First off, thanks so much for the advice and reviews in this forum!! I'm so glad to be a part of this great Diva community!
Stats: Loveland, CO, early season conditions-no new snow; groomed and eventually pretty uneven skied off stuff. Me: 5'7", 140, low-adv skier.
Skis tested: Nordica Olympia Victory, Volkl Attiva Tierra, Volkl Attiva Fuego, Dynastar Exclusive Legend, Head Wild Thang. All skis stested lengths were 160-164cm. (way shorter than my 174s!!)
First up; the Victory: WOW! This was my favorite ski of the day! It was so peppy and happy, yet stable and confident. Not too soft or too stiff, it was quick edge to edge, yet liked long, fast turns. It didn't have to be driven hard all the time, but liked to be pushed hard and fast too. It just felt more than capable at all speeds and turns and the limited conditions we had. It just felt perfect for me; definitely the
of the day!!
Tierra: Definitely felt strong and grippy, but I really was expecting more. That's why I got the Fuegos next..and they did feel much better! I think the Tierras needed a tune up badly...on the flats they just didn't want to go. I talked to the Volkl rep and he said that they were beat up, being the last of 5 demo days in a row, but didn't offer to fix that for me...meanwhile other reps were out there tuning ALL their stuff upon return!!
The Volkl rep said that the Tierras should have felt pretty much exactly like the Fuegos in speed, turning, etc. So, I feel like I didn't get a very fair test of the Tierras if that's the case. I know the Tierras should be stiffer than the Fuegos, but the difference was pretty big, so I think it was both-a stiffer ski and in need of a tune. Kinda bummed about that situation...but maybe they're too stiff for me anyway.
Fuego: Like I said, these felt a lot more lively than the Tierras. Definitely a fun ski, I liked the grippyness and the quickness in shorter turns. Great carver! But, I'm looking for a more of an all-mountain ski for out West here.
Legend: If it weren't for the other 3 skis I had skid by then, these would have been great. They were still great, but I could feel that they were softer than the rest. They didn't quite have the energy of the rest of them, but still a fun, capable of most anything ski.
Wild Thang: I tried these because hubby was so impressed with the Monster 82's. They were good skis, but not overly impressive in one particular area. They felt like they could handle it all-they were just a little quieter about it-didn't have the peppyness of the Nordicas or Volkls. Definitely felt strong and confident though, and definitely the fattest-I'm sure they'd be amazing in powder and thicker crud conditions.
Unfortunately, that's when our day ended...the booths started shutting down and hour before they were supposed to! I wanted to try the Solomons and Elans, but maybe next time...If I was really in the market for skis, I would do both demo days to ensure enough time for the skis I wanted. What's funny is that both me and hubby ended up loving the Nordicas, while we never really expected to. Our attitude towards Nordica has always been 'I've owned some old Nordica boots...' but not now.
BTW-he fell in love with the Nordica Hot Rod Top Fuel. We'll now both be watching for deals on Nordicas....
Stats: Loveland, CO, early season conditions-no new snow; groomed and eventually pretty uneven skied off stuff. Me: 5'7", 140, low-adv skier.
Skis tested: Nordica Olympia Victory, Volkl Attiva Tierra, Volkl Attiva Fuego, Dynastar Exclusive Legend, Head Wild Thang. All skis stested lengths were 160-164cm. (way shorter than my 174s!!)
First up; the Victory: WOW! This was my favorite ski of the day! It was so peppy and happy, yet stable and confident. Not too soft or too stiff, it was quick edge to edge, yet liked long, fast turns. It didn't have to be driven hard all the time, but liked to be pushed hard and fast too. It just felt more than capable at all speeds and turns and the limited conditions we had. It just felt perfect for me; definitely the
of the day!!Tierra: Definitely felt strong and grippy, but I really was expecting more. That's why I got the Fuegos next..and they did feel much better! I think the Tierras needed a tune up badly...on the flats they just didn't want to go. I talked to the Volkl rep and he said that they were beat up, being the last of 5 demo days in a row, but didn't offer to fix that for me...meanwhile other reps were out there tuning ALL their stuff upon return!!
The Volkl rep said that the Tierras should have felt pretty much exactly like the Fuegos in speed, turning, etc. So, I feel like I didn't get a very fair test of the Tierras if that's the case. I know the Tierras should be stiffer than the Fuegos, but the difference was pretty big, so I think it was both-a stiffer ski and in need of a tune. Kinda bummed about that situation...but maybe they're too stiff for me anyway.Fuego: Like I said, these felt a lot more lively than the Tierras. Definitely a fun ski, I liked the grippyness and the quickness in shorter turns. Great carver! But, I'm looking for a more of an all-mountain ski for out West here.
Legend: If it weren't for the other 3 skis I had skid by then, these would have been great. They were still great, but I could feel that they were softer than the rest. They didn't quite have the energy of the rest of them, but still a fun, capable of most anything ski.
Wild Thang: I tried these because hubby was so impressed with the Monster 82's. They were good skis, but not overly impressive in one particular area. They felt like they could handle it all-they were just a little quieter about it-didn't have the peppyness of the Nordicas or Volkls. Definitely felt strong and confident though, and definitely the fattest-I'm sure they'd be amazing in powder and thicker crud conditions.
Unfortunately, that's when our day ended...the booths started shutting down and hour before they were supposed to! I wanted to try the Solomons and Elans, but maybe next time...If I was really in the market for skis, I would do both demo days to ensure enough time for the skis I wanted. What's funny is that both me and hubby ended up loving the Nordicas, while we never really expected to. Our attitude towards Nordica has always been 'I've owned some old Nordica boots...' but not now.
BTW-he fell in love with the Nordica Hot Rod Top Fuel. We'll now both be watching for deals on Nordicas....
