Alta Demo Days

[Col]

I took advantage of Alta Days yesterday and demoed several skis for free. Prior to this I had only skied on 4 different skis ever (in the 13 years I have been skiing). Mostly I ski on Black Diamond Havocs (163) 120/88/113- which I really like. So know that my review is based off of a limited sample size.

Me: 5’3” 140 lbs. Advanced skier. Ski mainly in Utah 2+days a week.
Conditions: 2” on top of mostly firm snow

If the height of the ski is not mentioned I could not remember it. All of the skis were 160-168 cm. I took whatever they had available to ski at the moment. (Also R= turn radius)

Volkl Aura (163)- 130/94/113 R19 First run I was psyched! They cut through crud with ease and were stable. However, they did not seem to like short turns and on steep, short turns they would chatter- this could be due to my not flexing my downhill knee enough on the turn, but not all of the skis I tried chattered on steep turns.

Head Sweet Ones (166)- 130/93/120 (or 117 in the tail- sorry I don’t remember?) R16 These are one of Head’s new women’s skis for 08-09. They are very heavy and were a little stiffer than the Aura. Considering their dimensions are almost the same as the Aura, I was really surprised how much more I liked them. They felt very powerful and fast. They cut through anything. I was straight lining through crud where I would never think of it before. There was no chatter on steep turns. They were easy to get on edge and loved any turn or whatever I threw at them. Considering how heavy and stiff they were I was shocked that I loved them and I did not want to return them. I even dreamt about them last night!

Roxy B83-okay, but too soft and not fat enough to cut through crud.

Roxy- (sorry I don’t remember the name of the ski) Their widest underfoot, black and white women’s ski for next year (not the Black Magic)- too soft. Not stable enough . Did not cut through crud as well as the Aura or Sweet Ones.

Sweet Fat Thangs- stiff. Not wide enough- not great cutting through crud. Not great getting on edge.

Guns- too soft. Hard to get on edge and chattered on steep chopped up groomers.

I hoped I would love the Aura’s as so many people do, because the 07-08 demos were on sale for less than $300. (For those of you looking, the Deep Powder House at Alta has several pairs still available- google them to find their website. The 163s I demoed were in great condition and are a great price). Overall to my dismay, I fell deeply in love with the Head Sweet Ones. I have never felt so powerful and aggressive on a ski before. I can’t wait to buy them. I am just disappointed I can’t ski them in South America this summer.

 

[greekpeakskier]

another one smitten by the heads!!!! that's how i felt after skiing on the power line (this year year, "power thang," next year "one power"). i dreamt about them. i bought them. i'm now waiting breathlessly for their arrival tomorrow.

the son of the resort's owner offered spontaneously last week that head was putting far more money into r and d these days. if the skis i skied is an example.... it seems to be working.

 

[pinto]

I am one of those Aura lovers, but I have also loved the Heads I've skied. I have some iM77s that I am also very fond of ... but I got a bad tune with them, and they turned into mediocre skis. I finally got them re-done, so I'll have to bring them back out.

Interestingly, I've never skied the women's Heads, only the men's/unisex version. I better not even get started, I guess .... (though those Sweet Ones sound, uh, sweet)

Several have talked about chatter with the Auras. I haven't had that issue yet, but I don't know why. May be the conditions, or the length I'm using, or something. I can see where a damper ski would be better there, and Head is definitely damp (but not dead ... it isn't K2 damp, it's different. I need another word.)

 

[vanhoskier]

Col-

Are you a tele skier? When I saw you skied Black Diamonds I was thinking "tele skier." If so, maybe that's why you had a different experience than many with the Auras?

 

[Col]

No. I am not a tele skier. I have Fritschi Freeride AT bindings on my Havocs.

I don't know why the Aura's did not work for me. I really wanted to love them. I am thinking the Sweet Ones stiffness, (and weight?), and additional side cut are what made me love them. But, even if I did not ski the Sweet Ones I would not have purchased the Auras because of the chatter. I don't know why I got the chatter- maybe technique in combination with binding placement? When I did not have it with some of the other skis I demoed I thought it was likely due to ski stiffness, weight, and binding placement. I did not think of trying a longer ski in the Aura. I wish I had, but my head was spinning with all of the demo options.

It is snowing hard at Brighton right now and I sure wish I had some fat skis for tomorrow.

 

[IdahoSkiGirl]

I have the Auras with the Fritschi Freerides. While in Alta this past Feb. a fellow diva rented the Aura from Deep Powder House. We switched skis, mainly so I could try the demo binding and she could try the Freerides. The two bindings gave the Aura a COMPLETELY different feel. I have the Freeride toe and heel "plates" on the Auras and they raise your foot up enough to really set an edge and carve. With the demo bindings your foot is not high enough to set an edge; I kept "chattering" and "skidding" out of the carve. Not a big deal if you are in powder all the time but if you are taking the Auras on any hard pack...not so fun. Overall, the demo bindings do not allow the Aura to perform to their full potential.

I have also tried the Head iM77s they are a fun ski but I personally still prefer the Aura. You have peaked my interest about the Sweet Ones, I may have to try them some time

 

[volklgirl]

I think a longer length would have greatly changed your opinion of the Aura. I demoed the 163, but our hills are only 450' so they were fine. I'm seriously glad I went with the 177 when I decided to purchase. I have the piston binding on mine so I also have some rise, plus I can turn the piston on to quiet them down for hardpack. That was a really good choice for our conditions. Even on early morning hard frozen corduroy I only get minimal chatter now.

 

[perma-grin]

Col, I to loved the Sweet Ones! Actually I loved the whole ladies line (08-09 plus the Super Shape magnesium!) Demoed them two weeks ago. They ripped! I couldn't get over how quick they were edge to edge! I expected a slodgy feeling because of the weight riding up the chair. And yeah they have a different kind of "Damp" feeling to them. solid but not dead. I think it may be the "Liquid metal". I don't really care what it is I know I love the skis.