Review: 191 ON3P Wrenegade

[Aenigma]

Age: 20
Height: 6' 1"
Weight: 160lbs
Boots: Lange FR120
Style: Lots of technical skiing; billy goating and straightlines are fun, and full throttle when I have room.
Current skis: 191 Wrenegade (duh), 186 LP, 182 Zealot, 189 Pistols
Other skis I like: LP's, Zealot, iM103, iM88, and anything else stiff, damp, and semi-straight
Other skis I do not like: B4's, Pimps, skinny skis


I got these skis with the intention of using them as my pow day and maybe day after ski for Bridger, Big Sky, Moonlight, and Jackson. The flex on mine is pretty similar to iggyskier's, with mine being a little stiffer underfoot--Scott can verify this if I am wrong. These are mounted with FKS 155's at -9.5 from center. My skiing background has been 15 years at Bridger Bowl, with 4 spent doing moguls. I quit that a while ago in favor of cliffs, powder, and backcountry, and haven't really regretted it much.

So about the skis....
I have ridden these every in-bounds day so far this season save for one on the LP's, and I was wishing I had been on the Wrens that day. Being the lanky-ass guy I am, I was somewhat intimidated by the skis at first, but the first couple turns verified that size was not an issue. Despite their size, I can throw these around in the same places I take my 186 LP's...only faster. These things are SOLID at any speed, yet at the same time I have no problem kicking them sideways (or whatever direction) whenever I need to. The shape definitely favors a ski style more oriented toward charging, but they can be poppy and smeary if you want them to be.

Hardpack performance was pretty surprising to me. The first couple times I hit roads hard I made the tips a little squirrely from leaning forward due to the rocker, but since I have gotten used to the skis this has become a non-issue. On groomers I have no problem getting them up on edge and carving...again, as long as I don't go crazy forward. They're no race ski, but nevertheless have far surpassed my expectations on hard snow. Skiing a scraped out, wind-scoured, sun-affected chute off the Schlasman's lift wasn't a problem at all...in fact, I think these were at least as manageble in that situation as my LP's would have been, although it was probably mostly due to how narrow the chute was and the ski's ability to be kicked sideways.

As far as powder goes, the Wrens have been about what I expected. They plane out pretty quickly and are great once I get on top. However, where I think they really shine is in lower-speed, technical skiing. The tips really want to stay on top, so I haven't had any troubles sliding them around quickly when I need to. In fact, I think these may be my new favorite low-speed ski; they are easier to maneuver than my 182 Zealots and 186 LP's. I have only done a few small drops on them at various speeds, but landing on these is easier than any other ski I have been on. The tips immediately surface after landing, and smearing or straightlining out are equally easy to do.

Where the Wrens really shine for me is in crud. A couple days ago we had 17" of 10% fall and it only seemed to get easier to ski as the day progressed. As a light guy I am used to getting bounced around a bit when turning through chopped snow, but these things just carve through anything. I haven't noticed any tip flap, and they are a lot damper than I thought a ski without metal could be--but at the same time they are really poppy when I want them to be. I would put the speed limit of the Wrens significantly faster than I would be comfortable doing on my LP's, which I don't think I can say about many skis. Variable conditions are one of this ski's strong points, and now I actually almost find myself looking forward to afternoon chop.

I know this review sounds like a total suck-up to on3p, but the skis really are that good. I was absolutely in love with riding LP's every day until I got these, and now I think I might have a new everyday/everything ski. I wrote this up pretty quickly, so if I missed anything feel free to ask!

And if any of you Bozeman guys have a bsl pretty close to 307 you're welcome to take them out for a day, I'm out the rest of the season.

[iggyskier]

I'm out the rest of the season.

Fuck Sam, what happened???

[Aenigma]

Gotta re-do the knee, and it may get pimped with a sweet new transplant. We'll see on tuesday! Until then, people around here had better be riding these skis.

[nutcase]

bummmer about the knee aenigma. maybe u can use the time off to put on some weight .

the skis sound sweet. iggy- are there any skis around Tacoma to try out?

[iggyskier]

bummmer about the knee aenigma. maybe u can use the time off to put on some weight .

the skis sound sweet. iggy- are there any skis around Tacoma to try out?

I am sure I have asked this before but what is your bootsole?

[nutcase]

I am sure I have asked this before but what is your bootsole?

315.

I seem to recall that you and I are pretty close in bootsole.

[iggyskier]

315.

I seem to recall that you and I are pretty close in bootsole.

I am 301 so I can get you on my pairs when I make it up to WA.