Nordica Olympia Drive and Atomic Cloud 9

[michpc]

Demoed:
Nordica Olympia Drive, 154
Atomic Cloud 9, 151

I currently ski on: Olin Ellipse, 150 (older shaped skis)

So, I had a free lift ticket to Wachusett today, so I decided I could justify spending money on demos! Conditions were AMAZING for Wachusett...hardly any ice to be found, and fresh powder everywhere (with more falling from the sky all day long!).

I'd been wanting to demo the Drive, so that was the first I took out. Let me start out by saying that I have very little experience with different skis. I learned to ski on straight skis, and before I bought older shaped skis last year, I'd only skied on rentals, so I really don't have much to compare to. That said:

I don't think there was anything about the Drive that I didn't like. On what little ice there was to be found, they totally held on. They turned well, and handled the lumpy, ungroomed slopes well. I did fall once when hit the edge of large snow lump a bit too fast . The only thing I noticed was that they seemed to get maybe a little chattery at higher speeds, but that might have just been the snow conditions too. Like I said, I have little experience, but I liked these skis.

Next up was the Cloud 9s. The guy in the demo shop mentioned they were a bit lighter than the Drives...definitely noticeable. I'm not sure if it was the slightly shorter length, or that they were lighter, but I definitely felt less stable on these at higher speeds. At first I thought I'd like these better when I took them on an easier blue slope: they turn on a dime. Then I took them on a messy, steeper black (probably more like a harder blue at bigger places), and I fell TWICE! They were still easy to turn, but hitting powdery bumps with a bit of speed, I felt a bit out of control (hence, the falls!). Again, don't know if this was the length, weight, or if they're too advanced for me maybe. Either, way, didn't like as much as the Drive.

If I had to choose a ski today, it'd be the Drive, I really liked these overall. But I'll definitely be checking out some more throughout the season.

 

[Jilly]

The Drive is a more all-mountain ski than the Cloud. The Cloud 9 is Atomic's top front side carver. Therefore it wouldn't like the chopped up stuff. It loves groomers. It would have been interesting to try the Victory against the Drive.

 

[michpc]

The Drive is a more all-mountain ski than the Cloud. The Cloud 9 is Atomic's top front side carver. Therefore it wouldn't like the chopped up stuff. It loves groomers. It would have been interesting to try the Victory against the Drive.

Yeah, the Drive was the only women's Nordica ski they had to demo. I don't know if the Victory might be too hard for me. But I'm definitely looking for an all-mountain type ski since, although they're rare, days like today where it's sloppy and bumpy are my favorite, so I'd like a ski to enjoy those days. And like I said, the Drive had no trouble with the ice that I did encounter. With my current skis I find myself nervous on ice, but I felt confident with both these skis.

 

[Christy]

It's nice to hear good things about the Drives. They are my first and only pair of skis. They came highly recommended by multiple shops but the only thing I have to compare them to are rental skis.

 

[michpc]

It's nice to hear good things about the Drives. They are my first and only pair of skis. They came highly recommended by multiple shops but the only thing I have to compare them to are rental skis.

I don't have a lot to compare them to either, but I definitely enjoyed myself. I think they made me work a little harder than the Cloud 9s, which is why I'd be concerned about the Victories being too difficult, but overall I thought they were great in the conditions I had.

 

[Christy]

Maybe this is the place to mention, though, an issue I'm having with them. I've had a couple bootfitting sessions and am balanced in my boots but now have big time quad fatigue (which I never had before and sure shouldn't have because I'm in good shape) and my bootfitter thinks it's the 3mm differential in the bindings--they're putting me too far forward so I'm compensating by sitting back. He suggested I get the bindings flattened but it turns out you can't get the Drive's bindings flattened. So I'm a little stumped on what to do. I'll take a lesson and see if the instructor can see if it's something I'm doing.

I wonder if anyone else has had this issue, either with this ski or with other skis/bindings.