Slack Country Setup

[DougW]

Debating getting a slack country set up as hill and bc setup have lots of life. Was going to use my touring boots (Technica OG pros) with shift or duke pt with one of the following skis:


2019 or 2020 Atomic Vantage 107 Ti 189
Head Kore 105 Skis 189\
Volkl Blaze 106 186
thinking of these skis as relatively light for the boot pack and the tour in or out but still lots of downhill power and $ wise reasonable end of season

any others should consider or thoughts on these skis?

[grinch]

The elan ripstick 106 seems to be a recent favorite on the forums. Check that thread. They sound like a top candidate for your description.
I like my cast setup on my 116 skis for that. Im using a dalbello lupo ti. All that has me wanting to take a few steps out of the changeovers though. I want touring capability on all my skis for rmr. Cast is great. No worries about failure having it on my dd on the hill and still be able to sneak in a touring lap or 3. Lupo c ti skis really well too. I'm thinking id like to swap the cast setup for a pindung(no toe off/on and still alpine weight/durability) and a powerful touring boot that i dont have to remove tongues(preferably w only 2 buckles). Literally cut the changeover faffing about by 75%

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[DougW]

add Dynastar M-Free 108 to that list

[MagnificentUnicorn]

188 Corvus


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[CaliBrit]

Be prepared for your 0G to exhibit wear if used in non pin.

[stuntmanbo]

IMO, use a light binding on a heavy ski, not the other way around. I just mounted some BMX 105 with ATK R12 + spacer (2200g + 380g = 2580g). Only one day on the BMX but it skis better than my Katana VW + shift (1950g + 850g = 2800g). Durability for the bindings may be less than a shift though.

That being said it depends what’s your average slack country day is in terms of d+, d-, etc.

Also dépends if you tend to break stuff.

The blaze is quite light, honestly it wouldn’t cross my mind to put an alpine binding on it or even a shift or duke but yeah they’re marketed as freeride skis. Same with the mantra v Werks.

[m2711c]

2019 or 2020 Atomic Vantage 107 Ti 189
Head Kore 105 Skis 189\
Volkl Blaze 106 186

haven't tried the blaze, but i much prefer the kore to the vantage.

[DougW]

Be prepared for your 0G to exhibit wear if used in non pin.

Thinking of only pin binding but isn't the shift a pin binding? Was thinking of a med to heavy touring tech binding as opposed to by touring setup that I will keep on using when going on long tours to Rogers Pass.

For those who know KH. A couple of days after storm to do T2.5, T3 or T4 or the other way back side Ozone then skin up Rudis the the other side then skin up the molars.

Now if i ever saw a pair of Cochise on sale ( really on sale) I would be tempted for that to be the boot. I see people skiing everyday with OGs but really they are so $$ I don't want to put a lot of extra wear on them.

[DougW]

IMO, use a light binding on a heavy ski, not the other way around. I just mounted some BMX 105 with ATK R12 + spacer (2200g + 380g = 2580g). Only one day on the BMX but it skis better than my Katana VW + shift (1950g + 850g = 2800g). Durability for the bindings may be less than a shift though.

That being said it depends what’s your average slack country day is in terms of d+, d-, etc.

Also dépends if you tend to break stuff.

The blaze is quite light, honestly it wouldn’t cross my mind to put an alpine binding on it or even a shift or duke but yeah they’re marketed as freeride skis. Same with the mantra v Werks.

"That being said it depends what’s your average slack country day is in terms of d+, d-, etc." what does that mean?

Right now I have a light binding on a pretty light ski though biggish. Dynafit Ft on a pair of stokes. Its great for a long tour and big turns on way down . I'm a big guy so I find it lacking in steep tighter trees where I expect to ski like on my Mach1 130/Cochise skis . which is unreasonable.

Do I break stuff. I never sell old ski stuff. Its either broken broken or broken down so has no or little value. Shells are cracked, edges compressed, tips turned up etc.

Maybe the blaze is a bit to light for my purpose.

[Shorty_J]

Just received my new blaze 106 from corbetts today.

They do feel pretty light. They are not super stiff like the mantra I hand flexed a week ago, but they are not soft either.

I haven't tried them yet but I'm excited to get on them. I'm going to mount them alpine and play with the mount point but I intend them for my touring setup next year if we get along.

Hope that's useful info?

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[kc_7777]

The elan ripstick 106 seems to be a recent favorite on the forums. Check that thread. They sound like a top candidate for your description.
I like my cast setup on my 116 skis for that. Im using a dalbello lupo ti. All that has me wanting to take a few steps out of the changeovers though. I want touring capability on all my skis for rmr. Cast is great. No worries about failure having it on my dd on the hill and still be able to sneak in a touring lap or 3. Lupo c ti skis really well too. I'm thinking id like to swap the cast setup for a pindung(no toe off/on and still alpine weight/durability) and a powerful touring boot that i dont have to remove tongues(preferably w only 2 buckles). Literally cut the changeover faffing about by 75%

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I have the 2021 "regular" Ripstick 106 (the 2021 regular Ripstick is stiffer than the 2020 regular Ripsticks and the same stiffness as the 2020 Black Editions....there were no Black Edition Ripsticks in 2021). My 2021 106s are mounted with Salomon Shifts @ +2cm from rec (-7.7cm). I use Dalbello Lupo 130 boots. This is a great slack-country setup that is very skiable all day in the resort too.

Elans have skin notch which is a nice touch. They also give mount points from +3cm to -3cm. So there is a range from -6.7cm to - 12.7 cm on the 2021 RS 106 (as rec is -9.7cm). I really like this...vs Volkls (ie the Blaze) which gives you mounts options only really far back....eg. the Blaze has rec lines at -11cm, -12cm and -13cm? WTF?

Also I just got the 2022 Ripstick 96 Black Editions for inbounds, lower snow days. The 2022 version of the Black Edition is stiffer yet again than the 2021s and I had three days on them before Whistler closed and they are awesome. Just expensive. But I think these new 2022 Black Editions will be a great bc slack-country skis. Stiff, fun and light.

[Shorty_J]

To be fair, you can mount your skis wherever you want. And since you always mount forward anyway, having rec lines behind the line is superfluous. [emoji12]

My plan is to play with mount points from +1 to +3 using demos.

I will definitely not be going behind the line on these.

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[XXX-er]

"

Right now I have a light binding on a pretty light ski though biggish. Dynafit Ft on a pair of stokes. Its great for a long tour and big turns on way down . I'm a big guy so I find it lacking in steep tighter trees where I expect to ski like on my Mach1 130/Cochise skis . which is unreasonable.
.

I have that setup^^ I got them used from a 225lb guide who killed the originals in 1 week on the guide exam and sold me the warranty skis/ skins in wrapper for 400$ I'm only 165 and the 190 is on the long side for me but it is such a soft ski that I can turn it . The inserts don't go small enough for my BSL and there is no boot center marked on the ski but trying them with some larger boots i guessed that the made in Austria logo was also bootcenter

Good for long tour/ skinning/ big turns as you say, IME there is not much turning action from the front of the ski, its all in the cut of the tails, like scuffing mud off the inside of your foot

definatly not a ski for on-piste cuz they don't work that well on piste and they are on the delicate side

[doebedoe]

Sounds like you like skis with relatively flat tails?

If you like something looser -- the MFree and the Moment Wildcat 108 (non-tour version) are both very capable skis whose wait won't kill ya.

[Shorty_J]

Elans have skin notch which is a nice touch. They also give mount points from +3cm to -3cm. So there is a range from -6.7cm to - 12.7 cm on the 2021 RS 106 (as rec is -9.7cm). I really like this...vs Volkls (ie the Blaze) which gives you mounts options only really far back....eg. the Blaze has rec lines at -11cm, -12cm and -13cm? WTF?

To follow up a little on this...

I took some measurements of the contact points at 2 different ski angles and come up with pretty much the same place for chord center. And with my 300mm bsl it looks to me like something between +1 and +2cm will put my ball of foot there... do I don't think volkl rec lines are off.... a larger boot would likely align with the rec mount line.

If you compare the shape of the blaze to the ripstick, they have similar amounts of tip taper but the elan has way more tail taper. If you were to do the same contact point measurements on the elan you will end up much further forward relative the the entire ski length. So those rec lines are for that ski and the blaze has rec lines for that ski design.

I don't think it makes sense to get hung up on the distance from center in isolation. Maybe the Mantra was just too stiff for you? I'm not calling you out... it is definitely too stiff for me, but that's why I went with a softer and more approachable version of that design concept.

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[kc_7777]

I don't think it makes sense to get hung up on the distance from center in isolation. Maybe the Mantra was just too stiff for you? I'm not calling you out... it is definitely too stiff for me, but that's why I went with a softer and more approachable version of that design concept.

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Agreed.

Appreciate any and all mount point over-thinking discussions!

I reference the distance from center as a guideline for me. I know I’m not gonna like a ski designed to be skied at -11cm. I’m dumb in that I hope I will. But I won’t.

I don’t feel called out re the M102....and would openly admit the M102 was not my ski.

Was it too stiff to ski? Probably. It railed on groomers....so flying down groomers at mach speed it was better. That’s only 1-2 runs per day. We spend our time looking for steeps. Up and down Spanky’s multiple times in a day. Or in the trees searching for stashes.

I A/B’d the M102 against the Nordica Enforcer 104 (....the 177cm M102 and 179cm E104 are the same length) but I skied way better (where we ski) at Whistler on the E104. Every time. When you’re slithering through sharp rocks on the high Ruby entrance, where you don’t want to fall, the M102 was not as good. E104 always easier and better. Enough stiffness/dampness but not so burly that they become a handful when you really need your skis to listen to you. Sometimes the M102 was not as maneuverable. And that killed it as a daily ski for me. As I found on the majority of runs on the M102 I wanted the quickness and maneuverability of the E104, and the M102 could not give me that. IMO.

At least I tried....found out it wasn’t for me. Lost about $150Cdn....but cheaper than demo’ing and now I know.

Re the Ripsticks. Becoming a big fan. Own the 2021 106 with Shifts and the 2022 96 Black Editions with STHs.

At 165 lbs, and for where/how I ski, I find the Ripsticks are way more approachable than an M102. Their lower weight, while still being stiff enough just makes them way more fun.

Means I can’t wave my “d” as much on here but I’m good with that. Haha.

I dare anyone to try the 2021 or later Ripsticks and then say they don’t rip/are not fun.

Some ok info on the 2021 Ripstick in this vid here...plus Plake shows you how to dress at 3:25:

[DougW]

I have that setup^^ I got them used from a 225lb guide who killed the originals in 1 week on the guide exam and sold me the warranty skis/ skins in wrapper for 400$ I'm only 165 and the 190 is on the long side for me but it is such a soft ski that I can turn it . The inserts don't go small enough for my BSL and there is no boot center marked on the ski but trying them with some larger boots i guessed that the made in Austria logo was also bootcenter

Good for long tour/ skinning/ big turns as you say, IME there is not much turning action from the front of the ski, its all in the cut of the tails, like scuffing mud off the inside of your foot

definatly not a ski for on-piste cuz they don't work that well on piste and they are on the delicate side

Actually the skis are holding up but broKe the dynafit FT. Lucky for me was on last day almost last run so only missed on but ended up doing an epic traverse line across about 5 avie paths to reach meet up spot.

On the slack country setup changed direction and got a pair of Dynastar Mfree 118 with shifts but now have to replace touring set up . Thinking may go shifts with Kore 105 180 or 189 or maybe Blaze 106 in a 186.

I could replace the FT broken block for $180 but at this point how long will the one other last. Maybe mount a pair of Shifts on the stokes but with all those inserts would they be able to mount them?

[GoldenBC]

Doug, come in and try the Blaze if you haven't yet. I thought it was an amazing ski but completely fell apart at 60km/hr on groomers. It feels like it just collapses and there is nothing under you. A few people have felt this. I think it would be a great big day ski where you know you will never be skiing hard. Awesome shape, intuitive, smooth, nice radius. Just not meant to be pushed.

[XXX-er]

Actually the skis are holding up but broKe the dynafit FT. Lucky for me was on last day almost last run so only missed on but ended up doing an epic traverse line across about 5 avie paths to reach meet up spot.

I could replace the FT broken block for $180 but at this point how long will the one other last. Maybe mount a pair of Shifts on the stokes but with all those inserts would they be able to mount them?

Stoke has been holding up fine for me but it is a pretty light ski so its somewhat likely TO break used by a heavier person but there are lots of broken Rad 1 out there mine included due to poor design, I had to ski out with the boot Voile strapped to ski so now i carry 5 straps, the dynafit rep used to be great at giving out new heel pieces but that was > 5 yrs ago

I may be wrong but I would think there will be a lot of insert conflict so as opposed to a shift on the stoke I think your should stick with a binding that has a Rad or Vert mounting pattern,

in your shoes (or ski boots) I would look for a used vertical FT or go with G3 ion

[DougW]

Doug, come in and try the Blaze if you haven't yet. I thought it was an amazing ski but completely fell apart at 60km/hr on groomers. It feels like it just collapses and there is nothing under you. A few people have felt this. I think it would be a great big day ski where you know you will never be skiing hard. Awesome shape, intuitive, smooth, nice radius. Just not meant to be pushed.

So a free demo run !! yeah. As its mostly be used as a touring ski Blaze 106 makes sense as lightest of the group. As long as better than Stokes on groomed its great.

[ticketchecker]

So a free demo run !! yeah. As its mostly be used as a touring ski Blaze 106 makes sense as lightest of the group. As long as better than Stokes on groomed its great.

I've got Blaze 106 w tecton mounted +1.5, so far only skied it at the resort. Skied them in conditions ranging from eastern hardpack to untracked, super fun ski in soft snow. Downright surfy smeary, easy to ski. In fact I think I'll take them out now while it's 60 degrees and the sun is shining...

[Shorty_J]

I'm going to type up a more detailed review of my initial impressions in the next day or so, but the summary is I really like the Blaze a lot and I think it will make a great touring ski. Very intuitive and not punishing at all despite the long running length.

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