PhilM
02-12-2010, 06:11 PM
Just skied the Salomon Rockers for the 1st time today and finally feel like my quiver is complete and well rounded (for the moment at least). Thought I might as well review everything together as it may be more helpful to people to make comparisons.
Me:
Height - 6'1"
Weight - 170lbs,
Age - 25
Years skiing - 20 but only lived in a ski resort for the last 5 years.
Boots - Salomon course 120 flex. size 27.5, 314 BSL
Style - fairly aggressive, ski everything from groomers to powder to park to bumps to backcountry but lift accessed powder is best as I'm lazy. Like jumping off stuff where possible, comfortably up to around 25/30 feet but have gone a bit bigger here and there.
Current quiver:
http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=73880&stc=1&d=1265928582
192cm Salomon Rocker (pow)
183cm Atomic Bentchetler (everyday/trees)
183cm Rossignol Axiom (charging/crud)
190cm Volkl Gotama (touring)
179cm Nordica Beast (rock/loaner)
181cm Salomon 1080 (groomer/messing around)
178cm Line Invader (park)
188cm Salomon 2V (blasting groomers)
215cm Rossignol Equipe DH (LBD)
185cm Duret Pin Tail Kevlar System (retro)
Have also skied - Prophet 130, Kuro, Pontoon, S7, Jimi, Czar, Scratch BC, Head im70, Seth Viscious.
Got rid of the prophets as were a bit short and lacked rocker.
Pontoons were so much fun but the pintail was not solid enough for what I wanted.
Others were demos -
Kuro - stiffer pontoon.
S7 - just didn't work for me felt like 3 bits stuck together rather than one whole ski.
Jimi - seemed pretty boring and a bit too stiff to be fun.
Czar - not quite wide enough for a powder charger, not as much fun as Bentchetlers.
Scratch BC - good ski, nothing special.
Seth Viscious - ok in pow. too floppy for everything else. Gotama could do everything the Seth could but better.
Salomon Rocker -
Just got this to as a charging powder ski for big days. Does exactly what I hoped and more. Conditions - 25cm fairly heavy fresh, mixed vibility.
Mounted at +2cm with 916.
Incredibly stable, unsinkable tip (landed from 15 feet with my weight way to far forward and still didn't sink the tip).
Slow speeds - better than expected, surprisingly easy to turn for a 192, but not as manouverable as the Bentchetlers. The ski still wants you just to open up and gain speed though.
High speed - this is where the ski really comes into its own, amazing floatation and great stablilty from the tail. Still fairly easy to kill speed with a bit of a slarve but again not as easy as the Bentchetlers.
Drops - only tested up to 15/20 feet so far, but absolutely solid. Piss all over the Bentchetlers.
Crud - mixture of floating over the top and blasting straight through it. The faster the better.
Groomers - a lot better than expected, easier than Prophet 130, harder than Bentchetler.
Overall - perfectly fills the gap I had in my quiver. Capable at low speeds and trees, but wants to charge and drop off stuff. If there's 20cm or more, I'll be on these for sure.
Atomic Bentchetler -
Mounted at -2.5cm (in the middle of the 2 lines) with sTH 16
Skied in anything from no new snow to 35cm.
Slow speeds - fine, quick to turn and very light.
High speeds - fairly stable for such a short rockered ski. Charges fairly well.
Drops - good to around 15 feet but after that I find it hard to land perfectly balanced; not quite enough in the tail.
Crud - skips over the crud really well. For me, much better than the S7 (which felt like a fairly stiff snowblade with a floppy tip and tail bolted on).
Groomers - so easy for a 123mm waisted ski. Doesn't hurt the legs at all.
Overall - absolutely brilliant all rounder/everyday ski. If theres still some old pow to be found or theres more than a few cm fresh then I'm on these. Really poppy, playful and light. Ski everything well. If I could only have one ski, it would be these. They should still make a 193cm with the same flex though.
Rossignol Axiom 183cm -
I think they're mounted on the line or a little back (previous owner painted over the graphics) with Rossignol Axial 200 or whatever they're called.
Skied in a mixture of conditions.
Slow speeds - ok but more effort than other skis.
High speeds - good, stable, maybe I should have mounted them a little further forward for more tail.
Drops - have only done really small stuff on them but seem fine.
Crud - blast through really well, faster the better.
Overall - Good ski, works well as a rock ski and charger for when there isn't quite enough snow for the rockers. I'm going to add rocker to the tip in the summer though (approx 30cm back) which I think will make it much better in pow and for tighter turns.
05/06 Volkl Gotama 190cm
Mounted on traditional line with Marker Dukes.
Slow speeds - not the best. Light so easy to jump turn, but little bit too long for tight trees in poor snow.
High speeds - really good, float up nicely the faster you go. Not as stable as the rockers though.
Drops - Seem fine and predictable. Have landed up to around 40 foot on them with no issues. That was with Sally bindings. Not sure I'd trust the Dukes as much...
Crud - perform well, much better than the old Seth Vicious but the length means faster is better.
Overall - has been my go to ski for years and has been great, but with rockered skis making tight turns and mixed conditions so much easier, these have been relagated to touring setup, for which they do the job well.
Nordica Beast 179cm
My first powder ski back in 05. Did the job well. Great allrounder but now there are much better skis for powder than something only 92mm under foot. Pretty trashed now. Full on rock ski.
That'll do for now. Park skis and race skis do the job, I'm not good enough at either to do a full review.
Monoski is awesome though, just for the looks you get, especially with a neon pink one piece.
Me:
Height - 6'1"
Weight - 170lbs,
Age - 25
Years skiing - 20 but only lived in a ski resort for the last 5 years.
Boots - Salomon course 120 flex. size 27.5, 314 BSL
Style - fairly aggressive, ski everything from groomers to powder to park to bumps to backcountry but lift accessed powder is best as I'm lazy. Like jumping off stuff where possible, comfortably up to around 25/30 feet but have gone a bit bigger here and there.
Current quiver:
http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=73880&stc=1&d=1265928582
192cm Salomon Rocker (pow)
183cm Atomic Bentchetler (everyday/trees)
183cm Rossignol Axiom (charging/crud)
190cm Volkl Gotama (touring)
179cm Nordica Beast (rock/loaner)
181cm Salomon 1080 (groomer/messing around)
178cm Line Invader (park)
188cm Salomon 2V (blasting groomers)
215cm Rossignol Equipe DH (LBD)
185cm Duret Pin Tail Kevlar System (retro)
Have also skied - Prophet 130, Kuro, Pontoon, S7, Jimi, Czar, Scratch BC, Head im70, Seth Viscious.
Got rid of the prophets as were a bit short and lacked rocker.
Pontoons were so much fun but the pintail was not solid enough for what I wanted.
Others were demos -
Kuro - stiffer pontoon.
S7 - just didn't work for me felt like 3 bits stuck together rather than one whole ski.
Jimi - seemed pretty boring and a bit too stiff to be fun.
Czar - not quite wide enough for a powder charger, not as much fun as Bentchetlers.
Scratch BC - good ski, nothing special.
Seth Viscious - ok in pow. too floppy for everything else. Gotama could do everything the Seth could but better.
Salomon Rocker -
Just got this to as a charging powder ski for big days. Does exactly what I hoped and more. Conditions - 25cm fairly heavy fresh, mixed vibility.
Mounted at +2cm with 916.
Incredibly stable, unsinkable tip (landed from 15 feet with my weight way to far forward and still didn't sink the tip).
Slow speeds - better than expected, surprisingly easy to turn for a 192, but not as manouverable as the Bentchetlers. The ski still wants you just to open up and gain speed though.
High speed - this is where the ski really comes into its own, amazing floatation and great stablilty from the tail. Still fairly easy to kill speed with a bit of a slarve but again not as easy as the Bentchetlers.
Drops - only tested up to 15/20 feet so far, but absolutely solid. Piss all over the Bentchetlers.
Crud - mixture of floating over the top and blasting straight through it. The faster the better.
Groomers - a lot better than expected, easier than Prophet 130, harder than Bentchetler.
Overall - perfectly fills the gap I had in my quiver. Capable at low speeds and trees, but wants to charge and drop off stuff. If there's 20cm or more, I'll be on these for sure.
Atomic Bentchetler -
Mounted at -2.5cm (in the middle of the 2 lines) with sTH 16
Skied in anything from no new snow to 35cm.
Slow speeds - fine, quick to turn and very light.
High speeds - fairly stable for such a short rockered ski. Charges fairly well.
Drops - good to around 15 feet but after that I find it hard to land perfectly balanced; not quite enough in the tail.
Crud - skips over the crud really well. For me, much better than the S7 (which felt like a fairly stiff snowblade with a floppy tip and tail bolted on).
Groomers - so easy for a 123mm waisted ski. Doesn't hurt the legs at all.
Overall - absolutely brilliant all rounder/everyday ski. If theres still some old pow to be found or theres more than a few cm fresh then I'm on these. Really poppy, playful and light. Ski everything well. If I could only have one ski, it would be these. They should still make a 193cm with the same flex though.
Rossignol Axiom 183cm -
I think they're mounted on the line or a little back (previous owner painted over the graphics) with Rossignol Axial 200 or whatever they're called.
Skied in a mixture of conditions.
Slow speeds - ok but more effort than other skis.
High speeds - good, stable, maybe I should have mounted them a little further forward for more tail.
Drops - have only done really small stuff on them but seem fine.
Crud - blast through really well, faster the better.
Overall - Good ski, works well as a rock ski and charger for when there isn't quite enough snow for the rockers. I'm going to add rocker to the tip in the summer though (approx 30cm back) which I think will make it much better in pow and for tighter turns.
05/06 Volkl Gotama 190cm
Mounted on traditional line with Marker Dukes.
Slow speeds - not the best. Light so easy to jump turn, but little bit too long for tight trees in poor snow.
High speeds - really good, float up nicely the faster you go. Not as stable as the rockers though.
Drops - Seem fine and predictable. Have landed up to around 40 foot on them with no issues. That was with Sally bindings. Not sure I'd trust the Dukes as much...
Crud - perform well, much better than the old Seth Vicious but the length means faster is better.
Overall - has been my go to ski for years and has been great, but with rockered skis making tight turns and mixed conditions so much easier, these have been relagated to touring setup, for which they do the job well.
Nordica Beast 179cm
My first powder ski back in 05. Did the job well. Great allrounder but now there are much better skis for powder than something only 92mm under foot. Pretty trashed now. Full on rock ski.
That'll do for now. Park skis and race skis do the job, I'm not good enough at either to do a full review.
Monoski is awesome though, just for the looks you get, especially with a neon pink one piece.