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Elan 888 vs Fischer Watea 94 vs Volkl Mantra
- Thread starter wa-loaf
- Start date
I took them out last night while it was snowing. We only got 3-4", and it was tracked up, but I was able to find some pockets on the sides of the trails. The Wateas handled the transitions from harder stuff to dense powdery piles really nicely. They were very stable and didn't get thrown around much at all. I also took them through some bumps, which they handled just fine. These may end up being a good replacement for my aging mid-fats.
This was my second day out on these skis and I was once again very happy. Can't wait to get them out in some actual powder!
I got mine out at Hunter on Friday. Loved them in all the fresh snow they got. Nice and easy to get to float and stable through variable conditions. I was having a bit of trouble turning them once some moguls started to popup on the last few runs, but my legs were also pretty tired at that point.
MR. evil
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I just had my first day on my new Elan 888 at Magic this past Friday. I some Marker Baron AT bindings mounted on them. Over all I really like the ski. It was much Better on groomers than I thought it was going to be due to it's size. But these things ripped on the cord and held a nice edge on the hard pack. It was also pretty easy to make shot radius turn on the groomers. The natural / bumped terrain was a different story, more due to a lack of skill on my part. My old Dynastars were about 70mm at the waist and 168cm long, the Elans are 88mm / 177cm so it was a jump in size for me. In the bumped up stuff I felt like I started very turn about 1/2 second to late and I was quickly in he back seat which these skis will punish you for. The short periods here and there when I had a rythem going these skis were awsome.
I get the same thing with my High Society Free Rides. Find myself rather late in the bumps and get thrown in the back seat easy. I'm sure if I committed to skiing them exclusively, I'd straighten myself out.
MR. evil
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I think my problem is that I have SunDown legs. I have spent 95% of my ski time this year on bump skis, skiing a short bump run (Temptor). The Elans are much heavier than my CaBrawlers and those Magic runs are pretty relentless. A little more time on the Elans and I will be ok. And now that Gunny is bumped up the legs will be getting some major workouts
. I may bring the 888's for some Gunny runs.
I almost brought out my Watea 94s to slay the soft stuff on Gunny today. I decided to stick with the shorter and narrower (178 length and 84 waist) mid-fats instead.
ta&idaho
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One thing I've learned in messing around with some demos this year is that the crudbuster, stiffer, wideGS-style skis like the 888 and the Volkl Mantra can rail on the groomed and mow down manky crud, but can be a bit of a challenge in bumps, where softer flexing (even if noticably fatter) skis seem easier to handle.
If I'm still on the East coast next year, I think I might get something like kingslug's new Rossi S3s, which seem perfect for the gnarly bumps and tight spaces that make Eastern skiing so interesting but also distinctively challenging. Definitely gives up some hard snow carving ability, but I find myself skiing those conditions much less frequently than I assumed I would when I first moved out here.
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