We had some cut-up foot-deep powder in Powder Bowl, and the rest of the mountain was frozen— sun-melted the day before and frozen over night. By afternoon most of the hard snow became spring-like — crud off-piste and easy carving on-piste.
For each ski it was only a couple of runs, of course.
In order of appearance:
Salomon QST 106 — 181cm Very light, good edge grip, not so damped. They have soft tips with a lot of rocker and are stiff underfoot with pretty stiff tails and slight rocker. On piste they mostly engage with the rear two thirds of the ski, and feel like there isn’t much sidecut— you have to slide them more than most skis in order to turn sharply. Off piste they turn easily with the fronts leading well, but it feels like the stiff tails don’t bend much and don’t do their part. (I may be a little unfair, as these were the first runs of the day and I always ski better later in the day.)
Head Monster 98 — 177cm As you would expect, they are totally damped and feel glued the snow. Terrific carving on piste, and off piste I can steer them through anything. A totally smooth feel. No surprise that they’re heavier than most of the other skis. Their stiffness is medium-plus, and at 61 years old, I’d like them a little softer. For that matter, I wish they had a skosh more sidecut for tighter turns on piste (I felt the same about the Monster 88s last year). They have a very small amount of tip rocker and that seemed sufficient in my little bit of powder. They’re in a tie with Vantages (below) for my second favorite ski of the day.
Dynastar Legend x106 — 182cm They’ve got more taper and rocker on their tips and tails than most of the others this day— more than I like— but that and their medium stiffness makes them easy off piste. On piste they carve OK, with the middle two thirds engaging. They’re fairly light, yet do have some damping. These are my fourth favorite of the day.
Nordica Enforcer 100 — 177cm Say, these are really damped! They’re medium or medium plus in stiffness, and are a little heavier than most of the other skis of this day. They seem to have a typical amount of sidecut on piste, hold a very good edge, and are surprisingly easy to maneuver in tight trees. I like the flex: they seem fairly uniform tip-to-tail, as opposed to some that are stiff in the middle. Medium tip rocker and small tail rocker, and nearly the whole ski engages with the snow on piste. We had some challenging crud mid-mountain and charging through it was easiest with these skis. Move aside Fischer Motive 95s, these are probably my new favorite one ski quiver!
Volkl 90Eight — 177cm I love the Kendos at 88mm wide, so I asked the Volkl reps for a wider equivalent. And, at 98mm, these are (kind of). Medium stiffness, an even flex tip-to-tail, slight tip rocker, great edge grip. They’re really nimble and responsive. But they are very light and have no damping whatsoever. So I can dance down any slope, but can’t roar through tough crud. I know what you’re thinking: why not Mantras? They may slay the crud, but they aren’t cambered (which I don’t like on piste), and too stiff for my taste.
Atomic Vantage 100 cTi — 180cm They do everything well. I like the sidecut, medium stiffness, even flex, slight tip rocker, and they’re the first adequately damped Atomic I’ve been on in years. By the afternoon there wasn’t much hard snow to test on, but they didn’t seem to hold an edge that well. These are in a tie for second favorites of the day with the Monsters.
Rossignol Sky 7 HD — 180cm (98mm wide) It seems that Rossi did a good thing by introducing the HD versions of the “7” series of ski models. They had to add weight to do it, but these are noticeably better damped than their spectacularly popular predecessors, and they feel pretty good when carving on piste. Rossi continues with the 5-point design, so only the middle three-fourths of the ski grips the snow on piste. Off piste the tips and tails feel overly soft and/or rockered, such that the skis feel too short. I probably should’ve tried the 188cm model.
Skis keep getting better and better! Ain’t it amazing?
And thank you Sturtevant’s!
For each ski it was only a couple of runs, of course.
In order of appearance:
Salomon QST 106 — 181cm Very light, good edge grip, not so damped. They have soft tips with a lot of rocker and are stiff underfoot with pretty stiff tails and slight rocker. On piste they mostly engage with the rear two thirds of the ski, and feel like there isn’t much sidecut— you have to slide them more than most skis in order to turn sharply. Off piste they turn easily with the fronts leading well, but it feels like the stiff tails don’t bend much and don’t do their part. (I may be a little unfair, as these were the first runs of the day and I always ski better later in the day.)
Head Monster 98 — 177cm As you would expect, they are totally damped and feel glued the snow. Terrific carving on piste, and off piste I can steer them through anything. A totally smooth feel. No surprise that they’re heavier than most of the other skis. Their stiffness is medium-plus, and at 61 years old, I’d like them a little softer. For that matter, I wish they had a skosh more sidecut for tighter turns on piste (I felt the same about the Monster 88s last year). They have a very small amount of tip rocker and that seemed sufficient in my little bit of powder. They’re in a tie with Vantages (below) for my second favorite ski of the day.
Dynastar Legend x106 — 182cm They’ve got more taper and rocker on their tips and tails than most of the others this day— more than I like— but that and their medium stiffness makes them easy off piste. On piste they carve OK, with the middle two thirds engaging. They’re fairly light, yet do have some damping. These are my fourth favorite of the day.
Nordica Enforcer 100 — 177cm Say, these are really damped! They’re medium or medium plus in stiffness, and are a little heavier than most of the other skis of this day. They seem to have a typical amount of sidecut on piste, hold a very good edge, and are surprisingly easy to maneuver in tight trees. I like the flex: they seem fairly uniform tip-to-tail, as opposed to some that are stiff in the middle. Medium tip rocker and small tail rocker, and nearly the whole ski engages with the snow on piste. We had some challenging crud mid-mountain and charging through it was easiest with these skis. Move aside Fischer Motive 95s, these are probably my new favorite one ski quiver!
Volkl 90Eight — 177cm I love the Kendos at 88mm wide, so I asked the Volkl reps for a wider equivalent. And, at 98mm, these are (kind of). Medium stiffness, an even flex tip-to-tail, slight tip rocker, great edge grip. They’re really nimble and responsive. But they are very light and have no damping whatsoever. So I can dance down any slope, but can’t roar through tough crud. I know what you’re thinking: why not Mantras? They may slay the crud, but they aren’t cambered (which I don’t like on piste), and too stiff for my taste.
Atomic Vantage 100 cTi — 180cm They do everything well. I like the sidecut, medium stiffness, even flex, slight tip rocker, and they’re the first adequately damped Atomic I’ve been on in years. By the afternoon there wasn’t much hard snow to test on, but they didn’t seem to hold an edge that well. These are in a tie for second favorites of the day with the Monsters.
Rossignol Sky 7 HD — 180cm (98mm wide) It seems that Rossi did a good thing by introducing the HD versions of the “7” series of ski models. They had to add weight to do it, but these are noticeably better damped than their spectacularly popular predecessors, and they feel pretty good when carving on piste. Rossi continues with the 5-point design, so only the middle three-fourths of the ski grips the snow on piste. Off piste the tips and tails feel overly soft and/or rockered, such that the skis feel too short. I probably should’ve tried the 188cm model.
Skis keep getting better and better! Ain’t it amazing?
And thank you Sturtevant’s!