Mt Rose Demo Day 3-22-09 - review thread

[El Chupacabra]

Mt Rose held its annual free demo day today with Bobo's ski shop. Pow day -- official end-of-the-day total was 15-18". It was really light, dry snow too, not typical Tahoe stuff. I spent the first 2 hours on my Sanouks, which (for being an older, now-relatively-skinny design, rule the untracked), then switched to Rockers for another couple hours before lunch.

I only got to try 3 skis, since I started at demo land around 2 PM. Saw RaccoonFace and Jim S, and saw Mrs. Corky take a nasty tumbling fall under the Chutes chair (she got up quickly yelling she was fine -- hope so). Curious to hear what the rest of you maggots thought of what you tried out.

Reps were there from Rossignol, Moment, Volkl, Armada, Elan, Dynastar, Salomon, Roxy, Icelantic, and I'm sure I'm forgetting a few others.

What I tried (all after 2PM, so in tracked and choppy pow, for the most part):

1) Elan "Boomerang" - tip and tail rocker, regular sidecut under foot, 190-something in length. Very soft ski, got deflected easily by crud. Not confidence-inspiring in the slightest. I hated this ski. Took one run, got them off my feet ASAP. If you think Spatulas are too much work in the pow, or are too stiff, then you'll like this ski.

2) Dynastar "Huge Dump" - RaccoonFace was raving about these, so I went and tried these out. Regular sidecut, small tail rise (not a true twin, just a little up-turn), slightly longer gradual-rise tip (resembled the Sanouk tips). Stiff-flexing everywhere. I was pretty tired by the time I tried these, so I got worked over pretty well by them. If you want a big charging ski, these are probably worth checking out. Too stiff for me, really.

3) Blizzard "Zeus" - I think this was a 2010 model. Tip rocker, flat tail, 190ish cm in length. Hardly any sidecut. Considerably softer-flexing than I expected (I expected burly unskiable beasts), with a nice medium-soft tip. The Blizzard rep said that the 2010 skis will still have the Blizzard rail system for mounting bindings, but they'll be flat plates that slide in -- so you can drill the plates for any binding you like, and swap them out easily. The plates have 5 or 6 mounting holes in the middle, so you can also adjust the fore/aft positioning of your binding. The ones I skied had Jesters on them.

I loved this ski. Holy shit. Incredibly fast and stable, but not beat-you-up-stiff. Doesn't force you into any turn shape at all, but at the same time, turns easily whenever you want to. The closest thing I can describe this ski to is a Volkl Explosiv, but (a) wider, and (b) easier to ski, without losing any of the attributes that I love the Explosiv for. I'm buying this ski. This is not going to be a go-to ski for untracked pow, but rather the one you switch to after it gets tracked up -- it can still handle the pow (had no problems with tip dive in some deep pockets in the Chutes), but it's not really "fun" in the pow, in the way that Sanouks or Spatulas are, or even the Rockers. Instead it just rails through anything in its way.

[RaccoonFace]

Mt Rose held its annual free demo day today with Bobo's ski shop. Pow day -- official end-of-the-day total was 15-18". It was really light, dry snow too, not typical Tahoe stuff.

I only got to try 3 skis, since I started at demo land around 2 PM. Saw RaccoonFace and Jim S, and saw Mrs. Corky take a nasty tumbling fall under the Chutes chair (she got up quickly yelling she was fine -- hope so). Curious to hear what the rest of you maggots thought of what you tried out.

Reps were there from Rossignol, Moment, Volkl, Armada, Elan, Dynastar, Salomon, Roxy, Icelantic, and I'm sure I'm forgetting a few others.

2) Dynastar "Huge Dump" - RaccoonFace was raving about these, so I went and tried these out. Regular sidecut, small tail rise (not a true twin, just a little up-turn), slightly longer gradual-rise tip (resembled the Sanouk tips). Stiff-flexing everywhere. I was pretty tired by the time I tried these, so I got worked over pretty well by them. If you want a big charging ski, these are probably worth checking out. Too stiff for me, really.

I'll get to this one...

Me: 5' 10" 165 lbs. with 25.5 Krypton Pros. I used to consider myself a finesse skier, but now I think when I get in the mood I'm moving to power skier. I really tried to give'er, and today I was on! I was in SEEK AND DESTROY all day long.

Rossignol RC112 (189cm): I thought this ski came in a 198 and a 185, I was pleasantly surprised when the guy said he had a 189. The ski is stiff, and it feels like it skis more like a 185. It loves to go fast! I was looking for something to go fast for the day after the storm ski. This ski would be great for this purpose; but also great as an every day everywhere ski too!

I was used to the 189 Squad diving to the bottom of everything, but this ski pops right up on top of the snow. The flex may be a similar to the Squad 89, but that is where any comparison should end, these are a GREAT GREAT GREAT ski! I was a little worried about what they would be like, but they were great! I took them into the Chutes when they first opened and made a few slower hopping turns down and they felt really planted and stable. They even made really short turns in deep snow well without excessive energy... but don't be fooled to make short turns on these you will need a little up and down movement. I started to make a few carving turns down and they still felt great. I started letting them run and they @#$%ING SHINED! When I put them straight down the hill the ski popped right up into the top few inches of the powder, and would crush the tracks. I let it roll and they made the tracked out stuff feel just like the rest of the powder. In the wind blown crusty stuff I could hear the tip of the ski breaking the crust and it would hardly deflect. I was hauling ass and there was nothing that was phasing the ski.

I even found one section of ice that I didn't expect. When I put the edge down the ski did skid but it wasn't uncontrolable and I would even go as far to say that it was stable, but the edge didn't "bite" too hard.

This ski should fly off the shelves next year. I think this will make an EXCELLENT one ski quiver. It did everything better than just "well," I'd say that it excelled everywhere. I didn't want to give them back but after two hours I thought I should let someone else try them and get on some other skis. Don't be fooled by the dimensions at the waist these are pretty damn nimble, and when I was skiing them I did not want to get off them I thought I had seen the promise land and it was the RC112. In the air they were great, well balanced and no surprises; coming back down they were super stable and no surprises.

Gripe: The topsheet is white so if you come out of this ski in deep snow good luck finding it! I was sitting on the chair planning on painting them with florescent paint when I bought them. This is the only thing I can find wrong with this ski, but even the white topsheet looks cool so this isn't even a full gripe.

Conclusion: *Pending hard pack test - This is going to make a lot of people extremely happy as a one ski quiv. It does everything very very well. We have come a long way since straight skis, Rossignol in particular, to produce something this well rounded. I NEED THIS SKI! YOU NEED THIS SKI!


This needs music that captures the essence of the Big Dump:


Dynastar Big Dump: HOLY SHIT! I was the first to ski them and this ski is it! Is there something better than "WIN"? Because if there is the Big Dump is it!!! It is a 192 (but it doesn't feel that long) and 120 underfoot with near zero camber and a "slightly longer radius at the tip... Dynastar isn't convinced about reverse camber yet," ~Thor the Dynastar guy. I think I skied this for about 3 hours and I didn't care if anyone else tried them... then they made me give them up! They have a really long sidecut so if you want them to do anything you will need to make them do it. But if you are not a pussy just let them do their thing you won't be sorry. I felt comfortable right away on these bad boys! I just let them go and it was sick. They destroyed anything in their path and floated in the top few inches of the powder. My first run in the Chutes I took the lesson learned from the RC112 and pointed them. SUPER STABLE AT SPEED! They annihilated everything. I could not take them off and I would not be parted with them. For anyone looking for a conventional powder ski this is it. I didn't find hard pack, but in the untracked they were unbelievably good. In the tracked they were unbelievably good. In the bumps (late powder day packed bumps not ice moguls)... They killed!

Gripes: I am not the owner of a pair of these yet!

Conclusion: *I don't need a hard pack test for these - This ski is stoopid awesome for what it is. I am going to be buying a set of these soon and I'm going to try to make this my one ski quiver for the Jan - April part of the season. It is that good, and there is no need for them to be used in the early crap part of the season. This ski, to me, is it. You don't need to look anywhere else for a ski to charge. Big Dump is a poor name; I think "DESTROY-O" would be more appropriate. The only thing you want when you are on these skis is MOAR! More vert, more vert, more vert! Skiing these is like setting the cruise control to: UNBELIEVABLY AWESOME!!! These skis make you feel like you are the child of The Hermanator, Ian McIntosh, and Hugo Harrison! I'm getting these, they are so good!



Dynastar XXL (187cm): How did I never ski Dynastar before today? The XXL is what I picked up when they savaged me and took my beloved Big Dumps away from me . BUT, this is another excellent ski! I am honestly shocked at how versitile this ski is. Groomers? No problem! Bumps? No problem! Steeps? No problem! These skis railed and there was nothing that they were going to take any shit from. From tight trees to maching down... Well, anything; these skis absolutely killed it!

Gripes: I don't own these.

Conclusion: I need these too! These have to be one of the most versitile skis I have ever skied. Again, these skis are so good!


OVERALL:
I had plans today to ski a bunch of skis. The skis that I reviewed here were so good there is nothing else that I could see wanting.

The RC112 does everything excellently. EVERYTHING. If I had to make a single ski choice this would be it. I would like to try the 198 since the 189 seemed to ski short (not in a bad way) and I think that the 198 would have more of the Squad 189 charge and kill feeling. This is a terrific ski and I don't think that anyone would be dissatisfied with this ski.

The Big Dump... I can't say enough about these skis so I will stop trying. Go get them.

XXLs, I now know why people are so hooked on these they are truly a spectacular combination of float, stiffness, maneuverability, and versatility!

I think I am going to do my very best next season to clean everything out of my garage. I will then be purchasing the Dynastar XXL in a 187 and the Big Dump because I have never skied anything that did what these two skis do or any skis that put such a big smile on my face.

**Rethinking the above, if I had to make a single ski choice it would be the Big Dump. They are so good for what they do that I would deal with any short comings they have in the ice or bumps just because they are such an unbelievable ski. This would be my one ski quiver, but it wouldn't be as good a one ski quiv as the RC112. The Big Dump is so good in the powder that when I get these I don't see myself getting the Spatulas out. Honestly!

I hope this helps anyone looking at these skis .

okbye

[Kied]

I spent the first 2 hours on my Sanouks, which (for being an older, now-relatively-skinny design, rule the untracked)

Sooo true. Love those boards!

BTW, great write up guys, thanks.

[D(C)]

Awesome reviews! How would you compare the RC 112 and the XXL? Does the tip rocker make the 112 a more fun powder ski? Which would you say is more versatile?

[RaccoonFace]

^^^ To me the RC112 is everything the Squad is and many/most of the good things the Squad was not. Keep in mind I didn't get to ski the RC112 in the nasty conditions that made me love the Squad 189 so much that it became my daily driver.

To compare these three to each other is not entirely fair. They are all different skis. But if I had to:

The RC112 seemed to be a cross between the Big Dump and the XXL. It gets up wonderfully in powder, and it can be skied very fast and still retain stability. I think the RC112 may lose a bit to the XXL for versatility, but I don't think it would be a significant loss considering the gains. I skied them all on the same day and I loved them all. I don't think that you could go wrong with either the RC112 or the XXL, but you need to be honest with yourself about what you want the ski to do. To me the RC112 is a very capable and versatile all conditions ski with a slight lean to powder performance, while the XXL is also very capable and versatile for all conditions with a slight lean to a more springy/icy performance. Both will slay and either would be good for a day after ski... But so would the Big Dump!!!

Hope this helps.

okbye

[teosickrider]

You guys pretty much think what i thought about the Big Dumps...awesome ski!

[Arno]

nice info on the Big Dumps - thanks!

[gageyk]

Great day for a demo day. I started the day, 4th chair, first down Gold Run, on my board. After 12 runs I put the skis on and tried 5 pair of skis. I am looking to get something about 100mm underfoot. I did!!

5’10” 160 lbs. Like wide open bowls, trees, and steeps, no huckin’.

Quick reviews in order of demo. All skis are 2009/2010.

Line Elizabeth – 172 - I think these were 110 -115 underfoot. Felt squirrelly. Too short. Didn’t like.

Line Prophet 130 – 189 – Fun ski in the open bowls and trees. Way to much work for me in the steep trees. I could have skied the open bowls all day in these. Very stable. Too long for me though. Would like to try a shorter version. Heavy as hell. Instead of floating it felt like I was bombing through the windblown.

Line Prophet 100 – 179 - Fantastic ski. Stable, easy turning, FUN. Skied steeps, wind blown and crud. This ski felt at home in all conditions. These things require minimal effort.

Volkl Gotoma 178 – This ski is very stable, not as easy to turn. Took too much effort for me in the steeps and trees. Bombed the windblown and crud.

K2 Coomback 174 – This ski is the 2008/09 Anti-Piste. Good ski, not as responsive as the Prophet 100. Took a little more effort to initiate turns, not as quick turning. Would require some getting used to.

I really liked the Prophet 100, from the first turn they were so damn easy, they went where I wanted them to. The Coomback would work as well but would require some getting used to. I wish I would have had more time to try some other models. I stopped off at Bobo’s on the way home and picked up the Prophet 100. Still trying to decide whether to mount AT or alpine.

Thanks to Bobo’s for sponsoring this event. Ironically enough it’s the first time I’ve participated.

[grooveninja]

A squad with float....<insert drool here>

[Snow7]

Conditions and venue stated above. Me 6’ 200 lbs. Ski in stiff Atomic Race Boots. Skis I own and like: Sanouks, 190 Gold Gotamas, 185 ARVs. Skis I own and am undecided about: Salomon Rockers. Skis I own and don't like: Armada Ants. Also have an assortment of race, bump, and park skis. I like to arc big turns and use more edge than pivot.

I did three runs on each ski starting at 0900. I tested 4 pairs and then had to head back to work. Unfortunately the Chutes opened just after I left.

Armada JJ 185: I was looking forward to trying these skis out but I wasn’t impressed. Not bad, but nothing special, at least for me. They did much better in untracked snow and tended to get bumped around in the chop and crud. I think that I would have to change my skiing style to adapt to these.

Volkl Katana 190: I wanted to ride a pair of the new 194 rockered Goats, but the rep said that they wouldn’t be in the country for another couple of months. They had the 186’s but they were checked out, so I tried the Katanas. OK ski. Nothing special. I don’t think they had any advantages over my 07/08 Gotamas in those conditions.

Moment Ruby 190: Oh yes! These skis did everything I wanted a ski to do in those conditions. The 190s are the stiffest of the Ruby brood and also have the longest effective edge. The mounting point is also more rearward for an all mountain ride. I liked the extra sidecut and they way they railed on the groomers. What I really liked was how they chewed up the chop and blasted over the top. I could stand centered and roll GS turns at will. These skis pushed me off the fence about my Rockers. I am going to buy a pair and sell my Rockers. (Used 5-times, very good condition!)

Icelantic Shaman 173: This was the shocker of the day for me. I had read some positive reviews, especially on the Levelnine site. I just tested them on a whim, and I am really glad I did. Nearly effortless turns, I expected due to the 15m turn radius, but the flotation was unreal. I deliberately ran them into anything I could find and couldn't bury the tips. They were the perfect tools to use in the whiteout conditions we were having. I could make short round turns, keep my speed down, and still float over the chop. I think I'll get a pair to use when I ski with my wife on powder days. She's a good snowboarder but she doesn't like to ride at Mach speeds. They skied like a pair of slalom skis on what little groomed runs there where. They obviously don't handle the crud at the speed the Ruby's could. I would have liked to try them out in the Chutes. I really enjoyed them. For the first time in a long while, I actually felt like I was cheating with those sticks.

[D(C)]

^^^ To me the RC112 is everything the Squad is and many/most of the good things the Squad was not. Keep in mind I didn't get to ski the RC112 in the nasty conditions that made me love the Squad 189 so much that it became my daily driver.

To compare these three to each other is not entirely fair. They are all different skis. But if I had to:

The RC112 seemed to be a cross between the Big Dump and the XXL. It gets up wonderfully in powder, and it can be skied very fast and still retain stability. I think the RC112 may lose a bit to the XXL for versatility, but I don't think it would be a significant loss considering the gains. I skied them all on the same day and I loved them all. I don't think that you could go wrong with either the RC112 or the XXL, but you need to be honest with yourself about what you want the ski to do. To me the RC112 is a very capable and versatile all conditions ski with a slight lean to powder performance, while the XXL is also very capable and versatile for all conditions with a slight lean to a more springy/icy performance. Both will slay and either would be good for a day after ski... But so would the Big Dump!!!

Hope this helps.

okbye

Thanks to your review, I pulled the trigger on some 187 XXLs today. The RC 112 really caught my eye but it sounds like I can get a lot of its performance out of the XXL with some good versatility to compliment my Salomon Rockers, which are pretty pow specific.

Thanks again for the comparison!

[skibum93]

I'll get to this one...

Me: 5' 10" 165 lbs. with 25.5 Krypton Pros. I used to consider myself a finesse skier, but now I think when I get in the mood I'm moving to power skier. I really tried to give'er, and today I was on! I was in SEEK AND DESTROY all day long.

Rossignol RC112 (189cm): I thought this ski came in a 198 and a 185, I was pleasantly surprised when the guy said he had a 189. The ski is stiff, and it feels like it skis more like a 185. It loves to go fast! I was looking for something to go fast for the day after the storm ski. This ski would be great for this purpose; but also great as an every day everywhere ski too!

I was used to the 189 Squad diving to the bottom of everything, but this ski pops right up on top of the snow. The flex may be a similar to the Squad 89, but that is where any comparison should end, these are a GREAT GREAT GREAT ski! I was a little worried about what they would be like, but they were great! I took them into the Chutes when they first opened and made a few slower hopping turns down and they felt really planted and stable. They even made really short turns in deep snow well without excessive energy... but don't be fooled to make short turns on these you will need a little up and down movement. I started to make a few carving turns down and they still felt great. I started letting them run and they @#$%ING SHINED! When I put them straight down the hill the ski popped right up into the top few inches of the powder, and would crush the tracks. I let it roll and they made the tracked out stuff feel just like the rest of the powder. In the wind blown crusty stuff I could hear the tip of the ski breaking the crust and it would hardly deflect. I was hauling ass and there was nothing that was phasing the ski.

I even found one section of ice that I didn't expect. When I put the edge down the ski did skid but it wasn't uncontrolable and I would even go as far to say that it was stable, but the edge didn't "bite" too hard.

This ski should fly off the shelves next year. I think this will make an EXCELLENT one ski quiver. It did everything better than just "well," I'd say that it excelled everywhere. I didn't want to give them back but after two hours I thought I should let someone else try them and get on some other skis. Don't be fooled by the dimensions at the waist these are pretty damn nimble, and when I was skiing them I did not want to get off them I thought I had seen the promise land and it was the RC112. In the air they were great, well balanced and no surprises; coming back down they were super stable and no surprises.

Gripe: The topsheet is white so if you come out of this ski in deep snow good luck finding it! I was sitting on the chair planning on painting them with florescent paint when I bought them. This is the only thing I can find wrong with this ski, but even the white topsheet looks cool so this isn't even a full gripe.

Conclusion: *Pending hard pack test - This is going to make a lot of people extremely happy as a one ski quiv. It does everything very very well. We have come a long way since straight skis, Rossignol in particular, to produce something this well rounded. I NEED THIS SKI! YOU NEED THIS SKI!


This needs music that captures the essence of the Big Dump:


Dynastar Big Dump: HOLY SHIT! I was the first to ski them and this ski is it! Is there something better than "WIN"? Because if there is the Big Dump is it!!! It is a 192 (but it doesn't feel that long) and 120 underfoot with near zero camber and a "slightly longer radius at the tip... Dynastar isn't convinced about reverse camber yet," ~Thor the Dynastar guy. I think I skied this for about 3 hours and I didn't care if anyone else tried them... then they made me give them up! They have a really long sidecut so if you want them to do anything you will need to make them do it. But if you are not a pussy just let them do their thing you won't be sorry. I felt comfortable right away on these bad boys! I just let them go and it was sick. They destroyed anything in their path and floated in the top few inches of the powder. My first run in the Chutes I took the lesson learned from the RC112 and pointed them. SUPER STABLE AT SPEED! They annihilated everything. I could not take them off and I would not be parted with them. For anyone looking for a conventional powder ski this is it. I didn't find hard pack, but in the untracked they were unbelievably good. In the tracked they were unbelievably good. In the bumps (late powder day packed bumps not ice moguls)... They killed!

Gripes: I am not the owner of a pair of these yet!

Conclusion: *I don't need a hard pack test for these - This ski is stoopid awesome for what it is. I am going to be buying a set of these soon and I'm going to try to make this my one ski quiver for the Jan - April part of the season. It is that good, and there is no need for them to be used in the early crap part of the season. This ski, to me, is it. You don't need to look anywhere else for a ski to charge. Big Dump is a poor name; I think "DESTROY-O" would be more appropriate. The only thing you want when you are on these skis is MOAR! More vert, more vert, more vert! Skiing these is like setting the cruise control to: UNBELIEVABLY AWESOME!!! These skis make you feel like you are the child of The Hermanator, Ian McIntosh, and Hugo Harrison! I'm getting these, they are so good!



Dynastar XXL (187cm): How did I never ski Dynastar before today? The XXL is what I picked up when they savaged me and took my beloved Big Dumps away from me . BUT, this is another excellent ski! I am honestly shocked at how versitile this ski is. Groomers? No problem! Bumps? No problem! Steeps? No problem! These skis railed and there was nothing that they were going to take any shit from. From tight trees to maching down... Well, anything; these skis absolutely killed it!

Gripes: I don't own these.

Conclusion: I need these too! These have to be one of the most versitile skis I have ever skied. Again, these skis are so good!


OVERALL:
I had plans today to ski a bunch of skis. The skis that I reviewed here were so good there is nothing else that I could see wanting.

The RC112 does everything excellently. EVERYTHING. If I had to make a single ski choice this would be it. I would like to try the 198 since the 189 seemed to ski short (not in a bad way) and I think that the 198 would have more of the Squad 189 charge and kill feeling. This is a terrific ski and I don't think that anyone would be dissatisfied with this ski.

The Big Dump... I can't say enough about these skis so I will stop trying. Go get them.

XXLs, I now know why people are so hooked on these they are truly a spectacular combination of float, stiffness, maneuverability, and versatility!

I think I am going to do my very best next season to clean everything out of my garage. I will then be purchasing the Dynastar XXL in a 187 and the Big Dump because I have never skied anything that did what these two skis do or any skis that put such a big smile on my face.

**Rethinking the above, if I had to make a single ski choice it would be the Big Dump. They are so good for what they do that I would deal with any short comings they have in the ice or bumps just because they are such an unbelievable ski. This would be my one ski quiver, but it wouldn't be as good a one ski quiv as the RC112. The Big Dump is so good in the powder that when I get these I don't see myself getting the Spatulas out. Honestly!

I hope this helps anyone looking at these skis .

okbye

Anyone else skied them?