Heritage Lab R99 Comp review

[jackattack]

They’re gonna make you sell the Bonafides

[buttahflake]

These were on my bench when I got back from some, sloppy lunch laps. Unfortunately there were no heel tracks in the box! I kinda need those, B!


Also, I’m really impressed with the build quality and the grind. Usually boutique brands are awful out of the wrapper, like not even skiable. These are freaking mint!

[m5d5cb]

They’re gonna make you sell the Bonafides

I'm wondering about that as well. Seems like these would probably address my only complaint with them (the small turning radius).

[Quandary]

I am curious as this ski appears to be identical to the Blossom Pure 99. Same shape, dimensions, build etc. Would be very surprised if it were not the same mold. What is different? Flex, thickness of titanal etc? Blossom builds a fantastic ski so no question about great build quality.

[iriponsnow]

These were on my bench when I got back from some, sloppy lunch laps. Unfortunately there were no heel tracks in the box! I kinda need those, B!


Also, I’m really impressed with the build quality and the grind. Usually boutique brands are awful out of the wrapper, like not even skiable. These are freaking mint!

Bruh, check the box for tracks and brakes!
Thanks & see ya Friday!

[MagnificentUnicorn]

I am curious as this ski appears to be identical to the Blossom Pure 99. Same shape, dimensions, build etc. Would be very surprised if it were not the same mold. What is different? Flex, thickness of titanal etc? Blossom builds a fantastic ski so no question about great build quality.

The Pure 99 mold is used for the R99s. The R99 AM is nearly identical layup to the Pure 99.
Iirc, that’s what Marshal said

[Marshal Olson]

The Pure 99 mold is used for the R99s. The R99 AM is nearly identical layup to the Pure 99.
Iirc, that’s what Marshal said

Yessir! Discussed at length in the AM 50/50 thread!

https://www.tetongravity.com/forums/...t=heritage+lab

[a-star]

R120 Comp Initial thoughts: I skied them half day this past Saturday and about 4 runs on Sunday. I wouldn't say spring corn is what the R120 is made for nor what I bought it for, but my excitement was too much. I mounted them on the recommended line with STH2 bindings.


I didn't detune them at all and haven't had any gripes. That said, I rarely detune any of my skis, unless I notice them feeling "hooky".


Very 1st run on them I transferred my weight to make a turn, thinking the outside ski would come around, it did not, and I fell face first. (This was my personal reminder that these skis have a 35m sidecut). After that 1st turn they were quite fun to ski in soft 3D corn. When carving these skis on groomed runs that by late afternoon had small 3D snow piles on them these skis felt like they were on rails. The tips deflected very little, if at all, when plowing through snow piles. I'd say these skis are significantly more stable at speed than my Ranger 107 Ti's, but do not carve quite as well. Then again, I wouldn't expect a 120mm underfoot ski to carve as well as a 107mm.The Ranger 107 Ti is my daily driver in Tahoe, so it is the ski I know best for making comparisons of feel. Carving through soft ungroomed crud I felt I could ski the R120 at dangerous speeds, like making 4 carved turns in 500 vertical feet.


When not carving, I found the R120 was actually pretty intuitive and not overly difficult to pickup the inside ski, transfer my weight, and make turns with. I like the lack to tip rocker and feel the snow contact point is right when making short radius turns.


I hand flexed these compared to a pair of brand new unmounted Ranger 107 Ti's that I have at home and the Ranger 107 Ti is definitely stiffer in hand. On snow they ski with similar stiffiness, I think because the lack of tip rocker on the R120 and rearward mount point.

More observations coming as I spend more time on these pink beauties! Great job putting these together Marshal!

[Marshal Olson]

Yeah buddy!!! Thanks for sharing. There are only a couple R120 Comps out in the world, so thank you for sharing your thoughts!

[2FUNKY]

R120 Comp Initial thoughts: I skied them half day this past Saturday and about 4 runs on Sunday. I wouldn't say spring corn is what the R120 is made for nor what I bought it for, but my excitement was too much. I mounted them on the recommended line with STH2 bindings.


I didn't detune them at all and haven't had any gripes. That said, I rarely detune any of my skis, unless I notice them feeling "hooky".


Very 1st run on them I transferred my weight to make a turn, thinking the outside ski would come around, it did not, and I fell face first. (This was my personal reminder that these skis have a 35m sidecut). After that 1st turn they were quite fun to ski in soft 3D corn. When carving these skis on groomed runs that by late afternoon had small 3D snow piles on them these skis felt like they were on rails. The tips deflected very little, if at all, when plowing through snow piles. I'd say these skis are significantly more stable at speed than my Ranger 107 Ti's, but do not carve quite as well. Then again, I wouldn't expect a 120mm underfoot ski to carve as well as a 107mm.The Ranger 107 Ti is my daily driver in Tahoe, so it is the ski I know best for making comparisons of feel. Carving through soft ungroomed crud I felt I could ski the R120 at dangerous speeds, like making 4 carved turns in 500 vertical feet.


When not carving, I found the R120 was actually pretty intuitive and not overly difficult to pickup the inside ski, transfer my weight, and make turns with. I like the lack to tip rocker and feel the snow contact point is right when making short radius turns.


I hand flexed these compared to a pair of brand new unmounted Ranger 107 Ti's that I have at home and the Ranger 107 Ti is definitely stiffer in hand. On snow they ski with similar stiffiness, I think because the lack of tip rocker on the R120 and rearward mount point.

More observations coming as I spend more time on these pink beauties! Great job putting these together Marshal!

Awesome review man! Maybe the 120 needs it’s own thread, esp once more get into the hands of peeps.


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[otto parts]

Some thoughts on the 180

Mounted at -11.8 and maybe just as happy at -12
me:competent skier but no more than that, but own or have tried most skis (24 ski quiver)
As much into feel as shape/flex…

Was looking for a Bonafide replacement alternative-tried Volkl m5/102 (noisy fuckers) but didn’t click. Like Enforcers but not enough to swap.Also have some 13/14 Stockli 95 but they are a little tired…
I like the bonafides as an everyday Tahoe ski, supplemented by Wildcats and dps 138s as my usual quiver.

Skis I like: Bro 183, OG Legend pros-both have a quality feel and natural turn radius that allow a smooth fast style when I can muster it.

Thought 178-179ish real length would be an issue but it’s not. These are a bit more stable than the slightly longer Bonafides and superior in feel:
damp not dead while the bonafides can have a slight planky feel.
The 99s not stockli silky but more powerful and ready to run.

Clearly like a bit more input than Bonafides but like the LPs have a naturalness to them that inspires confidence at speed.

Also:be sure to do a 4” strong detune on tails -they hang up a bit if not done.





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[CouloirInTheLines]

Awesome review man! Maybe the 120 needs it’s own thread, esp once more get into the hands of peeps.


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+1 on this. I’m still trying to figure out what the R120 comp is and why I need it.

[Marshal Olson]

+1 on this. I’m still trying to figure out what the R120 comp is and why I need it.

Welp... as a general update on the Comps, long story short is that FedEx seems to have lost 4 of the 7 boxes of skis enroute from Italy to me a month ago. Unless they turn up very soon, Blossom will re-run the missing skis to get everyone their sticks over the summer/fall, but the bad news is that will likely take up my production capacity for next season, so unlikely that there will be any more compsn (or AMs) till 2024!

Blossom will make the order whole to me and everyone, so whatever is listed and available on the site is what is slated to come in either way.

[CouloirInTheLines]

Welp... as a general update on the Comps, long story short is that FedEx seems to have lost 4 of the 7 boxes of skis enroute from Italy to me a month ago. Unless they turn up very soon, Blossom will re-run the missing skis to get everyone their sticks over the summer/fall, but the bad news is that will likely take up my production capacity for next season, so unlikely that there will be any more compsn (or AMs) till 2024!

Blossom will make the order whole to me and everyone, so whatever is listed and available on the site is what is slated to come in either way.

Oh man, what a nightmare. FedEx just keeps f’ing up more. Sorry you have to deal with this and glad you’ve got a bunch of other exciting skis in the mix on a different production line.

[Marshal Olson]

It's so painful to try and deal with FedEx. Like you literally cannot penetrate their outsourced call center, you never get a call back, they cannot tell you the problem, and when you submit documentation all you get back is automated responses. Never again. UPS and DHL only, going forward for me.

With that said, I am so grateful to everyone's patience on getting these things to them. At least everyone who has gotten on them has been super fired up on how they are skiing!

[a-star]

+1 on this. I’m still trying to figure out what the R120 comp is and why I need it.

FWIW I bought the R120 comp as my go-to powder ski. I emailed back and forth with Marshal for a while, deciding between the R120 and the FL113. Ultimately I went with the R120. While not the most nimble ski for trees on a pow day, I imagine it will be quite fun skiing big open lines on deep days at Palisades/Alpine.

[Quandary]

Yessir! Discussed at length in the AM 50/50 thread!

https://www.tetongravity.com/forums/...t=heritage+lab

Great thanks. The changes from the Pure 99 make sense to me. I never really got the design intent of the Pure 99. If I have 99 under foot its a soft snow ski or a day after snow ski and I want some rocker. The way the Pure 99 is designed I may as well be on my MX83s.

Is the Comp 99 same changes to the Blossom just stouter?

[Marshal Olson]

Great thanks. The changes from the Pure 99 make sense to me. I never really got the design intent of the Pure 99. If I have 99 under foot its a soft snow ski or a day after snow ski and I want some rocker. The way the Pure 99 is designed I may as well be on my MX83s.

Is the Comp 99 same changes to the Blossom just stouter?

Exactly! The Comp has a denser core, 3x the metal content and increased damping.

[Quandary]

Nice!

[iriponsnow]

Ohhhhh sweeeeeetness!

[iriponsnow]

Props to this mag for the mount. We decided to go +1cm with the STH2’s.

[Marshal Olson]

Yeah dudes!

[Norseman]

Got a few more days on the COMPS.

Skis straight up slay.

Took em to Big Sky and they are a very appropriate tool for that place. 20 turns down 2000 vert windbuff runs... 60mph giant groomers... the skis are unflappable.

Just so solid and composed. Laser-guided precision, and edge grip for miles, yet they'll drift with an easing of the edge angle. They demand balance and the tail will talk if your weight gets back, but I'd say they are forgiving with the turn shapes they allow. I detuned a tad more from my first and am now totally happy with the edges. I'd encourage others to not be shy with the detuning. Let those tails release and they're dang versatile for a ski with this build. I mounted 1cm back, with a 315mm bsl Lange RS, and am happy there.

Today skied them at Alpy in spring conditions... cold buff in the high shade and corn everywhere else with patches of creamed spud piles.

These are the best spring rippers I've ever had. Not in the bumps, ha, as they dont change direction quickly, but arcing GS turns through and over them, exploding the spudpiles and launching into the next high-g turn. Then shutting down and smearing through a choke before railing hard out into the apron. On slushy groomers they are insane. Narrow and stiff enough to slice through the chop like buttah, wide enough to not boot out when draggin elbow, and releasability to shut down before chopping up the children.

They are very damp. Any more damp and they'd be starting to feel "dead" for my 190lb. They do return good energy from getting loaded forcefully but the little vibes and feels are muted way down. Perfect for a charger.

These are hella rad skis man.

[2FUNKY]

https://media2.giphy.com/media/10Jpr...ized-large.gif

[DumbIdeasOnly]

Only got a few hours on the 188 in weird spring snow, so these are necessarily extremely preliminary impressions, but given the fedex fubar I thought maybe worth sharing.

I’d echo a lot of what’s been written so far, the construction feels excellent and the skis are great. Unfortunately, I never skied the Monster 98/108, so I can’t comment there but the R99 Comp really reminds me of the ~2010 Kastle MX line which is very high praise from me, definitely requires some technique to get the ski to respond but rewarding on groomers. I haven’t been able to subject them to the typical “packed powder” New England groomer conditions which are one of my preferred acid tests for feel but the weird crusts I did encounter the ski did a great job of muting out.

Off piste, they were a bit challenging for me in the soft gloppy snow I was using them in and my first turn ended with my ass on the snow. I think this was partly because the snow conditions were quite challenging, but also reflected some of the sensitivity to tail pressure a few others referenced. Didn’t happen again when I made a point of staying forward. Also possibly tune and further testing is needed.

Some brief notes on the Comp 99 vs. a legend pro rider. I’d need to do a proper A/B with the Pro Rider to be fair (and unfortunately I couldn’t get both skis on the hill that day), but my suspicion is that the LPR is easier off piste than the Comp R99 in the sense the LPR somewhat harder to turn and therefore also harder to screw up a turn on. The FL105 thread referenced the R99 as a “race-car” I believe, and I presently think this comparison is quite apt because of how responsive the R99 is to technical inputs.

Overall, I would describe the R99 as being most like a more technically responsive Pro Rider. I am stoked on the skis and looking forward to the flex breaking in a bit next season (or later this season if snowpack holds up and I take a few field trips).