gmcunni
Active member
just finished up day 2 on my new ABs. thought i'd post my thoughts.
coming off 2004 Volkl 724s, was looking for something wider, lighter and less demanding of me. picked the ABs, was planning to demo (tomorrow) but a deal presented itself so i pulled the trigger based on reading reviews and comments from other AZ'ers.
The two days on the AB could not have been more different
Day 1 - (last saturday) - Ski Sundown. Temps close to 60, mostly sunny. Spent 90% of the time skiing bumps, soft spring bumps. Certainly could tell the ABs were wider than the 724 but after a few runs i was feeling comfortable in them. They skied well. The turn radius is about the same as the 724 and they are both all mountain so the differences were subtle on day 1. took a couple of runs down a blue groomer. the ABs did great, cutting through the soft snow excellently.
Day 2 - (today) - Pico. temps below freezing, blue bird day but skied on hard pack snow all day long. 100% on groomed runs today, everything was very firm, never softened up. First couple of runs i didn't sense much from the ABs, felt very much like the old 724s, couldn't tell they were wider at all. As i started getting comfortable on the groomers (and perhaps the sun did just a little softening) i really started enjoying the ABs. they were MUCH easier to turn and MUCH more fun. they rebounded consistently in all turning/carving i was doing. i'm no great carver but felt like i was 10x better doing it on these skis than before on the 724. They were very stable at high (to me) speeds. only negative i noticed was that they chattered a bit when i skidded to a stop from high speed( but this could have been the conditions too, i haven't skied such hard packed snow in a long time).
coming off 2004 Volkl 724s, was looking for something wider, lighter and less demanding of me. picked the ABs, was planning to demo (tomorrow) but a deal presented itself so i pulled the trigger based on reading reviews and comments from other AZ'ers.
The two days on the AB could not have been more different
Day 1 - (last saturday) - Ski Sundown. Temps close to 60, mostly sunny. Spent 90% of the time skiing bumps, soft spring bumps. Certainly could tell the ABs were wider than the 724 but after a few runs i was feeling comfortable in them. They skied well. The turn radius is about the same as the 724 and they are both all mountain so the differences were subtle on day 1. took a couple of runs down a blue groomer. the ABs did great, cutting through the soft snow excellently.
Day 2 - (today) - Pico. temps below freezing, blue bird day but skied on hard pack snow all day long. 100% on groomed runs today, everything was very firm, never softened up. First couple of runs i didn't sense much from the ABs, felt very much like the old 724s, couldn't tell they were wider at all. As i started getting comfortable on the groomers (and perhaps the sun did just a little softening) i really started enjoying the ABs. they were MUCH easier to turn and MUCH more fun. they rebounded consistently in all turning/carving i was doing. i'm no great carver but felt like i was 10x better doing it on these skis than before on the 724. They were very stable at high (to me) speeds. only negative i noticed was that they chattered a bit when i skidded to a stop from high speed( but this could have been the conditions too, i haven't skied such hard packed snow in a long time).
