What: Invitation only demo event for the Mtn Side Ski shop at WA. Since this is for the shop they pick most of the ski's for you and you write feedback on them. The shop uses this to help them in their buying decisions.
Conditions: A little frozen cord first thing at top. Slushy corn/crud for the rest of the day. Some irregular bumps. Took 3 runs with each ski to get a feel for short and long runs as well as the bumps if appropriate.
The skis:
Rossi Stratto 80 170cm: Kind of a classic GS ski. I wasn't all that impressed with the edge grip on the frozen cord. Nice and stable when I got it up to speed. Tough to really get a feel for the it in the conditions. Cool hot rod style graphics.
Salomon Enduro 184cm 88 under foot: I really liked these. They ski a little on the short side. They excelled in the manky conditions of the day. Nice and quick edge to edge for most turn radius'. Ripped through the crud without getting knocked around and were pretty easy to ski in the bumps. Could really rip the GS turns through the chopped up corn.
Volkl TigerShark 11 foot Power Switch 170cm: Tried them with all the power switch settings. Power was a little too much for the conditions, but I could feel that they would probably really rip on the groomers. The dynamic setting was about the same. I put them on cruise (the softest setting) and they became a lot of fun in the crud. It made them easier to turn and hop around in the junk yet still held it together nicely for no speed limit GS turns through everything.
Nordica Jet Fuel 174cm: So I finally tried these out and know why everyone raves about them. Really a lot of fun cruising through the corn. Nice and snappy but you could put the hammer down on them too. Did pretty good with the bumps too. To bad the look like someone puked on them:
Head 88 Peak 174cm: The successor to the Monsters. This was really fun with short turns cutting it up in the crud and bumps. Probably would be very nice in the powder too. Really got knocked around by the crud when you picked up the speed. Good for an intermediate or lighter skier. You will never lose them:
Atomic Crimson 178cm 88 under foot: The rep was in a hurry to go so I only took a couple runs. My quick impression is that they really need to get up to speed to shine. Busted through the crud like a tank and were very stable. Not so great with short turns.
K2 Richter 174cm: These are the replacement for the Apache Recon with a new sandwich construction rather than the cap and an early rise tip. It might be because I just skied a bunch of 88's, but these felt really quick edge to edge compared to the other skis. Not at all damp feeling like the recons were. They really sliced through the bumped up crud (as opposed to blasting through or going over) and kept it nice and steady at speed.
K2 Kung Fujas 105 under foot, forgot the length: I took these out as my last ski just for fun. I've never been on a true rockered twin tip. Kinda skimmed over all the very sloppy (at this point) snow. It would throw you around some since it has a tendency to go over any slush piles. Pretty easy to turn and would surely be a blast in some powdery trees.
Conditions: A little frozen cord first thing at top. Slushy corn/crud for the rest of the day. Some irregular bumps. Took 3 runs with each ski to get a feel for short and long runs as well as the bumps if appropriate.
The skis:
Rossi Stratto 80 170cm: Kind of a classic GS ski. I wasn't all that impressed with the edge grip on the frozen cord. Nice and stable when I got it up to speed. Tough to really get a feel for the it in the conditions. Cool hot rod style graphics.
Salomon Enduro 184cm 88 under foot: I really liked these. They ski a little on the short side. They excelled in the manky conditions of the day. Nice and quick edge to edge for most turn radius'. Ripped through the crud without getting knocked around and were pretty easy to ski in the bumps. Could really rip the GS turns through the chopped up corn.
Volkl TigerShark 11 foot Power Switch 170cm: Tried them with all the power switch settings. Power was a little too much for the conditions, but I could feel that they would probably really rip on the groomers. The dynamic setting was about the same. I put them on cruise (the softest setting) and they became a lot of fun in the crud. It made them easier to turn and hop around in the junk yet still held it together nicely for no speed limit GS turns through everything.
Nordica Jet Fuel 174cm: So I finally tried these out and know why everyone raves about them. Really a lot of fun cruising through the corn. Nice and snappy but you could put the hammer down on them too. Did pretty good with the bumps too. To bad the look like someone puked on them:
Head 88 Peak 174cm: The successor to the Monsters. This was really fun with short turns cutting it up in the crud and bumps. Probably would be very nice in the powder too. Really got knocked around by the crud when you picked up the speed. Good for an intermediate or lighter skier. You will never lose them:
Atomic Crimson 178cm 88 under foot: The rep was in a hurry to go so I only took a couple runs. My quick impression is that they really need to get up to speed to shine. Busted through the crud like a tank and were very stable. Not so great with short turns.
K2 Richter 174cm: These are the replacement for the Apache Recon with a new sandwich construction rather than the cap and an early rise tip. It might be because I just skied a bunch of 88's, but these felt really quick edge to edge compared to the other skis. Not at all damp feeling like the recons were. They really sliced through the bumped up crud (as opposed to blasting through or going over) and kept it nice and steady at speed.
K2 Kung Fujas 105 under foot, forgot the length: I took these out as my last ski just for fun. I've never been on a true rockered twin tip. Kinda skimmed over all the very sloppy (at this point) snow. It would throw you around some since it has a tendency to go over any slush piles. Pretty easy to turn and would surely be a blast in some powdery trees.
