Review: Atomic Bent Chetler

[oskier]

I have also the bridges, and it really sounds weird that u say that the bents can make tighter turns than the bridges.. hm?
I didn't like the bents at the groomers (but that's quite normal for a rocker soft fat ski)

[GoEhuge]

I have also the bridges, and it really sounds weird that u say that the bents can make tighter turns than the bridges.. hm?
I didn't like the bents at the groomers (but that's quite normal for a rocker soft fat ski)

How is this weird?
Bridge: 22 meter turn radius
Bent Chetler: 19 meters turn radius

As stated in my review; My thought is that if you can't get them to rail goomers, then you aren't balanced right.

[oskier]

Yeah the have a bigger radious but it's narower so u can make small carving slalom turns much easier with the bridges, that 's what I mean..

About the groomers I noticed the exact opposite, with the weight slighlty back it was carving nicer, and that's why I want to remount them more back.. because u cant do proper skiing without having your weight forward..

[GoEhuge]

Different mount points probably result in different balance points.

I won't agree the weight back helps carving. Just wasn't the case for me, at all. Center to farward and agressive style resulted in a great ride on groomers. I think you and I are different skiers.

[Xocomil]

Alright, here's the review.

The skier: 5'9" 150 pounds, like charging but can have fun in the park too.
The skis: Bent Chetler's mounted at -2 with marker griffon bindings.

The review:
Awesome. Got to the top of mercury today to see that they had just opened a gate to skiiers right with almost a foot of fresh in places. Over the next few laps, I took em in trees, wide open pow, nasty chopped up crud, and some groomers.

In pow: they're awesome, ridiculous float. The ski wants a forward stance, which in turn let's it charge effortlessly.

In the trees: Quick. I live to ski trees, so this was an important one for me. I was actually a little suprised at how quickly you can change lines with them. They felt right at home here.

Crud: now here I was expecting the ski to suffer a little, but again, was suprised. They've got enough rocker to get you on top of most of it, but it's just stiff enough (thank you camber and full woodcore) to bust through when you need it.

Groomers: I wasn't as happy as some on the groomers, and would steer you elsewhere if you were looking for a one ski quiver. That being said, this ski does reward an aggressive stance, and I felt I could carve pretty nicely once I got the hang of it. As everyone else said, these things have ridiculous pop. Little grabs and 180s were easy, and I would love to take these over to the park after this dew tour crazyness is over.

Bottom line: buy em, mount em at -2 or around there, and you wil be stoked.
Hoped that helped.

[lynchdogger]

Great review! Got me all stoked up! It was magic to my ears when I read aloud your comments about how well they did in the trees. That too is my zone! Can't wait to get on these boards! Thanks.

[SkivenHuckings]

Me: 5'9" - 150lbs.

Bents mounted with Rossi Axial2 140 XXL at -1cm from centre.

Ski's I've liked: Rossi S7, Rossi Steeze, Rossi B-Squad, 4FRNT EHP

They took a few days to get used to but now they are SO much fun. You gotta ski 'em super centred or else your screwed - could just be the mount.

Crud: Absolutely destroy. Super poppy so you can air off/over anything. They are really absorbent and really appreciate being skied fast in these conditions. I just found going slower they got thrown around so don't be afraid to open up the throttle.

Pow: Finally got a big dump: 8inches. My first turn I wasn't ready for the poppyness and got shot out of the pow. Extremely poppy with massive float. You can ski in a really aggressive position without worrying about tip dive.

Cliffs: These are really balanced in the air. The stomp super hard and are easy to shut down your speed. Even on 30ft+. These also boost super big, so be prepared to go bigger. (its funner)

Trees: Super nimble for a ski this wide. Just shred it.

Groomers: Amazing grip with solid feeling underfoot.
These skis take a lot to bring around spinning, so it takes some getting used to.

At -1cm I don't ever get the feeling of wheeling. No complaints, definitely wouldn't change the mount - no chance of tip dive.
Just buy these skis if you're debating and pop off anything in your path.

[thecriscokid]

Here's my $.02.

I am 6'0 165lbs
FT boots or some Sollies

Skis I am comparing to, most have a month to a year on them. resort, SC and some BC,

179 Hellbents, +4.5 and +3.5 Jesters/ Dukes, skied them for a couple seasons, had a few pairs. hero skiing at first then thought they had too much rocker and pushed too much snow. soft as well. could use a wheelie bar.

189 Hellbents +6, 916's traded some BFG AT's for them. skied some great days on them and passed them along. Higher top end speed, Duh, found it hard to find enough space for them to ride. heaviest of the bunch

Line EP Pro, Jesters, had them the 1st year in between Hellbents. Really fun to jib and slash! soft. lots of side cut. overall fun memories, but soft

Line SFB, Sucky. twisty..

BD megawatts 188's Dukes, recommended and +3cm ish mount. Nice plain, smooth tip profile likes wide open. sucked at the resort if you even look in the general area of a bump.

4Frnt CRJ 188, FKS's at recommended. really fun in trees and pivoty. Reverse side cut tips wondered in any kind of crud. very nervous in variable resort conditions. Liked to be skied upright, not forward which engaged that tip profile.

K2 obsethded. FKS at 4.5 favorite everyday ski. Really like the rocker profile. Sure could be stiffer but them again, I'm no racer and they wouldn't butter as well.




Now the Bent Chetler.
Mounted -2.5 from "center" line 916's.
Incredibly FUN.
Great rocker profile. Lively. Very easy to like!
versatile sidecut. They just plain well, pop off of everything, ski groomers well and want to spin. fine in the bumps. Could use a bit more nose length for higher speeds, duh.
Very light.
1st day conditions yielded 3ft over 3days. close to a foot over night. skied between a few lifts and dropped a 15-20ft drop without much thought. Could have used some more speed on that one but the snow was blower and the skies felt very stable upon landing. Bounced though trees and popped every pillow that I could find for the rest of the day. more cliffs and lots of slashes later, I was sold. Why didn't I buy these a long time ago? I see pow days with a park and pipe lap in the near future.
Favorite of the group.
I could put down a lot more pros and I'm having trouble findings cons...

[Nasty]

Any thoughts on how these would be for backcountry mounted with Dynafits? Has anyone used these to skin up?

[Rockhound]

sorry to bump a old thread, but how do these compare to surface onelifes/livelife2's

thanks!

[saukit]

Wanted to post up my experience after a day on these, because I was thinking the 183's would be too short for a fatass like me. I bought 'em anyway, and I can't even describe how stoked I am on this ski! I can't really compare them to other rocker skis because this is my first reverse camber ski, but I can honestly say that I doubt I'll ever buy another ski without rocker. So easy, and so much fun!

Skier: 5'11" 215, skis like an old lady.

Skis: 183 Bentchetlers mounted on team line with Jesters

I had these up at Stevens after about 6 inches of snow the night before...It was pretty cut up underneath but there was fresh snow to be had.

Pow: $, although I haven't skiied any blower with it...we don't really get that here.

Groomers: Certainly not a carving ski. You can get it over on edge pretty easy and it goes back and forth just fine but you really have to pressure the tip of the ski to complete a full turn. Otherwise you end up with the sideways skips at speed. I don't really care about this, but I wouldn't bring these out to ski groomers all day. That's not what they're for.

Steep and Icy: Meh. I avoid these conditions usually, but a lot of the stuff I like to ski has sketch entrances. They're good enough to get you into the run, but I'd probably be a little reluctant to ski sustained icy pitches with them. Again, not really what they were made for.

Crud/Mank: This is where this ski blew me away. The temp had warmed up to just below freezing, and the mountain had been pretty skiied out the day before. This left lots of big bumps with about 6 inches to a foot of classic cascade mank on top. Normally this is a recipe for an early lunch and an afternoon on the groomers, but I just popped up on top of the snow, turning was effortless, and I wasn't nearly as worn out after half a day of skiing. This ski makes the manky, sloppy, bumpy, steep runs fun at opening bell or 2 in the afternoon. They were amazing in the trees, you can get back and forth so fast you'll be looking for progressively tighter stashes .Just wander on down at your own speed; full speed ahead or under control work equally well. You won't be tired, you'll just be stoked to go ski something that previously would have had you thinking of blown knees.

This ski managed to get me super stoked for the rest of my ski career in only half a day. If you're a big or heavy skier worried that the 183 won't float you, you can quit worrying. Just go buy it! I'm already thinking about another pair to mount A/T.