Review: DOWN SKIS "Countdown 2"

[freak]

Since there isnt much talk about the european maggot ski-startup, i thought id post my thoughts of one of the cooler skis ive had the pleasure to ski. for more information of what down skis is about, see here http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/s...d-for-11-12%29

Down Skis - Countdown 2

Skis
Length: 190cm
Sidecut: 137-114-129 longish reverse sections in tip und tail
minimal camber underfoot, long but flat tip and tail rocker, slightly more at the tip
more info: http://www.downskis.com/ski-specifications/countdown-2

i am 184cm (should be around 6ft), ca 70kg (150lbs), i ski alot (>100days/season), but usually i am unfortunately not the best skier on the mountain

skis i like: explosivs, mantras, coombacks, praxis powderboards and hybrids, s7, jj, blogs, katanas. sidestash
skis i dont really like: czars, el dictators, legend xxls, shoguns, blizzard cochise and bonafides



testing conditions
i got the skis last february and skied them mainly in march and april. i used them exclusively for touring and touring from the lifts, which is actually not the intended field of use. but i was looking for a more playful addition to my normal touring ski (explosivs), for use in powder and for shorter tours (up to 3500 vertical ft), i am still using the explosives for longer tours, wierd snow and corn. I was thinking about getting something like jjs, blogs or s7s, when i got the opportunity to test the countdwon 2s for a while. theyre mounted with g3 onyx bindings and i use scarpa maestrales as touring boots. i actually forgot the exact mounting point, but it was the one geo recommended.

first impression
the skis look nice and well made and are a bit heavier than i thought (or hoped). the skis are neither really stiff nor really soft, tips and tails seem softer than the central part.

test
the skis float really well in soft snow, and turn on a dime. this was of course expected, but it is nice nevertheless. they are also easy to ski, which means you dont have to be in a perfect position to really drive the skis.
i was surprised with the stability the skis offer at higher speeds, not only in powder but on groomers as well. especially if one keeps a central position and puts pressure on the tips, lets the ski run on its radius and picks up some speed, the carving performace is really really good.
the skis are also very stable at high speeds in soft snow, of course they cant be compared to really stiff skis and i am fairly light, i can see the stability dropping for heavy skiers.
the performance in snow with a thin windcrust is also really good, and in my opinion mainly owed to the shape of the tips and tails. if the crust isnt to thick/strong, the skis cut through it nearly as well as my praxis. this nearly makes the ski into a daily-driver, at least i used them way more in not so perfect conditions and for longer tours than i initially thought.
that they arent perfect for everything gets clear if the snow surface is hard or icy. while groomers or plain but hard snow are still easy to ski, all kind of frozen or refrozen tracked snow, moguls or otherwise chopped-up snow makes for some hard work on the countdown 2s. of course this is also not really suprinsing with a fat, rockered ski...



+
+lots of float
+easy to ski
+relatively stable at high speed in nearly any snow
+very good in breakable crust, if the crust isnt too thick :P

-
-not really. not really good in hard, uneven snow, but which fat ski is?

bottom line
the skis exceed my expectation. they ski as well as similar models or even better. they are a bit heavy as touring skis, but pretty nice as powderskis which also work on groomers. its amazing how well skis in this category do in deep powder nowadays, or how small the difference towards really fat skis has become... i dont think i would really need anything wider, at least not in europe. that said, i will still bring my praxis for powderdays in the resorts. but down got this ski right, imho.


freak~[&]

[MnO_____]

Nice review, even with the german part in the middle Since I speak a bit of german, it was no problem for me, but you might consider to translate that part also, if you want the americans to understand it.

I just posted my own review in the info thread (under your link above). It seems like many of our impressions were the same, even if I dont agree that it is a medium soft ski. Compared to most skis in the same width, I would rather consider it as pretty stiff flexing. Also, it was a long time ago since I skied something skinnier than 110mm, so it was interesting to hear you compare it to 95mm skis. Maybe it´s time to take a few runs with something in that range again now to update the references a bit.

[freak]

yeah, i just saw your review in the other thread and i am recommending it to everyone. its more extensive and also more nicely written
i dont know about the german part, i was copy and pasting the picture-links a couple of times till they worked correctly, so it must have happened than that there was some unintended german in the text...
the stiffness might be a bit above medium, but i dont think that the skis are really stiff. i skied the countdown 3s for a couple of runs, and even they arent really stiff, even though they are a bit stiffer than the 2s.
did you compare them only to kinda similar shaped skis? of course they are stiffer than blogs, jjs, bentchetler etc. but i think it is for that reason that they are so nice to ski on groomers and more stable than e.g. jjs...

freak~[&]

[verbier61]

very interesting but hey 190 wouldn't be too much for many euro people?
just asking myself why all the first production was 190...

[freak]

hm, they are long. they are real 190cm, so longer than 190cm skis from most other companies. that said, they are really easy to ski in my opinion. i think even skiers which are a bit lighter and/or smaller should have no trouble driving the skis, but i like long skis and havent skied skis shorter than 190cm in years.
im sure there are skiers who would prefer a (slightly) shorter version...

freak~[&]

[MnO_____]

I have the same question as you Veriber61. Even if the 190 is quite easy to ski, they would have gain more popularity if the CD2 was made a bit shorter than 190. Since they have the CD3 as the charger in the line, a 184-186 length would have meant less overlap between the models, if they needed to choose one length of each model, which seems to be the case for this winter.

Nevertheless really nice skis. But maybe not the smartest choice of lengths from a commercial perspective.

[geo039]

First thanks all for the insight. We are here to listen.....as for comments.

In the works but in carbon, with a flatter tail, and a little narrower all around. It will be in the sub-4KG range and price point will be very attractive for a traditional carbon layup ski. I will be skiing the CD2 190 carbon version (~4KG) as the daily driver early winter. We will have these out to demo so people can get a feel for the ride qualities.

a 184-186 length

As for the sizes. We didn't really triangulate on a specific length that fit an exact gap or for commercial exploitation. SiSt and I worked out a small range with 5 pretty unique feeling skis. These are not the 1-quiver skis for everyone but we understood that our footprint in the industry would be our shapes along with what we are trying to do in the future around production and supply chain. We had a limited budget for 11/12 so we built skis that would give a nice overview of what DOWN is about. We have explored unique shaping options in all skis and worked on interesting layups in CD1 and CD4. We will continue to do this in the future and we have 4 new skis in the works for next year. So if we didn't get you in 11/12 we may have something for you next year

But maybe not the smartest choice of lengths from a commercial perspective.

[verbier61]

so when a chance to see and demo them in verb?

[sqikunst]

hm, they are long. they are real 190cm, so longer than 190cm skis from most other companies. that said, they are really easy to ski in my opinion. i think even skiers which are a bit lighter and/or smaller should have no trouble driving the skis, but i like long skis and havent skied skis shorter than 190cm in years.

Nice.... Would like to get on a pair of these sometime this Winter. Hopefully I can make one of the IBK/Tirol dates.

Bump cause long skis tuck and its snowing outside. Pow Pow thursday if we are lucky!!!

[freak]

hey, you probably misunderstood something in the other thread. there are (or gonna be) a few pairs available for testing in innsbruck this winter, you do not have to be here on specific dates. you can contact marius or me and we will see that you get to ski them...

freak~[&]