Powder Ski Title Bout: Volant Spatula vs K2 Pontoon

[funkendrenchman]

The Contenders:

Defending Champion: Volant "The Spats" Spatulas


Challenger: K2 "The Toons" Pontoons


A side by side pose:


Round 1 (2/18-2/20):
Location: Snowmass and Berthoud
Conditions: up to 1 foot of heavy powder, groomers, wind blown crap, and dust on crust

THE most notable difference thus far has been the performance on the groomers. The Pontoons feel almost like a real ski making it possible to set an edge and carve. The tips and tails being above the surface do make them feel less stable than normal skis, but they are way more confidence inspiring than the Spatulas. The is also a big difference when landing an air on groomers. The Pontoons don't start pivoting the second you hit the ground like the Spatulas do. The Pontoons are also MUCH FASTER on the groomers which makes a huge difference at places like Vail, Snowmass, and the Blackcomb traverse. This of course, is because there is more surface area on the snow. It's great being able to ski flat sections without constant poling and skating.

Okay, now for their performance elsewhere: There is nothing that will make these skis sink. I landed a 10 foot air in deep wind affected pow about as far forward as I possibly could have been and I didn't even come close to going over forward. There have been a couple time on the Spats that I have gone over forward on landing or come close when plowing into a huge snowdrift, but I think it will be even more difficult on the Pontoons. The Pontoons still have the slip slidey affect of the Spatulas, but not to the same degree. I feel like the Spatulas are a bit faster in the trees because you have that instant pivot at your disposal. The Pontoons have that, but aren't as quick. They are however quite fast at making turns in the pow in the trees that feel a bit more like real turns. On chopped up snow in between bumps I feel both skis would be as equally quick with the one following exception:

The tips on the Toons are simply massive. I would have to think that there will be a sized down version coming out. I have been making an effort to widen my stance so that they don't slap together as much, but I can't completely stop it. Even in the pow, the tips will definitely hit each other. This isn't really a big deal, but they do get scratched quite easily and I hope that the tips will be able to stay together. It also is kind of annoying, because they make an aweful noise when they hit, not like the Spatulas' metal. The Spatulas on the other hand rarely hit each other when skiing.

Finally, the bases appear to be okay so far. I have hit a couple of rocks and have skied away with only a small scratch or two. The Spatula bases were absolutely bomber for me.

Round 1 : Pontoons 10 Spatulas 9

Pontoon pros: FLOAT, performance on groomers,
Pontoon cons: massive tips hitting each other, unproven durability

[Evil E]

sweet. mine should be here soon, now all we need is a testing surface.

[marshalolson]

sweet. mine should be here soon, now all we need is a testing surface.

FYI: ski'd thigh deep today.

[Z]

OMG!! OMG!! OMG!! Do they rip? Are they good? Those pontoons look awesome, how awesome are they? Good on hardpack? OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG!!!!

[Wild4umlauts]

Does the Goode Scoop 142 get to take on the winner or the loser?

http://www.goode.com/skisfreeride.htm#scoop

[marshalolson]

Does the Goode Scoop 142 get to take on the winner or the loser?

http://www.goode.com/skisfreeride.htm#scoop

yes, the scoop is in the "loser" category

[vinnay]

lotus should take on the winner though.

[phUnk]

Does the Goode Scoop 142 get to take on the winner or the loser?

http://www.goode.com/skisfreeride.htm#scoop

At a thousand bucks?

[Vicious]

OMG!! OMG!! OMG!! Do they rip? Are they good? Those pontoons look awesome, how awesome are they? Good on hardpack? OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG!!!!

One of the best carving skis I've ever been on. And I've been on most of them.

[funkendrenchman]

lotus should take on the winner though.

Well if the winner is the Pontoon, we need to find someone that has skied both.

[Vicious]

Well if the winner is the Pontoon, we need to find someone that has skied both.

I'll be happy to ski both if anyone is willing to offer them up.

[glademaster]

If the Lotus is being thrown into the ring, then why not a pair of G-Funk's, I think mntlion may have some...

[Mountain Junkie]

COMING SOON!!!!! (as in 10 days)

Where are you riding the poons? Silverton?

[Vicious]

Where are you riding the poons? Silverton?

He got his order in first and will be te proud owner of a pair.

[adam]

I'll let you guys know in how the two stack up in 9 days

[Vicious]

I'll let you guys know in how the two stack up in 9 days

Lucky bastid!

[flip]

vs.

I vote for the Canoe. No one has skied it yet, because it doesn't exist but it's totally the sweetest pow ski evar. Shane McConkey designed it in the midst of an acid trip that even he doesn't remember. It has reverse, inverse, and decambered camber and the 4 different sidecuts depending on the tempurature of the snow.

[El Chupacabra]

I vote for the Canoe. No one has skied it yet, because it doesn't exist but it's totally the sweetest pow ski evar. Shane McConkey designed it in the midst of an acid trip that even he doesn't remember. It has reverse, inverse, and decambered camber and the 4 different sidecuts depending on the tempurature of the snow.

Check out that combination avy shovel/ ski pole! Sweeeeeeet!

I bet this thing would rule in the pond-skimming contests too.

[adam]

Dude, thats not a spatula, this is a spatula:

Spatula paddle fish!

[Playa]

the price of Pontoons seems whack

800 seems crazy to me

[The Dad]

They're low volume and high demand; I'm surprised they're being discounted at all.

I figure if I pick up a pair, it'll be after production volume has ramped up, the hype has died down, and a graphics upgrade is in the offing, leading to much more reasonable deals on the existing stock. Maybe next spring.

[Z]

At a thousand bucks?

Whoever is getting there Pontoons shortly is looking at 800 bucks plus shipping, so I wouldn't say it's that far out there...

[ski whore]

Scale of 1-10...Spatula -2, Pontoon 10+

BTW, just an opinion

[iceman]

Err, at negative 2 on your scale Spatulas would have to be less than useless, which they definitely are not. Your scale sucks.

[mrw]

At a thousand bucks?

Pocket change for the "I heli-ski" investment banker