2013 Demos: Atomic, Line & Salomon at Mt Buller, Victoria Australia.

[Anna]

Bluebird Day. Icy morning; soft, spring-like & wet in the afternoon. Aug 12, 2012

Lunch time @ Kofler's Huette. Looking up towards Summit Run (Where the chair ends - not the true Summit) and then from off the true summit, Fast One, Fanny's Finish, Summit Black etc)

Gear Reviews:
Me: Advanced. NOT expert 166cm, 165lbs/75kilos.

Once again, only a few there: Line, K2, Atomic, Salomon and LibTech.
All these skis are the 2013 models.
I tried, in demo order:

Salomon Rockette 90 161: Yup - VERY nice - tried them in icy morning conditions and they hold VERY nicely even though they would FLOAT in spring snow!

Line Celebrity 90 158 - couldn't get them off my feet fast enough - think they were way to short and just not my cup of tea. Very disappointed:( Wanted to LOVE them - but different strokes for different folks.

Atomic Elysian 159: VERY NICE!! Liked them MORE that the Rockette. Really lively. Fun ski. Wanted to take them out in the afternoon ... but didn't get there! :(

Atomic Crimson TI 171: My FAV ski of the day - even though it's technically too long for me. This was the ski I repeated (once in the morning and once LATE in the afternoon) SO MUCH FUN - oh and YES, it's FAST too You can tell it what to do and it does it and then some.
I really would like to see what the 164 feels like Oh, I like the way it behaved in the bumps

Salomon Enduro XT850: 170? I think. I LIKED this a HEAP. Heavier than the Crimson, but lovely and stiff LOTS of metal and you can tell. ♥ GREAT on the icy steep groomers FAST - this one likes it FAST

Atomic Cloud D2 75: 157. Nope. Boring. Sorry. Felt like a noodly rental. "Meh"

Atomic Blackeye TI 167. NICE!!! Like the Crimson but softer tip and tail. Nice. Very Nice. I preferred the greater stability of the Crimson. It still cut nicely and likes it faster. This one needed a little more coachig than the Crimson, but i guess, being a little brother, you would expect that .... Winner for those who are more tentative.

Oh, and I didn't touch K2. In the past I have NOT liked them ... on the (v bad) assumption I would once again be wasting my time, I avoided them ... Didn't get to LibTech.

I kept Matt and the team at Salomon Australia V busy ALL day - THANK YOU!!!!

 

[SnowHot]

Love the reviews but it would help if we know your size, ability and what type of terrain you like to ski.

I think you'd have liked a few of those skis a little better in a longer length. Say in the 165-168 cm range.
As you know I have you some suggestions before you went because its good for you to compare for yourself, but I'm not surprised what you liked and didn't like.

 

[Anna]

Bluebird Day. Icy morning; soft, spring-like & wet in the afternoon.

Gear Reviews:
Me: Advanced. NOT expert 166cm, 165lbs/75kilos.

Plus ... all groomers ..

It's a pain - they hardly never have the right length - you'd be so frustrated

What do I like to ski - well, I don't generally get much of a chance to ski anything but groomers/on piste :(

 

[Magnatude]

Demos tend to be fairly limited over here too, in both range and size. Women's models that are imported here, especially those aimed at off-piste skiing, are often too short for me (and I'm not freakishly tall or anything, and not really hideously obese) so I hardly ever get to demo them, or I demo really short ones and hate them, which isn't surprising.