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Sky

Active member
Joined
Apr 15, 2005
Messages
1,426
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38
Location
South Central Massachusetts
I got the invite from Wachusett to participate in their annual event. I locked on to that opportunity and despite the rain yesterday AM, the day was a huge success.

Wet packed snow (no corn) and 55F and sunny by the end of the day.

I demo-ed 11 skis, usually took two runs, one ripper, and one slower more deliberate run to change up the turns etc.

Because of the type of skier I am, I mostly got put onto the All Mountain skis with exceptions noted below.

Salomon: Tried their new top o the line X-Wing Tornado. Aparently it is replacing the Scrambler series. I expected to love this ski since one of our race team guys has the Scrambler 9 (as his first shaped ski ever) and loved it (scored Silver his first year racing). I thought the ski was OK, some power, decent turn initiation, OK on all other aspects but that was all. I also tried the X-Wing 10 (both in a 175 range) and it was a lesser ski, edge hold dropped off most noticeably.

Atomic: I was hoping to try the Supercross series. :< It was either out or whatever. So the rep puts me on the GS12 race ski (180). Aw Yeah. Any manufacturer that says their AMC can double as a racer is BS-ing. I came out of the fog on the summit and there was someone 10' in front of me. I leaned back. MISTAKE! I had one ski up in the air before I knew it. I fought my way back to two skis on snow and arc-ed around the other skier. I got to the run out and slowed down as I was approaching a mother / child combo and found myself on a runout going slow. I edged and pushed and within three turns was ripping, caught air on the final approach to the lift. Exhillerating! Every technique my race team senior member/coach had advised me to do worked on the ski. I had trouble giving this ski back to the rep. He lauughed when he saw my face...said he wished he had a camera. For a lark, I tried the Metron B5 (172?). I was impressed. Lots of fun. Super easy turn initiation, very good edge hold. I could lay it over on edge and push it and generate some decent speed. I think I know how short people feel on a slalom ski. *smirk* When I'm done ripping it up in 8 years or so, I'd consider this ski or one like it.

Volkl: I wanted to try the Allstar, but it was out (and it was the end of the day by then) so I tried the AC3. Since I ski the Superspeed Supersport, I'll just say it's a very good ski and very similar, but less than my Supersport (which I took for a ride @ the end of the day just to see how it stacked up). I liked it much better than the Salomon for stability @ speed and edge hold.

Elan: Magfire 12 in a 170+ (sorry, left all my notes with the mountain). Meh! I expected to like the Elan. My nephew (college) has been racing this brand for a long time and I had heard/read good things. I took one run (near the end of the day) and gave it back. I did not find it powerful and the edge hold/stability was just OK. If I bought this ski without comparing it to anything else, I'd be happy...until I compared it to other skis like I did today...then I'd be ticked off. I was hoping to try the M666, didn't see it there. :<

K2: I don't know why...could be my wife's bad experience with them...but I was expecting to dislike the K2's. Change O Plans! The Apache Recon in a 174 was the top ski for me (well...let's not compare this AMC to the Atomic Racer) of the day. When someone says Stable or Edge Hold...I will forever consider this the benchmark ski. I think I made three runs with this ski. It rips. Tons of power and ROCK SOLID underfoot. Easy to change up the turns. In all categories...impressive. This is my next ski (right after I hit the lottery, pay the tuition bill, and the taxes).

Head: It's all getting blurry now, but maybe I only tried the Monster. For a wide ski (88mm) it was impressive. Great for (I suspect) powder and the coming corn. It held an edge on the wet packed snow and was good in medium to long turns. I enjoyed it for what it was. No WAIT....I tried the Supershape just for kicks...I think it was a 167...the shortest ski I ever tried. It was a lot of fun....but a 6'9" pendulum only swings so fast (if you know what I mean)....so I won't attempt to sell this ski here. It was fun for a change of pace and I found it easy to turn with plenty of pop. I linked turn after turn al the way down the slope. I kept picking spots to turn around and just pretended I was short. I recommend you give it a shot if you're in the market for a Slalom ski.

Rossi: Zenith9 in a 170+ Another Meh! Like the Elan, did everything OK. Our female race team member has this ski and scored Silver+. She loves this ski. I pass. I tried the B3 in a 184. SImilar to the Monster in characteristics, excelt it really seemd to prefer the long turns vs medium...otherwise about the same ski, powerful, stable, solid.

Sorry folks, but I think that's all I tried. And oh ya, I didn't do any bumps...you're on your own in that department.
 
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