuver around the crud. Take just a little bit of a back seat in these things and the tips seem like they'll float over anything.

Overall I am very pleased with this ski. It's absolutely a perfect one quiver ski. I really only get out when the snow is soft. I don't get to go out 3+ days a week. So for me this is an awesome choice. I am still holding on to my carving skis for any hard hard pack I encounter. Great daily driver in my opinion.
 

gmcunni

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i thought i asked this in a diff thread but can't find it so . ..

what binding did you put on the theory?
 

Nick

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I had a real toss up this year when I bought new skis. I went back and forth between the Theory and the Crimson Ti'.s I love the Crimson Ti's but they are a bit heavier ... they are rock solid in almost all situations but sometimes a little too much so. I might get some Crimson Ti's next year for a bit more float and maneuvaribility.
 

o3jeff

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I had a real toss up this year when I bought new skis. I went back and forth between the Theory and the Crimson Ti'.s I love the Crimson Ti's but they are a bit heavier ... they are rock solid in almost all situations but sometimes a little too much so. I might get some Crimson Ti's next year for a bit more float and maneuvaribility.

I thought you got the Crimson Ti's? you want a second pair?
 

Bene288

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i thought i asked this in a diff thread but can't find it so . ..

what binding did you put on the theory?

Sorry, I'm not too good with keeping up with my posts sometimes. The bindings that were sold with the skis were Atomic FFG 12. They seem pretty good. I cranked them up all the way. I was planning on the FFG 14 but the 12's came with the deal. Not that it's worth anything, but I think the 14's looked like the Trix rabbit threw up on them. Black is a much nicer binding color. But the plastic and housing seems very reliable. I have a pair of skis with Atomic XTO 12 bindings, and they've been great.
 

wa-loaf

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Don't be so quick to rule it out...that ski(Theory) seems like an ideal ski for the ascent with skins = nice and light.

He's not ruling out the skis. He's saying he's never going to do any backcountry and doesn't think getting something like the Duke/Barron is worth it.
 
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