Short review: Downskis Countdown 6

[freak]

Down Skis - Countdown 6

Skis
Length: 185cm (in reality they measure 182cm straight from tip to tail)
Sidecut: 127-107-121mm, 25m radius. Longish reverse sections at tip and tail
Profile: A little bit of camber underfoot significant long rocker at the tip, less, but still quite a bit of rocker in the tail. Overall quite a lot of rocker for a ski in this category
Manufactorers webpage: http://www.downskis.com/ski-specifications/countdown-6
Construction seems to be flawless so far. Edges are very sharp from the factory, I detuned them in the rockered areas, which is also recommended by Downskis.

Me
184cm, ~70kg (~140lbs), fit, skiing quite a bit (100-150 days a year, a bit over half of them touring). I live in the Alps (Innsbruck) and ski mainly in the surrounding mountains. In general I like skis which are playful but not too soft and with a loose, kinda slarvy feel.CD6 are mounted with Dynafit Vertical FTs, at -8cm (manufacturers recommendation is -9cm I think). Other skis I usually ski are Rossignol Bandit B3 Pro (the 195cm one with the metal in it, mainly for groomers), Powder Plus, Praxis Hybrids, Völkl Explosivs (spring touring and steep stuff) and Downskis Countdown 2 (soft snow touring, there should be a review floating around here somewhere).
I got the skis for free from Gregor (Geo039 here on TGR) at Downskis. I guess that fact wont influence my review too much, just saying^^
Until now, i used the skis on about 20 days, mainly in soft snow. Boots are Scarpa Maestrale btw. (non RS), which I actually find a bit too soft.

First impression
They are light. Very light. Im not someone to weight stuff because i just dont care enough and i guess nowadays there are several skis with the same measurements that are in the same range of weight, but for me the low weight is still astounding. I never had any skis which were so light. A difference in skis with comparable widths from other manufacturers is the quite significant rocker at tip and tail. It is obvious that the CD6 are aimed at soft snow.
They aren’t exactly stiff, but not exactly soft either. In my opinion, they are relatively stiff for their weight though. The flex is well dialed in my opinion and is overall more poppy than damp.

Test
I mainly skied the CD6 in soft snow, ranging from very fluffy and deep blower, over older, creamy pow to very wet fresh snow. As expected, they float pretty well, at least considering their width and length. They easily beat skis which are of comparable width (sidestashes, stokes) in that department. They also turn on a dime. This expression might be a bit overused, but is definitely true for the CD6. I think I haven’t really been that surprised on how easy a ski turned since skiing spatulas for the first time. They are very playful skis, which is partly due to the significant rocker and the reverse-sections at tip and tail, but probably also because of the, at least for me, unusual short length. But it is so easy the smear in and out of turns, to slash the tails around or to pop off things, all the while with the possibility to go from full speed to stop in very few meters. That makes the skis a lot of fun, especially in steep, technical terrain, while jumping of things or in the trees.



Skiing the CD6 in soft snow is actually so easy, that I do not even notice that the Maestrales are so soft. Nevertheless, they are surprisingly stable at high speeds, at least as long as the snow is soft. They also perform very well in snow with a slight, breakable crust. They slice through the crust very well and are very predictable.
On hard snow or on groomers, the short length and the even shorter effective edge get noticeable quite quickly. The skis turn still very easy and also run on their radius, but they do have a speed limit here. Especially if I do not stay very central and exact on the edge, the skis tend to chatter while going fast. This was a bit surprising to me, since they are quite stable in soft snow.



Over all, I really like the skis for touring so far, especially because it is just so easy, on the up as well as on the down. I have to admit that we had a pretty good winter so far though, so i mainly skied pretty good snow so far…

+
+very light
+very, very easy to ski
+lots of float, considering the size
+very maneuvreable (can you actually say that?)
+suprisingly stable in soft snow

-
-short length and even shorter effective edge combined with the low weight make the skis unstable at higher speeds in hard snow
-in very deep, very soft snow the tips dive. I think this is the case with most skis comparable in length and width, but 5-10cm longer would make quite a difference for the CD6 here...

Personal opinion
Very nice touring skis with a clear focus on soft snow. The low weight makes them suitable even for very long tours. Except from a touring ski, I could see the CD6 as a light and playful powder/allround ski, especially for light skiers or everyone searching a ski which is very easy/effortless to ski and mainly skis soft snow. I personally would like them to be 5cm longer...

freak~[&]

[verbier61]

Where did you drill them? -8 or -9?

[freak]

at -8cm. i should have probably gone a bit further back, but overall i really like them as they are.

freak~[&]

[Dr_Moreau]

Interested in these or CD 4 for a touring ski. But I'll probably hold of on bying anything for now. But thanks for the review and I would appreciate it if you write some more if you ski them more in harder conditions and crud.

[I've seen black diamonds!]

^^^^ My maiden voyage on my CD 4's will be this weekend. Will report back.

[freak]

I would appreciate it if you write some more if you ski them more in harder conditions and crud.

i will. i havent skied the cd4, but they should be quite a bit different. progressive radius, less rocker, more directional...

freak~[&]

[Dr_Moreau]

^^^^ My maiden voyage on my CD 4's will be this weekend. Will report back.

That would be great, thanks! Not much info on these skis but I think they look very interesting.

[I've seen black diamonds!]

Interested in these or CD 4 for a touring ski. But I'll probably hold of on bying anything for now. But thanks for the review and I would appreciate it if you write some more if you ski them more in harder conditions and crud.

3 laps today on my CD4's with Dynafits and Maestrales. Skied trees with pow, wind affected pow and sun crust, mostly lower angle, but we hit a few steeper sections. Very stable and surfy for a relatively short, narrow ski. They skied better the faster I went, but we're just fine noodling around as well. I didn't really need to think about them, which is a great start. If they're this good on corn and chalk they're keepers for sure. Will post a full review after more time in more conditions and terrain.

[geo039]

Nice to hear. As always here to listen and improve our products to any feedback is appreciated.

On a side...SPAM: We are running a small sale so Euros get on it!

3 laps today on my CD4's with Dynafits and Maestrales. Skied trees with pow, wind affected pow and sun crust, mostly lower angle, but we hit a few steeper sections. Very stable and surfy for a relatively short, narrow ski. They skied better the faster I went, but we're just fine noodling around as well. I didn't really need to think about them, which is a great start. If they're this good on corn and chalk they're keepers for sure. Will post a full review after more time in more conditions and terrain.

[skiAK]

With about 20 days on some CD6 I can agree with just about everything the OP said. Super light, insanely easy to ski, really stable and easy in every condition you might face in the backcountry. Especially happy with how well they ski in variable wind affected crap snow. Because they are so light, they aren't the best at busting through skied out crud, but they are so light and easy to turn that you can bounce your way through crud like you were Johnny Mosley zippering a bump line. For their width, they kinda suck on hardpack, but I didn't get them for that. In every other type of snow they let me rip long, stable down the fall line turns, but let me slarve off speed or slip a turn in three feet if I need to just as easily. Perfect backcountry ski! Regarding small sale, do I get some kind of special discount if I buy three pairs in one season? My dad needs a pair of 4's and those 3's are just begging to empty my wallet.

[geo039]

3 comments:
1) Thanks for the comments and support. Appreciated!
2) Email me. I know we can work something out...and yes all our returning customers get deals on sales and of course our yearly presale.
3) CD6 is sold out (maybe 1 set in CH if I can find them) That being said anyone interested please get on our mailing/ presale list.

Perfect backcountry ski! Regarding small sale, do I get some kind of special discount if I buy three pairs in one season? My dad needs a pair of 4's and those 3's are just begging to empty my wallet.

[suntoucher]

haven´t had much time on my cd6 because the 3s are soo bloody good, go get some

[geo039]

Good to hear. Looks like a fill up coming your direction. ENJOY!

haven´t had much time on my cd6 because the 3s are soo bloody good, go get some

[neck beard]

Especially happy with how well they ski in variable wind affected crap snow.

This is a big call. Not one to be made lightly

Can anyone else who here has skied the 6 back it up?

[geo039]

On TGR page/PM Franz Klammer....Franz doing a little trip on the 6:
http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/s...-CA-1-12-2013)
80% of the 6s went to guides in Italy so not sure what else you will hear here. 1 CD6 (I think...need to do the count tonight) is actually not sold this year.
More over here:
http://www.skiforum.it/forum/down-sk...12-2013-a.html

This is a big call. Not one to be made lightly

Can anyone else who here has skied the 6 back it up?

[neck beard]

80% of the 6s went to guides in Italy so not sure what else you will hear here.

I'm in no hurry.

[freak]

This is a big call. Not one to be made lightly

Can anyone else who here has skied the 6 back it up?

im not so much into skiing crap snow, so my experience is kinda limited. but the cd6 are quite good as long as you sink into the snow somehow, e.g. breakable crust. not that they make skiing breakable crust enjoyable, but they make it easier compared to the other skis i toured with during the last years (mainly explosivs, but also cd2 and hardsides). i still feel that the too soft boots are a bigger problem in that kind of conditions. just ripped out the tongue of my maestrale liners though, which might be the ultimate reason to finally get stiffer boots...
if the snow is hard, e.g. icy groomers, the cd6 actually ski better the more i get used to them in that kind of conditions. the edgehold is good for a lightweight ski with that much rocker, although it took me a while to get used to the very short effective edge. i would not say that the skis rail on hard hard snow/groomers, but they do carve nicely and perform well over all. as i said, i usually dont ski groomers/bad snow/tracked stuff, so limited experience.
where the skis absolutely rule is if the snow has a very slight wind- or even suncrust, just enough to hook or nag on a more conventional ski and prevent you from going fast. i dont know how much i wished for some rocker in my explosivs because i knew it would be so easy to ski such a kind of snow which we have kinda often here in the alps.

freak~[&]

[gritter]

Geo - I like the look of the down skis but do you plan to make different lengths at all? The current sizes (with the possible exception of #4) are going to be too much ski for me.

g.

[suntoucher]

no idea what skis you have but definitly don´t worry about the 6 beeing to much ski, even the 3 is that much ski for its chargeability

[Dr_Moreau]

3 laps today on my CD4's with Dynafits and Maestrales. Skied trees with pow, wind affected pow and sun crust, mostly lower angle, but we hit a few steeper sections. Very stable and surfy for a relatively short, narrow ski. They skied better the faster I went, but we're just fine noodling around as well. I didn't really need to think about them, which is a great start. If they're this good on corn and chalk they're keepers for sure. Will post a full review after more time in more conditions and terrain.

Looking forward to it!

[ExoticSkis]

Our CD6 review....
http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/s...ntdown-6-(CD6)