Need opinions on Volkl Supersport Superspeed (long)

[mmolloy]

I demo'd the Volkl Supersport Superspeed in a 168 cm length and had a great day... giggly fast & incredibly stable. I'm 5'11", 175 lbs and advanced skier. I hadn't been skiing for 3 years... bike, skate & recreate.
I found that when skiing I could make 3 to 5 quick turns... but pointing the skis down hill even while turning made it difficult to initiate the speed checking turn. Almost as if the skis were too short and needed another 6 to 10 inches at the tip to get them carving.
The skis could flat out fly... and I could easily work through traffic with no worries. But connecting more than a handful of slalom turns I needed to search for open spaces because I was hitting Mach speed.
Question is... would a longer Supersport Superspeed allow me to carve better? Or am I just going to go faster... with the same line? I typically ski a Rossi slalom racing ski at 200 but need to update my equipment. Thanks in advance.

 

[drjeff]

Question #1, were you using your technique on the supersports that you were on the 200cm slalom boards? If so, that's the issue.

With the supersports, you need the modern athletic stance with your feet shoulder width apart and then rolling BOTH skiis onto edge with edge pressure being somewhere between 50/50 and 60/40 (downhill/uphill skiis). Also the supersports by their design nature will seek out longer turns and speed, you can make them turn slalom, but you've got to be right on top of them with real solid/quick edge rolls and letting them "get out from under you". If you get them too long, think world cup downhill length radius turns. I'm at 6'3" and 225lbs and ski on the 168 supersports and they absolutely rip!

 

[mmolloy]

Thanks... I started in the athletic stances and progressed to attacking reaching downhill athletic stance pushing the tips. The skis were fast and did seek out longer turns... it was amazing. May be I just need another day on them but given the chance I was thinking of going longer... say 182-189. I could skate the skis, run with feet together and flat out fly. I enjoy going fast and turning and thought I was fast until yesterday... these skis raised the bar

 

[Sky]

I'm at 6'3" and 225lbs and ski on the 168 supersports and they absolutely rip!

I'm 6'9", 235 and I ski the 175 version. My understanding is that this ski is on the GS platform and so skiing it as a SL would tke some work?

I've noticed that (when required) I can make shorter radius turns. However, I can't remember linking several short radius turns together...mostly because I'm addicted to the power and speed of the longer turns.

 

[riverc0il]

my first opinion on the matter is you have the right size ski. many folks would actually advise one size smaller if anything, but i think you likely have the right size. a slalom ski at 200? old school! :lol: drjeff is right, you need to adjust your technique to your new skis. it wouldn't be a bad idea to take a private lesson specifically to have an instructor show you the differences and what you need to do differently. it is a small investment that will likely dramtically improve your skiing technique in only an hour's time.

my second opinion is you also have the wrong ski for what you want to do. it is all about having the right tool for the job. trying to make the superspeeds do quick and snappy slalom turns is like using a sledgehammer to carve a watermelon. the superspeeds are made for big arcing carve turns and not much else from what i have seen. railroad tracks all the time. once they are on edge, all they want to do is go and your inability to do check turn may be a combination of the ski's innate ability to seek the fastest path of least resistance and your long straight ski technique.

i would recommend demoing some other skis. specifically look into the supersport four and five stars. they are also geared to fly but are a little more flexible. you could even give the race tiger series a shot, they have a slalom and GS ski, the GS ski would allow you to do high speed ripping turns but be more versitile than the supersport in shorter radius.

 

[mmolloy]

Thanks for the great advice and feedback... really appreciate it. I agree... old school technique and wrong tool. But oh what a great ski!!! Now the difficult task of finding the best ski for me... and the typical I like to go very fast, advanced & expert runs, carve a very fast slalom & GS line with the ability to take on powder, crud and icy conditions. Don't we all :^)

 

[Catul]

As a strong advanced skier, you might consider the Allstar in addition to the 5 Star (and for the Allstar, a 168cm might be all you need while a 175cm should be fine in the 5 Star). I also agree that the one hour private lesson, while on whichevver new ski you're demoing, would be a great benefit and might be all you need to get the most out of the new skis.

Oh, the 5 Star has now been replaced by the Volkl S5 for the 2006-2007 season; if you can snag a 5 Star, it should be a good deal.

 

[Traverser]

Superspeed 6 star

LOL I'm laughing because I just came back from the slopes today after demoing the 168cm 6 star supersports. I just had to try, and what a rush it was. Indeed hard to do shorter turns with but with longer arcs it performed beautifully.

After finally feeling comfortable on the blue slopes. Blues all of the sudden seemed boring with the supersports; I ended up skiing on the black diamonds, intimidated at first, I sucked it up, leaned forward, forcing my upper body to face the fall line. . . All of the sudden I felt in controll. -On the blacks! I thought I ski'd better than ever before today, definitely faster!

I don't know that I'm ready for this, but the racetiger ski's Rivercoil was talking about sounds tempting to try. Are you?
-T