I’m new and submit to the obligatory Jong-bash, but after lurking here for a while I thought I might contribute to this great forum – couldn’t find any info on this ski here so I hope someone finds it helpful…

Skis: ’09 183cm Amplid Teddy Bare, 136-107-126, r 25m
Boots: ’06 Lange Comp 120 FR
Skier: 21 yrs male, 6’1”, 170 lbs, 17 yrs of skiing with roughly 30 days per year
Location: Val Thorens, France
Conditions: Rode these on and off for a week that saw everything from Knee deep fresh, tracked, windblown, soft packed and wind scraped groomers, frozen crud, bumps.

Initial Impressions:
I tried these out on the very strong recommendation from a friend at a local shop. Hand flexing felt smooth and even, medium to stiff. Construction looks burly (never hit anything to test this out), really weird teddy bear graphics. Seemed like a ton of camber underfoot…

Groomers:
On packed and groomed powder runs this ski railed – felt like a fat GS ski, made smooth long turns with little effort, even when things firmed up (not ice, but hard packed snow) there was a lot of power in the ski, you could really load the tips in the turn. On wind blown icy sections, the tails skidded out on my turns and I couldn’t sustain a carve (probably a lack of technique on my part).

Knee deep fresh:
This was a blast, but then given the snow any ski would have been… The width underfoot gave good float once you got some speed, but you were definitely still in the snow rather than surfing on top. In heavier wind effected sections, or on less steep terrain, I struggled to keep the tips up with occasional ‘over the handlebar’ sensations, I think the strong camber was making the tips dive unless I kept my weight slightly back – and I felt a longer ski would have been better. It was surprisingly nimble, and made short turns with ease, great fun in steep and narrow spots.

Tracked and Crud:
The ski was unfazed by tracked powder while it was soft, but once things firmed up, and off piste conditions became frozen chop and crud, the tips started to get bounced around but were still manageable with concentration. The strong side cut that helped on the groomers made the ski feel a bit hooky in the crud.

Soft bumps:
In the tracked powder bumps, as well as man made moguls with a soft coating, these were great for their width, very agile – the twin tail let you release from the turn and pivot slarve in the tight sections…

Conclusion:
My review gives an overly negative impression – probably because though this was a fun, very versatile ski, it was never outstanding in any particular area – too wide for a hard pack groomer ski, not enough float for the powder, too much side cut for the crud. That being said, there was nothing on the mountain that this ski couldn’t handle with competence, and I had some great days on it. If you’re looking for a do-anything ski, with strong groomer performance, this is worth a look.