Least hyped ski you've loved

[marzNC]

Phil and I did a lot to promote them. They were trying hard to produce hard snow skis that weren't tied to a specific binding. Good people with good ideas. Tough business.

Agree they are good people. Had a chance to talk with the three co-founders at Blue Knob for a while last season. They did a demo day during the DCSki/EpicSki Mid-Atlantic Gathering. Had time for a little supper at the shared house. It was fun to listen to conversations about the technical aspects of making skis. A lot easier in some ways then dealing with the marketing aspects. They were pretty worn out doing so many demo days last season.

 

[ski diva]

So disappointed to hear they've gone under. Based on comments I read here on the forum, I was looking forward to giving them a try this season. Too bad.

 

[volklgirl]

Lady Hart Twins (in purple) that I bought when we were offered a killer deal here on TSD some years back. Never heard of them before or since.

Still pretty much my day to day ski even though I have Auras and Kikus.

Yup! I was going to say the same thing. What a great, great ski! I would say my Fischer Hybrids fall in that same category, too.

 

[SnowHot]

@WaterGirl I took a couple snaps from the 2015-16 industry publication. I also have catalogs for the previous years as well as this season's product if you want to see some of the changes
The Step and Pyra were both made in a Jr ski and a tweener ski. This is the one that is designed to perform like the adult ski, and have the durability of an adult ski but with a little less weight and grrr to try to throw around.
I usually sell that ski to someone who is an honest to goodness tweener, or an adult who is small and looking for a playful poppy ski.
I double checked on the construction of these two skis and they are the same, so if you wear your Step out and want to replace it, you have options with either the Step or the Pyra.

 

[Jersey Fresh]

Not sure this counts because Blizzard is pretty popular but I love my Cheyennes. I've yet to meet anyone else out here that skis them. I got them as gift thinking my Sambas would be my primary ski, but I find myself grabbing those almost every time.

We dont really have access to smaller companies, though Kicker was at Snowshoe demo days the last time they were held (2014).

 

[WaterGirl]

@SnowHot thanks but no thanks, I think there is a difference with this comming years and the year I have - don't see any mention of carbon? BTW I saw a male w/ my version skis this weekend at Mammoth. He was no tweener, actually rather tall and athletic, said he had fun on the skis. I would not be looking to replace these -- as I stated above, they were a random cheap online purchase that were meant to be early season rock skis/park skis -- or possible pass down to DD. They just happened to be more fun than some of the 'popular' front side skis I demoed.

 

[SnowHot]

Not sure this counts because Blizzard is pretty popular but I love my Cheyennes. I've yet to meet anyone else out here that skis them. I got them as gift thinking my Sambas would be my primary ski, but I find myself grabbing those almost every time.

We dont really have access to smaller companies, though Kicker was at Snowshoe demo days the last time they were held (2014).

The Cheyenne was a ski that most put in the "And then there's the Black Pearls baby sister" category.
I was not going to dismiss it entirely but also hand't put it at the top of my list of skis to test. When I finally got on it, it blew me away! I can confidently say that I its a category leader in performance, but there are still many who have no idea it exists.
The Cheyenne is a ski that inspires you to ski bell to bell.

 

[Jersey Fresh]

@SnowHot I complete agree! That ski makes me smile and I didnt like the BP....

 

[SnowHot]

@SnowHot I complete agree! That ski makes me smile and I didnt like the BP....

My real story about the Cheyenne is this:
I had al sit of skis that I needed to test. The Cheyenne was on my list of front side skis but I put it in the "also ran" category and figured I'd get to it if I got to it.
At the end of the last day of testing I had only the Cheyenne left to ski so I took my tired ass legs to the Blizzard tent. When I took my first 5 turns I knew I was in love. I stopped part way down the slopes and asked my husband," If we hurry, think we can get last chair and take another run on these!?"
It was like they energized my legs and hit me with a shot of tequila.

 

[VickiK]

The Cheyenne is 78mm underfoot, and my 2013 Viva's are 80mm. Both are frontside, yet it's Cheyenne that's the little sister of the BP. How to understand a manufacturer better? Is it the Flipcore technology, is one designed more for a specific purpose, or is overlap just the way it is without rhyme & reason? These are the kinds questions a layman like me starts asking.

 

[tinymoose]

How does the Cheyenne feel or perform compared to the Black Pearl? I didn't care for all of the tip rocker on the BP.

 

[vanhoskier]

@vanhoskier now you're making me nostalgic for my F17's
@VickiK Do you know that they don't make the Wildfire anymore?
For those of you who are talking up the Kicker Skis....Kicker has called it quits.
Sad to see a young start up cease but they were struggling to keep it going.

yeah, the F17 is fun all over the mountain! Nice and light and playful.
The Wildfire was an awesome ski.....loved that one in all conditions.

 

[mary jacobs]

I'd say my green Dynastar Ski Cross made me happy no matter the kind of east coast conditions we had. They are still in my bag, well used, work horse boards.

 

[va_deb]

I always seem to see good deals on Cheyennes. @SnowHot and @Jersey Fresh now you have me pondering. Maybe I do want something carvier for earlier in the season and earlier in the day. Hmmm...

 

[Jersey Fresh]

I always seem to see good deals on Cheyennes. @SnowHot and @Jersey Fresh now you have me pondering. Maybe I do want something carvier for earlier in the season and earlier in the day. Hmmm...

My inlaws got mine for like $220. They were super cheap and I thought I would only ski them a few times a season. I LOVE mine. I wish they got more attention than the Black Pearls (which I didnt like at all), because they are a super fun ski.

 

[SnowHot]

The Cheyenne is 78mm underfoot, and my 2013 Viva's are 80mm. Both are frontside, yet it's Cheyenne that's the little sister of the BP. How to understand a manufacturer better? Is it the Flipcore technology, is one designed more for a specific purpose, or is overlap just the way it is without rhyme & reason? These are the kinds questions a layman like me starts asking.

The Cheyenne is built straight up from the flip core platform as as a narrower version of the Black Pearl. The Viva 8.0 is a front side ski that happens to have flip core technology implemented but is a little stiffer.

How does the Cheyenne feel or perform compared to the Black Pearl? I didn't care for all of the tip rocker on the BP.

Same rocker profile.
Most often when someone takes issue with the BP tip rocker one of these things is happening:

• Skied it in the wrong length for the skier
• Skier is paying too much attention to the tip and should (insert wise guy voice here) fu-get-'bout it.
• Binding position is a little off

But (gasp) its possible that NOT everyone loves the Black Pearl!

 

[teppaz]

Salomon X-Drive 80 Ti. A great frontside ski, lively but also forgiving. Surprising good hold on hard-pack and ice patches. I rented them on a trip to Europe and would have bought a pair if I didn't already have Kenjas, and they're a little similar. If I had unlimited budget and storage space...

 

[SallyCat]

ON3P's women's ("Jessie") line doesn't seem to be getting much love. I demoed the 2016 Jessie 100 last year on a spring mashed-potato day in PA that was giving me fits on my carvers. I didn't even know how a "demo" worked I was so green, but the ON3P dudes talked me into trying the 100s and my day suddenly turned fun. They are on the heavy side, but it was super fun to float and smear around on the mushy snow. Of course, there are so many skis in the 100mm or so range I have no idea how the Jessies stack up to other brands. I had a great time on them and the graphics are awesome.

 

[Olesya Chornoguz]

I just remembered - Blizzard Brahma - demoed and loved those in 2014. They ski similar to Kenjas (which I love) in my opinion.

 

[bounceswoosh]

I loved the original Icelantic Nomad before hearing any press about it ... got 'em on TheClymb kind of at random because a friend had an Icelantic ski he liked ... they don't make 'em anymore (they make a Nomad, but it's no longer traditional camber).