I had another opportunity to try out a pair of ON3P’s, the Wrenegade. It was a cold, windy, semi-fresh day at Loveland. Lots of windblown, some soft blower in the trees, and some ice-crud death chunks to play in.
Ski Specs: 191cm, 15cm x 1.5cm tip rocker and flat camber underfoot, 142-113-128, 30.5 meter turn radius and mounted -9 from chord center. They have a bamboo core, and a 2" carbon stringer.
Me: 5'10", 215 lbs, ski fast and prefer big ass turns in almost all types of snow, but also like to play around in the trees quite a bit.
Boots / Binders: Nordica Speedmachine 12 and 916’s
Other skis ridden/owned to compare: 195 Mothership, 190 Katana, 191 Goliath, 194 LP, 190 Moment Ruby, Bluehouse Shoot, Salomon Rocker
First Impression: These are WAY lighter then my Motherships. They also seem to flex softer, but the shape looks spot on. The tip rocker is minimal, but enough to really notice when looking at it. More tip rocker then a Katana or Mothership.
Results of real world...
Groomers / Hardpack / Packed Powder:
The Wren was a fun, all-around ski on conditions like this. It handles packed powder and groomers with ease, and is a very fast ski. The ski feels very feather-weight under foot, but is very quiet and damp. It is a strange feeling to get used to, but I liked it quite a bit. It performed well in all turn shapes, and was incredibly easy to swing around in short turns in tight trees. They do not handle hardpack as well as the Motherships or XXL’s, but for a ski with a 113mm waist, they did pretty well. If you ski them centered over your arches, the tip rocker does not wash out and you can really engage the edge.
Other reviewers have said that this ski likes to go straight and doesn’t like to turn much, but I really don’t see it. The ski is sooo easy to turn, but it can also carry speed and straightline. Good combo, and again, a very easy ski to ride. The only time I was wishing for more stiffness was when I got going over 35 to 40 mph and that is when I noticed that the Mothership and Goliath type skis were better off. More metal, more dense wood, who knows.
Every other time, though, the Wren was a champ.
Crud / Mank / Windblown:
The Wren’s tip rocker is perfect in this type of snow. ON3P is spot on with this amount and “Stiffness” of rocker. When I say stiffness, I mean that although the ski curves up at the rocker point, it doesn’t flex a lot (like the Maven or Rocker does). It will allow you to really, REALLY drive the front of the ski and it does not fold on you at all.
It became apparent in this type of snow that the full ski was there (up through the rocker) and was going to support me. I really, REALLY liked that feeling a lot. Even with the ability to drive this ski, it still allows you to back off and smear the crap out of turns up front. It did a better job at this then my Shoots or Motherships do, but even with an ease and relaxed approach. Again, another spot this ski rides way burlier then it feels under your feet. All turn types were again easy, and the ski doesn’t skip a beat when changing up your speed, style, or line.
As for crud and ice chunks, it handles it no problem with just a little bit of tip deflection. Again, not as powerful as the Mothership or Shoot, but damn close and way easier to ride.
Powder / Deep Powder:
The Wren is a cream-dream (see Tenacious D :D) in soft, silky powder and blower snow. The ski does not need a lot of speed at all to get the nose to stay up on top of the snow, and when you do pressure it hard, it only sinks for a second, and then pops right back up to go in whatever direction you want it to. This was a very similar feel to another ON3P I tried, the Caylor, but with a lot more power and stability behind it. Long to medium turns can be surfed and really initiated from every part of the ski (Front, center, back), and the tail seems to be perfect for stiffness; not too stiff, but won’t fold under you either if you land backseat or are “hanging ten” on these boards.
I thoroughly enjoyed the Wren in 7” or so of windblown POW off of Chair 8 at Loveland, and in the trees it was total automatic. It is much, much easier to ski in deep POW then my Motherships or my Katana’s were last season, and I am not sure why. I know they don’t “feel” as stiff or damp as the Mothership, but it is almost as stable in POW and deep snow as well, and that impressed me.
Overall, the Wrenegade impressed me. It was the second ON3P I was on that skied WAY stiffer and more stable then it appears they would by hand flexing and their relatively light weight.
To sum it up, this ski was MORE fun in pow and windblown then my Motherships (which is one of my favorite skis of all time), and is also easier to ski then any other ski in the 110 to 117 waist range I have been on.
Usually with “easy to ski” comes the feeling of no stability or wash outs on fast, packed snow. Also when charging big lines, a lot of skis that are “easy” are easy for a reason…they cannot take the speed or abuse of the conditions.
The Wren isn’t like that…it is just Easy and Strong, all at the same time.
This ski is pretty much perfect and could be an amazing quiver of one for all but the hardest days.
EXCELLENT job again, ON3P :)