Worth Skis....the JONG Review
Well since the Worth guys were set up on Sugarbush this past weekend I had the chance to ski most of their line and I thought I would share my thoughts about the skis.
Worth Skis turned Flounder into the best damn skier on the Mountain!
I am not a great skier and the last pair of really good skis that I had was the first year X-Screams. I am 44, 5-10 and 180 pounds. I am just getting back in shape after being given a 50% chance of making it 5 years 6 years ago. The past 2 years I have been skiing better than ever but still can't keep up with my ex-racer ski partners. I know nothing about ski mechanics and this isn't a technical review. I just like to get out and have some fun in the winter. I have never skied any of the new rocker skis so I could conceivably get similar results with other "modern" skis.
First up was the Daily Bread, the model I was considering after previously consulting with Weasel. The only pair in the tent were 185's with the power core. I was a bit nervous as they are longer than what I am sking now. First run was great. It only took a couple of turns to get a feel for the skis. I was cranking short, tight turns through the developing bumps and couldn't believe the responsiveness. Next run I turned them loose a bit and carved bigger turns to see how they handled through the crud. It was like being on rails, they tracked straight and true through the softing corn snow and crud. I headed back to the tent thinking this could be my next ski.
Next up was the George, again in 185 with the power core. At 118 these were quite wider than anything I had ever been on. Again I was a bit intimidated but thought I would give it a whirl. After several turns I found myself saying "I think these turn easier than the Daily Breads". I don't know how that is possible but they were a complete blast. I was hitting bumps, getting a bit of air (rare for me), and cranking GS turns. When I wanted to I could actually hit some low angle zipper lines through smaller bumps or crank out short turns. I was with 2 other friends and I am always the last guy down the run. I kept finding myself waiting for them. I would just start turning and next thing you know I am at the bottom. It took very little effort to get the ski on edge and it held in slush, corn and ice. I was immediately rethinking the Daily Bread planned purchase.
The next trip resulted in the Humpback, again 185 but with the response core and the carbon layup. Again I had a blast but of the 3 this was my least favorite. It tracked well, turned well and I skied it well but after the DBs and the George's I found I really liked the George's. The Humpback was a blast, I skied through everything and was still out running my friends. Same tracking through crud but the turning wasn't quite as easy.
Last demo was the George's in 178 with the response core and Carbon layup. After 2-3 runs on every other pair, including a couple of warm up laps on my own skis I was getting tired. Again the George's didn't disappoint. Headed all the way up to slay ripcord. It wasn't pretty (it never is) but I skied it as good as anything I have ever done and that was after at least a dozen runs. I purposely looked for the icy chutes and the skis held fine. I could manuver them through the large bumps easier than my shorter narrower skis. Last run was Jester over to spring fling. Carved nice wide fast turns down jester and then played in the soft crud on spring fling. They skis were very peppy but I found myself missing the stiffness that I earlier feared.
After riding everything I came to the conclusion that my next skis will be the 178 George's with the power core and the carbon layup. That would give me the stiffness and a bit of pop with the carbon instead of the fiberglass. Overall every ski was a blast. There was no learning curve. A gaper like me was able to increase my skiing ability by leaps and bounds.
