Get Down with Down (skis)

[HHTELE]

Looking for beta on the CD-104L.
The pair in gear swap caught my eye. But, I don't know much about the ski other than the basic numbers, and that folks in these parts like the brand.
Replacing Carbon Converts in a 180. I like the ski a lot, on most natural unskied snow, Except that on trips, I occasionally end up with this ski at the resort, and unless the snow is soft, not so great. They definitely improved when I went from Speed Radicals to Vipecs, which will be going on my next ski.
Other skis on my list that I know at least a little about:
Helios
Superchargers
Backland 107s

My basic touring quiver will be whatever replaces my Converts, plus a fishscale Vector, both with Vipecs. So, versatility is key. This ski will do hut to hut, day tours, and lots of short, low angle dense tree skiing in my neighborhood- Maine.


Can some of you cd104 L fans fill me in a bit on this ski?

Kind of a moot point-
The 104Ls are on their way.

I am officially down with Down.

[mall walker]

^ thank you for buying them lol. that was tempting

[homebrewd]

Kind of a moot point-
The 104Ls are on their way.

I am officially down with Down.

You made a great choice. I had to talk myself down from the ledge on those.

[HHTELE]

You made a great choice. I had to talk myself down from the ledge on those.

I feel like it was a public service. I am that altruistic.

My only concern about this ride is that while it seems perfect for a planned trip to the Dolomites- Combo of lifts and hut to hut, it is also going to be my workhorse touring ski. That means a lot of low speed, low angle maneuvering through tight Maine trees.

We'll see.

[homebrewd]

I feel like it was a public service. I am that altruistic.

My only concern about this ride is that while it seems perfect for a planned trip to the Dolomites- Combo of lifts and hut to hut, it is also going to be my workhorse touring ski. That means a lot of low speed, low angle maneuvering through tight Maine trees.

We'll see.

I can tell you my buddy doebedoe got the same ski for his Swiss Alp haute trip (this year's). They are a one ski quiver from having them in hand (I was storing them for him for a couple weeks). Nice stiff flex, damp in all the right places, I think they ended up ~1540/ski give or take a few gs. Not crazy light but with probable variable snow conditions they will still do what you need them to do. Perfect daily AT ski.

[Boissal]

fwiw my mount might even have been +2 (or maybe right on the line??)... I am still unclear on whether to include any of the tail skin attachment piece when measuring the mount; in other words, do I measure the mount point from the edge of the ski graphic, or from the back edge of the tail insert? I think measuring from the notched piece of the tail insert was a no-go. Anyway I used the printed line, and so far so good.

edit: the recommended on these is listed as 765mm from the tail. my mount is 771mm from the edge of the graphic (+6mm) and 781mm from the back edge of the tail insert (+16mm). compared to my other 177cm skis (Movement Response-X), the mount point is almost identical, maybe +5mm from the Movements... but those are a super traditional ski, with camber to the very edge of the tail and minimal tip rocker. given that I felt my old CD102Ls were mounted perhaps 1cm back from where I'd like (and they were on the printed line) I opted to go with the printed line on these. but I'm curious where that landed me.

I didn't feel like there was a lot of extra tail on these this morning, but time will tell...

All these stories of mystery mounting point and topsheet graphic shift on the Downs are making me reconsider my mount on the Countdown 114L. I have mine on the line but didn't measure the distance from the tail when I mounted them and when I stood them up next to my Lotus 120s (190 vs 189 for the Down) the mount was forward by about a full toepiece, 4 or 5 cm forward. I know the line of the DPS is way back but that much difference is shocking to me for skis with a somewhat similar shape. I love the way the CD114 skis but feel that it has a bit too much tail and it's taking a bit more effort to maintain fore-aft balance at speed in variable snow, something which was never an issue with the Lotus. And kick turns are harder than they need to be with at that tail (that's what she said). I'll measure them tonight and report back.

Edit: Mall walker, nice work, those pics makes me regret not getting the LD90s for this season. I have a pair of LD102s from last year and was trying to convince myself I didn't need the skinnier ones. I was wrong.

[mall walker]

Edit: Mall walker, nice work, those pics makes me regret not getting the LD90s for this season. I have a pair of LD102s from last year and was trying to convince myself I didn't need the skinnier ones. I was wrong.

I mounted mine without adjustment plates (a decision I may come to regret) but if you happen to be a 296 BSL you're welcome to try them out

[pyromaniacman129]

Getting ready to do my first mounts and want to buy the proper bits since i'm sure in the future i'll be doing more.
I got the paper jigs and all that for my px18s and fks 18s im going to mount and saw the post about measuring from the tail with a straight pull (still not clear if you measure as if there was no skin clip and just estimate where the true tail would be?).
for the bit sizes since the showdown 105s have metal i'm planning on using the 4.1x9.0mm bit
for the countdown 114s (no metal, right?) im going to use the 3.6x9.0mm bit.
i couldn't find any mount info on downs site but assuming that i just drill to the shoulder with each respective bit?

Most jong thing i've ever posted.

[galibier_numero_un]

Getting ready to do my first mounts and want to buy the proper bits since i'm sure in the future i'll be doing more.
I got the paper jigs and all that for my px18s and fks 18s im going to mount and saw the post about measuring from the tail with a straight pull (still not clear if you measure as if there was no skin clip and just estimate where the true tail would be?).
for the bit sizes since the showdown 105s have metal i'm planning on using the 4.1x9.0mm bit
for the countdown 114s (no metal, right?) im going to use the 3.6x9.0mm bit.
i couldn't find any mount info on downs site but assuming that i just drill to the shoulder with each respective bit?

Most jong thing i've ever posted.

My motto - post 10x, measure twice, drill once ;-)

It's obviously a minor difference (even for OCD me), but measure as if the tail notch wasn't there. See Simen's reply in post #186.

If you tap your holes (consider it mandatory for metal top sheets), you can use a 3.6mm bit for both metal and non-metal top sheets.

Note that I haven't tapped a lot of metal skis. Someone who has tapped a lot of metal top sheets might advise that using an undersized (3.6) bit isn't healthy for the tap (i.e. use a 4.1 bit), so take this part as anecdotal.

Correct about no metal in the CD114s.

... Thom

[lucknau]

Getting ready to do my first mounts and want to buy the proper bits since i'm sure in the future i'll be doing more.
I got the paper jigs and all that for my px18s and fks 18s im going to mount and saw the post about measuring from the tail with a straight pull (still not clear if you measure as if there was no skin clip and just estimate where the true tail would be?).
for the bit sizes since the showdown 105s have metal i'm planning on using the 4.1x9.0mm bit
for the countdown 114s (no metal, right?) im going to use the 3.6x9.0mm bit.
i couldn't find any mount info on downs site but assuming that i just drill to the shoulder with each respective bit?

Most jong thing i've ever posted.

The depth is a function of the binding screws, and not the ski, so drill to the shoulder. 3.6x9.0 oughta work. Make sure you buy good bits, like from Tognar.com or Slidewright.com for example. There's a cheaper bit available on eBay, that doesn't have the shoulders filed down and it will dig right into your ski surface.

Someone also mentioned they got a spinner (stripped threads) in one of the "L" models. If you have any concern about that you can probably avoid this by pre-tapping the hole (sink the screws, then remove, then install binding and re-sink into the existing threads).

Do a test mount or two on a 2x4 to make sure your boot center line looks right. A lot of the templates are not 100% accurate. I was looking at the G3 template last night and it was 0.5mm off on all 4 heel screws. Seems like a small amount, but it affects how the screw shoulders clamp the binding, and can cause the binding to not be true, depending on what order you tighten the screws down.

I did a straight pull last night and found that the stamped center lines on my CD104Ls were consistently 3mm forward, which I consider fine. I pulled from the center of the tail, and am wondering the same thing about whether that was the right spot, since it's about 1cm shorter than the edges.

[Boissal]

I mounted mine without adjustment plates (a decision I may come to regret) but if you happen to be a 296 BSL you're welcome to try them out

Thanks, I'm a 303 I think otherwise I'd take you up on it! Not that I need the skis but hey, I kinda want them.

[McDee]

Can we get some weights from the 2018/19 crowd?

Measured with crap kitchen scales so take that into consideration, was the only thing i had to hand as i'm not at home
CD114L (189cm) Ski 1: ~1830g / Ski 2: ~1840g. Well within range

[McDee]

Getting ready to do my first mounts and want to buy the proper bits since i'm sure in the future i'll be doing more.
I got the paper jigs and all that for my px18s and fks 18s im going to mount and saw the post about measuring from the tail with a straight pull (still not clear if you measure as if there was no skin clip and just estimate where the true tail would be?).

I measured from the side of the skin clip indent:


For the CD114Ls I got 861mm on the line for both skis, which seems virtually spot on to what SiSt put up. I'm mounting on the line as is printed on the topsheet

[margotron]

Edit: Mall walker, nice work, those pics makes me regret not getting the LD90s for this season. I have a pair of LD102s from last year and was trying to convince myself I didn't need the skinnier ones. I was wrong.

Please don't say that. I have LD102s, really like them, and also told myself I don't need 90s.

[margotron]

LD90 (177cm): 1300g
CD104L (181CM): 1610G
CD114 (182cm): 2060g
CD114L (189cm): 1835g


Keep'em coming.

a bit under 1300g/ski when I weighed them

CD 114 (182 cm): 4122 g. / 9.04 Lbs

CD114L (189cm) Ski 1: ~1830g / Ski 2: ~1840g.

CD104L (181cm):1610g (ski1: 1600g & ski2: 1620g)

[doebedoe]

I'll get you a CD104L in 181 tonight.

[JanIdar]

LD90 (177cm): 1300g
CD114 (182cm): 2060g
CD114L (189cm): 1835g


Keep'em coming.

CD104L (181cm):1610g (ski1: 1600g & ski2: 1620g)

[lucknau]

Ready to roll!

[HHTELE]

Ready to roll!

Probably just the angle, but your fore/aft locations look different.

[margotron]

Ready to roll!

Are those zeds?

RIP

[margotron]

Probably just the angle, but your fore/aft locations look different.

Is the angle

[waxoff]

Are those zeds?

RIP

No worries, he's got the stomp pads installed!

[SupreChicken]

I seriously hope he has a better experience. The binding looks really good on paper.

[lucknau]

Are those zeds?

RIP

LOL, yeah. But I installed the stomp plate so they're probably totally safe.

[McDee]

Oooooh just seen the new limited edtion CD114. They look nice!
https://www.downskis.com/shop/countdown-114f-2018