So I rolled up to Whistler for a regular ski day and then discovered it was WSSF Day 1 and basically every manufacturer was there with 2015 skis! So I spent the rest of the day bombing down the same run over and over. I'm not a ski tester or anything but thought I'd share my thoughts in case any Divas are interested!
Me: 125lbs, 5'4, fairly aggressive. The runs were basically steep non-moguly groomers, great for testing carving ability! But due to time constraints I basically only got one run in on each ski... but I did go full speed so it was a good test. Conditions were cold spring - corn-y, but hard and still requiring a lot of edge pressure, at least till it melted a bit later in the day. Skis in order of testing.
Kastle FX 84 (122-84-110, 160cm, 14m) (I think.) - meh. Felt a little unstable, decent edge grip, just didn't thrill me.
Elan Insomnia Fusion (125-74-104, 158cm, 12.7m, Amphibio) - WOW! Such a smooth turner, you can feel that rocker / camber edge combo and it's really really nice. Great edge grip, really held a turn nicely and rock solid at full speed.
Elan Speed Magic Fusion (119-69-102, 150cm, 11m, Amphibio) - teeeeeeheeeee. This is apparently a 'detuned race ski' and so much fun. It's a toothpick, obviously, so probably better suited for out east, but SO MUCH EDGE grip! It was the first time I've been able to go down this one run that always gets really hard (almost icy) at close to full speed.
Blizzard Sheeva (?-104-?, 165cm, ?) - also wow! Solid as anything, cuts through everything, really smooth ride. I don't need a powder ski, but I was curious how the camber would hold on hardpack. Turns out it held really well, even though it was pretty hard in some places (no ice though). I have no idea how it would handle in powder, but the ski shop tells me it would probably be similar to the Samba (a carving ski that floats really well) but with somewhat better float. I feel like it would rip down large lines - it is also a lot softer than the Dakota though, just fyi.
K2 Potion 74XTI (?-74-?, 160cm, ?) - noodle.
Fischer Progressor 74 (~~122-74-103?, 165cm, ~12m) - meh. Not bad, felt fairly stable, didn't edge as nicely as I'd have liked... also maybe not enough sidecut for my taste? Which is odd since there's lots of sidecut. The length was also a bit long for me.
Elan Ilumina Fusion (125-74-104, 152cm, 11.6m) - not quite as much edge as I'd have liked, but probably great for someone who doesn't want to get up to the insomnia or speed magic.
Sooooo then I got back on my own skis and realized I'd probably outgrown them because they didn't hold as much edge as I wanted and were kicking me out of turns when I tried to really push through / carve the turns. Chatting to the ski shop guys later confirmed my suspicions. My turning radius is 11.6!! (78 underfoot) This might be why. Thankfully they're still super stable at speed though.
Unfortunately I just bought powder skis so can't really replace my carving skis now! But I think I really want something that charges through everything like the Dakota, except not as wide, so I'm going to try and demo the following next week/year:
- Blizzard Cheyenne
- Blizzard Viva 810
- Head Super Joy (Total Joy, if they have it?)
- Kastle MX 83, if I can find it.
- Nordica, Atomic depending on what there is.
The 810 and Super Joy are on my list thanks to SnowHot's post, so yay!
That's it for me! Let me know if any of you have any thoughts / questions!
Me: 125lbs, 5'4, fairly aggressive. The runs were basically steep non-moguly groomers, great for testing carving ability! But due to time constraints I basically only got one run in on each ski... but I did go full speed so it was a good test. Conditions were cold spring - corn-y, but hard and still requiring a lot of edge pressure, at least till it melted a bit later in the day. Skis in order of testing.
Kastle FX 84 (122-84-110, 160cm, 14m) (I think.) - meh. Felt a little unstable, decent edge grip, just didn't thrill me.
Elan Insomnia Fusion (125-74-104, 158cm, 12.7m, Amphibio) - WOW! Such a smooth turner, you can feel that rocker / camber edge combo and it's really really nice. Great edge grip, really held a turn nicely and rock solid at full speed.
Elan Speed Magic Fusion (119-69-102, 150cm, 11m, Amphibio) - teeeeeeheeeee. This is apparently a 'detuned race ski' and so much fun. It's a toothpick, obviously, so probably better suited for out east, but SO MUCH EDGE grip! It was the first time I've been able to go down this one run that always gets really hard (almost icy) at close to full speed.
Blizzard Sheeva (?-104-?, 165cm, ?) - also wow! Solid as anything, cuts through everything, really smooth ride. I don't need a powder ski, but I was curious how the camber would hold on hardpack. Turns out it held really well, even though it was pretty hard in some places (no ice though). I have no idea how it would handle in powder, but the ski shop tells me it would probably be similar to the Samba (a carving ski that floats really well) but with somewhat better float. I feel like it would rip down large lines - it is also a lot softer than the Dakota though, just fyi.
K2 Potion 74XTI (?-74-?, 160cm, ?) - noodle.
Fischer Progressor 74 (~~122-74-103?, 165cm, ~12m) - meh. Not bad, felt fairly stable, didn't edge as nicely as I'd have liked... also maybe not enough sidecut for my taste? Which is odd since there's lots of sidecut. The length was also a bit long for me.
Elan Ilumina Fusion (125-74-104, 152cm, 11.6m) - not quite as much edge as I'd have liked, but probably great for someone who doesn't want to get up to the insomnia or speed magic.
Sooooo then I got back on my own skis and realized I'd probably outgrown them because they didn't hold as much edge as I wanted and were kicking me out of turns when I tried to really push through / carve the turns. Chatting to the ski shop guys later confirmed my suspicions. My turning radius is 11.6!! (78 underfoot) This might be why. Thankfully they're still super stable at speed though.
Unfortunately I just bought powder skis so can't really replace my carving skis now! But I think I really want something that charges through everything like the Dakota, except not as wide, so I'm going to try and demo the following next week/year:
- Blizzard Cheyenne
- Blizzard Viva 810
- Head Super Joy (Total Joy, if they have it?)
- Kastle MX 83, if I can find it.
- Nordica, Atomic depending on what there is.
The 810 and Super Joy are on my list thanks to SnowHot's post, so yay!
That's it for me! Let me know if any of you have any thoughts / questions!
I'm hoping to hit it up next week to go through a few more skis haha.
So in conclusion I think I made the right decision. Lol.
Ahhh yes the "what if" about a ski choice! I might agonize over whether I'd rather have the Sheeva than the Samba next season!
I skied it in a myriad of conditions in March in Utah and LOVED it!
Granted it was too long and a LOT of ski, so I didn't feel comfortable carving it because it would pick up too much speed, so that may be partly the problem but it really just didn't feel particularly amazing.
