Reviews: Dyn. Sultan 85, Watea 84, Elan 888

Rambo · Jan 22, 2010

On Fri. Jan. 8th 2010 went to Elk Mtn. PA for their Winterfest Demo Day. The deal was to go in advance to certain ski shops and get an all day lift ticket voucher for $20.

Am looking for an outstanding go anywhere all-mountain ski.

Dynastar Sultan 85 (length 172) 126-85-110 Turning radius 16.
New ski for this year and Dynastar in my opinion has hit a Home Run. Ski does it all. Wide enough to float in the soft snow, very good carving on ice and is very nimble and quick turning. Very smooth and easy to turn. Loved this ski, on the 3 run demo. Fun ski. Will cruise really fast and will also finish off turns easy to control speed.

Fischer Watea 84 (length 176): Another great all-mountain ski. Does outstanding medium radius turns in all conditions.

Elan 888: (168 length) Again another fantastic all-mountain ski. Very nimble and manuverable in the 168 length but just long enough to be fast and stable.

Edd · Jan 23, 2010

How icy were the conditions you tested the Sultans on? I'm probably gonna test drive those tomorrow.

I've ridden the Watea 84s before and I didn't find them too impressive on the scratchy terrain.

MR. evil · Jan 23, 2010

Thanks for the review, I am looking to pick up some new skis this spring and those Dynastars and Elans are on the short list. I just need to find a place to demo both. From your review it sounds like you prefer the Dynastars.

Rambo · Jan 23, 2010

Edd said:
How icy were the conditions you tested the Sultans on? I'm probably gonna test drive those tomorrow.

I've ridden the Watea 84s before and I didn't find them too impressive on the scratchy terrain.

There was a few skied off icy patches and the Sultan 85's did quite good, but the demo guy had the edges honned very sharp, so I don't know if it was the ski being great on ice or the very sharp edges. The Sultan 85 seemed to do short and medium radius turns quicker than the Watea 84. I would really like to demo the Sultan 85 again for a 2nd look. It's hard to say just how good it is on ice, probably not as good as something like the Volkl AC 50, but the Sultan 85 seemed like a fun ski.

Rambo · Jan 23, 2010

MR. evil said:
Thanks for the review, I am looking to pick up some new skis this spring and those Dynastars and Elans are on the short list. I just need to find a place to demo both. From your review it sounds like you prefer the Dynastars.

I really like the Elan 888 in the shorter 168 length. It turns so much quicker than the 177.

The Sultan 85 has a quicker turn radius of 16 and is worth checking out. I love both the Elan 888 and the Sultan 85. I need to demo the Sultan 85 for a second look.

o3jeff · Jan 23, 2010

MR. evil said:
Thanks for the review, I am looking to pick up some new skis this spring and those Dynastars and Elans are on the short list. I just need to find a place to demo both. From your review it sounds like you prefer the Dynastars.

Tim, skidmarks has a pair of used 888 he is trying to sell(not sure if he sold them yet). I think they might even have BC bindings on them now.

MR. evil · Jan 23, 2010

o3jeff said:
Tim, skidmarks has a pair of used 888 he is trying to sell(not sure if he sold them yet). I think they might even have BC bindings on them now.

thanks Jeff, just sent him a PM

WJenness · Jan 23, 2010

I love my Watea 84s, as noted above, it is a bit of work to get them to do short and medium radius turns, but I feel like they hold an edge very well on all but the iciest of icy conditions... Short patches of ice I don't have an issue with, and pretty solid hard pack I don't have an issue getting the edges to bite.

I debated the Watea 84s and the AC50s, and got a deal I couldn't pass up on the Wateas.

Overall, I am VERY happy with the skis.

Disclaimer: This is my first new pair of skis, and as a result I'm likely to be a bit biased towards them.

-w

o3jeff · Jan 23, 2010

MR. evil said:
thanks Jeff, just sent him a PM

FYI, I think he might be out west skiing right now.

mondeo · Jan 23, 2010

Skied 84s for a few hours on OL today. Not as quick as bump skis (no surprise,) but still quite manageable. Much quicker than my 94s.

mondeo · Jan 24, 2010

mondeo said:
Skied 84s for a few hours on OL today. Not as quick as bump skis (no surprise,) but still quite manageable. Much quicker than my 94s.

Also, nice forgiving ski for when your first few runs are done while still lightly buzzed from the night before. A lot of fun on soft snow groomers.

snoseek · Jan 24, 2010

mondeo said:
Also, nice forgiving ski for when your first few runs are done while still lightly buzzed from the night before. A lot of fun on soft snow groomers.

Would you consider them a fairly light ski?

mondeo · Jan 24, 2010

snoseek said:
Would you consider them a fairly light ski?

Yeah, demo bindings on 'em so not super light as tested.

puckoach · Feb 10, 2010

Demo on the Volkl AC 50 and the Dynastar Sultan 85.

Sultan's were so good first run, I stayed with them for 70% of the day. Volkl did not measure up.

Sultan's just tracked tip to tail, did well with all conditions on the mountain. Carve or skid, the line was solid.

Vokls just had a little wander to them, more like my old skis....

Rambo · Feb 10, 2010

puckoach said:
Demo on the Volkl AC 50 and the Dynastar Sultan 85.

Sultan's were so good first run, I stayed with them for 70% of the day. Volkl did not measure up.

Sultan's just tracked tip to tail, did well with all conditions on the mountain. Carve or skid, the line was solid.

Vokls just had a little wander to them, more like my old skis....

I absolutley loved the Elan 888's and Fischer Watea 84's I demoed... UNTILL I tried the Dynastar Sultan 85's... I seem to like the Sultan 85's the best and would like to Demo them again - they are a wicked fun, high performance ski in my opinion. Will do great short and medium radius turns and also long radius. Super at both low and high speeds.

Edd · Feb 10, 2010

The AC50s carve sharp as hell but the Sultans, although I didn't fall in love with them, are far and away a more versatile ride. Choosing between these two skis I wouldn't think twice.

puckoach · Feb 11, 2010

My thanks to the posters here, as well as Pete at Rogers in Lincoln, NH.

Am now the proud owner of the Sultan 85's !

Reviews: Dyn. Sultan 85, Watea 84, Elan 888

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