09-10 Gotama First Impressions

[SuperGaper]

Just sitting in the Super 8 in Ogden, headed to the on snow tomorrow at Snowbasin, and thought I would share some thoughts on the new Gotama.

Had a chance to ski a few laps on jessnjh's pair while she photosluts it up in Japan on her Kuros.

Me, 5'8", 155 lbs., ski a lot (too much? no such thing) but pretty average skier for JH. Can crush 2-3 foot drops, maybe ramp it up to 5-6 footers if there is pow.

Conditions were super wind buffed in Rendezvous Bowl, as in 800 vert of 4-6 turns, followed by widely spaced baby bumps with chalk and windblown buff on top, all the way back down.

186 Gotama mounted on the back line for Jess's 277 baby boot, putting me 1 cm back from the back line in her Dukes.

Next year's ski has slight rocker or whatever it's called in both the tip and tail, less shape over all, more taper and is much stiffer under foot, as well as stiffer throughout.

In the bowl, after crossing some ruthless wind fuck, got right to business and let them open up on the wind buff, very stable- feel very beefy. I am pretty much a Stockli guy and gravitate towards metal laminates for there dampness, the Gotama was way more "poppy" than my typical rides (new Scot Schmidt and TT-188).
Would carve the buff but was a little tougher to schmear the end of the turn with out just a little baby buckiness.

Skied the edge of bivvy woods and negotiated some bumps, skied like a very convential ski, predictable- nice pop between turns great edge hold under foot. Skied to it's legnth.

Skied down R- trail and it railed hard! I think the rocker profile on edge equals about a super g ski bent up. Super powerful, and comfortable. The were loud though- the old wood and fiberglass breaking crystal sound.

Skied chalky buffed lower face, still edgy and fun, repeated whole process 2 more times to confirm findings.

If these things work in pow and crud and mank, I think they would make a great all around ski. Pretty damn impressed I am.

Strangely, not one person in the 3 times through the tram line asked about them or even looked at them to figure out what they were. Stealthy!

Might be the first time I have started a thread- man I am a JONG.

[sandflea]

Any idea what the tip, waist and tail measurements were for the new Got?

[gforce]

Nice write up. Any metal in there that would account for the beefiness?

[wizard604]

Too bad u didnt get a chance to try them in some pow. My main gripe about the current goats is how they ride in deep pow, which below the surface rather than on top. I would think the rocker would better, but if they stiffened up the ski, I'm not so sure. I dont know if I'd like it stiffer because I thought the flex on the old ones was perfect. The prob is the goats have a lot of competition now in that category (fat all mtn 100+). There a lot of good skis fall into that range.

Thanks for the review..

[turnfarmer]

Kind of OT but while your at Snowbasin can you get the kids Gotama specs?
Thanks

[Skidog]

. My main gripe about the current goats is how they ride in deep pow, which below the surface rather than on top.

I have been debating this for some time now. I have decided that I kinda prefer being "in it" than "on it"....

to each their own.

Im interested to see how these ski i am a big Gotama fan.

[crispy4505]

Since the skis had barely been skied on, wont they soften up after half a season on them?

[SuperGaper]

Sorry, didn't see the kid's Gotama, didn't even ski any Volkls at the on snow. I pretty much know the line from years past.

Totally off topic, but the Rossi RC 112 was very cool. Basically felt like the 184 Squad flex in a 188 with early rise tip. Very similar to my Lhasas with metal for a little more dampness.

Liked the Head Jimmy too, though I would mount it back 2-3 cms, was the only ski I took to some steeper terrain, the little traverse from Strawberry Gondola and a little sidestep to a nice steeper super smooth chalk shot to some wind hammered dense semi pow below. Skied very predictably and the early rise was helpful in the runout.

The Atomic offering looked interesting, and I should have been on them yesterday when the south facing was soft, the wind kept it frozen today so there wasnt much in the way of soft type snow available. Skied the Bent Chetler, the Blog and the Coax. Sorry but center mounted is a deal breaker- not that fun. Coax was better and seemed like it would well.

Just got out of my truck after driving back so gotta go, but will post some more- maybe tomorrow.

[caderader]

this post is worthless w/o pics...just kidding, but seriously I would like to see 'em.

[ego7man]

can you post the rocker profile because i saw them in the store yesterday and there was a lot of rocker and everyone has said slight rocker.

[BroGnar]

it all depends on how you qualify "a lot." There is a long length of rocker, from roughly the area in front of the toe piece of the binding, and behind the heel piece. But the height of the rocker is definitely slight. When the skis are held base to base, the rockered parts of the ski never get more than a fingers width apart until the tip of the ski.

[Tye 1on]

wonder if they are actually longer than the 183's, or, like the Llasa's, a bit longer in overall length but actually shorter in effective edge...

[bedoe]

For me they worked fine in good soft snow and could charge the mank pretty well too. What was interesting was the feeling on the rest of the run, you know when you need to get back to the lift. The slightly raised tip felt that it wouldnt engage no matter how hard you pressed or how far you rolled them, the tail seemed to not want to release at all either making for a very interesting turn/not turn skid?

[jerr]

Any idea what the tip, waist and tail measurements were for the new Got?

From memory 136 106 122

[Kied]

this post is worthless w/o pics...just kidding, but seriously I would like to see 'em.

Already posted in some other threads, but here you go...













Tye - They're definitely longer than the old 183's, much closer to an old 190, but not positive on effective edge, I'm guessing yes - longer.

[ChowdahRidah]

Saw them in a store today. The graphics are nice. Seems like a lot of rocker. One of the things I like about the ski is its versatility, with that much rocker it becomes more of a powder only ski? As noted above it sounds like it lost its ability to carve on hard pack....need more reviews!!!

[Kied]

Saw them in a store today. The graphics are nice. Seems like a lot of rocker. One of the things I like about the ski is its versatility, with that much rocker it becomes more of a powder only ski? As noted above it sounds like it lost its ability to carve on hard pack....need more reviews!!!

There's been a fair amount of discussion on these already here: http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/s...d.php?t=154603 and here: http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/s...d.php?t=152720

I can write a full review later, but no... it didn't loose it's ability to carve or hold an edge on hardpack. Yes, by adding rocker and a little width, it isn't as good as the earlier generations on the firm, but it by no means makes it a pow only ski. It's still a great everyday ski, just better in the deep which I'll take over firm snow performance - that's what Mantras are for.

[skiandmtblegree]

does it still come in the same sizes?

[HitMe]

Oooh, I see you have a nice pari of Sanouks there, Kied. Are there days when the Sanouks are better then the now rockered and a bit wider Gotamas?

...and by the way, that pic very well illustrates how ridiculously far back the mounting point of the Sanouk is. Still and awesome and super quick reacting pow ski though.

[verbier61]

hey... nice massive attack posters!
my concern with these new gotamas is about how low-angle are the tips..... it's true that a rockered ski can handle better small bumps etc, but uber-low tips like these are scaring me. sanouks, for instance, have very steep tips which I always liked

[allenataylor]

I got a laugh when I looked at next years goats in a shop and they had a rocker that was very similar to the rocker on my defective districts. I bet the volkl rocker isn't even adjustable.

[skiandmtblegree]

adjustable?

[Kied]

does it still come in the same sizes?

No. Longer now.

[Kied]

Oooh, I see you have a nice pari of Sanouks there, Kied. Are there days when the Sanouks are better then the now rockered and a bit wider Gotamas?

...and by the way, that pic very well illustrates how ridiculously far back the mounting point of the Sanouk is. Still and awesome and super quick reacting pow ski though.

Definitely. I still have yet to find a ski I like better in real deep than the Sanouk. The new Goat's a hudge improvement.... 1 foot resort day - ideal, however if it's deeper, or you're getting tons of fresh tracks I'd reach for something wider & longer.

[skibackwards]

anyone know how the low tip tail affects tip dive and switch skiing/landing? it looks really flat...