scandium
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I was lucky enough to run into 3 demo days this ski trip, and even luckier that my mother finally agreed to try skis just for fun. Today was the last day of our trip and we spent all morning swapping in and out of our own skis and demos to compare them. K2 was here earlier in the week, so I took the Mindbenders out on deeper, fresher snow and generally better conditions last Saturday, as seen below (I was on my own skis for these tracks - we were in the queue 15 minutes before the lift opened and got the second chair up)
Ski level: Intermediate. When we took a lesson together, I think they classified us as Level 6. I am in my 30s, like a little speed, want to like moguls, and am trying my utmost to improve on ungroomed snow; Mum is no longer in her 30s, prefers groomers but will dip off the side of the trail in fresh snow, and hates moguls.
Demo area: The Remarkables, on intermediate trails
Conditions: Mostly sunny with passing cloud, -2°C, variable snow in places. They have needed to top up with snowguns since the start of the week, but last night there was a solid 3cm of fresh but wind-affected snow which was well skiied-over by the time we got to demo. odd bit of crud around and icy scraped-off patches. The intermediate groomers have been developing moguls steadily so we were also practicing our bump technique with variable success.
Time demoed: two runs per ski (standard for most demo days)
Size: Me: 157cm/54kg/ski 2019 Volkl Kenja 156cm
Mum is 164cm/52kg/skis 2019 Volkl Yumi 154cm
K2 Disruption 81Ti 160cm : I took this out today to see how I felt back on a dedicated groomer ski, and my first impression was "this is a solid groomer ski". It was longer than I would normally go for but felt smooth and stable, turned when I asked it to, got on edge with no issues, and handled chopped up snow without getting caught. It didn't hold as well on icier areas for how stable and grippy it felt otherwise, but perhaps I wasn't driving it as much as it wanted. I never quite opened up the throttle fully on it, and I think it would be more energetic with a faster skier or on a steeper groomer/faster day. Photo below came out weird - they are a maroon red.
K2 Mindbender 88Ti 156cm: I took this out on Saturday after everything was becoming tracked out and found my first run felt a little like skiing my Kenjas but with a greater degree of forgiveness and less driving needed - solid, and a ski that goes through crud, but doesn't completely bog you down in softer snow. Like the Kenjas, I needed to work hard for shorter turns and it wouldn't be my first choice for moguls. The topsheet is great with my pants though.
Mum took them out today and they are now on her "possible ski" shopping list. Her impression was that she felt very, very stable but needed to be more aware of getting out of a backseat position compared to the Yumis (I think "less forgiving"). She felt it sliced through crud, held on ice, but she had to work harder to turn them, and thought that it would have been hard on a steeper run.
K2 Mindbender 90C 163cm: I took this out on Saturday just prior to the 88Ti and it felt both too long and too soft, although floated well, was incredibly forgiving, and turned easily. My overall impression was "bouncy, but holds an edge ok."
Mum thought in today's conditions that it wasn't too long once you got used to it and floated well, got on edge "okay" but "no good over bumpy stuff as very bumpy. Not unstable or chattery, just bumpy."
There is a partial photo below as they made it into the photo of the Line Blade.
Line Blade W 160cm: The surprise of the day! It looks like it should be a floaty off piste ski, but I was reassured I could treat it "just like a slalom ski". I disagreed with that slightly as I slid over an icy area, but I could definitely tip it on edge and get up speed rather than having to smear every turn like the Pandoras. It turns remarkably easily and was great for shorter turns. A bit bouncy (with the Kenjas as my baseline for "not bouncy in crud") but not unstably so or throwing me around.
Mum thought: Surprisingly easy and stable at speed. They almost turn for you and are quite forgiving. They don't look like they could carve as the tip is very wide, but they do. They don't charge through crud, but get through some relatively well.
Line Pandora 94 165cm: I wanted to like this ski, and I really didn't. I felt like I was on a ski that was too long and like I could lose grip as soon as I ran into anything icy, which was about 50% of what the bumps were this morning. I felt like I was skimming over the surface of everything and never grabbing hold. I think a shorter length would have helped, but to me this was a soft snow ski not an all mountain one.
Mum previously hired an earlier model in a shorter length for a powder day in Madarao in early 2020, and remembers they were nice and floaty for those conditions, and easy to turn.
Overall, this was a pretty fun day and I'm glad I finally got my mother onto demos after several seasons of encouraging her to do so. The quiver may expand further in the future, I suspect.
Ski level: Intermediate. When we took a lesson together, I think they classified us as Level 6. I am in my 30s, like a little speed, want to like moguls, and am trying my utmost to improve on ungroomed snow; Mum is no longer in her 30s, prefers groomers but will dip off the side of the trail in fresh snow, and hates moguls.
Demo area: The Remarkables, on intermediate trails
Conditions: Mostly sunny with passing cloud, -2°C, variable snow in places. They have needed to top up with snowguns since the start of the week, but last night there was a solid 3cm of fresh but wind-affected snow which was well skiied-over by the time we got to demo. odd bit of crud around and icy scraped-off patches. The intermediate groomers have been developing moguls steadily so we were also practicing our bump technique with variable success.
Time demoed: two runs per ski (standard for most demo days)
Size: Me: 157cm/54kg/ski 2019 Volkl Kenja 156cm
Mum is 164cm/52kg/skis 2019 Volkl Yumi 154cm
K2 Disruption 81Ti 160cm : I took this out today to see how I felt back on a dedicated groomer ski, and my first impression was "this is a solid groomer ski". It was longer than I would normally go for but felt smooth and stable, turned when I asked it to, got on edge with no issues, and handled chopped up snow without getting caught. It didn't hold as well on icier areas for how stable and grippy it felt otherwise, but perhaps I wasn't driving it as much as it wanted. I never quite opened up the throttle fully on it, and I think it would be more energetic with a faster skier or on a steeper groomer/faster day. Photo below came out weird - they are a maroon red.
K2 Mindbender 88Ti 156cm: I took this out on Saturday after everything was becoming tracked out and found my first run felt a little like skiing my Kenjas but with a greater degree of forgiveness and less driving needed - solid, and a ski that goes through crud, but doesn't completely bog you down in softer snow. Like the Kenjas, I needed to work hard for shorter turns and it wouldn't be my first choice for moguls. The topsheet is great with my pants though.
Mum took them out today and they are now on her "possible ski" shopping list. Her impression was that she felt very, very stable but needed to be more aware of getting out of a backseat position compared to the Yumis (I think "less forgiving"). She felt it sliced through crud, held on ice, but she had to work harder to turn them, and thought that it would have been hard on a steeper run.
K2 Mindbender 90C 163cm: I took this out on Saturday just prior to the 88Ti and it felt both too long and too soft, although floated well, was incredibly forgiving, and turned easily. My overall impression was "bouncy, but holds an edge ok."
Mum thought in today's conditions that it wasn't too long once you got used to it and floated well, got on edge "okay" but "no good over bumpy stuff as very bumpy. Not unstable or chattery, just bumpy."
There is a partial photo below as they made it into the photo of the Line Blade.
Line Blade W 160cm: The surprise of the day! It looks like it should be a floaty off piste ski, but I was reassured I could treat it "just like a slalom ski". I disagreed with that slightly as I slid over an icy area, but I could definitely tip it on edge and get up speed rather than having to smear every turn like the Pandoras. It turns remarkably easily and was great for shorter turns. A bit bouncy (with the Kenjas as my baseline for "not bouncy in crud") but not unstably so or throwing me around.
Mum thought: Surprisingly easy and stable at speed. They almost turn for you and are quite forgiving. They don't look like they could carve as the tip is very wide, but they do. They don't charge through crud, but get through some relatively well.
Line Pandora 94 165cm: I wanted to like this ski, and I really didn't. I felt like I was on a ski that was too long and like I could lose grip as soon as I ran into anything icy, which was about 50% of what the bumps were this morning. I felt like I was skimming over the surface of everything and never grabbing hold. I think a shorter length would have helped, but to me this was a soft snow ski not an all mountain one.
Mum previously hired an earlier model in a shorter length for a powder day in Madarao in early 2020, and remembers they were nice and floaty for those conditions, and easy to turn.
Overall, this was a pretty fun day and I'm glad I finally got my mother onto demos after several seasons of encouraging her to do so. The quiver may expand further in the future, I suspect.