Top 10 best / most revolutionary skis

[horizon]

On another ski forum, someone posted a top 10 list of 'best skis ever', defined as the skis that excelled in performance compared to those at the time, or introduced a new concept / breakthrough.

I think the rule should be that the ski can be aimed at any category/standard of skier, so if you think (for instance) that the Metron is a huge step forward for gapers, in it goes.

I don't know enough to compile such a Top 10, so here's that guy's list (which seems odd to me btw, I suggested the Spatula, and Elan for coming up with carving skis, but I'm sure there are many others).

Let the flaming begin.

10: Salomon Pocket Rocket.
9: Salomon X-Scream Pilot
8: Dynastar Pro Model
7: Atomic Ten-Ex
6: Volkl V-Explosive.
5: Dynastar Speed 63
4: Dynastar: Arno Adam Pro Model.
3: K2 Four
2: K2 Ak Launcher
1: Volkl Karma.

[glademaster]

Spatula, without a doubt. Changed the fat ski market and the way in which powder is skiied.

[mojorisin]

Not that I really know enough to create my own top 10, but spats and explosivs come to mind (if not for innovation, then for sheer staying power of the 'sploders)

EDIT: that, and I'm obviously doing my best to procrastinate studying for this midterm i have coming up in 2 hours ... MUST. START. NOW.

[CUBUCK]

What order are these in? I find it hard to believe that someone would consider the Karma to be the best or a ski that revolutionized the industry. I would probably drop the x-scream pilot and replace it with those yellow x-scream series. I would also drop all of those Dynastars off the list. I would replace the atomic tenex with the volkl g4, add the spats for sure. You are probably right about the elans as well. Doesn't give you ten but I think you need to trim some of the fat off his list

[mojorisin]

actually, what am I thinking... Horizon should've been JONGED a while ago for bringing up all those skinny carving sticks. Who here honestly cares about how elan "revolutionized" carving skis? that's epic talk.

THREAD HIJACK: 10 Best/Revolutionary Fatties
not sure there's any need for a rank: PP's, splats, launchers, 'sploders, lotus138 (jury still out?), g-funks (?) just to name a few

[marshalolson]

10 most revolutionary "fat" skis, i no particular order:

pocket rocket
igneous FGS
powder plus
snow ranger
explosiv
xscream
flame bigs
1080
morrison pro's
spatula

most revolutionary skis period:
head 360
miller soft
k2 four
snow ranger
salomon xscream
1080
explosiv
powder +
7xk
mark IV

[ulty_guy]

volkl explosiv
volkl snow ranger
head standard
elan scx
rossignol 7xk
1080

[Core Shot]

powder plus
snow ranger
explosiv


These 3 are the grandfathers of todays fat skis.

Since then, nothing has been truly "revolutionary" other than:
1) more sidecut, which is not suitable to most folks here, and
2) twin tips, for you fakey fuckers, and
3) the whole Spatula reverse sidecut and/or reverse camber concept.


FYI, there is a big discrepancy between "best" skis and "most revolutionary" skis. They should really be 2 separate lists. Elan SCX is a classic example of a revolutionary ski that would never be called the best ski.

[ill-advised strategy]

the K2 GS Race was an important baby step towards more sidecut.

going from sidecut 7.8 to sidecut 10.0 was actually pretty huge in 1994...and made everybody take notice to the idea that this extra sidecut made the ski work better.

can't forget the Kneissel Ergo

whatever the first really short new school slalom ski was..

the K2 poacher..

black smoke 208's (low profile tip DH/super G ski with a lot of sidecut)

RD Valdez Extreme

heh...RD bad bitch?

[nopainnojane]

No mention of any Volants outside the spatula?, The original FX-1 was the first true cap ski construction that moved the industry away from strictly sandwitch construction. The Chubb was a revolutionary powder ski for its overall versitility and the Power Carve was the first Mid Fat ski back in '97. Love them or hate them, alot of what they did has led to what we are currently seeing out in the marketplace today outside of twin-tip skis.

[half-fast]

dynastar G9, S9

[ill-advised strategy]

ski the steel, steal the thunder

[InspectorGadget]

Hexcel.

With an aluminum honeycomb core that made them feathery light, Hexcels were revolutionary and should be in the top 10.

[bad_roo]

Salomon Pocket Rocket for pioneering the use of green robots.

[horizon]

actually, what am I thinking... Horizon should've been JONGED a while ago for bringing up all those skinny carving sticks. Who here honestly cares about how elan "revolutionized" carving skis? that's epic talk.

THREAD HIJACK: 10 Best/Revolutionary Fatties
not sure there's any need for a rank: PP's, splats, launchers, 'sploders, lotus138 (jury still out?), g-funks (?) just to name a few

Yo, I brought up Elan (which at the time was one of the fattest skis around I guess, in terms of total area) and Spatula. (and K2 Four on the original thread elsewhere, coz He Who is the Source of as Many Flamewars as Jamie Pierre and Tanner Hall won comps on them when others were on old-style straight skis).

But then again, I never got JONGED, so thanks for the belated warm welcome

[biggins]

The snowboard. Sidecut and shape anyone?

[mntlion]

elan SCX (first mass produced shape)

Atomic powder plus (based on snowboards, and one of the first fats)

Volkl Explosive (has ANY other ski been teh same for 10+ years?)

RD bad Bitch (first chick skik?)

Goode Carbon versitile (first light/carbon ski?)

Volant spatula (nuff said)

Rossi SM comp and 4S/4G, Salomon PR / X scream, K2 KVC (long production run that the pbulic liked)

Fritsch Diamers (ya not skis, but the first skiable touring binding)

1080 (first mass made twin)

Line dragon (first long twin tip?)

Anyting Iggy (first fat/ big mountain custom company?)

[Tippster]

Hexcel.

With an aluminum honeycomb core that made them feathery light, Hexcels were revolutionary and should be in the top 10.

Yet nobody uses the tech. any more.....

Head Skis - 1st Metal ski
Rossignol ROC Comp - first laminate ski (AFAIK)
Fisher somethings - 1st Powder specific (fat) ski
Salomon - 1st Cap ski
Elan Parabolic - 1st "shaped" ski
Igneus - 1st skier specific "custom" ski (AFAIK)
BroModel - 1st ski designed by maggots.

[Grizz]

Stockli Asteroid, any Ignious

While there were other fats before these two, they were the first I can think of to have the stiffness of a modern big mountain fat.

At the time, the 201 Asteroid changed my life.

[72Twenty]

I agree with mntlion, but wanted to add a couple; Tippster beat me to one...

The Head 360. Metal (my dad had some, still has them in storage)

The K2 Extreme/TNC/KVC models. Not really revolutionary as far as technology, but revolutionary in terms of marketing. These were the skis that Plake, Schmidt, Hattrup, etc. were skiing on and they were pushing the image of "extreme skiing". I think they really started the idea that you could have a high quality all mtn expert/big mountain ski that didn't have to be a race ski.

[The AD]

Head Skis - 1st Metal skis

Any list that doesn't include Head is retarded.

If you look at the list horizon posted to begin with, doesn't it seem a little heavy on recent skis? Seriously, what is so revolutionary about the Pocket Rocket? I have a feeling most people are going to list skis made in the last ten or fifteen years because that's what they're familiar with. That doesn't make them "the most revolutionary skis" of all-time, though.

[mntlion]

PR was one of the best selling, fat, twinned skis. That is new/rev..

the ski its self is nothing new, just first to sell a bunch (just like the K2 4, KVC, SM comp, etc)

[climb2ski]

fisher mountain X - revolutionary for me!!

[The AD]

PR was one of the best selling, fat, twinned skis. That is new/rev..

We'll have to agree to disagree on that.

[Falldise]

Rossi 4s. Oh and I had Hexcel splittails and there was absofuckinglutely nothing revolutionary about those skis.