Demo Day #1

[volklgirl]

The tester: 41yo, 190lbs, PSIA Level II, Nastar Platinum/Gold racer, 2 nights a week 'beer league' racer. I like fast, stable skis with a little 'pop'. Current Quiver - (all Volkl) P60 SL Racestock 155cm, 6* 161cm, Vertigo G20W 168cm, P60 GC Motion 173cm, Racetiger GS Racestock 180cm.

Test Conditions: Firm 50/50 natural/man-made snow with a 2-3" layer of "packed powder" on top. Some areas of sun-baked, starting to melt, tracked-up, crusty-topped crud. 34-39 deg F and windy.

Original Goal: To find a mid-fat to fat pow/crud ski.
Actual Test: No real crud or pow, so it turned out to be a mostly carver test. Plus, most of their fats were "still in boxes" :mad: .

In order tested:
Nordica Afterburner 170cm (Freeride Fat): A burly, beefy beast of a ski. Totally unforgiving of mistakes. It wanted nothing to do with anything even resembling a short turn although it could be coaxed into medium turns given enough speed. It was damp and unflappably stable at speeds. Not a ski for the shorter midwest hills. It would probably rock as a big mountain ski for a very skilled skier.

Volkl Allstar 168cm (Carver): A versatile ski that excelled at medium radius turns at any speed. The faster I went, the happier it was and would even pop off short turns when stomped. Softer, more forgiving, and more tolerant of slower speeds than most Volkls. The tested length was too short for my size with the edges occasionaly breaking loose on steeps at high speeds.

Atomic Metron M10 Puls 157cm (Carver): YUCK! This was the only ski of the day that I absolutely hated. It ripped off short turns on smooth flat runs but totally fell apart on the steeps. It refused to do a skidded turn of any kind, including hockey stops, and I actually had the tails edge-lock on me and shoot me across the hill uncontrollably. When I tried to carve on the steeps, it broke loose constantly. I will say, though, that much of this could be a result of a bad tune or burr, but I didn't get a chance to check the edges.

Nordica Olympia Speed 162cm (Carver): My first surprise ski of the day. The girlie looks hide a tremendously agile ski with a snappy heart. Its forte was short to medium turns but it still hung on gamely for larger radius turns at very high speeds. It has the largest sweet spot of any ski I've ever been on - forward, middle, back - it just didn't care. This is a superb 'improving' ski because it was totally forgiving of mistakes. To sum it up: Controlled Power. The 162cm was actually a bit short at the highest speeds for me and if I was to buy this I'd go up to a 170ish. It got my highest overall rating of the day even at this short length. I plan to also test the Olympia Conquest on my next demo day.

OK, gotta go nite-nite now....the other 4 to come tomorrow. (Oh, the suspense :D !)

 

[ski diva]

VERY interesting post. Thanks for the review! Looking forward to hearing more.

 

[volklgirl]

Day #1, Part II

Again, in the order tested:

Rossignol Zenith Z9 ti Oversize 170cm (All Mountain) : My second surprise ski of the day. Normally I dislike Rossignols bcause they feel too soft (noodly) or just plain 'dead'. These skis are a radical departure from any other Rossi I've ever tried. They were damp and solid, but still had a little pop. They were just as comfortable doing skidded, slow speed turns on the flats as they were doing high speed carves on the steeps. No matter how hard I pushed them, they never broke loose. The more input I gave them, the more alive they felt. They fired off short turns faster than I could keep up and had amazing rebound. Yet, they never felt like they were skiing me. The only weakness I found was long radius turns....and even in that category I gave them a 4 out of 5. This ski and the Nordica were the only 2 I would consider if I were to buy based on this demo day. For more relaxed (or lighter skiers), I intend to also try the Z5 during my next demo day.

Volkl Attiva AC2 163cm (All Mountain): This would be a stellar choice for a lighter or improving skier at this length - it was much more relaxed and easy going than most Volkls. I found it slightly lacking in edge grip and stability but I feel that was a function of length rather than the ski itself. It quickly and easily changed from short to long turns and it responded instantly with more vigor when pushed. I found it did have a speed limit, but again, that was probably a function of its length and my weight (oh, and that speed limit was still in the realm of OMG fast!). I really want to try this in a 170ish length.

Atomic Metron 11:B5 170cm (All Mountain): This ski just didn't light my fire. It was smoothly competent in medium and long turns and well behaved at speed, but was a little balky when pushed for shorter turns. It was just a no muss, no fuss, no excitement kind of ski.

K2 Apache Outlaw 174cm (Freeride Fat): Another Wow!! This ski just surfed through the little bit of crud and pow I could find and made the sun hardened chop feel like gliding on carpeting. This ski is a well mannered powerhouse with no speed limit what so ever. It wanted nothing to do with short turns (not surprising considering its size), and wasn't thrilled with medium turns, but in longs turns it had no equal. It was stable, grippy, and incredibly forgiving. As fat as it is, it still carved as well or better than some of the 'carvers' I tried. If I lived out west and actually got to ski powder, I would most definitely buy this ski! In the conditions it's made for, it gets a solid 5!

For you other gear geeks, here's the stats on each ski, fattest first:
K2 Apache Outlaw - 124-88-111
Nordica Afterburner - 126-84-112
Atomic Metron 11:B5 - 125-76-109
Rossignol Zenith Z9 - 126-74-105
Volkl Attiva AC2 - 116-72-103
Nordica Olympia Speed - 116-70-102
Volkl Allstar - 116-70-101
Atomic Metron 10 - ??

My take on day 1? With the exception of the Metron, I found no bad skis. I just found skis that fit my style or not. And I found that the correct length can make or break someone's impression of a ski, as can a bad tune (I'm giving the Metron 10 the benefit of the doubt).

More to come later this month!

 

[volklgirl]

An accidental addition to demo weekend...

On Sunday, I got to ski with SnowHot, family, and friends. We had wonderful sunshine and 40+ degree weather. The snow began to break down early in the day - spring skiing in December (it was fun, but not really a good thing :( ).

Because the snow got gloppy, hubby adjusted his 03-04 Volkl 724 Pros for my boots. I was concerned about the length, 177cm, but it turns out I shouldn't have been. It was soooo easy to ski! It swallowed the glop like it was nothing. Short turns, medium turns, long turns, slow, fast.....no problem! It skied like a big, fat 6*/Allstar. It's an all mountain ski that thinks it wants to be a race ski. If you're a heavier or hard charging skier, look seriously at this ski! It can be had used for really reasonable prices. Don't be afraid to go longer than you normally would, either!

 

[Grace]

Thanks for posting those reviews -- most interesting.

I have been looking for some skis for a while now and, when it became clear I wasn't going to be able to make any local demo days and since I was offered a great deal on a pair of AC2s, I purchased them last week. Haven't read anything bad about the Attiva AC2s yet and am dying to try them out. I got the 163s - as a 130lb improving intermediate I think that should work out. Anyway glad you enjoyed them and great to hear your thoughts.

Grace

 

[volklgirl]

Grace,

Thanks! Glad I could help out.....definitely post up what your impressions are when you get a chance to try them out. I'm really interested to see what a lighter, less agressive skier thinks of the AC2, especially in the 163 length.