Eight fat skis reviewed for 2011

[Vitamin I]

Found this on my hard drive, forgot to post it until now.

Back-to-back-to-back tests in changing spring conditions at Squaw over 2 days in April 2010. 6’2” 200lbs. I did not push it full throttle, because of a recent tug on my frayed ACL, but I tried to push it a bit.

For perspective, these tests were right after I skied the whole week on:
2004 183 m103 (102mm)
2002 190 Nordica W105 (105mm)
2004 193 Big Daddy (107mm)
1995 190 Pow+ (115mm)
2006 192 Lotus138 (138mm)

Day1 – 4/10/2010. Generally soft, heavy spring snow on sunny lower mtn (KT). And upper mtn (Headwall, etc.) was firmer tracked-up snow, colder, not-so-sunny.

2011 195 Rossi S7 “Super7” 145-117-127 – mermaid graphic
> Damp, powerful, slarvy playtime fun with a fat-ass tip.
My first time on a hybrid camber/hybrid sidecut ski. Standing upright, they looked way shorter than 195cm. These felt heaviest and dampest of all skis in the test, both when carrying on shoulder and while skiing (the heavy Rossi demo bindings likely contributed to this). Still, felt lighter than my 193 Big Daddy (107mm) with hostage plate and Atomic 614 bindings. The mount looked way forward, but felt right while skiing all the various conditions. A balanced feel for the mount point when slarving, skidding, and even spraying deepish untracked, old warm snow. Skied much shorter than a 195. Playful shape and short running length took some of the seriousness out of the heavy weight and swingweight, but still plenty stable at speed both on and off piste, and damp for flattening piles of heavy snow or spraying it to the side. The tip felt unnecessarily wide to me, but it did its job well and no complaints---just wondering if I might like it even more if it were slightly skinnier in the tip. I also thought I might prefer it watered-down just a touch, considering that it is not a real charger anyway.

To conclude, my first “hybrid” doesn’t merely LOOK like it took parts from both charger and surfer skis, it ACTUALLY skis like a combination of those skis (with a few tradeoffs and losses, of course). My favorite ski on Day1. Impressed, but this hybrid is still a compromise---so I guess I prefer a quiver with both a pure charger and a pure surfer.

2011 188 Rossi S7 145-115-123 – mermaid graphic
> Slarvy playtime fun that gets knocked around.
Curious to see just how watered-down the 188 was, I decided to try it. Standing upright, they looked way shorter than 188cm. Likely too short for me, and not heavy enough to compensate, so I predicted I would overpower them, especially with the forward mount and short running length. So, it is somewhat invalid for me to review skis that are too short for me, but I did it anyway. The forward-looking mount felt right. It skied just like the 195 S7 (duh), except WAY more watered-down than a mere 7cm difference would suggest. The heavy snow piles knocked me around at speed more than I like, and even speed on groomers seemed sketch whenever I hit piles of groomer scrapings. This shortcoming would likely disappear in light blower, if these shorties could keep me afloat.

2011 194 Salomon El Dictator 134-114-124
> Stiff, fast, straight charging with a non-metal feel and forward mount.
These handflexed like a stiff charger. The tip rocker was very subtle, but if you look close, it is there. (NOTE: The rocker profile on this pair might not be same as the production skis, not sure.) The mountpoint looked a bit forward, and after skiing it, I’d prefer it mounted back just a little bit. I immediately noticed they skied with less weight and swingweight than most other charger skis this stiff. I remember thinking, "In addition to pleasing the big guys, this ski will likely please a lot of smaller guys looking for this kind of burl." Not heavy (not a metal sandwich, and nowhere near as heavy as Sally Rocker), plus the forward mountpoint makes swingweight easier in tight spots, plus the rocker tips help it pivot a little easier. The long straight-ish edges had exceptional super-grip, and inspired confidence whenever scraping into a sketchy entrance or clinging onto a steep wall. The tail skied long and stiff, and I could swear my boot liners felt a little more packed out after 2 hours on these (a sensation I feel very rarely with only the baddest of skis). El Dictator is a VERY smooth ride, but not quite as smooth as heavy metal chargers (like 193 m103, 194 XXL, 190 Pow+, etc.) when it comes to vibration absorption and flattening everything in its path.

If I didn’t prefer a metal feel, I would get REALLY REALLY excited about this Salomon release. Regardless, it will be bliss to watch Cody and Kaj push the sport on these skis. Overall: A great alternative to the other chargers out there---a unique feel compared to the other burl chargers I've tried (but I admit I haven't tried very many lighter non-metal ones like Zealot, 192 Bro carbons, etc). A few more comments from me in [ame=http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2833192&postcount=123]Alka’s thread[/ame]


2011 190 Salomon Czar 133-114-123
> All-around, energetic fun, for quick playtime in all terrain.
They handflexed suprisingly stiff for a Salomon twin. Obvious tip rocker. Looked mounted forward, but felt right on the hill. Good performance on all the conditions I hit, and felt well-balanced when releasing the tail into a slarve. Impressive, and the feel made me want to scan way ahead to anticipate and hit every natural feature in sight. I could have A LOT of fun on this ski.

2004 193 Big Daddy 133-107-123 w/ hostage plate and Atomic CR614 bindings
I only carried these around the base that day, but I can say these felt way heavier than any of the skis I tested on Day1 or Day2.

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[Vitamin I]

Day2 – 4/11/2010. Off-piste was nasty, bulletproof, teeth-chattering refrozen tracks/crud all day. At times, the vibes were so bad that I wished I had my mouthguard. No hope for crud busting this day, just crud absorbing. No ski could be expected to deliver a smooth ride on this surface. Groomers were also boilerplate with some loose shavings accumulating as the day progressed.

2011 185 Kuro 164-132-139
> Smoother edge control on bulletproof crud than one could expect from an uberfat.
Wanted the 195, but all they had was the 185. It looked mounted forward, but felt right on the hill. Ever since I first read about the Volkl design for reverse camber that retains full-length effective edge (normal sidecut), I was confident that Volkl had nailed it---and the design did indeed exceed expectations in these conditions. The Kuro smoothed out the nastiness more than you could really demand from an uberfat. Some credit should go to the Marker Demo bindings (I think Griffons or Jesters), which at first fondling seemed cheap, light, and plasticky, but which delivered surprisingly GREAT torsional rigidity for edging an uberfat on firm. I could have enjoyed these Kuros all day in these nasty conditions, no problem, and that says A LOT. Nice on groomers too, with full-length edge contact. The 195 must be even better.

2011 191 Blizzard Answer 135-110-125
> A screwy ski with an identity crisis---not great at anything.
Tip rocker, flat underfoot, and a little bit of tail rocker. The Blizzard rep rides these mounted back, and I don’t know why he decided to adjust the mount forward for me without asking (maybe he was just showing off the IQ quick adjust?). These were solid underfoot and feel pretty good tracking straight in the nastiness, but I felt that everything else about them was a bit screwy. Surprisingly, they were not as smooth as the Kuros in refrozen tracks/crud.

There was something missing, and I kept looking for it, trying different things for an hour, but I never found it. Either it is a Jekyll and Hyde ski with an identity crisis (not particularly great at anything, and lets you down at times), or else I just did not fully dial them in. I have seen a few Squaw guys ripping pretty hard on these, but I gotta believe that whatever “strengths” they like about the Answer, a different ski could provide those strengths even better. Maybe unfair to demand performance from this kind of ski in nasty conditions. My least favorite ski of the 2 days. The Marker binding (was either Griffon or Jester) seemed fine.

2011 186 Gotama 137-106-122
> A not-so-powerful, finesse edging ski for short turns.
Wanted the 194, but all they had was the 186. Reverse camber, no flat spot at all. Similar edge performance as described in the Kuro review above, both on- and off-piste. The Gotamas torqued my ankles less than the fatter Kuros (duh). The 186 Gotamas also seemed wimpier/weaker overall than the 185 Kuro (likely because the Kuro is heavier). The 186 is not very powerful---more of a finesse edging ski for short turns that would also likely be good at smearing softer snow than I had. Based on the 186, I suspect the 194 might not be impressively powerful either. The Marker binding (was either Griffon or Jester) seemed fine.

2011 181 K2 Darkside 156-128-144 --- black/red/white graphics
> A much smoother ride at speed on bulletproof crud than one could expect from an uberfat. The 188 likely rules.
I wanted the 188, but all they had was the 181, which measured more like 185cm and did not ski way too short. The rocker tip extended all the way to the toepiece, a lot like the rocker profile of the Salomon Rocker, but not nearly as heavy as a Salomon Rocker. Great at speed on groomers, which by the end of the day had accumulated some loose shavings to push around. It handled the bulletproof crud impressively---better than any of the other skis this day---but it is possible the test was unfair if maybe the crud became slightly less bulletproof by the end of the day. Whatever, although this ski felt wide in the nasty firmness, it delivered a bit smoother ride than the other skis, enabled better recovery from the unexpected knocks at speed, and inspired confidence to go faster, so this was my favorite ski of the weekend. Again, some credit should go to the Marker Demo bindings (I think Griffons or Jesters), which seemed to deliver GREAT lateral/torsional rigidity for edging an uberfat on firm.

This strong K2 performance leads me to suspect that the K2 Backside and metal Sidestash might deserve a closer look. I suspect a 188 Darkside would have impressed me more than the 195 S7 did. I would be curious to compare powder performance of 188 Darkside, 195 S7, and 195 Kuro---although none would surf like a Lotus138.

2011 169 K2 Hellbent 160-132-151
These evil clowns handflexed ridiculously soft. I did not ski them, because the K2 rep did not have anything longer than the 169.

2011 179 K2 ObSETH’d 146-117-134
Super-short running length, like only as long as your binding. I did not ski them, because I ran out of time.

My other reviews are at:
http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/s...orm-conditions
http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/s...-in-nasty-snow
http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/s...reviewed-again
.

[wizard604]

thanks for the reviews. not exactly ideal conditions for their intended use, but still nice to have a glimpse at their handling characteristics under other conditions