volklgirl
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Early this spring, I picked up a pair of Racetigers from one of the Nastar pacesetters. I finally got to try them out today! I've previously been racing on a 'cheater' ski - the Volkl P60 GC Motion 173cm with an 18 meter radius. The Racetigers are a true racestock ski with a >21 meter radius and the World Cup race plate. They're also the longest ski I've ever raced on. I have to admit I was a little afraid of them on the first run and expected them to ski away without me :o .
Conditions: 40+ degrees (again), 6" of corn snow just beginning to turn to slush. The course got rutted, bermed, and really ugly really fast. It was a very turny, very offset course as well. The first 3 gates are on a fairly steep headwall and got scraped down to ice after the 1st run.
The race: My first run was very tentative to start - it was my first race this year, my first race on these skis, and only the 2nd time I'd ever been on them. Plus, everyone at the start was talking about how bumpy the course was and how many people had crashed or blown out...that was a major head trip for me!! As I cleared those 1st ugly gates, I realized that the skis were hooking up and actually carving on every gate despite a huge amount of pilot error. I settled down on the flats and began to get comfortable, just letting them work from turn to turn. At the lower headwall, I almost tried to hit the brakes and force them to the next wide offset, then caught myself and trusted them to make the turn - they did just that. My 2nd, 3rd, and 4th runs were much faster (a full second), and were very consistent (within .2 seconds of each other).
Impressions: I found them to be incredibly easy to ski (for a full blown race ski) and very tolerant of technique mistakes. I was surprised at just how tight an arc they would make while still continuing to carve no matter how rutted or bumpy the course became. Not once did I ever feel that they were going to break loose, bounce out of the course, run away from me, or force me to a speed where I wasn't comfortable. Nor did they ever seem to have a speed limit (probably through my own error, not theirs
). I guess I would have to compare them to a very well-trained Golden Retriever - well behaved and eager to please, instantly responding to the trainers commands, yet still spunky and playful. (wow, did I just say playful when discussing a race ski?? 
)
Other GS race skis I demoed last year:
Fisher RC4 World Cup - 1 run and I took them back. A very precise and demanding ski with no forgiveness for error.
Atomic GS11 - A fast and very stiff ski. Somewhat forgiving. It dives into turns but requires lots of tail pressure to finish the turn.
Rossignol 9X Oversize - A very damp, very noodly (soft) ski with no zip or pop out of the turn. Very forgiving but just doesn't feel fast.
Dynastar Speed 66 - A very quick, snappy, playful ski. It feels fast, but just didn't fit my more laid-back style.
Conditions: 40+ degrees (again), 6" of corn snow just beginning to turn to slush. The course got rutted, bermed, and really ugly really fast. It was a very turny, very offset course as well. The first 3 gates are on a fairly steep headwall and got scraped down to ice after the 1st run.
The race: My first run was very tentative to start - it was my first race this year, my first race on these skis, and only the 2nd time I'd ever been on them. Plus, everyone at the start was talking about how bumpy the course was and how many people had crashed or blown out...that was a major head trip for me!! As I cleared those 1st ugly gates, I realized that the skis were hooking up and actually carving on every gate despite a huge amount of pilot error. I settled down on the flats and began to get comfortable, just letting them work from turn to turn. At the lower headwall, I almost tried to hit the brakes and force them to the next wide offset, then caught myself and trusted them to make the turn - they did just that. My 2nd, 3rd, and 4th runs were much faster (a full second), and were very consistent (within .2 seconds of each other).
Impressions: I found them to be incredibly easy to ski (for a full blown race ski) and very tolerant of technique mistakes. I was surprised at just how tight an arc they would make while still continuing to carve no matter how rutted or bumpy the course became. Not once did I ever feel that they were going to break loose, bounce out of the course, run away from me, or force me to a speed where I wasn't comfortable. Nor did they ever seem to have a speed limit (probably through my own error, not theirs
). I guess I would have to compare them to a very well-trained Golden Retriever - well behaved and eager to please, instantly responding to the trainers commands, yet still spunky and playful. (wow, did I just say playful when discussing a race ski?? )Other GS race skis I demoed last year:
Fisher RC4 World Cup - 1 run and I took them back. A very precise and demanding ski with no forgiveness for error.
Atomic GS11 - A fast and very stiff ski. Somewhat forgiving. It dives into turns but requires lots of tail pressure to finish the turn.
Rossignol 9X Oversize - A very damp, very noodly (soft) ski with no zip or pop out of the turn. Very forgiving but just doesn't feel fast.
Dynastar Speed 66 - A very quick, snappy, playful ski. It feels fast, but just didn't fit my more laid-back style.
