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

[ASP]

^^^^ 100% agree. I'll be on the 188 next round.

I have a 188 if you'd be interested? Was going to give them back to marshal but if you're looking to get on them this season I can probably hook you up.

A

[MagnificentUnicorn]

The most impressive thing about the AM R99 isn’t its ability to charge it’s how smooth and well mannered it is in almost any type of snow.


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[CaliBrit]

Trigger pulled on some 87’s for the March delivery. Stoked to try them.

[CouloirInTheLines]

Any more reviews of the R120?

[Island Bay]

Yep, makes sense. The thing I was sort of clarifying for myself as much as anyone else is that it doesn't sound like the comp build is that likely to be 2x4 stiff. Good news to me if it's a Pro Rider/Pro Rider + level of stiffness, unfortunately I've never ridden the Monster 98 to compare there.

Maybe this is one of those things where my absence of a racing background is a handicap, but I sort of feel like if I'm thinking about the flex of a ski it's almost always because it feels a bit off - maybe the tip feels weird because it's too soft or the ski feels harsh and less damp than I want because it's too stiff. By comparison really dialed flex patterns usually sort of disappear on my feet, the ski bends when I want it to and not when I don't.

Disclaimer: This is coming out of NZ summer/surfing, so no recent skiing, but Pro Riders and 98 Monsters happen to be my favourite skis ever (apart from Protests for soft stuff).

Monsters are definitely a little stiffer than LPs, but I have never found them demanding - indeed, they "disappear on your feet" as you put it. They are awful submarines in more than 4" of 3D snow, but intuitive and smooth in everything else, and super precise laying trenches at high speeds.

LPs are weapons in the trickier snow that the Monsters don't like, as the subtle rocker and softer shovels let them plane up. Always wanted a Monster with LP tip rocker, and it sounds like the R99 is it. I would dearly love an R99 188 AM as a travel ski.

[CaliBrit]

Got some more runs on the R87 AM 182.

Mounted at -11 and they feel just perfect there. I really like to drive a ski and this just feels like the right place on it.

Ski is powerful yet I can drive it well with ZGTP and ATK’s. Damps out tech harshness on night skin groomers. Carves a bit tighter than the 23m would have you believe.

Messed around in chunky stuff with my 5 year old too. I’d actually move the mount point from -12.5 to -11 and take a cm off the tail length.

[CaliBrit]

How much different are the AM R99 than the Blossom Pure 99?

I’m interested in this too.

From what Marshal has said I think the AM R99 and R120 are the standard Blossom freeride construction skis with a little extra tip and tail rocker added.

The R87 brings the standard Blossom freeride construction to what is normally a much lighter construction ski and adds a little tip and tail rocker.

Am I right Marshal?

[CaliBrit]

I’m interested in this too.

From what Marshal has said I think the AM R99 and R120 are the standard Blossom freeride construction skis with a little extra tip and tail rocker added.

The R87 brings the standard Blossom freeride construction to what is normally a much lighter construction ski and adds a little tip and tail rocker.

Am I right Marshal?

Any expansion on this?

[Marshal Olson]

Hey man, sorry for missing this.

yes indeed. The R120 AM and R99 AM are built with the standard Blossom “Pure” construction. The R87 uses the Explore 87 mold, but instead of a light touring ski, it’s with the same “Pure” construction.

cheers!

[CaliBrit]

Hey man, sorry for missing this.

yes indeed. The R120 AM and R99 AM are built with the standard Blossom “Pure” construction. The R87 uses the Explore 87 mold, but instead of a light touring ski, it’s with the same “Pure” construction.

cheers!

So you can use the same regular blossom mold a tweak it a little to get a touch more tip and tail rocker in each of these skis?

[Marshal Olson]

So you can use the same regular blossom mold a tweak it a little to get a touch more tip and tail rocker in each of these skis?

Correct, each ski's camber is relaxed tip and tail to give subtle rocker when the ski are held bases together. The Blossom skis are fully cambered thru the effective edge.

[jackattack]

Finally mounted the am r87

Dirty office shot next to the comp99. These should go well into June.

[IJK2009]

Received 180 R99 AM demos on Tues (thanks Marshal!), and was able to break away from work to ski Tues afternoon, and again yesterday afternoon.

Me: 5'8' and 160ish lbs. Not a bump skier, but a skiing buddy likes skiing bumps all day every day, so I've been looking to add a more friendly bump ski to my quiver.

Mountain: Mammoth in warm, sunny, spring conditions--soft, heavy snow nearly everywhere off piste, although the snow was more variable on Tues and included suncupped mashed potatoes, various states of refreezing snow, to full on refrozen coral reef, to boilerplate that was scoured clean of softer carvable snow.

Ski preferences: I like damp skis with good suspension, typically with metal--2013 1st gen Cochise (177) and 2013 Line Influence 115 (186) have been my daily drivers, although I have non-metal skis for touring (184 Bibby Tours and 181 Ripstick 106s).

Caveats: Take my impressions with a grain of salt, because I lapped runs only for about 5 hours overall and the snow was soft for the most part (ie, any good ski should ski relatively well in those mostly soft conditions).


Some thoughts about R99 AM

• I wasn't sure what to expect but like others posted, these are dead-easy to ski, which was a little bit of a surprise

• Super smooth flex pattern that ramps up nicely the more they're pushed--the flex pattern feels really good

• Very stable overall in soft snow (no surprise), but the shovels also cut through firmer chop and mashed potatoes without any serious effort or significant deflection (albeit at moderate speeds) which also surprised me; the tails released easily too. Given the 180 R99 AM's relative light weight (~1850 g), I was expecting to get tossed around whenever I got into the heavier snow, similar to how the Ripstick 96 and 106 can get get handled by heavy snow. I tried to find their speed limit, and the shovels lost some composure but only when skiing pretty fast through heavy chop.

• Did not feel hooky at all anywhere, even in the heavy mashed potatoes, and feel very predictable in general

• Not punishing at all in the bumps, although that might be due to how soft the bumps were in general--they kinda make me want to ski bumps all day long

• They can be loaded pretty easily to get a nice pop and rebound when exiting turns

• They did not bite into the boilerplate, which could reflect their current tune and/or use as demo skis

Some comparisons (again w/ a grain of salt, given limited time on these skis)

• R99 AM felt more substantial, with better suspension and more precise tip and tail engagement than 2023 Dynastar 185 M Free 99 that I demo'd for an afternoon

• R99 AM swingweight felt lighter, flex pattern felt smoother and slightly softer but with arguably better suspension than 2023 K2 178 Mindbender 99Ti that I demo'd, also for an afternoon--although the difference in suspension could be from the softer snow conditions I skied with the R99 AM

• I scored a pair of 2023 Volkl 177 Mantra M102 end-of-season demo skis a few weeks ago, and the M102s feel much heavier, stiffer, and more substantial than the 180 R99 AMs (which aligns with what Marshal emailed me). I also feel like I need to ski the M102s more deliberately to keep them in check. I relaxed a bit off piste on the M102s and crossed tips, and also got in the back seat and got taken for a ride my first day on them--I recovered both times, but the M102s require more attention compared to the R99 AMs. I've never skied any of the Monsters, Katanas, or Mantras from the 2000-2010s so I can't make those comparisons, but the M102s are probably the smoothest and stablest skis I've skied, and I was lucky to get them on the GS race course on Sunday right after they opened the course to the public. They felt phenomenally good there--smooth, stable, precise, fast, unfazed. Makes me curious to try the R99 Comps to compare them with the M102s, although I have little doubt the Comps are more ski than I want. Having said all that, I'd probably pick the R99 AM over the M102 9 out of 10 times if I was gonna lap bump runs or ski steep & narrow chutes (eg, for lapping Chair 22). But I'd pick the M102 over the R99 AM for nuking wide open runs (both groomed & ungroomed) or for busting firm heavy crud.

TL/DR

In many ways, the 180 R99 AMs seem like Goldilocks low-tide skis for my size & weight. But if I was bigger, heavier, and/or more aggressive, then maybe I'd prefer the 188 AM or the 180 Comp build. Overall, their flex pattern feels smooth and forgiving but they're no noodles, they can easily make a wide range of turn sizes and can carve everything shy of boilerplate really well (and lack of boilerplate bite could simply be a tune issue) but feel neither hooky nor locked-in, they have a relatively low swing weight for front-side skis but feel way more damp and stable than I'd expect for their weight in general (just like Marshal said they would--maybe from their full sheet of VDS rubber???), and I'm more than happy to give up some top end stability in exchange for their ease in the bumps.

Thanks again Marshal!!!

[Marshal Olson]

Hi All,

There are just a couple pair of Metal AM skis remaining. $250+ship on each pair until they are gone!!! Need to free up a little cash for some new stuff coming! Please ping me here/email/via HL ski with any q's.

Thank you.

Outlet area link: https://heritagelabskis.com/products/hl-outlet-skis

[BCR]

Hi All,

There are just a couple pair of Metal AM skis remaining. $250+ship on each pair until they are gone!!! Need to free up a little cash for some new stuff coming! Please ping me here/email/via HL ski with any q's.

Thank you.

Outlet area link: https://heritagelabskis.com/products/hl-outlet-skis

Snagged the R87s, thanks Marshall! At a price where I could pick up some STH2s for them as well. They’ll hopefully become my go-to daily driver for the East. Didn’t even take the storage wax off my 70 waisted Kastles this year, choosing my 179 Bros/shifts instead most days - finding myself wanting some width underfoot and longer effective edge length. But what they lacked in very firm snow performance, these should fill that slot nicely.

Saving up for 132s next year. Owned spats and Lotus and would love these for those special days where they would shine.

[Conundrum]

Have a few days on 188 AM R99s now. Pretty damn fun. Most of my thoughts have already been posted and are all positive. Two thumbs way up on these skis.

[54-46]

With so many great models around 105-110, is there space for an AM 50/50 92-95 width? (Give a little space in quiver)

Or, do those who have skied the AM R87 believe that a low 90s version is unnecessary?


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[jackattack]

Am I doing this right?

[Marshal Olson]

don't let them slap you in the face

Also... Awesome!

[GiantManta]

Just finished a few more days on the 188 AM R99s and totally blown away! The last few days have been freeze/thaw cycles and they handled both the mornings and afternoons with ease. Short radius turns, long radius turns, bumps, whatever you want to to do at whatever speed you want and these boards simply handle it. Very easy skiing skis that inspire a lot of confidence and just plain fun! Thanks Marshall!!

[Marshal Olson]

Word! Love it thanks man.

[Mudfoot]

Just finished a few more days on the 188 AM R99s and totally blown away! The last few days have been freeze/thaw cycles and they handled both the mornings and afternoons with ease. Short radius turns, long radius turns, bumps, whatever you want to to do at whatever speed you want and these boards simply handle it. Very easy skiing skis that inspire a lot of confidence and just plain fun! Thanks Marshall!!

My sentiments exactly! Just finished my 2nd day at Jackson Hole on my 188 AM R99s and am finding them more than adequate in places I never expected. Because of my size I tend to over ski them when things get rough, but when I just back off a little they hook up beautifully as if to say "relax, we got this."

[Marshal Olson]

Awesome @mudfoot!
As my old coach would say “slow down to go faster”

If anyone is lusting for skis from this run, there is a drilled once R120 AM in the outlet right now

[fool]

Got some more runs on the R87 AM 182.

Mounted at -11 and they feel just perfect there. I really like to drive a ski and this just feels like the right place on it.

Ski is powerful yet I can drive it well with ZGTP and ATK’s. Damps out tech harshness on night skin groomers. Carves a bit tighter than the 23m would have you believe.

Messed around in chunky stuff with my 5 year old too. I’d actually move the mount point from -12.5 to -11 and take a cm off the tail length.

Have a few days on my R87 comps in 182 and enjoyed them so far. The handle bumps much better day than my daily drivers (Enforcer 104 Frees) and seem quicker edge to edge. That being said, I don't think they carve as well as my Enforcers? Is that possible or am I perhaps not engaging them enough or trying to make too long of turns? I would be curious for how mags found their sweet spot with them, as it's been a while since I've been on a sub-90mm ski. I might just need a few more days - would be open to any tips or where you find these skis shine. (My Enforcers are great in so many conditions that perhaps I just need some nuance on the R87s.)

[J. Barron DeJong]

Have a few days on my R87 comps in 182 and enjoyed them so far. The handle bumps much better day than my daily drivers (Enforcer 104 Frees) and seem quicker edge to edge. That being said, I don't think they carve as well as my Enforcers? Is that possible or am I perhaps not engaging them enough or trying to make too long of turns? I would be curious for how mags found their sweet spot with them, as it's been a while since I've been on a sub-90mm ski. I might just need a few more days - would be open to any tips or where you find these skis shine. (My Enforcers are great in so many conditions that perhaps I just need some nuance on the R87s.)

I have the same R87 comps. They’re much stiffer, and longer radius than enforcer free (at least the 186). They take way more effort to get them to bend into a turn - higher edge angle, more speed, driving the tip, etc. But they absolutely can reward you for the effort.