On Snow Demo @ Loveland

[PowDiva85]

Ok! So, ski season has officially started here in CO and our shop went to demo days at loveland. Wanted to give you all some feed back on what was liked/disliked. Conditions were hard packed snow but not icy at all. Both days were gorgeous!

So, the top 3 skis that all my employees seemed to like were:
1. Kastle MX 78
2. Volkl Aura
3. Rossignol BC Pro 110

I have to say I was really suprised that these were the consensus because we have a wide range of skier abilities. Not every one is an expert.

The Kastle held and amazing edge and was fun and snappy with out being too demanding. I took 3 runs on it because I did not want to give it back!!

The Aura worked well for everyone even in the 163, nobody found it difficult to ski on groomers even those more timid skiers.

The Rossignol BC pro 110 beat out the Kiku as everyone's favorite of the rockered skis. It was nimble and light. Easy to ski and definitely skied short. After trying both legnths I think I would go with the 176. They felt really solid at speed on the hardpacl.

The new Dynastar Eden was absolutely amazing as well. Definitely not the best bump ski out of the bunch but very solid and energetic feeling while cruising. Seemed to have a lot more umph to it than the legend powder. Some of the more light/timid skiers found it a bit much to handle so probably a ski angled twoards a bit beefier/more agressive skier.

The Volkl fuego with the new biologic technology got mixed reviews from the bunch. I found it fun to ski as long as you kept it pointed straight down the fall line. If you tried to make more sweeping turns the tails would not hold. It also seemed to ski better if you were sitting in the back seat.

The Volkl kiku seemed to be very heavy and slow reacting compared to the BC pro 110. It felt like I had two huge planks strapped to my feet and it was not quick turning, now I was skiing it in the 170 but even the 176 BC pro seemed more agile.

Was anyone else out there? Or has anyone else had their demos yet? What are your thoughts?

[Little Lightning]

We drove by Loveland yesterday and saw all the tents. Wondered what was going on. Glad to hear you liked the Rossignol BC Pro 110 Did anyone demo the 159's?

[volklgirl]

Originally Posted by PowDiva85

The Volkl fuego with the new biologic technology got mixed reviews from the bunch. I found it fun to ski as long as you kept it pointed straight down the fall line. If you tried to make more sweeping turns the tails would not hold. It also seemed to ski better if you were sitting in the back seat.

That was exactly what I was seeing in Volkl's BioLogic video.

[PowDiva85]

they did not have the 159 bc pro to demo. we still dont have it in the shop either.....not sure when its going to show up...????

[alyeskaluv]

Thanks for the glowing review of the BC 110s . . . I was excited to begin looking for my pow specialty ski to add to my quiver this year and was going to get Kikus, until I saw the BC 110s and read some reviews. Wow - they sound truly awesome and like they'd be a great fit for what I want, and I'm happy to hear they handled hardpack well. I'm going to try and demo both the Kikus and the BC 110s, but it's sounding like I'll be adding the BCs as my powder specialty ski and then just upgrade my 163 Auras to 170s for my daily driver (my 163s are awesome, but I definitely need the additional length for stability at speed on the hard stuff and to avoid tip dive in the softer stuff on those "ski it all" days).

[Skier31]

I went to Loveland today. I tried the Volkl Tierra and Cosmo, K2 Lotta Luv, Nordica Conquerer, Blizzard Eos and Viva 8.1 and several others. My faves by far were the 2 Blizzard skis. They felt solid, stable, very grippy and turned easily. The others were all nice skis but did not feel like anything special.

[skidaup]

Would have loved to demo today but no such luck. Really glad to hear the Blizzards demo'd well. Thinking of getting the Blizzard Atlas but seems to be a lot of ski for me so still not sure yet.

[PowDiva85]

we just got our BC pro 110 in the 159

[Jilly]

What colour was the "toilet bowl" in the tip of the Kastle? Don't blame me for that name it was Lola! Philpug had some at A-Basin last spring and I tried the blue one. Didn't get the number on it, so all I remember was the blue see through "toilet bowl" at the tip.

[PowDiva85]

I was on the mx series which has an orange "toliet bowl". The rx series has the blue which is a 70mm waist

[Jilly]

Ah, they were so close to my Rossis. Waist width the same!

Gonna have to see if there are any in Canada. Didn't really look around at the ski shops in Tremblant this weekend.

[Little Lightning]

Originally Posted by PowDiva85

we just got our BC pro 110 in the 159

Do you have demos?

[Powderhound]

Thanks, PowDiva85, for your reviews. You asked for other thoughts on the skis you mentioned. I have not posted to the forum before, but I will try to contribute my thoughts and also ask for advice. I demo'd 3 skis a week ago (11-15-09) at Loveland (2009-10 models): Volkl Kiku 163 cm , Nordica Nemesis 161 cm, and Icelantic Nomad soft 153? cm. I have been skiing on 2005-6 Head Wild Thangs 156 cm but looking for powder skis with all the powder we get in Colorado. 5 inches of pow the night before, but there were only patches of fresh/chopped pow that hadn't been groomed over (ungroomed runs not open yet).

Of the 3, I loved the Kikus best. I thought they blasted through the chopped powder amazingly, and carved surprisingly very well in the groomed snow and hardpack. [I had tried a friend's Kiku 2008-9 model last year and had a blast down Patrol Bowl at Loveland, so I knew they should handle that well, too].

I then asked the shop to change the rental binding (Marker Griffon) mount to 1 cm forward (toward the tips) of the official "neutral" spot and was surprised at what a change just 1 cm can make. Turn initiation was incredible, and before I could think "turn left," the ski was already there. Easy to go down moguls, very agile. Did, however, tend to skid a little more on the hardpack, when at 1 cm forward.

The Kiku's are the exact same shape as the men's Gotamas, just with a lighter wooden core. I'm wondering if the Kiku factory binding mount position is positioned for the men rather than for the women. Would the Kikus seemed less "heavy and slow reacting" had they been mounted 1 cm forward for you?

I bought the Kikus with Marker Barron AT bindings but now don't know where to mount the bindings... at the factory recommended setting or 1 cm forward? I do like moguls, so I'm thinking of putting them 1 cm forward, but I'm also afraid it will "train" me not to ski as far forward as I should, and also don't know how it would handle ice, and I don't want it to dive in crud/powder (although with the rocker tip that's less likely). Also, I'm nervous to deviate from the factory recommended settings. But, if the Kiku factory settings were really meant for men, and not for women, then I would hesitate less to put the bindings 1 cm forward.

I hope I brought to light an issue that maybe Volkl didn't anticipate. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Should mention that I don't hang out at the terrain park or ski switch. Too busy looking for powder or bumps.

Bonus question: easier to skin uphill with foward-set or neutral-set AT bindings?

...Maybe I should get the Marker Schizo binding's... j/k

[PowDiva85]

hmm...good point. I did not think of that on the kiku. I was skiing the 170 which im sure had a bit to do with the "slow reacting" issue but it could be a mounting position issue as well. When I skied the BC pro 110 in the 176 my guy friend recommended i move the binding forward so I was 1cm or so forward and I definitely felt that ski was quicker and did not really notice any tail hang up or extra skid. I think based on your review and my own experiences that it would probably be a good idea to go 1cm forward on those skis for quicker turning. I dont think it will affect your ski habits, just make handling that ski a bit quicker.

PS. I just bought the BC pro110 in 176 eeeekkk!!

[lucine]

I demoed Sunday at Loveland. What a great day.

8 different skis.
Conditions: Sunny started @ 22 degrees and cold, warmed up for a few hours and then temperatures went back down, with a little wind
Snow:Mostly hardpack to MM groomed. Loveland did a good job grooming. one run had a few funny sized moguls.
Tester: 51 160 pounds 5'4" I own the Volkl Fuego 153 and Apache Recon 160 (my DH is stealing these) so I NEED new skis. Lost the paper with all the lengths but ....
Rossignol Voodoo BC 90 160cm: First run of the season. slid on the first patch of ice, but stayed upright. I felt wonderful and the moment made me sing. Was it just the first run of the season and I was happy? Took em out last run of the day as well. Lovely ski. Quick to turn, managed the few moguls, and was better on the hard pack than the first run. which was delightful. (perhaps operator was better?).
Salomon Lady : One run, couldn't get off of them fast enough. maybe they were too long, but I couldn't turn em, they wouldn't hold an edge and I found myself bracing for every dreaded turn.
Blizzard Eos: Was looking forward to these skis after reviewing them on line. Found them to be a repeat of the Lady. Ugh.
Volkl Aura 163: Made me sing. Much more forgiving than my Fuegos, smeared nicely over the moguls, carved through the hard pack (like a Volkl should). Want to try in crud and pow.
Volkl Tierra 161. Like coming home to the Fuego, but a little more forgiving. Surprised to feel chatter, as I don't get that with my shorter length Fuegos.
Rossignol Voodoo SC 80 Expected to like it as my DH loved the manly version (phantom) it was ok, but did not make me happy or sad. they were fine.
K2 Lotta Luvs 156 Like coming home to my Recons. Just as solid and forgiving and comfortable as I expected. (some singing going on)
Line Celebrity 158 Liked the graphics and wanted to love the ski. They were okay but nothing to write home about.
Winners:Rossignol Voodoo BC 90 and Volkl Auras -Two Rockered skis -who knew? and an old friend.
Two very fat/wide losers: and I expected to like them .
Also Rans: the rest of the pack. All of which I could learn to love if someone felt compelled to give me a pair.

[lucine]

[QUOTE=alyeskaluv;115592 . . . and then just upgrade my 163 Auras to 170s for my daily driver (my 163s are awesome, ).[/QUOTE]

How much are you selling those Auras for?

[Powderhound]

Originally Posted by PowDiva85

hmm...good point. I did not think of that on the kiku. I was skiing the 170 which im sure had a bit to do with the "slow reacting" issue but it could be a mounting position issue as well. When I skied the BC pro 110 in the 176 my guy friend recommended i move the binding forward so I was 1cm or so forward and I definitely felt that ski was quicker and did not really notice any tail hang up or extra skid. I think based on your review and my own experiences that it would probably be a good idea to go 1cm forward on those skis for quicker turning. I dont think it will affect your ski habits, just make handling that ski a bit quicker.

PS. I just bought the BC pro110 in 176 eeeekkk!!

PowDiva85, Thanks for your thoughts and congrats on your new purchase.
Turns out that the binding mount point for Kiku is the same as the Gotama male ski, Gotama, so women might not perform optimally at the neutral point. So I am leaning toward the 1 cm forward of neutral, although Volkl says not to (see below). Has anyone put their bindings forward of neutral in the rockered 2009-10 Volkl Kiku or Auras, and what do they think??

According to Volkl:
"The mounting point for the Kiku and the Gotama is the same. Because of the rocker - you don't want to go more forward than it already is. The mounting point is 794mm from the tail on both the Gotama and the Kiku [178 cm]. For the 170 [cm] Kiku/Gotama it is 758mm."

[alyeskaluv]

Lucine -

Not sure how much I'm selling the Auras for just yet . . . I'm going to be down at Alyeska on December 10-11 and should know more after that. I'm hoping that I can find 170 Auras then, pop the Z10 TIs off of my 163s, and have the 170s mounted and ready to go. If it all works out, I'll likely be selling the old 163s flat for around $350. I paid $699 for them and they're only one season old and in great shape, but they were drilled for bindings twice, so I'm thinking that would be a fair asking price!

Pray for snow!

[volklgirl]

Originally Posted by lucine

Winners:Rossignol Voodoo BC 90 and Volkl Auras -Two Rockered skis -who knew?

The Aura is not, and never has been, rockered. The Kiku is rockered, however.

[skibum4ever]

Powderhound, what did you think of the Nemesis?