Alotta Woody Review

**ggski** · 01-31-2007, 10:25 AM

This is a combo thread and there is no need to supersize it since the sticks are already some of the fattest fries around. I am reviewing the performance of my Fatypus Alotta's and including some pics and description of the conversion to a woodgrain topsheet.

Me - 6'1" 195 former racer turned soft snow junkie. Medium fast compared to the maching monsters on this forum. Not a big fan of straightlining or large hucks but I love high speed BIG turns in pow and cut up junk.

The skis - 05/06 180 cm Fatypus Alottas purchased brand new this fall. They have less of a turned up tail than most of the production versions. Mounting point -1cm. Flex is very similar to my old 190 Nordica 105's, uniformly stiff throughout and very solid torsionally. Binders are Tyrolia Mojo 15's.

The woodgrain topsheet - After reading a thread here on TGR decided to give Belbien a shot. It is similar to shelf paper in thickness (.006in) but, much tougher since it is made of PVC and waterproof. Tons of color and woodgrain choices but a bit pricey as a one off. May work with Larry over at Surface Quest (Belbien supplier) to come up with a kit that will make it easy to do and drop the price.
Procedure: Light sand (600 grit) surface for better adhesion and prep with denatured alcohol. Apply Belbien and trim with razor knife at a 45 degree angle to minimize delam possibilities from edge damage. Applied stenciled gold letters to Belbien. Spray on five coats of Marine Urethane (marine is much tougher and more flexible than regular urethane). Be very careful to spray light coats as heavy coats can cause bubbling. Add Fatypus sticker to the tip...done deal. I have not skied on them yet...very curious about the durabilty. Below are the before and after pics:

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Review:

After three boot top to knee deep blower days at Loveland and Vail here are my impressions:

Positives:
They are amazing in cut up powder and crud. You can haul butt over the top of the junk, play in it and pretty much do whatever your skill and nerve will allow. They are super stable yet quick and very easy to throw sideways and dump speed when needed. My ski buddies could not believe how much faster I skied the cut up junk late in the day in the back bowls of Vail.
They are also stellar in powder bumps. After the initial freshie frenzy, I spent a lot of time on Chair 1 at Loveland skiing the leftovers on top of old bumps. I am not usually a fan of bumps with deep troughs but the Alotta’s allowed me to go over the top, cut through or just blast through with equal ease. As much fun as I have ever had on steep powder bumps.
For a huge ski they are outstanding in the trees. The ability to chuck the ski sideways at a moments notice makes them super easy to maneuver through even the tightest of spots.
High speed pow skiing. Very cool surfy feel…like throwing a slalom ski out to the side and riding it. Not a water skier but I am guessing it is quite similar. Absolutely no speed limit and very easy to stay in the middle of the ski....huge confidence builders.
They are also pretty fun on the groomers. The sidecut allows you rail the ski if you get it far enough out to the side...never would have guessed a ski this big would be fun on the groomers.

Jury still out:

Slow speed pow skiing. I know, I know...what the flock am I am doing going slow. Both Loveland and Vail have some low angle areas and here the the tips felt strange. They did not dive but, they did not float either…they kind of pushed or plowed under the snow. The only way to fix this was to consciously lift up my toes (flex the forefoot up) or use extra shin pressure on my boots to make the tips rise. I plan on experimenting with this as I get more days on them...and of course avoid going slow.

All in all a very impressive ski. It does a lot of things very well and has few if any drawbacks...at least for my skiing style.

**ShawnB** · 01-31-2007, 05:39 PM

What a beautiful, top-notch job. Super clean product, and great choices made in the look, to boot.

You win, gg....you win.

**The Dad** · 01-31-2007, 05:53 PM

Those are sooooo much less ugly than stock.

**ggski** · 01-31-2007, 06:00 PM

Originally Posted by ShawnB

What a beautiful, top-notch job. Super clean product, and great choices made in the look, to boot.

You win, gg....you win.

Thanks for the props...they ski so well I thought they deserved a better look than the stock graphics. A bit of vertical grain to slim those chubby rascals down a touch...

**Pow4Brains** · 01-31-2007, 10:06 PM

Very purdy ggski! Please post info on topsheet here for seachability. Hope it works out cuz they do have a ton of really cool patterns.

**ggski** · 02-01-2007, 11:11 AM

Originally Posted by Pow4Brains

Very purdy ggski! Please post info on topsheet here for seachability. Hope it works out cuz they do have a ton of really cool patterns.

Done deal. I will post on durability next week after Vail pow tomorrow and a Utah trip this weekend.

**ill-advised strategy** · 02-02-2007, 10:20 PM

holy shit, I'm floored. Strong work!

this forum never ceases to amaze me.

**ggski** · 02-13-2007, 01:20 PM

Durabilty update on Belbien Woodgrain topsheet:
After two days of hard use at Vail and the Bird there are some visible chips on the edges of the ski. It is obvious that 5 coats of marine urethane is not enough to protect the Belbien from edge damage. The tops of the skis still look awesome but the edges need some kind of condom to protect them from chipping.
Lot's o comments on how great the skis look...despite their chubby profile...but an additional solution is needed to keep them loooking that way.

**ShawnB** · 02-13-2007, 07:46 PM

Since I haven't skied in fuck-all, I can't really confirm, but the shit I wrote about here--from TAP Plastics--looks like a strong candidate for solving yer problem, gg.

Again, it's preliminary, but it seems to be super-tuff stuff. I can say that because I fucked up my first floodcoat and had to sand it waaay down again, which took a good li'l while with a Porter Cable belt-sandy @ 80 and then 120-grit--and to me that augers well for the polyester resin's durability.

Framing-hammer strikes on my cured test pieces did almost no damage as well, so impacts seemingly not a prob...seems to form a nice flexy but burly cap over the topsheet n' sidewalls. BUUUT we'll see what real world tests have to say about it one o' these days.

**ggski** · 02-13-2007, 08:24 PM

Thanks for the heads up mang. Sounds like I need to check that stuff out...cuz the top edge of the ski is definitely prone to chipping when covered with a material as opposed to paint.