Fluffy Kitty
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Manufacturer: Rossignol
Model: 2017 Sky HD, with Look NX 12 demo bindings
Length: 172cm
Category & Dimensions: Narrow Powder/Freeride, 127-97-117, 16m
Tester: 5'7", 115 lbs, advanced trying to get to expert, but not quite getting there. Top speed of about 35mph on blues, stays around 10-20mph on steeper blacks.
Snow condition: 6" of fresh, wet, heavy snow on top of frozen crud. 32ºF (0ºC) to start with, warming up to about 40ºF (4.5ºC). Heavy snow, as in you can make a snowball, crush it between your hands, and you still have a snowball.
I have a one-ski quiver of a pair of 2014 Temptation 88s, 170cm, (so, that should really be a one-pair quiver!) which has been pretty darn versatile, but they do tend to be a lot of work in powder. There was 6" of fresh, wet, heavy snow on the ground, with more falling and the sun warming the slopes at times. I was getting over a cold, and my legs were not in top shape, so I thought I would try something that would make the pow easier to handle. I've been eying the Sky HDs they had for demoing ("men's version", but supposedly identical in construction to the "HD W" version), as a potential candidate for the next OSQ, so, why not?
The Rossignol Sky HDs were redesigned for this season, to be damper and stiffer than last year's Saffron and Sin models. The main complaints that people had for the older models were their poor hard-snow performance and tip chatter at speed, hence the dampness and stiffness. If they can do groomers and powder, who could ask for anything more?
Unfortunately, right off the gate, I felt very uncertain on the Skies. I could not skate! I could not carve with confidence on groomers, which had been groomed after the snow fell, which meant there were a lot of vertical lumps of snow, and the Skies just could not hold their edges whenever going across them. The tail kept catching on the groomer grooves. I could not hockey stop aggressively. On powder, they kept throwing me into the backseat, and the tips kept diving into the snow. It felt like the tails were catching on things under the surface. They demanded that I use even pressure on both feet (something I am not very good at, a side-effect of being a lightweight with stiff skis), and the outside ski kept diving and/or bending under whenever I pressured them.
Then, during a fateful run, I gave in and just rode them in the back seat. Surprising result: absolute control! Smooth awesomeness! Buttery turns! So, the lightbulb went on: set the binding back! The first run after I had it moved back was on cruddy-steep blue leading to a cruddy-steep black, and instantly I had super confidence that I could handle it. And, boy, could I handle it! It was easy and smooth, and I did not need as much rest as I would have on the T88s.
By the end of the day, I had the bindings set back about 1.5cm, and I probably could have gone farther back. The boots' midline marker was at this point a little less than 1cm behind the mounting mark on the skis, which suggests that these bindings were mounted a bit too forward, but apparently the mounting mark was not right for me in the first place. I had read somewhere that some powder skis come marked with the assumption that people are gonna want to be in the back seat, and some of us don't! If I buy a pair of these, I would have to demo them more to make sure I know where I want the binding mounted, or stick with demo bindings. (The comments below are based on experience with this improved setting.)
Some first impressions. These skis are, most of all, softer than the Temptation 88s, and they glide slowly across the snow. In powder, it takes a while to get up to cruising speed. This is a bit of a plus, since T88s tend to pick up a lot of speed during turns, even in powder, but it does mean a lot of coasting and waiting for the speed to pick up before making a turn.
They are, also, damp and not very poppy. More cruise-y. Stable and calm when cruising, but not a lot of excitement.
And they are loud! I didn't have any true hardpack today, but even on the groomed powder there is this echo-y, resonant sound, presumably coming from the Air Tips. No tip flap, per se, but the sound will drive me nuts if I am on hardpack all day.
On to specifics:
1=Poor 2= Fair 3=Average 4=Very Good 5=Excellent
Short Turns: 5
They love to unedge and skid, and they will rotary-turn readily on groomers. HOWEVER, on powder, they do prefer that you just careen down with little coasting turns. I could not smear them in the wet snow. They do NOT like dynamic turns, period, and will sink into the snow when given too much pressure, hence:
Medium Turns: 3
GS turns are my "natural habitat", so this is crucial for me. The groomers were a little rough and uneven today, and the Skies kept getting thrown off the snow, leading to edge loss. T88s, by contrast, would have bitten into anything, so this was a big difference. The skies were fine on smooth groomers, of course, and felt pretty natural with GS turns. Turning on powder was not that much easier than on the T88s. The Skies prefer that you stay upright and coast, and take gentle bouncy-wavy turns, rather than carvy dynamic turns. This might sound weird, but the Skies were often buried under the snow even in conditions where the T88s would have floated; I think this is because of the softness, which makes the skis bend into the snow, which makes it take longer to get up to fully-floating speed.
Long Turns: 3.5
They are OK. Not surprisingly, edge loss remained an issue with longer turns at higher speed. The noise didn't help, either. On the other hand, although bouncy-wavy turns are small-width turns, they are long-radius turns, which these skis loved. Just not my cup of tea.
Rebound: 3
They are damp and coast-y. I didn't have any problem with rebound, but I didn't get the sense that the skis were helping me, either. The combination of soft and damp is a bit odd, and made me feel like the skis got to decide what I did. One way to put it: these skis like the status quo; just keep doing what you are doing, and they're awesome.
Stability: 5
Oh, this is where they shine!!! You will stay upright. Despite all my complaints about float and edge catching and what not, I did not fall once. Even as I was losing the edge or sinking into the powder, I never truly felt out of balance. Dampness means there are no annoying vibrations even as you hit lumps of hard snow. Edge loss, yes, but no shakiness or loss of posture.
Forgiveness: 4?
This is tricky for me to judge. They definitely wanted me to be in the back seat. With the binding set back, I could get away with a more normal balance, but at all times I needed to keep my weight on the heels; the most forward I could be was to be even on the ball and the heel. If I press on the balls, it was tip-dive time, with loss of control. That said, they did not throw me off or slide out from under me, either, which leads me to rate it medium-high.
Grip: 3
Meh. I didn't have trouble setting the edge, but had trouble keeping it. Easily thrown off the edge by uneven snow, even on packed fresh powder. Not good. On smooth hardpack, I suspect they are OK. Frozen chicken heads, not so much. Too much rocker, I assume. Maybe a steeper side edge would help?
Steeps: 4
The ease of rotary turns on groomers! Awesomeness! But, not so much on heavy powder. I guess that's normal; this snow cannot be smeared. Fortunately, the bit that I keep complaining about--soft skis that do not accelerate much--does cancel out the other bit that I keep complaining about--difficulty with dynamic turns--so it does make it easy to handle powdery steeps. They do tend to encourage you to straight-line down...
Crud: 5+++!!!!!
Oh, this is where the Skies are totally awesome! As long as I kept my weight on the heels, it was like there was no crud. Seriously. Absolutely awesome. Can't say enough good things about it. Like running a hot knife over butter. Perfectly balanced turns, and confidence to go into another turn. The smooth float over the lumps of snow actually gives you enough pop and maneuverability to cancel out all other flaws. Man, are they nimble!
Powder: 4 (wet snow)
But, oddly, on smooth powder, I kept feeling confined and limited and forced to go in a straight line. Again, this is normal for wet powder, but I was hoping that powder skis would at least make this far easier. With my weight firmly on the heels, I could control them, but it was still as much work as with T88s. And, I just do not like to straight-line down, and heavy powder does not like to be smeared. I suspect they are better on dry powder, however.
Ice: not tested
Again, I suspect they are OK on smooth-groomed hardpack, not so much on true ice. The loudness is likely a problem.
Tested Length Felt: Just right
They ski short, and felt shorter than the T88s. I didn't come across any moguls; if I am purchasing them, I might go a bit shorter for moguls and frozen crud.
Ski Sidecut Felt: Just right
No problem with the sidecut radius. On smooth groomers, they love carving GS turns. Edge hold on rough groomers was problematic. The problems I had with turn shape in powder was more due to float than due to the sidecut, I think.
Ski Flex Felt: Too soft
I think I would like them to have a little less rocker and a little more and stiffer camber. Basically, Rossi, I want a pair of T88s with a little more rocker and a pointier tip...
Best Described As: Balanced between nimble and burly
I would actually characterize them as Meh... Like to climb over things rather than cut through them. Like to cruise rather than pop. Fantastic combo of nimble and burly, however, on wet powder crud, my archnemesis.
Model: 2017 Sky HD, with Look NX 12 demo bindings
Length: 172cm
Category & Dimensions: Narrow Powder/Freeride, 127-97-117, 16m
Tester: 5'7", 115 lbs, advanced trying to get to expert, but not quite getting there. Top speed of about 35mph on blues, stays around 10-20mph on steeper blacks.
Snow condition: 6" of fresh, wet, heavy snow on top of frozen crud. 32ºF (0ºC) to start with, warming up to about 40ºF (4.5ºC). Heavy snow, as in you can make a snowball, crush it between your hands, and you still have a snowball.
I have a one-ski quiver of a pair of 2014 Temptation 88s, 170cm, (so, that should really be a one-pair quiver!) which has been pretty darn versatile, but they do tend to be a lot of work in powder. There was 6" of fresh, wet, heavy snow on the ground, with more falling and the sun warming the slopes at times. I was getting over a cold, and my legs were not in top shape, so I thought I would try something that would make the pow easier to handle. I've been eying the Sky HDs they had for demoing ("men's version", but supposedly identical in construction to the "HD W" version), as a potential candidate for the next OSQ, so, why not?
The Rossignol Sky HDs were redesigned for this season, to be damper and stiffer than last year's Saffron and Sin models. The main complaints that people had for the older models were their poor hard-snow performance and tip chatter at speed, hence the dampness and stiffness. If they can do groomers and powder, who could ask for anything more?
Unfortunately, right off the gate, I felt very uncertain on the Skies. I could not skate! I could not carve with confidence on groomers, which had been groomed after the snow fell, which meant there were a lot of vertical lumps of snow, and the Skies just could not hold their edges whenever going across them. The tail kept catching on the groomer grooves. I could not hockey stop aggressively. On powder, they kept throwing me into the backseat, and the tips kept diving into the snow. It felt like the tails were catching on things under the surface. They demanded that I use even pressure on both feet (something I am not very good at, a side-effect of being a lightweight with stiff skis), and the outside ski kept diving and/or bending under whenever I pressured them.
Then, during a fateful run, I gave in and just rode them in the back seat. Surprising result: absolute control! Smooth awesomeness! Buttery turns! So, the lightbulb went on: set the binding back! The first run after I had it moved back was on cruddy-steep blue leading to a cruddy-steep black, and instantly I had super confidence that I could handle it. And, boy, could I handle it! It was easy and smooth, and I did not need as much rest as I would have on the T88s.
By the end of the day, I had the bindings set back about 1.5cm, and I probably could have gone farther back. The boots' midline marker was at this point a little less than 1cm behind the mounting mark on the skis, which suggests that these bindings were mounted a bit too forward, but apparently the mounting mark was not right for me in the first place. I had read somewhere that some powder skis come marked with the assumption that people are gonna want to be in the back seat, and some of us don't! If I buy a pair of these, I would have to demo them more to make sure I know where I want the binding mounted, or stick with demo bindings. (The comments below are based on experience with this improved setting.)
Some first impressions. These skis are, most of all, softer than the Temptation 88s, and they glide slowly across the snow. In powder, it takes a while to get up to cruising speed. This is a bit of a plus, since T88s tend to pick up a lot of speed during turns, even in powder, but it does mean a lot of coasting and waiting for the speed to pick up before making a turn.
They are, also, damp and not very poppy. More cruise-y. Stable and calm when cruising, but not a lot of excitement.
And they are loud! I didn't have any true hardpack today, but even on the groomed powder there is this echo-y, resonant sound, presumably coming from the Air Tips. No tip flap, per se, but the sound will drive me nuts if I am on hardpack all day.
On to specifics:
1=Poor 2= Fair 3=Average 4=Very Good 5=Excellent
Short Turns: 5
They love to unedge and skid, and they will rotary-turn readily on groomers. HOWEVER, on powder, they do prefer that you just careen down with little coasting turns. I could not smear them in the wet snow. They do NOT like dynamic turns, period, and will sink into the snow when given too much pressure, hence:
Medium Turns: 3
GS turns are my "natural habitat", so this is crucial for me. The groomers were a little rough and uneven today, and the Skies kept getting thrown off the snow, leading to edge loss. T88s, by contrast, would have bitten into anything, so this was a big difference. The skies were fine on smooth groomers, of course, and felt pretty natural with GS turns. Turning on powder was not that much easier than on the T88s. The Skies prefer that you stay upright and coast, and take gentle bouncy-wavy turns, rather than carvy dynamic turns. This might sound weird, but the Skies were often buried under the snow even in conditions where the T88s would have floated; I think this is because of the softness, which makes the skis bend into the snow, which makes it take longer to get up to fully-floating speed.
Long Turns: 3.5
They are OK. Not surprisingly, edge loss remained an issue with longer turns at higher speed. The noise didn't help, either. On the other hand, although bouncy-wavy turns are small-width turns, they are long-radius turns, which these skis loved. Just not my cup of tea.
Rebound: 3
They are damp and coast-y. I didn't have any problem with rebound, but I didn't get the sense that the skis were helping me, either. The combination of soft and damp is a bit odd, and made me feel like the skis got to decide what I did. One way to put it: these skis like the status quo; just keep doing what you are doing, and they're awesome.
Stability: 5
Oh, this is where they shine!!! You will stay upright. Despite all my complaints about float and edge catching and what not, I did not fall once. Even as I was losing the edge or sinking into the powder, I never truly felt out of balance. Dampness means there are no annoying vibrations even as you hit lumps of hard snow. Edge loss, yes, but no shakiness or loss of posture.
Forgiveness: 4?
This is tricky for me to judge. They definitely wanted me to be in the back seat. With the binding set back, I could get away with a more normal balance, but at all times I needed to keep my weight on the heels; the most forward I could be was to be even on the ball and the heel. If I press on the balls, it was tip-dive time, with loss of control. That said, they did not throw me off or slide out from under me, either, which leads me to rate it medium-high.
Grip: 3
Meh. I didn't have trouble setting the edge, but had trouble keeping it. Easily thrown off the edge by uneven snow, even on packed fresh powder. Not good. On smooth hardpack, I suspect they are OK. Frozen chicken heads, not so much. Too much rocker, I assume. Maybe a steeper side edge would help?
Steeps: 4
The ease of rotary turns on groomers! Awesomeness! But, not so much on heavy powder. I guess that's normal; this snow cannot be smeared. Fortunately, the bit that I keep complaining about--soft skis that do not accelerate much--does cancel out the other bit that I keep complaining about--difficulty with dynamic turns--so it does make it easy to handle powdery steeps. They do tend to encourage you to straight-line down...
Crud: 5+++!!!!!
Oh, this is where the Skies are totally awesome! As long as I kept my weight on the heels, it was like there was no crud. Seriously. Absolutely awesome. Can't say enough good things about it. Like running a hot knife over butter. Perfectly balanced turns, and confidence to go into another turn. The smooth float over the lumps of snow actually gives you enough pop and maneuverability to cancel out all other flaws. Man, are they nimble!
Powder: 4 (wet snow)
But, oddly, on smooth powder, I kept feeling confined and limited and forced to go in a straight line. Again, this is normal for wet powder, but I was hoping that powder skis would at least make this far easier. With my weight firmly on the heels, I could control them, but it was still as much work as with T88s. And, I just do not like to straight-line down, and heavy powder does not like to be smeared. I suspect they are better on dry powder, however.
Ice: not tested
Again, I suspect they are OK on smooth-groomed hardpack, not so much on true ice. The loudness is likely a problem.
Tested Length Felt: Just right
They ski short, and felt shorter than the T88s. I didn't come across any moguls; if I am purchasing them, I might go a bit shorter for moguls and frozen crud.
Ski Sidecut Felt: Just right
No problem with the sidecut radius. On smooth groomers, they love carving GS turns. Edge hold on rough groomers was problematic. The problems I had with turn shape in powder was more due to float than due to the sidecut, I think.
Ski Flex Felt: Too soft
I think I would like them to have a little less rocker and a little more and stiffer camber. Basically, Rossi, I want a pair of T88s with a little more rocker and a pointier tip...
Best Described As: Balanced between nimble and burly
I would actually characterize them as Meh... Like to climb over things rather than cut through them. Like to cruise rather than pop. Fantastic combo of nimble and burly, however, on wet powder crud, my archnemesis.