Ski Sine Fine
Angel Diva
Before I dive into my demo day, I have to get this out first. On the chairlift ride up, I saw a heavyset man on the easy green slope ready to turn. He jerked his body to the right and fell. But he fell in a very odd way, like his skis were planted on the ground and all of a sudden he moved forward but his right skis didn’t move with him. I looked closer . . . he fell out of his boot! I couldn’t believe it. It was like something out of a roadrunner cartoon. I wonder how that could happen. Buckle failure?
Okay, back on topic. I went to Massanutten and partook Freestyle’s demo fleet. The mountain was wet, slushy, foggy, and just the ugly stuff I want to demo in. I was looking for some mid-80s width for cruddy and slushy stuff. I took a couple of runs on my Absolut Joy as a baseline. I only lapped Lower Showtime (an easy blue) for each pair so I wasn’t pushing them at all.
First up was the Stockli 85 in 154. They were much heavier than the rest of the skis but I found out later it’s because of the Salomon XM13 demo binding. I noticed the stability of the wider width right away. They were damp but very responsive and I seemed to have an easier time staying on top of them. No problem edging them either.
Next was the K2 Mindbender 88. Not as damp as the Stockli and I didn’t really notice any difference in the extra 3 mm in width. Didn’t find them any better than my baseline AJs.
Next was the Blizzard Sheeva 9. Too wide.
While waiting for the BP 88 to come back, I tried the Stockli 85 in 161 to see if I like a longer skis. Nope. Didn’t feel as much in control.
Finally got to try the BP 88 that everybody seems to love. I get almost the same feel skiing them as the Stocklis but they seemed to be a little bit more playful.
By this time my legs are tired so I got back on the Stockli 85 in 154 to see how I handle them with tired legs. Still felt great, stable, responsive, and in control. I then talked to the rep about the weight and he blamed the weight on the Salomon bindings and recommended different bindings (Marker Squire or Attack 11).
So I liked Stockli the best and the BP 88 a close second. I went home and did some googling and here’s where I got confused. Stockli is supposed to like to be driven and skied aggressively. I am neither. So I don’t understand why I feel the most comfortable on them? Maybe if the terrain were more difficult it would be too much for me? My thinking is if I like them on comfortable terrain I’d like them on steeper ones too. Is that not the case?
Okay, back on topic. I went to Massanutten and partook Freestyle’s demo fleet. The mountain was wet, slushy, foggy, and just the ugly stuff I want to demo in. I was looking for some mid-80s width for cruddy and slushy stuff. I took a couple of runs on my Absolut Joy as a baseline. I only lapped Lower Showtime (an easy blue) for each pair so I wasn’t pushing them at all.
First up was the Stockli 85 in 154. They were much heavier than the rest of the skis but I found out later it’s because of the Salomon XM13 demo binding. I noticed the stability of the wider width right away. They were damp but very responsive and I seemed to have an easier time staying on top of them. No problem edging them either.
Next was the K2 Mindbender 88. Not as damp as the Stockli and I didn’t really notice any difference in the extra 3 mm in width. Didn’t find them any better than my baseline AJs.
Next was the Blizzard Sheeva 9. Too wide.
While waiting for the BP 88 to come back, I tried the Stockli 85 in 161 to see if I like a longer skis. Nope. Didn’t feel as much in control.
Finally got to try the BP 88 that everybody seems to love. I get almost the same feel skiing them as the Stocklis but they seemed to be a little bit more playful.
By this time my legs are tired so I got back on the Stockli 85 in 154 to see how I handle them with tired legs. Still felt great, stable, responsive, and in control. I then talked to the rep about the weight and he blamed the weight on the Salomon bindings and recommended different bindings (Marker Squire or Attack 11).
So I liked Stockli the best and the BP 88 a close second. I went home and did some googling and here’s where I got confused. Stockli is supposed to like to be driven and skied aggressively. I am neither. So I don’t understand why I feel the most comfortable on them? Maybe if the terrain were more difficult it would be too much for me? My thinking is if I like them on comfortable terrain I’d like them on steeper ones too. Is that not the case?