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  1. #1
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    REVIEW: Worth Skis, The Bootlegger

    Background:

    I was fortunate enough to get in on the Worth Skis Bootlegger beta program production. This model is described to be a "Resort/sidecountry turn and burn slayer" (Weasel1), and it is Worth's first ski designed and produced in the East (their other models are designed in Vermont and built by Praxis in Tahoe). The Bootlegger was built at, what I believe is, the Utopie MFG factory in Quebec, Canada. This factory is owned by Francois Sylvain and is also home to where Jason Levinthal builds his skis (both Francois and Jason are co-founders of Line skis)
    Initially slated for production in late January/early February, production of the Bootlegger was delayed by a few months. I received the skis during the first week of April. As such, this review only describes my initial impressions, observations, performance notes, and immediate concerns. Yesterday, the skis completed their maiden voyage in perfect springtime conditions. I would have liked to have jumped onto them a week prior, but it was Magic Mountain's closing weekend. Naturally, given Magic's reputation, I expected the usual mix of snow, rocks, mud, water, and everything in between, to which I didn't really want to subject my brand new skis. In reality, the mountain had a ton of snow, but hindsight is a mother fucker. Since I only got to ski the Bootleggers in spring conditions, this review will be incomplete until next fall and winter when they will certainly see hard pack, icy moguls, and, hopefully, some powder.
    So, instead of Magic Mountain, the skis were treated to Stratton Mountain's closing day corn harvest. As was just mentioned, it was perfect spring conditions. Morning temperatures were in the 50's and afternoon temps hovered around 70 degrees. Morning clouds gave way to bright sunshine. The mountain had a ton of snow.

    Who am I?

    I am a strong advanced skier. While I have been skiing for thirty years, during fifteen of those years, I only skied a a few days because of college attendance in the Southeast and, more recently, the start of a family. Growing up, however, I averaged twenty to thirty days of skiing per year and took weekly professional lessons for eight years. I am 5'6" tall and weigh 180 lbs. I am in decent physical shape, but I am by no means what one would describe as "athletic." I primarily ski in Vermont. I prefer steep terrain and it is where I feel I ski best. My mogul skiing needs improvement, especially when the bumps are typical mid-winter East coast style hard pack. That being said, I crave spring bump skiing like a heroin addiction.
    If it matters, my last three skis were: 2010 174 PM Gear BRO, 2005 179 Volkl Karma, and 2004 171 Salomon 1080 (the grey ones).

    Ski Dimensions:
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    For this production run, I was given the option of a titanal or carbon layer, and the core of the ski could be all maple or a maple/aspen blend. Although it was Worth Skis first time offering the titanal metal layer, it isn't what I was looking for. I opted for the carbon layer with a maple/aspen blend core. My goal was to build a dedicated lift-served/resort ski that is light, strong, and lively. I feared that the metal layer would prohibit the "light" part of my goal.

    The skis were mounted with Look Pivot 14's. The mounting position is boot center "on the line."
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    Initial Impressions:

    Before the skis actually touched any snow, I had the opportunity to sit and look at them for a week. Overall, they struck me as well-built. I could not find any surface imperfections anywhere on the skis. Everything appeared symmetrical and the skis felt strong. I did not weigh the skis with or without the bindings, so I cannot comment on that. If I find some time, I will edit this review later and post the stats. The Bootleggers feel slightly heavier than my BROs, which are mounted with Barons.
    Unfortunately, I did, however, have one issue mounting them. Despite using proper tools that included a Wintersteiger 3.6 x 9 bit and a #3 posidrive handheld screwdriver, I managed to strip two of the holes (one in the toe and one in the heel) during the mounting. It was an easy fix with two inserts, but I was surprised by how easily I stripped the holes. I doubled checked my initial paper template mounting work with a jig before throwing in the inserts, and nothing was out of line. Was it just bad luck?

    How did they ski?

    The Bootlegger is a fun ski! Although, it took me a few runs to get used to the shape of the ski. I have been skiing on BROs for a few years now, and I have become accustomed to the straight-forward, no frills nature of that ski. Thus, the Bootlegger, with its obvious side cut, required some adjustment in my positioning, stance, and skiing. Allowing the side cut to do what it is supposed to do is going to take some continued re-adjusting of my skiing style, but when the ski locks in, it takes off (in a good way). MMP, who happened to be skiing with me, mentioned that he could obviously see that I learned to ski on old-school skinny alpine skis. He recommended opening up my stance a bit to allow the ski to do the work it was designed to do. Throughout the day, I worked on this. At times, I found my outside ski trying to run away from me, especially when skiing at high speed over terrain changes (think: steep rollers). I know that I need to drive the tips to reduce this problem. This presented two challenges: First, I bruised the fuck out of one of my toes a week ago, so putting pressure on it sucks. Second, these skis really need the skier to be the boss and push them to drive the tips. Having a busted toe did not make this an easy job, and I would goes as far to say the Bootlegger is not a really forgiving ski. I believe that if I ski like it was designed to ski, it wouldn't be a problem. But, trying to be lazy wasn't/isn't a good way to go. By the end of the day, I was getting the edges to engage properly and I was finding the ski to be much more stable (less run from that outside ski). Other than what I attribute to skier weakness, the skis were damp when I needed them to be (no tip chatter even at high speed) and lively when I wanted them to be (in the moguls). Interestingly, the soft spring moguls are where the Bootlegger was really, really fun. Despite their substantial 105 mm waist and huge tips, I was able to maneuver them through the bump lines without any problem at all. In fact, my mogul skiing was given a boost of confidence. I was quite surprised given the Bootleggers dimensions.

    Concerns?

    Actually, I have a few. The first was mentioned in the "Initial impressions" section of this review. I am concerned about the softness (is this correct?) of the core since my screws would not bite on that one ski. I didn't have any problems with its mate, so my question/concern is whether the stripped holes were operator error or ski integrity.
    Second, the topsheet is made of a laminate material that is not hard or glassed. I imagine that this drastically reduces topsheet chipping. However, I managed to put some decent gouges in it. I hope that, over time, these gouges don't result in significant delam problems. For reference, here is a picture of the worst gouge:
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    Closing thoughts (for now):

    In summary, I really like these skis and look forward to putting them through their paces in the remaining days this season and whatever comes next year. The skis, even though they feel heavier than my BROs, are light. The are certainly responsive and playful/lively. If somebody is looking for a fun ski that isn't afraid to charge and he prefers a modern side cut, the Bootlegger is a solid performer. I am willing to bet that the Bootlegger really excels in hardpack conditions and I will edit this post next year when I can confirm it. I am stoked to being skiing on these skis and I loved the looks I got from people yesterday in the lift corrals and on the chairs. Weasel1, Akokskis, or Thin Cover are welcome to post their thoughts or insights.
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    Last edited by Binky; 04-15-2014 at 04:30 PM.
    "You can't drink all day if you don't start in the morning".

    -Scottish Proverb

  2. #2
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    Thanks for the detailed review Binky! I look forward to more as you use them in more varied conditions. I will forward your question regarding the binding screw retention to the factory. I would expect that the underfoot section would be mostly maple, and they are using binding area glass reinforcement. Did you tap first? I didn't, but maybe we should recommend that also. This is a new factory for us, so this is great feedback.

    While I had wanted this model to be stiffer than some of our others, I was expecting a slightly more forgiving flex. Future production will be a touch softer in the tip and underfoot, still deciding on the tail. Not tons, but a little more forgiveness would be useful for many pilots.
    "I know you believe you understand what you think I said, but I am not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant."- Alan Greenspan

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by weasel1 View Post
    Thanks for the detailed review Binky! I look forward to more as you use them in more varied conditions. I will forward your question regarding the binding screw retention to the factory. I would expect that the underfoot section would be mostly maple, and they are using binding area glass reinforcement. Did you tap first? I didn't, but maybe we should recommend that also. This is a new factory for us, so this is great feedback.

    While I had wanted this model to be stiffer than some of our others, I was expecting a slightly more forgiving flex. Future production will be a touch softer in the tip and underfoot, still deciding on the tail. Not tons, but a little more forgiveness would be useful for many pilots.
    You designed this, right? Shouldn't you be aware of the materials and how and where they are used?

  4. #4
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    Has anyone written ad-copy yet?

  5. #5
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    I think Worth is gonna miss Praxis as a manufacturer.

  6. #6
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    So I got a chance to ski them today in fairly mid-winter conditions at Killington. The Bootleggers really like hard pack, granular, and almost-corn. Once I got stacked on the skis, they really took off. Once again, they were nimble in the bumps. In fact, they can be swung side to side very quickly without any effort. All over the mountain today, I was stoked.
    "You can't drink all day if you don't start in the morning".

    -Scottish Proverb

  7. #7
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    Weasel1,

    I didnt tap.
    "You can't drink all day if you don't start in the morning".

    -Scottish Proverb

  8. #8
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    Always tap, so you are on the 178 length?
    watch out for snakes

  9. #9
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    I didnt do the titanal layer so I didnt think tapping was necessary

    Yes, 178
    "You can't drink all day if you don't start in the morning".

    -Scottish Proverb

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by Stowelen View Post
    I think Worth is gonna miss Praxis as a manufacturer.
    I don't think that relationship is over.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Mar 2010
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    The Bootlegger is the ski I have always dreamed of. Been on the Hill since the early 80s and average 40 to 50 days a year. Have been through the Rossi 4s, the Dynastar Coupes, the K2 4s, the K2 Apaches, the Head Monsters and the Line Prophets (just to name a few). These skis do more good things than any of them but they are particularly good in variable conditions because they REFUSE TO BE DEFLECTED. I would absolutely agree with the assessment that the skis demand to be driven and I love that about them. Slow, languid turns should not work, even though my old lazy ass tries to get away with them from time to time Bootleggers keep me on my toes and that's a good thing. Super stoked to have found a new every day ski that IMHO kicks the shit out of the Line Prophet 90s I have skied and loved for a number of years. Should add that they are shockingly nimble in tight spaces.

    Edited to add that I have the titanal build and I love the flex pattern just as it is but perhaps that's because I'm carrying an extra pound (or three)

  12. #12
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    Some things can get lost in translation from design to early production...or a little wayward, if not lost. These were, as spec'd, stiffer than our other models, which was intended. As a benchmark, I am more than happy with the result (I bought my own, for the same price, too..)

    We do not currently plan on separating from Praxis, though we don't know whether they will be able to offer continued production long term. This was a test to see if we could get suitable product elsewhere, and it was successful. I don't envision building our current Praxis-built models elsewhere. If we move forward with production in Quebec, it will be a separate line with different models, likely through retailers and will not be semi-custom.
    "I know you believe you understand what you think I said, but I am not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant."- Alan Greenspan

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bottleman View Post
    they REFUSE TO BE DEFLECTED. I would absolutely agree with the assessment that the skis demand to be driven and I love that about them.


    The second I looked at their design, having skied a few other Worth models I knew exactly what they were going to be like. I am kind of pissed I couldn't take advantage, actually. That tip/camber/tail screams "drive them from up on the balls of your feet while stacked and the world is your oyster" in a manner very similar to the DBs but with more beef, stiffness and stability underfoot. Gotta love how those tips are like the great conditions equalizer- everything gets ironed out somehow. Nothing rides quite as smooth!

    Watching Sir Binkzzz in the bumps these suspicions were confirmed. They look really fast, agile and he was speaking very highly about the way they transmit energy through the turn. The look like an all around awesome ski!! Sexy topsheet too, glad to see that getting some use!
    "If you limit your choices only to what seems possible or reasonable, you disconnect yourself from what you truly want, and all that is left is a compromise." -Robert Fritz

    Quote Originally Posted by skifishbum View Post
    not enough nun fisters in that community

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