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  1. #1
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    Review: Amplid Cholesterone RC

    So,here is a quick review of the planks.
    Sorry for the winding and confused writeup:







    Me : 180cm/72kg and Tourist.
    Skis : Amplid Cholesterone R.C 184cm
    -145-126-141mm
    -Radius 31m.
    -Tip+Tail rocker and normal camber underfoot.
    -Mounted -30mm of centerline with dukes and skied with factors.

    Skis Liked: im.103s,Explosivs and old Gotamas.
    Skis Not liked: Obsethed,Nordica Beasts,Atomics in general.

    Conditions:
    -Normal Cholesterones in the Alps : Windbuff and pow.
    -Cholesterone RCs in Japan : Springsluff,windcrust,mank,pow.



    So,skied the normal camber cholesterones for few days in the alps in december. Skis really took me by suprise,had only heard the companys name and honestly didnt expect..well..anything.
    Skis seemed to have that solid,handbuild and burly feel in them,that kind that gives you impression of a swiss watch.
    When skiing the sticks really took me by suprise. Damn damp,burly no-nonsense fats that didnt blink if you hit ice or deathcookies.
    Like the bastard child of im103s and gotamas.Truly.
    They skied the pow well also,predictable and no tail hang even if the snow started to turn windslabby. The stiffish shovel and camber just left me with a feeling that a rocker could be nice on theese skis.

    They were about he best euroski that I had been on :
    -Theycould manage the groomers well,even if the sidecut is bloody weird.When turned on the edge the ski acts like a 60m+radius ski instead of the 31m that it is supposed to be. Weird.
    -They totally destroyed crud,cutup,mang,ice and infants.No speedlimit.
    -They were goood in pow.
    -They are suprisingly quick to throw around in moguls or trees or slash quick speed scrubs.
    What the skis left me craving was a rocker to help it handle pow better,to avoid nastiness when skiing crust and make the ski even turnier in tight spots.




    And voila,there was Cholesterone R.C on the market!

    When I got the skis they were of the same burly construction but I was a bit baffled by the rocker. Instead of a continious growing rocker like pontoons,they had theese small (1cm) abrupt rockers and normal camber underfoot. Hmm?
    The snow in japan was...well...practically everything.
    First spring snow wich the skis handled with applomb. Then it turned deep pow,in wich the skis ruled.
    And finally we got this weird hard,thin,windslab on top of sugar in witch the skis did well,unsurprisingly.

    But the whole time I was like ,wtf?
    The R.C skis practically didnt differ from the normal camber skis exept they maybe had a bit sacrifice from the top speed (wich still is beyond what I´ll prolly ever reach) and gotten even weirder on hard piste!

    The rocker is just so bloody wrong shaped and stiff that it tries to plow through stuff instead of floating on top of that,like pontoons do.
    Especially with horror crust the tips couple of times just decided to plow in the crud instead of flying over or worse,decide to dive under.
    And because of the relatively centered mounting point (mine -30mm,amplid guys recommended in a recent email max.-40mm) the tips did have a tendency to dive if really pushing them in dry,ligth snow. I might even try to go -50mm but lets see.
    Why refering to pontoons? Well, happened to ski with a dude on them so got direct visual feedback,thats why.






    Verdict :


    Amplid guys : Wtf?
    With a different rocker shape theese skis would propably be one of the best sticks around.Period.
    Now they are just superb. If you decide to do a rockered ski, do a rockered ski.Hopefully the guys decide to push it further the next year,because we could have a winner here.


    Amplid Cholesterones: 8+/10
    Amplid Cholesterone RC : 9-/10
    (they get extra one point just because they make me giggle like a shortskirted japanese schoolgirl when I ski. Dont know why.)
    Last edited by Meathelmet; 01-03-2009 at 02:33 AM.

    The floggings will continue until morale improves.

  2. #2
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    Do you have any photos of what the rocker profile looks like?
    Seriously, this can’t turn into yet another ON3P thread....

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by iggyskier View Post
    Do you have any photos of what the rocker profile looks like?
    Sorry,no. But it looks like they practically have sandbeldted things of the base instead of pressing the chamber...


    Edit : uuh,like this.

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  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by Meathelmet View Post
    Sorry,no. But it looks like they practically have sandbeldted things of the base instead of pressing the chamber...


    Edit : uuh,like this.
    definitely doesn't look like a ton of rocker, but not as abrupt as some of the rockers I have seen recently (surface 3-stage comes to mind, but everyone on them seems to have no issue with it). But sort of hard to tell from that photo.

    What do you mean when you say it looks like the sanded things off the base? Like the base/edge material get thinner where the rocker is? That would be way strange.
    Last edited by iggyskier; 01-03-2009 at 03:22 AM.
    Seriously, this can’t turn into yet another ON3P thread....

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by iggyskier View Post
    definitely doesn't look like a ton of rocker, but not as abrupt as some of the rockers I have seen recently (surface 3-stage comes to mind, but everyone on them seems to have no issue with it). But sort of hard to tell from that photo.

    What do you mean when you say it looks like the sanded things off the base? Like the base/edge material get thinner where the rocker is? That would be way strange.

    The picture doesnt show it proper but it practically looks like the core has been milled thinner from the underside,if you know what I mean?
    Like,the upside/topsheet is practically totally flat and even.



    Damn,hard to try to put it down to words...Maybe I should do a MS Paint drawing or something..

    The floggings will continue until morale improves.

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Meathelmet View Post
    The picture doesnt show it proper but it practically looks like the core has been milled thinner from the underside,if you know what I mean?
    Like,the upside/topsheet is practically totally flat and even.



    Damn,hard to try to put it down to words...Maybe I should do a MS Paint drawing or something..
    hmmm....weird. Sort of hard to imagine. I might be able to imagine it, but again, sort of hard so not sure if what I am thinking of it right. Haha if you are feeling the MS Paint thing do it. If not, no worries.

    Since I am doing my own ski building thing I just always find it interesting to see what other people are doing construction wise.

    I saw a pair of the non-rockered version of this ski a few weeks ago and I usually look over skis pretty thoroughly and didn't notice anything unusual.
    Last edited by iggyskier; 01-03-2009 at 03:43 AM.
    Seriously, this can’t turn into yet another ON3P thread....

  7. #7
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    Ta-Daah!

    The floggings will continue until morale improves.

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Meathelmet View Post
    Ta-Daah!
    Ha...


    If you think the RCs have funky camper... wait until you see my Surfaces .

    So, gonna go out on Mon or Tue? Or 2morrow?

    I'm in Tku at the moment, but HELL is only like 2 h away.

    Drop me an SMS when ya have yer timetable sorted.
    Quote Originally Posted by RootSkier
    You should post naked pictures of this godless heathen.

  9. #9
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    Hmmmm...interesting review.

    A friend of mine just bought ARG:s for Japan. The thought: why not to go all the way for some of the best pow in the world?

    I guess the guy was right. (and btw. the guy tested ski on some of our icy hard mole hills today and said he had pretty much fun sliding around on those things...not to mention the looks he got!)

    I guess I am going to keep my Gotamas and update to some real R/R if some real pow is going to be had in the near future!
    "Average summit heights are around 1000m to 1200m but on the high glaciers of the main Lyngen Peninsula there are summits over 1400m with Jiehkkevarri being the highest at 1834m above sea level."

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jiehkevarri View Post
    I guess I am going to keep my Gotamas and update to some real R/R if some real pow is going to be had in the near future!
    Watch out with the real R/R skis... Imho,the trad sidecut+rocker is the way to go in the europe. Almost all my days this season have been bc during the day and some transfers in the slopes in the evening.. Wouldnt wanted to do that stuff on a reverse sidecut skis liker spat/138s/praxispows... Hrr..shudders...


    And iggy, the regular cholesterones are like supergotamas. Nothing weird about them,just a burly and predictable ski.

    The floggings will continue until morale improves.

  11. #11
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    Watch out with the real R/R skis... Imho,the trad sidecut+rocker is the way to go in the europe. Almost all my days this season have been bc during the day and some transfers in the slopes in the evening.. Wouldnt wanted to do that stuff on a reverse sidecut skis liker spat/138s/praxispows... Hrr..shudders...
    I hear ya.

    Armada JJ or Rossignol S7 are options too
    "Average summit heights are around 1000m to 1200m but on the high glaciers of the main Lyngen Peninsula there are summits over 1400m with Jiehkkevarri being the highest at 1834m above sea level."

  12. #12
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    Interesting review. My bias should be easy to infer from the login name (although not sure which guys from Amplid you spoke with, maybe europe?)

    As you pointed out, the Cholesterone RC is more "kicked" fore and aft of the bindings, rather than being "rockered" over the whole length of the ski. And yes, there is a tiny bit of regular camber under the binding area, which really helps stability in varying conditions. Regarding construction, we form the profile in the press (not by grinding, or anything like that - and of course the core is specifically designed for that shape). As for rockering it more like the Pontoon, that's not really what we had in mind; it's a great ski too, but the Cholesterone RC is a totally different concept.

    Some people prefer the standard Cholesterone for exactly the reasons you pointed out. Not sure I'd agree with your comment on the sidecut though. I ski both models and still can't decide if I had to pick just one. For chest deep days here at Hood, it's RC all the way, but if I was taking one pair to travel, might be the regular version.

    Oh, and I have my RCs mounted -10mm. I'm the same size as the reviewer, and I've never had the tips dive. Seems like you'd be riding pretty far back on the tails at -50mm, but everybody has their own preference.

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by amplid View Post
    Interesting review. My bias should be easy to infer from the login name (although not sure which guys from Amplid you spoke with, maybe europe?)
    Not sure I'd agree with your comment on the sidecut though.
    Oh, and I have my RCs mounted -10mm. I'm the same size as the reviewer, and I've never had the tips dive. Seems like you'd be riding pretty far back on the tails at -50mm, but everybody has their own preference.
    Yup,talked to the europes end. -40mm was about the max that they recommended. Tempted to move a bit more back from the -30mm that I have at the moment,but will ski this season and see how things work out. But the tip dive was quite real,maybe the dukes that caused it,maybe my shitty riding style,but still..

    The sidecut thing definately is the weirdest. I have ridden 103s for few years now,and even with their 38m radius they are way easier to arc a carve on.You tilt them and they lock in to the turn and they hold. The RCs just drop you off the seat,like trying to turn a 70m radius ski,if you understand what I mean?You have to lean waaay forward,try to hold pressure more on the downhil ski and watch out when trying to balance yourself on both skis,or something.

    And the rocker,well,it is up the designer! I cant say I totally love it. It works,but the benefits are just not as big as the drawbacks,imho. The difference between the regular and RC is just not large enough,the skis are just a bit too similar at them moment. A decent/different rocker would have differentiated the skis so that there wouldnt been so much overlap. The Friflyt (norwedgian magazine) seemed to have quite similar opinions in their recent review also,not that matters.


    But,dont get me wrong. Definately one of the best,if not the best ski that I have been on. Just that with some small twaking it would be the best,maybe just for me,but still. Looking forward for the next versions!

    The floggings will continue until morale improves.

  14. #14
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    Glad you like them; thanks for the good feedback. I haven't skied the Head 103, but I'm guessing your comments are based on the fact the Cholesterone is 125mm at the waist (quite a bit fatter). You can definitely feel the width when carving, but seems on par for that style ski.

    I think the difference between the two models is very noticeable on hardpack or crud. On the standard cambered version, burning up groomers is no problem (and strangely fun on such a big ski), more versatile and less of a quiver ski. Due to the underfoot camber feature, the RC is okay for getting around in hard conditions, but definitely doesn't carve like the regular version. The RC feels like it "planes" out quicker in pow, but both models are very capable in deep conditions.

    We're a small company with a very focused product line. There are definitely some skis we'd like to add, but what you see now is based on what our team wanted most. The review from Friflyt isn't surprising, it's right in line with what we usually hear from that market (and often quite different than what customers in North America ask for). RC is all the buzz here right now, but there's clearly still a place for standard camber in a ski like the Cholesterone.

    That being said, I suspect you'll only see the RC version over here (NA) next year. And pretty sure I'll be hoarding a set of the standard cambered ones for myself before they're all gone (probably soon).

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