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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    Calgary/Fernie
    Posts
    1,417

    20 Day Review: 185cm Nordica Radict w PX15s

    Ski: 185cm Nordica Radict (157-127-146), mounted with PX15s on the rearward line.

    Skier: 5'11", 160lb, grew up racing and I like to think I could still run gates in tights with the cool kids

    Boots = 326mm Lange WC120 w/ Booster Strap

    Similar Skis I've owned: 189 Praxis Powder RX (not enough float), 189 Obsethed (great float, but too soft in the tip for crud), 186 ON3P BG (could not get the right feel on groomers, but were great in the pow), 189 Icelantic Keepers (perfect for powder, but too much camber made them a little wonky in the deeper stuff), 185 Blizzard Cochise (current everyday ski), 186 Blizzard Bodacious (wicked fun, but not enough float)

    Locations/Conditions: 20 days of everything from groomers, blower pow, crud from blower pow, day old hard crud, soft bumps.

    Summary: This is the ugliest ski I have ever seen. That said they are a wicked fun powder ski that is stiff enough to own the crud and can still handle the groomers back to the lift. Pivots with the greatest of ease, but can still mach big turns with the right edge angle.

    I have 20 days on these skis now and am very impressed. The first day I took these out was a firm groomer day (just wanted to ski them) but since then most of the days I have logged have been 15 cm to 40 cm days with most others being handled by the Cochise.

    Blower Pow: I have never had a ski that floats as well as these do. The low profile tip rocker and obscene waist width keep these things on top of the snow like nothing I have skied before. You can really keep the pressure on the tongue of the boots without worrying about going over the handle bars. There were a couple of powder days when I was actually looking for something narrower so that I could tone down the float because skiing was too easy.

    Chopped up crud: I prefer to carve through crud, not slide around in it. The tip rise and shape of the Radicts is perfect for these conditions and the 18m radius makes it really easy to keep the skis on edge through the crap. I have not found the tip or tail the least bit hooky (unlike the uber-hooky Prophet 115s I skied a bunch last year). I think the heavy ass PX15 bindings actually help here, or at least in my head it does, because while the skis do not feel planky at all the weight of this setup just seems to plow through everything (at least at my 160lbs).

    Trees: The slahability and pivotability of these things are great. This is the first ski I have owned that I could throw sideways while still keeping my speed up. I am skiing chutes and trees faster than I ever have before because I can so easily change course, check speed, increase speed or do whatever I want with such little effort.

    Groomed: The performance on groomers is much better than I expected for this ski. The skis hold an edge and are quite stable. I can carve a race-type two-footed turn all day long on these things so long as the snow is softer than bullet-proof. These are by no means a carver, but they make getting back to the lift really easy if you know how to put a ski up on edge.

    Drops: I am not a hucker, but have dropped a few 15 footers on the Radicts. The skis are predictable and did not create any surprises for me. The tail rocker seems to be subtle enough to still provide a decent landing platform, however, if you are dropping big stuff and have a tendancy to tail-gun out the landings the mustache rocker design is probably not going to be your shape of choice.

    Mount point: The rearward mounting line is at -6cm from true center. I typically like a mount much farther back than that and I was worried about having too little tip and too much tail, but the ski feels really nicely balanced at the recommended line and I would not change anything about where I have the bindings.

    Overall I love these skis. They will be my go-to ski for anything looking like powder. The Radicts have turned into my most-used ski over the last few months (thanks Ullr). I am really impressed with how well they handle all types of terrain and between these and my Cochise I have all but the firmest days covered. The only thing i would change about these skis is the horribly awful graphics. If Nordica had not made these things so ugly I am sure their sales of these things would be way, way better, because as a ski they are a blast.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    Da Norf Lake
    Posts
    2,449
    Thanks for the review, BLS!
    Did you happen to judge their weight? I'm wondering if they are suitable for touring on deep days, but know they are Nordica-bred and probably just as beefy as Big Dumps...
    Even sometimes when I'm snowboarding I'm like "Hey I'm snowboarding! Because I suck dick, I'm snowboarding!" --Dan Savage

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