Individual Review Long-Term Review: 2017 Renoun Endurance 98 v2

[Philpug]

I am of the firm belief that ski edges perform best with an accute angle, I would not go less than a 1*/2* on any ski.

 

[Read Blinn]

I am of the firm belief that ski edges perform best with an accute angle, I would not go less than a 1*/2* on any ski.

Your Northeastern roots are showing.

 

[James]

There's no point to tune a high performance ski edge to 90 degrees. Nor a lower performance ski unless it's a beginner. At higher edge angles the hard surface pushes the edge out. One degree on the base definitely. Even a little more if wanted. You want to be able to get some angle on hard stuff before the ski grips.

 

[Guy in Shorts]

My new daily drivers have passed the endurance test. They saw 85 days of action racking up over 1,085,362 vertical feet from Dec 17th thru May 21st with 7 trips to the shop for tuning. Love this ski as it worked in almost every situation that I could find. Deep powder was the only kind of snow that put the Renouns on the sideline as my Volkl Katana V-Werks are so nice in the deep snow. What to get next as the Endurance 98's have earned a spot in my quiver. Another pair of 98's? Maybe the 104's or a pair of the Z-90's. Does @Cyrus Schenck have any new cool skis in the works? The Parlor Cardinal 100's and Faction Dictator 3.0 are a couple of other indies that I have demoed and caught my eye. So many skis and so little time.

 

[Ron]

They are my powder ski now. I find them amazingly nimble and precise in even knee deep steamboat blower. Love em'.

 

[Guy in Shorts]

They are my powder ski now. I find them amazingly nimble and precise in even knee deep steamboat blower. Love em'.

Yes I totally agree that they are great under all powder conditions. First day on them back in December on our yet to opened South Side following a storm was surprised on how well they floated. Easily cuts thru the powder allowing bounce turns to kick into gear. My only real issue is that at 260 lbs I can use all the help I can get to float and the 112 under foot Katanas do just that in deep snow. For all the hours on the mountain that I spend here at Killington it seems that I get so few bottomless powder turns over the course of a season.

 

[Guy in Shorts]

Stopped by my local shop bringing the Renouns in for the start of the season check. One of the binding heel pieces seemed loose with two of the mounting screws stripped out. Punky rotten wood that was water damaged was the cause. Drilled wide holes into good wood then installed 4 helicoils. Water caused a bit of de-lam around some of those holes. Asked what I did wrong and my tech said it was just the price of skiing on skis like I do without metal. Bindings failed their first test as all my bindings do after sitting for a few months but after some exercise. Front toe pieces needed to be set at 7 on one ski and 7.5 on the other to get them to release at a DIN of 8.5. with the Marker Griffions. The Attack 13's didn't fare much better heel pieces needed 9.5 setting to get a 8.5 release outcome on a second pair of skis that were tested.

 

[Philpug]

Stopped by my local shop bringing the Renouns in for the start of the season check. One of the binding heel pieces seemed loose with two of the mounting screws stripped out. Punky rotten wood that was water damaged was the cause. Drilled wide holes into good wood then installed 4 helicoils. Water caused a bit of de-lam around some of those holes. Asked what I did wrong and my tech said it was just the price of skiing on skis like I do without metal. View attachment 32215

I have this happen to skis with metal and without metal. It goes back to the original mount, that it was not done correctly and the screw was stripped, you can see how large the left screw holes are. Very well there was also not any glue used as a sealant either.

Bindings failed their first test as all my bindings do after sitting for a few months but after some exercise. Front toe pieces needed to be set at 7 on one ski and 7.5 on the other to get them to release at a DIN of 8.5. with the Marker Griffions. The Attack 13's didn't fare much better heel pieces needed 9.5 setting to get a 8.5 release outcome on a second pair of skis that were tested.

And this is why bindings need to be tested yearly.

 

[Read Blinn]

Hm. Haven't had my Attacks tested for a while. When the new(ish) 88s go in to get the bindings set, I'll apporte the entire quiver. (Man this is an expensive sport.)

 

[Guy in Shorts]

I have this happen to skis with metal and without metal. It goes back to the original mount, that it was not done correctly and the screw was stripped, you can see how large the left screw holes are. Very well there was also not any glue used as a sealant either.

Attempting some root cause analysis myself. Watched the original mounting last December and can confirm that they had been properly glued. In order to reuse the mounting screws the old glue and punky wood had to be cleaned out of the threads. Pretty much leaves the cause of the stripped screws due to the original mounting or thru the pounding that gave them over 85 days of use last season. My equipment gets treated about as good as giving a suitcase to a gorilla. The Renouns survived daily use on the steep icy Killington conditions. In comparison Volkl replaced my original V-works Katanas after about 60 days of use. Skis that live on my feet get put to a true endurance test and my new Renouns lived up to their name. I call it loving my equipment to death but it must seem like the Sid Phillips treatment from the ski's viewpoint. The metal comment comes from the perspective that the shop employees that care for my equipment get a front row seat to the amount of bend I can put on a ski. With some metal at least the ski has a fighting chance without metal it really takes a superior ski just to survive. The Endurance 98 goes into the season as my #1 ski. Looking forward to continuing the long term test as @Cyrus Schenck has a 2 year warrantee on his skis.

 

[DrGT]

Ok... I am about to pull the trigger on a pair of Endurance 98 after lurking for a few months.
Their site's length recommandation for my height and weight is 169, but I am a bit afraid it will be to short.
I have also seen comments about the 169 being stiff.
But I am also afraid the 178 might be a bit long...
I have email Cyrus and the recommandation stays the same. So I thought I might ask you guys...

I am 5'8" and around 165-170 lbs. I am a semi-agressive and advanced skilled skier.
My favorite terrain is trees and bumps, ideally steep, with soft snow. I ski the East, but in a small mountain with lots of snow and steep terrain.
I come from 2012 Fischer Big Stix 98 at 176 cm. (Twin tips with tip and tail rocker. Soft flex ski)
I have tried the 166 cm before buying the 176 and loved the nimble feel, but ultimately went with the 176 upon salesperson's advice.
I have been really happy with this ski, but it's now time for a change
The main quality I am looking for in a ski is playfulness. I want something fun and nimble, easy to turn around trees (cause you know, trees don't move . I also don't like the tail to bite in the bottom of the mogul.

BUT, I am also looking for something that holds the edge and carve reasonably well... I want best of both worlds, I know!
This is one major reason for me to choose the Renoun.

BTW, I already have dedicated piste and powder skis. The Renoun will be my DD.

 

[Philpug]

Ok... I am about to pull the trigger on a pair of Endurance 98 after lurking for a few months.
Their site's length recommandation for my height and weight is 169, but I am a bit afraid it will be to short.
I have also seen comments about the 169 being stiff.
But I am also afraid the 177 might be a bit long...
I have email Cyrus and the recommandation stays the same. So I thought I might ask you guys...

I am 5'8" and around 165-170 lbs. I am a semi-agressive and advanced skilled skier.
My favorite terrain is trees and bumps, ideally steep, with soft snow. I ski the East, but in a small mountain with lots of snow and steep terrain.
I come from 2012 Fischer Big Stix 98 at 176 cm. (Twin tips with tip and tail rocker. Soft flex ski)
I have tried the 166 cm before buying the 176 and loved the nimble feel, but ultimately went with the 176 upon salesperson's advice.
I have been really happy with this ski, but it's now time for a change
The main quality I am looking for in a ski is playfulness. I want something fun and nimble, easy to turn around trees (cause you know, trees don't move . I also don't like the tail to bite in the bottom of the mogul.

BUT, I am also looking for something that holds the edge and carve reasonably well... I want best of both worlds, I know!
This is one major reason for me to choose the Renoun.

BTW, I already have dedicated piste and powder skis. The Renoun will be my DD.

That ski, I would err to the longer of the two.

 

[PTskier]

The E98 has a top sheet of nylon and two layers of 26 oz. triaxial fiberglass above the wood core. It is always recommended to cut the binding screw hole threads with a #12AB tap before the screws are inserted. I think most shop guys just drill then drive the screws in. Instead of having cut threads in the ski, they have threads pressed into the fiberglass & wood which does not hold as well. The glue for binding screws is often a melamine adhesive such as Franklin 4014 or RooClear (special binding screw glue sure looks like waterproof carpenter's glue, but it might be something special). Epoxy could always be used from the beginning, but getting the bindings off in the future might be a challenge. For really hard skiers there is an alternative like the Binding Freedom system with stainless steel inserts epoxied into the skis and machine screws to hold the bindings to the inserts. These are not repair inserts like a Helicoil.
http://www.bindingfreedom.com/
http://www.tognar.com/binding-freedom-threaded-inserts-single/

 

[PisteOff]

Renoun Update......

View media item 1964

 

[PTskier]

One more thing about mounting bindings--
Skis without a metal layer can have the screw holes drilled with a 3.6 mm diameter bit. If the skis have a metal layer the correct bit is 4.1 mm ø. The smaller bit leaves more material for the screw teeth to hold on to. (9 mm hole depth. Kids' skis get 3.5 x 7.)

 

[Tom Co.]

DrGT - I am 5'11" 170 # expert skier. I tried the 178 and found it skied short. I ended up on 184. I totally agree with Phil.

 

[PisteOff]

DrGT - I am 5'11" 170 # expert skier. I tried the 178 and found it skied short. I ended up on 184. I totally agree with Phil.

I’m 6’1” 200lbs. I immediately went for the 184.

 

[PisteOff]

My 98's have shipped!!

 

[DrGT]

I’m 6’1” 200lbs. I immediately went for the 184.

Mmmmm. My mind was almost set on the 169 before your answers...
I used to have a pair of 2009 Fischer Water 94 at 178 and definitely found them too long for my tastes ... but they had absolutely no rocker. Totally different ski than the Endurance.
If the flex stays the same with the shortest length, I think I would prefer it too short than too long.
But there is always the 100 days warranty!
Decisions, decisions ...

 

[DrGT]

My 98's have shipped!!

Glad for you

Your post is the 98th on this thread! It must mean something...