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Josh Matta

Skiing the powder
Pass Pulled
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The thing is I think the NRGY 100 has ton of Pizazz just not on typical groomed inbounds stuff. Its slippery slarvy skis that can hold and edge while still being steered around or even edge locked if your patience enough for it.
 
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Philpug

Philpug

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The thing is I think the NRGY 100 has ton of Pizazz just not on typical groomed inbounds stuff. Its slippery slarvy skis that can hold and edge while still being steered around or even edge locked if your patience enough for it.
The NRGy is the rare soft ski that needs to be driven, it responds well to tongue pressure.

Please take a look at our Long term tests, We have had quite a few updates over the pst week or so, it is interesting how some of the responses vary from skier to skier.
 

Living Proof

We All Have The Truth
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Avalon - On The Way to Cape May
It would be helpful for customers to know how an expensive or inexpensive ski stacks up to other skis in the same pricing tier. There should be a reason you're spending $1000 for a ski compared to a$600 ski. Whether it's durability, finish quality, materials or technology.

A review on performance is one thing but a complete review may want to consider value for/to the customer.

@Philpug publishes an annual thread titled "Steals and Deals" to feature ski gear that provides excellent value for a moderate price. It is a tradition that I hope continues, possibly expanded more, but, Phil only has so much time, now even less. I did buy my Solly Q98's from that thread, as a soft snow, western ski, and, I remain pleased with them in the conditions for which they were bought. Same with the Solly STH 13 bindings.

I think that spending $1000 is leap of faith and often for moderate improvement, my pockets are not deep enough for this luxury. Value is the major factor in all my purchases. Being an educated consumer is a good thing.
 
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Philpug

Philpug

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@Philpug publishes an annual thread titled "Steals and Deals" to feature ski gear that provides excellent value for a moderate price. It is a tradition that I hope continues, possibly expanded more, but, Phil only has so much time, now even less. I did buy my Solly Q98's from that thread, as a soft snow, western ski, and, I remain pleased with them in the conditions for which they were bought. Same with the Solly STH 13 bindings.

I think that spending $1000 is leap of faith and often for moderate improvement, my pockets are not deep enough for this luxury. Value is the major factor in all my purchases. Being an educated consumer is a good thing.
It is on my "to do" list, I plan on continuing the tradition with a September release.
 

MrFox

Dawgcatching.com
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Can any review be completely unbiased? We honestly don't think so, and we think it is unrealistic to expect it. We all have biases; as much as we try to be impartial, biases build up over the years. Now, before getting out of whack, let's embrace our humanness. We all have preconceived opinions, whether conscious or subconscious. These biases allow us to create baselines and references, which then serve as the starting point of every review; by doing this we can actually create a review that is very balanced. You have biases in how you want the ski to react. You want a powerful ski or a ski that rewards a lighter technical skier. We can help you with that.


I have said more than once, there are very few bad skis anymore, but there are a lot of wrong skis. As reviewers, our team's task is to help you avoid the wrong skis and find the right ski. We are not here to validate our own likes and dislikes; instead, we are here to help you decide what's best for you. Many times we see consistencies in series of skis within a brand, but that does not mean because you like one ski from a brand it means you will like another one. And just because you liked a ski from a certain brand 10 years ago, or have always skied [insert brand here] that you will like their new offerings; this statement is even more accurate when it comes to boots.

We are here to answer your questions and help you decipher what will work best ... for you. Here at Pugski.com, our reviews have biases, and that is to your benefit. We want to help you find the ideal skis for you. We will help you select the skis for the region and terrain you ski, and for the way you ski, whether with finesse or power. We will base these suggestions on your needs as much as (if not more than) your wants. We all want to ski fresh powder or meticulously groomed trails every day, but we know that doesn't happen all the time. So we will help you choose the right ski for the variable conditions you do ski every day. Of course we can talk about the scalpel of a carving ski and the 123mm reverse cambered powder ski -- because you should have these in your quiver, too.


Well said Phil. I find one of the more challenging parts of talking skis with people isn't guiding them to the best ski (Cough FX95HP cough) or the skis that I like most, it's getting them on the ski that's best for them. Figuring out what characteristics people really like, and what characteristics they don't even notice. Everyone talks about longitudinal flex and turn radius, but I find dampness and torsional stiffness define skis I really like, and I think are somewhat under-rated characteristics for defining skis.
 

ski-ra

Love them Steamboat trees!
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The NRGy is the rare soft ski that needs to be driven, it responds well to tongue pressure.
Just posted impressions from my first full day on the NRGy 100 (see https://forum.pugski.com/threads/mid-fat-mid-quiver-for-a-lightweight.1181/page-4) and I completely concur with this assessment (my impression is that it rewards being worked from tip to tail, which is in stark contrast with the other rockered skis I own - a good thing indeed!).:thumb: And I definitely could see why bigger/stronger skiers might poo-poo it, but others (lightweights, women, finesse skiers) should rejoice! I want to add my thoughts to the NRGy long term test thread but can't seem to find it.:(
 
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Philpug

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So many good replies in this thread. What else you you looking for in our reviews?
 

markojp

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So many good replies in this thread. What else you you looking for in our reviews?

The word of God and the hand of fate. :)
 

Gil

In the parking lot (formerly "At the base lodge")
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Can any review be completely unbiased? We honestly don't think so, and we think it is unrealistic to expect it. We all have biases; as much as we try to be impartial, biases build up over the years. Now, before getting out of whack, let's embrace our humanness. We all have preconceived opinions, whether conscious or subconscious. These biases allow us to create baselines and references, which then serve as the starting point of every review; by doing this we can actually create a review that is very balanced. You have biases in how you want the ski to react. You want a powerful ski or a ski that rewards a lighter technical skier. We can help you with that.


I have said more than once, there are very few bad skis anymore, but there are a lot of wrong skis. As reviewers, our team's task is to help you avoid the wrong skis and find the right ski. We are not here to validate our own likes and dislikes; instead, we are here to help you decide what's best for you. Many times we see consistencies in series of skis within a brand, but that does not mean because you like one ski from a brand it means you will like another one. And just because you liked a ski from a certain brand 10 years ago, or have always skied [insert brand here] that you will like their new offerings; this statement is even more accurate when it comes to boots.

We are here to answer your questions and help you decipher what will work best ... for you. Here at Pugski.com, our reviews have biases, and that is to your benefit. We want to help you find the ideal skis for you. We will help you select the skis for the region and terrain you ski, and for the way you ski, whether with finesse or power. We will base these suggestions on your needs as much as (if not more than) your wants. We all want to ski fresh powder or meticulously groomed trails every day, but we know that doesn't happen all the time. So we will help you choose the right ski for the variable conditions you do ski every day. Of course we can talk about the scalpel of a carving ski and the 123mm reverse cambered powder ski -- because you should have these in your quiver, too.

More information from those who have varied and significant experience helps us to decide what is best for our particular needs.
 

Gil

In the parking lot (formerly "At the base lodge")
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12
So many good replies in this thread. What else you you looking for in our reviews?
What do you think about Action shots or video clips of Phil, Trish and other pros detailing best practices in various conditions. Mini clinics if you will. Just an idea. I know proven ski videographers.
 

markojp

mtn rep for the gear on my feet
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More information from those who have varied and significant experience helps us to decide what is best for our particular needs.

I think that one's pretty much sorted out. ogsmile
 

markojp

mtn rep for the gear on my feet
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What do you think about Action shots or video clips of Phil, Trish and other pros detailing best practices in various conditions. Mini clinics if you will. Just an idea. I know proven ski videographers.

Online instructional video is plentiful and is often linked in instruction/coaching threads.
 

Gil

In the parking lot (formerly "At the base lodge")
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Well, that is another area where we separated ourselves. Our reviews are interactive and not static. Most every other review site posts the review and there it is and you have to decipher the information yourself and its a pretty good sized crapshoot. Our reviews, be it from any of our testers, you can ask questions of the reviewer which IMHO is huge. Here, you can talk to the people who actually skied the skis and ask them questions directly. You don't even have that ability in most shops, is the shops you might have one person, the buyer, who gets to the demos, maybe one or two key salespeople. At that point you either get second hand information from the buyer, regurgitated rhetoric from the magazines or stuff that is just made up on the spot. Again, this is most shops, there are many good shops that you will get accurate and helpful information.

We have many seasoned skiers here who get on dozens of skis every year and can discern the differences and understand who that ski is for, who will get the most out of it and maybe who it is not for. Are we always right? Hell no. But I think we do a pretty good job. So keep asking the questions about skis and what we think of them.

The shop person who has skied the ski or boot has a more intimate understanding of the products characteristics. It’s great to find an Old ski dog who has been around for years whose comparative in depth opinions you can trust. How to educate rather than make a sale. That takes care of itself. Hopefully.
 
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Philpug

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What do you think about Action shots or video clips of Phil, Trish and other pros detailing best practices in various conditions. Mini clinics if you will. Just an idea. I know proven ski videographers.
That has been on the agenda. We will working with @Tim Flanagan and SkiGearTV so we hope to get videos of all of our testers this season.
 

DonC

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That has been on the agenda. We will working with @Tim Flanagan and SkiGearTV so we hope to get videos of all of our testers this season.

This could be great. On the other hand, there's a ski retailer I won't name that puts out a ton of really unhelpful mini 'reviews' with like six different employees reviewing a single ski, each in a different video, after what looks like skiing them down one run in the Midwest. Obviously no pugski video would suck like those, but they do give you a good idea of what not to do: Talk about only one ski in a video instead of comparing different ones in a category; give out stupid star ratings; lack a good vocabulary for describing how a ski feels; review a ski after using it once on a Midwest groomer. My ideal video review is 2-3 people discussing a category of skis together. By bouncing off one another the discussion can end up being much more descriptive and informative.
 

Gil

In the parking lot (formerly "At the base lodge")
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That has been on the agenda. We will working with @Tim Flanagan and SkiGearTV so we hope to get videos of all of our testers this season.
How about slow motion/stop action instructional video narratives to help skiers improve their technique in various conditions and terrain?
 

Tim Flanagan

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This could be great. On the other hand, there's a ski retailer I won't name that puts out a ton of really unhelpful mini 'reviews' with like six different employees reviewing a single ski, each in a different video, after what looks like skiing them down one run in the Midwest. Obviously no pugski video would suck like those, but they do give you a good idea of what not to do: Talk about only one ski in a video instead of comparing different ones in a category; give out stupid star ratings; lack a good vocabulary for describing how a ski feels; review a ski after using it once on a Midwest groomer. My ideal video review is 2-3 people discussing a category of skis together. By bouncing off one another the discussion can end up being much more descriptive and informative.

I know the retailer you're referring to. The bandwidth they've built is amazing considering the "style" and information presented. The biggest difference between my channel, SkiGearTV and their's, is the sales component. They are one of the biggest retailers in North America. I don't sell gear.

We got away from the small group discussion format, but I'm in agreement that it needs to happen again. Here's an example from a few years ago, let me know if this is what you'd like to see >
 
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Chris Walker

Ullr Is Lord
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Because in 75% of the ski buying public's eye, price is a factor. Even in a relatively affluent market like Seattle, you don't see a ton of Kastle or Stoecki's on the hill. I did have one person turn down an Nrgy 80 because at $499, he was convinced it couldn't possible be as good as a $650.00 ski in the same category.

Then there are the people, like a couple I recently observed in my local shop, who shop for skis based solely on the topsheets. For each pair of skis they looked at, the sales guy would attempt to describe the characteristics of the ski, what kind of skiing they were good for, etc. but the only comments made by the couple were how pretty the graphics were, or what particular piece of ski wear it would go with, etc. I died a little inside.
 

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