Heritage Lab Skis - AM 50/50 Skis Have Arrived - Dedicated Thread

[ASP]

Thanks for the offer. I’m in a 320 28.5 hawx gripwalk. not sure if pivots go out that far. Hoping to head up Wednesday evening and might be able to make a central detour from our normal Alpy plan. Should also be up this weekend hopefully both days, one with my son in tow.

I have the 188 AM99s mounted with GW pivots at 320. Happy to let you try em out. I'm in ballard

A

[Norseman]

I have the 188 AM99s mounted with GW pivots at 320. Happy to let you try em out. I'm in ballard

A

That'd work better for Carl, my clamps have alpine 5355 AFDs

[carlh]

Thanks guys I will coordinate with ASP in a pm.

That'd work better for Carl, my clamps have alpine 5355 AFDs

[MagnificentUnicorn]

Yabbut you eastern guys ski nothing but champagne and powdered basalt

With how loose and easy the AM build is while still railing on high edge, I expect the heavy flavah to be chowder blasters with a little driftability and freight trains on edge.

TbD! Shit I'm stoked!

True, but I’ve skied them in 11” of dense cream cheese and they railed through with predictable ease. Same later in the day after it was skied out chunder. I haven’t experienced the grabby tips but I did round the non contact edges with a file and polish with a stone


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[2FUNKY]

Yabbut you eastern guys ski nothing but champagne and powdered basalt

With how loose and easy the AM build is while still railing on high edge, I expect the heavy flavah to be chowder blasters with a little driftability and freight trains on edge.

TbD! Shit I'm stoked!

Stoked as well to get the comp builds on snow.
I heavily detuned the tips of the AM build and it helped but they are still really soft for my taste. It’s a great ski and will suit a lot of people well who aren’t looking for a true charger.


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[lowsparkco]

I’m still loving my R99 50/50’s. I’ve gotten them out in a wide range of conditions and have been stoked on what could be a single ski quiver. I’m more of a horses for courses kinda guy, so of course I’m thinking about the comp build. I don’t think I would be comfortable on the 188’s any where tight, but I’m curious to hear how stiff they ski. I’m thinking the 180 could be a ski I would enjoy.

[m5d5cb]

Conditions yesterday were groomed + 2-3" fresh snow on top. Photo from the summit, slightly wind blown here but deeper right over the edge. I had first tracks (and second, and third, and more) on this run.

I am a relatively new skier and while I have probably not skied in these exact same conditions in any of my other skis, I had an amazing time on the R87's. Even through the end of the day (except on some really rough powder fields that froze / not recently groomed) they were very smooth and I think quite a bit less tiring than my Ripsticks, especially in the late day bumps.

I think for these conditions the R87 were adequate in width. I do think R99 would maybe be a more useful daily driver where I ski, but it overlaps with my Ripstick 96 so I thought I would start with these. Wondering what the R99 gives up and if I should have gone with them, but I wanted a fast and smooth groomer / light snow ski.

No speed limit that I found on the first run, and even still after lunch after it was thoroughly ridden.

The topsheet material still stands out to me. Nice texture and I'm glad Marshal went for the best. I still don't love the color.

I do notice when trying to stop hard on harder snow there is a lot of chatter in the front half. Not icy, but just harder groomed material (I am in the PNW). It could very well be my technique or be normal. Maybe this is normal but I had hoped these would alleviate that.

I like the larger radius. Trying to lean when barely moving and I feel like I will fall over (compared to my other skis)... but with a little speed they lean easily but also break loose and slide easily.

I don't have years of experience to give a more thorough review. But my impression is positive with 2 days so far, and I enjoy skiing them.

One of my top 5 days ever:

[chicken feathers]

I think for these conditions the R87 were adequate in width. I do think R99 would maybe be a more useful daily driver where I ski, but it overlaps with my Ripstick 96 so I thought I would start with these. Wondering what the R99 gives up and if I should have gone with them, but I wanted a fast and smooth groomer / light snow ski.


One of my top 5 days ever:

Sounds like the R87 was the right choice then. You'll really appreciate a ski like that when a high pressure system settles in for two weeks.

Trying to figure out if that pic is from Brundage?

[m5d5cb]

Sounds like the R87 was the right choice then. You'll really appreciate a ski like that when a high pressure system settles in for two weeks.

Trying to figure out if that pic is from Brundage?

Ok, glad to hear! You were close - Tamarack.

[schwerty]

I have one short day on my AM 99 180s. Really nice ski! I’ll admit I was a little concerned the ski would be more ski than I wanted for resort skiing. Not at al the case. The ski has a really nice flex tip to tail . I had the ski mostly on skied off groomers and cut up off trail stuff. Definitely not hero conditions and they performed well.
I’m used to skiing fairly stout Igneous skis at the resort for powder days and over dry spells. I appreciated being able to initiate turns and release without a ton of effort yet the sticks were stable even crossing shitty patches of ice.
The 99s were also way easier to ski at slower speeds than I would have expected. Yet, no chatter or unstable feeling when opened up.

Just my .02 but I’m glad I have a set. The AM version does, for me, exactly what MO advertised it as….an all mountain ski. The dimensions seem dialed and flex was right for me. Im not going to reach for these over a Teton storm cycle but for most other days I’ll be happy to slide on em.


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[Cork7 Belly Flop]

Has anyone here with an R120 had the misfortune of skiing in crusty/lumpy conditions yet (rain/wind/refrozen debris)? How did they handle?

[eSock]

I have the 188 AM99s mounted with GW pivots at 320. Happy to let you try em out. I'm in ballard

A

Howdy neighbor, I'd be interested in giving these a go!

[ASP]

Howdy neighbor, I'd be interested in giving these a go!

yeah man, pm me!

[MagnificentUnicorn]

My AM R99s have lost most of their camber after 10 days of skiing. I’m really happy, weighted there’s less than a mm of camber. So slashy and loose but rail on edge.


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[otto parts]

Ran into GBB at Alpine Meadows and got a chance to see and hand flex (thanks dood) his 188 AMs.
Super nice build and very nice stiff mid and very progressive flex up to tip. Quick rap revealed damp not dead feel I’m looking for. Brief fondle but made me even more stoked to see my 180 comps…


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[carlh]

I got out on ASPs r99s today in a nice mix of firm groomed, 1-2” on packed snow and few day old sold but setup crud today that was colder and dryer but pretty representative of the conditions I want these for.
I started out in some soft over firm with a mix of bumps and chalk underneath. The skis performed well here, the shape offered a nice mix of holding a turn and slid ability that might be slightly improved with a bit of tip detune.
When I hit some groomed sections they had great grip and rebound with good flexibility in turn shapes.
I then explored some of the more open cut up snow in some bowls. In the smoother sections the skis felt good but as I tried to make bigger turns with more crud like snow I found the skis bouncing around quite a bit. The combination of softer tips and lots of rebound meant I could not charge through this the way I am looking for. At slower speeds and picking lines they felt good but I couldn’t open up the speed the way I want to. I expect this would be even more noticeable in heavier snow.
In more bumped up terrain the shape felt good and I was able to make all the turn shapes I wanted with a good mix of holding a turn and sliding the tail but I felt like there was a bit more rebound than desired as I tried to increase speeds.
I swapped out to my goliaths mid day and by comparision they were more damp and less energetic especially through the crud but had noticeably less edge hold (might be tune related) and much stronger harder to pivot tails. They hand flex maybe 10% stiffer everywhere but the tails where it is probably closer to 15-20% stiffer. The shape of the r99s is much more versatile allowing easier smaller turns both carved and slid while still being stable in longer turns in smooth snow.
At the end of the day, I think I am looking for a bit more powerful and damper ski that more closely complements my style. I think a little bit stiffer but a lot more damping would be my ideal even though this would sacrifice groomed performance.
My on3ps (supergoats) do the plow through the crud thing really well without feeling like a crazy demanding ski and I am looking for something a bit closer to that but the narrow one I tried did not have enough edge hold.

I think these skis are likely money for someone light and or more of a finesse skier than me (6’3” 200+ more power than anything else and a preference for crushing chop) and I would say the website description is accurate. The hard snow performance was top notch and i could see a set of r87 am as an awesome pure low tide ski that can be fun across a wide speed range.
The comp build has my attention but worried it will be more ski than I want 90% of the time since I love going fast in open areas but also ski a bunch of tighter ones.

[ApexSkua]

What's your BSL? Welcome to try my r99 AM if the boot fits into the Pivots mounted for ~315mm. The offer stands for anyone reading here in W WA, for that matter.

Might give you enough familiarity with the shape to estimate the ride of the heavier build. I think they'll be sweet for Alpy, actually.

I'll be at Central with my daughter this Wednesday night, and (probably) Alpy Friday.

Would 305s fit? I got a midweek pass for Alpy so I've been doing nights there recently.

[Norseman]

Maybe just. This week looks... kinda gross, so I might skip. Let's try to connect when the weather is better.

[hoarhey]

Ran into GBB at Alpine Meadows and got a chance to see and hand flex (thanks dood) his 188 AMs.
Super nice build and very nice stiff mid and very progressive flex up to tip. Quick rap revealed damp not dead feel I’m looking for. Brief fondle but made me even more stoked to see my 180 comps…


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Compare to the AK Bros when you can?


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[ApexSkua]

Maybe just. This week looks... kinda gross, so I might skip. Let's try to connect when the weather is better.

Sounds good. I can shoot you a PM when I'm free

[N1CK.]

Absolutely killer day on my 99s Sunday.

Will the sizes remain 180 & 188, Marshal?

[Marshal Olson]

Absolutely killer day on my 99s Sunday.

Will the sizes remain 180 & 188, Marshal?

Hey man, glad you are digging them! I plan to keep the R99 unchanged next season, though I might rename them 187 and 179 to better match the straight tape (instead of material) length of the skis, which is how the rest of the line is measured.

[2FUNKY]

Took the 188 R99 for another rip just the other daaayyy…
Conditions:
Soft fast edgy groomers. Soft chalk on the mountain with areas of mid shin medium density pow in the north aspects with trees. Full bluebird so pretty much sender conditions.
Detune:
Took a gummy aggressively to the tips about 2” past the contact points. Detuned the tails from about 3” from the tails to the end.
Mucho betterino!!
I was on a heater from the word go all day. Pointing and tucking groomers until I felt I was up to 45mph or 50 then started to set 50M RR tracks. The skis never faltered. Energy from the ski was amazing, leaving the snow during the transition of the turn for about 8-10’ before setting into the next turn at warp. That day the tip flap wasn’t noticeable on groomers. Maybe because I detuned them, maybe the snow was smoother, not sure. Ramped them up to well over 50mph without issue.
Off piste:
Much better behavior with the detune. No longer wanting to pull me into a shorter radius turn. Stand on them and charge as long as it was smoother. If bumpy or firm cut up snow they wanted it throttled down some and a more playful attitude from me, which I was happy to oblige. Tips behaved themselves again. The ski released easily when I wanted it to allowing me to slarve through some slots and troughs at speed then roll them on edge to engage the carve for more destroy.
Mid shin pow in steep trees:
They were great and got loose on the soft chalk sections slipping between tight trees where I was able to get to the more open terrain, it’s still pretty tight tho. Once in the mid shin pow the soft tips showed up again. They wanted a more slow and playful turn, dolphin style sort of. That tip was really wanting the ski to make much shorter turn shapes here which was ok but not I wanted so I adjusted. Now when the trees got real tight and those shorter turns were needed they were fun and precise.
Wide open soft’ish chop:
They were most comfortable at moderate fast speeds. Once I started to really ramp the speed the soft tip started to speak up. The speeds were really normal ish speeds so it was fine. The rest of the ski screamed “faster” tho. Got bucked a couple times due to the soft tips. User error.
Air time:
Nothing huge, 10’ plus some roller sends at speed, really composed in the air and set me airborne nicely. They kept me right on the sweet spot for the landings.
They really are a great no new snow ski, like really great. This ski should be high on peoples radar for a 100 underfoot ski.
With all that said, I absolutely cannot wait for the comp build, it’s killin me.
Well done Marshal!!! So many of your skis are getting rave reviews and it was absolutely expected!


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[N1CK.]

They really are a great no new snow ski, like really great. This ski should be high on peoples radar for a 100 underfoot ski.
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^^^^ 100% agree. I'll be on the 188 next round.

[Marshal Olson]

Heck yeah 2Funky, thanks for the extra thoughts!