BD Nunyo review - (Backcountry.com $99 deal)...

[GapersGoHome]

Ok, so... I pulled the trigger on this deal about a month or so ago, got 'em mounted up, and took them out on the hill this last week. 99 bucks is a hell of a deal, considering they come with (plastic and worthless, but the girlfriend won't know that) Nova 10s.

Ski: Black Diamond Nunyo 183, 107/73/97 (supposedly the BD frantic is the successor, with a slightly stiffer overall flex).

Clamps: BD Riva Z Comp

Conditions: variable (that's being nice)

First impressions: Hand-flexing these skis is uninspiring; the tip is noodly, and then there isn't much response from boot toe back. As in, too stiff. Also, a shitload of camber. Like, more than 25mm at the widest gap between the bases. This led me to believe that the whole nunyo line at BC.com had been blems / protos, etc. However, the ski is amazingly light for its length, and the tail felt snappy... So I threw the bindings on there, figured 'what the hell', and I've been pleasantly surprised ever since.

Parallel / Alpine: Took these out the other day on an extremely variable day @ Mt. Rose. Everything from fresh shin-deep to ice to crud. The ski definitely feels wider than it actually is; I think this is due (in part) to the soft tip. It never felt like it was deflecting in crud, and soaked up all of the big chunks, almost as if it were some sort of schweet 20mm thru-axle front fork on a FR bike. I would say that this ski is much more stable in a parallel turn than my T3's I have mounted up tele, but they did take some getting used to with a true tele turn. But, I digress. With the ski ridden directly in the middle, balanced weight, they did everything I told them to do from a parallel stance. Too far back, and the tail feels like it's loading up too much, like it'll throw you without much warning. Too far forward, and things get mushy. But, if you stay centered, it'll give you a nice mix of short- and long-radius turns, and feels very stable at most speeds. Ice was super-easy. Great edgehold, stability, and quickness edge to edge, too. There are limits, as you may have guessed, with the tip. Top speed is not the most fun, but doable. Super-deep powder would not be great, due to the 73mm waist. Landing back seat would definitely not be advised, since the all the stiffness is back there, so I wouldn't suggest jumping much of anything. But it's a damn good ski for the money, and I think I'll get a ton of use out of it.

As far as the tele turn goes: I've only been on tele about 30 days, but I can drop a knee on most of the mountain by now (not a bunch of steeps, though), and at about 80% of normal alpine speed. So, die-hard freeheelers, take this reveiw with a grain of salt. Initiation felt great, with the soft tip, and that same softness really helped me soak up the crud with my trailing leg. The stiff-ish underfoot section felt nice n' stable, and helped the platform. The stiff tail threw my ass a bunch, though. That is, until I got used to it - then I used that energy in the turn finish to throw me into the next one. It actually started to make sense after about 5-8 runs, and began to feel more like an asset than a stumbling block. Aside from the skiing performance, it felt really light and nimble on the snow, a trait which would make for a good touring ski, and I'm pretty sure the tip would make for some easy trail breaking.

Pros:
Soft tip (shock absorption, crud stability)
Edgehold on ice
Stiff tail for turn finishes
Little deflection
Weight
Nimble feel
Durable base

Cons:
Soft tip at speed
Stiff tail for those not used to it
Graphics





Ok, that's my rant. Go buy 'em. NOW!

[GapersGoHome]

Bump for the spring corn cycle.

[GapersGoHome]

Bump cuz they're on SAC right now for 80 bucks

[The Dad]

Bump for cross-link to AsheanMT's thread.

[f2f]

Bump for cross-link to AsheanMT's thread.

but i was the first to mention the deal on the board, so crosslinking that one too

http://tetongravity.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1200972

[The Dad]

Yeah, yeah.

I think I was the first to point out that when these came up on SAC, because SAC lacks free shipping, they were actually more expensive, net, than on BCO. Maybe I posted that on Epic, though.