nopoleskier
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Demo Day was fun. Snow was spring conditions, piled up easily into soft bumps. As the day continued the snow got thicker (gack). The ungroomed was still a bit frozen in the morning but softened up nicely. About me: I am 61 I think I'm still 28 skiing LOL, love to carve big turns and fast short turns, I tend to ski fast. I like stable skis (race background) but like them to be nimble, quick turning, playful but go fast without chatter. Must be able to make long and short turns in and out of piles to groomed without getting bounced.
I am looking for a 'fatty' that will be light and nimble like my Z-90's for big snow over a foot. These conditions provided piles of banged up snow while true powder would be light piles.
I tried a few skis. unfortunately most skis available were too short for my liking but here's my reviews. I don't have the full measurements of the skis.
I started with the Blizzard Sheeva 10 (100 under foot) 164 Length. I liked the ski a lot. It tracked well in the gack, was easy to carve, very nimble and playful. At speed the 164 got chattery I'd be happier on the 172 cm. I can see why this gets the love it does, it deserves it. Very nice ski for 100 underfoot
Next: Blizzard Black Pearl 98- 173 Length. I was surprised this ski looks like an old style ski. It skis like a new ski. It worked well in the piles of gack, bumps and was very good at speed no chatter. Very Solid ski. Easy to carve. I had demo'd before but was shorter length and I did not like it. Most important: Get the right size ski! Interesting that coming from old skis; 195cm in the 70's,80's to Shorties and now the skis I'm liking are longer again.
Next: Atomic Vantage 107- 167cm (Still TOO Short) Very nice ski, I do like Atomics, stable, easy to ski, very solid easy turning in piles of snow, cut right thru it all, easy to ski on the groomer. I was surprised they didn't feel as fat as they are. Unfortunately They got chattery at speed due to being too short. I'd get the 172cm and I did like the "Red Ski". I'd like to try in powder and longer length
So I've wanted to try DPS for quite some time.. They are very popular. I took the Zelda 106 under foot, 163 length. I'd again want the 171cm. This ski seemed blah to me at the top. I took all skis onto steep pitches, some groomer areas but mostly into piles of spring snow and I did slow turns and big turns, took all thru the bumps and ungroomed, I let them loose on the groomer run out portion to see if they had tip shake. After groaning after a couple of turns the more I skied them they did 'grow' on me but due to being so short they weren't high on my list of favs.They did do everything I asked them too but for me just not playful enough, The rep said I may like the Yvette better but I never got on them.
Last Pair: Armada Trace 98 under foot, 164cm length. I did not like these, got very chattery at speed and bounced around in the piles. Very plankish and for me just not fun. They were Very disappointing after all the rave reviews I read. Just not my kind of ski.
As the day grew on the clouds thickened, some runs we had nearly zero visibility. The snow was getting more piled up. It was lunch time so took my Renoun Z-90's out to compare. No Comparison for me- my Z-90's stole the show. They just are THE BEST Ski for all types of conditions. They cut thru piles of gack, carve superbly, are a blast in the bumps. So solid and never a tip shake or waiver in the thick gack snow. After skiing a couple runs on my skis I didn't want to try any more skis.,It is so nice to have the best pair on my feet.
Demo Demo Demo. What I like you may hate! It is so interesting to see how differently each companies skis ski!
As for the Phantom wax. It was nice on the skis that were treated, although one pair I had I still felt some 'stick' but not like regular wax. I also talked with a shop/repair guy from VT he said Phantom is great but at temps below zero it lost some of it's sliding power, could be a problem for some of us.
All in all it was a very fun demo day, there were so many skis to try and not enough time. I'll keep trying skis but kudos to Renoun for making a perfect ski for me. I hope you find your perfect ski.
I am looking for a 'fatty' that will be light and nimble like my Z-90's for big snow over a foot. These conditions provided piles of banged up snow while true powder would be light piles.
I tried a few skis. unfortunately most skis available were too short for my liking but here's my reviews. I don't have the full measurements of the skis.
I started with the Blizzard Sheeva 10 (100 under foot) 164 Length. I liked the ski a lot. It tracked well in the gack, was easy to carve, very nimble and playful. At speed the 164 got chattery I'd be happier on the 172 cm. I can see why this gets the love it does, it deserves it. Very nice ski for 100 underfoot
Next: Blizzard Black Pearl 98- 173 Length. I was surprised this ski looks like an old style ski. It skis like a new ski. It worked well in the piles of gack, bumps and was very good at speed no chatter. Very Solid ski. Easy to carve. I had demo'd before but was shorter length and I did not like it. Most important: Get the right size ski! Interesting that coming from old skis; 195cm in the 70's,80's to Shorties and now the skis I'm liking are longer again.
Next: Atomic Vantage 107- 167cm (Still TOO Short) Very nice ski, I do like Atomics, stable, easy to ski, very solid easy turning in piles of snow, cut right thru it all, easy to ski on the groomer. I was surprised they didn't feel as fat as they are. Unfortunately They got chattery at speed due to being too short. I'd get the 172cm and I did like the "Red Ski". I'd like to try in powder and longer length
So I've wanted to try DPS for quite some time.. They are very popular. I took the Zelda 106 under foot, 163 length. I'd again want the 171cm. This ski seemed blah to me at the top. I took all skis onto steep pitches, some groomer areas but mostly into piles of spring snow and I did slow turns and big turns, took all thru the bumps and ungroomed, I let them loose on the groomer run out portion to see if they had tip shake. After groaning after a couple of turns the more I skied them they did 'grow' on me but due to being so short they weren't high on my list of favs.They did do everything I asked them too but for me just not playful enough, The rep said I may like the Yvette better but I never got on them.
Last Pair: Armada Trace 98 under foot, 164cm length. I did not like these, got very chattery at speed and bounced around in the piles. Very plankish and for me just not fun. They were Very disappointing after all the rave reviews I read. Just not my kind of ski.
As the day grew on the clouds thickened, some runs we had nearly zero visibility. The snow was getting more piled up. It was lunch time so took my Renoun Z-90's out to compare. No Comparison for me- my Z-90's stole the show. They just are THE BEST Ski for all types of conditions. They cut thru piles of gack, carve superbly, are a blast in the bumps. So solid and never a tip shake or waiver in the thick gack snow. After skiing a couple runs on my skis I didn't want to try any more skis.,It is so nice to have the best pair on my feet.
Demo Demo Demo. What I like you may hate! It is so interesting to see how differently each companies skis ski!
As for the Phantom wax. It was nice on the skis that were treated, although one pair I had I still felt some 'stick' but not like regular wax. I also talked with a shop/repair guy from VT he said Phantom is great but at temps below zero it lost some of it's sliding power, could be a problem for some of us.
All in all it was a very fun demo day, there were so many skis to try and not enough time. I'll keep trying skis but kudos to Renoun for making a perfect ski for me. I hope you find your perfect ski.