Style: ski fast but probably like to turn a bit more than your average “freerider” out there. Prefer round, finished turns. Jumps occasionally but nothing too big these days.

Skis tested: 185 Line Mr. Pollard’s Opus mounted with 11/12 Marker Dukes on the recommended line. Boots: Dalbello Il moros w/ stiff (black) tongue

Skis I have liked erlier: Armada JJ 185cm, Atomic Bent Chetler 183cm (tele), 06 Völkl Gotama 190cm (the recommended FR line mount was just a tad too back to my taste), original Völkl G4 (198cm) back in the day, old Salomon CR lab 180cm for park (has lots of “pop”), K2 Extremes 179cm for all mountain use

Conditions skied: A week in Engelberg, Switzerland – two snowstorms in a week, pretty much perfect powder conditions. In addition to that some skiing on local mole hill (Southern Finland), some 300ft of vert: groomers and soft moguls.

The skis

Line and Eric Pollard have put a lot of thought and testing to these skis. It has said that this is the result of thirteen year of innovation and product testing from Pollard and Line’s team. The interesting thing here is that they actually narrowed this model for year 2011-2012 and also made effective edge longer and rocker parts more subtle. While everyone is going to wider and wider skis and exaggerated rocker constructions, the point here was that not the everyday you ski is powder and effective egde is what counts on those not so ideal days. I alway believed on the “one ski quiver” idea too…in a way that I believe that it is better to learn ski well on one pair of skis you are used to, in comparison to swap skis on every possible occasion. Also, living in flatlands the trips gets much easier when you don’t have to drag multiple pair of skis along when travelling.

See Line’s own product video (below) for more details about the construction:

Groomed slopes

The Opus carves really well. The sidecut is good for our small hills. Even with skis this big you can work the skis and get some nice GS (and even smaller) round turn. On hard slopes edge hold was surprisingly good. And the skis felt more stable than e.g. Armada JJs. Nice snap out of turns…you can lay trenches where there is that brief airborne moment between the turns, which is a very cool feeling in my book. I guess torsional rigidity is something Line engineers have thought properly? At times you end up looking at your feet and wonder how can a 118mm middle ski work so well on the groomers. 10/10 points here for versatility (for such a wide ski).

Moguls/chopped up crud

On the moguls I definitely felt the longer effective edge than the previous “fun shapes” I’ve tested. Worked much better than expected. I’ve skied my Bent Chetlers a lot lately (teles) on similar conditions (chopped up snow starting to form harder bumbs), and it is sketchy at best. In the moguls I felt that the Opus works better the faster you go.These are still “big” skis in that matter, slow speed and short turns just don’t work so well, handling gets a bit forced and clumsy. 7 out of 10 points on moguls and really chopped up crud.

The centered stance feels weird at first (on the flats, on the lift etc.) but once you start carving at speed I was not noticing any problems. At slow speed, shorter turns and in the moguls I felt like I have to adapt just a bit – from powering the tips to a slightly more neutral stance. Not sure if this is due technique problems though…too much tele skiing (lately) and you get just confused what is the proper way to turn after all, heh.

Powder and Off-piste

As said, at first the centered stance required a bit of adjusting. I feel that these skis need quite active style in powder, not just plowing lazily through but using the “pop” of the skis and driving them. I guess on the flatter parts Opus would be easier to ski the bindings mounted just a tad (1-2cm) back. The upcoming 192cm version would also help here, I guess I am on the border of the 185cm and 192cm models. For the flatter, open wide powder skiing the latter version would probably work even better.

On the steeper runs (e.g. the upper part of the “Laub” route in Engelberg) the centered stance gives the promised “neutral and surfy” feel. Friend was skiing (more radically “powder” shaped) Armada ARGs and on couple of occasions I felt like I could throw my skis almost as well sideways and “schmear” my turns as he did.

We tried some smaller drops (maybe 3-5m) and the long tail and rocker is really nice for landing stuff. My skiing was “rusty” for not being on the slopes that much (an early season injury) and I surprised myself stomping stuff easily. Too bad the trip was only one week, I guess with some more miles, it would have been nice to try some slightly bigger drops/jumps too. Natural terrain threesixties and all around trickery would be so suited for these skis – if you just got the required skills!

9/10 points for powder

10/10 points for playful skiing in the natural terrain

Line Mr Pollard’s Opus 185cm – Conclusions

All in all, Opus is FUN. Trying Pollard style slashes on banks/windlips will make you smile, if you are in to that kind of stuff at all! The tight sidecut might have it downsides when really hauling ass and/or breakable crud (don’t know – haven’t skied that stuff yet) but on the other hand, the design of these skis make you try stuff you probably wouldn’t try with some 30+m radius big mountain chargers…

To sum it up: go see a few Nimbus Independent flicks and think if this kind of skiing is what you appreciate / seek for? If you like more the so-called freeski comp style skiing (aggressive, straightforward, “charging”), these sticks probably arent’ for you. If your style is more playful, you seek for fun little features to play all the time and like skis with lots of “pop” and neutral, surfy feel – then I can only recommend the Opus! For bigger guys I guess the 192cm is going to rule – and that is one ski I’d like to test as soon as possible.

What about if your hard earned cash was buying a pair of skis that rip the mountain better than any out there (according to the readers of Powder), while at the same time financially supporting a grass roots organization whose mission is to create ski areas that bring skiing back to its roots and produce more energy on mountain than is consumed.

Mountain Rider’s Alliance – or MRA – is a global contingency of skiers and snowboarders working together to make sure us die hard mountain lovers and the environment’s interests are considered to matter most. Another company that is all about the sustainable mind thought and skier’s needs, Skilogik liked MRA’s mission of making a difference and asked if they wanted to pair up.

Logically a match was made in skier heaven. And some sick pair of skis were created.

The top sheet of the MRA/Skilogik ski is a custom designed piece of art that showcases MRA’s pilot project, Manitoba Mountain, located in the Chugach range of Alaska. The pictured landscape is formed from wood inlay and brings home the mountains and natural environment. The design comes on any of Skilogik’s skis. And for those of you that haven’t heard of Skilogik, no worries. From the sounds of the skier tribe, the boards are legit: in their first two years running, they have won Powder’s 2012 skier’s choice Ski of the Year, RealSkiers Ski of the Year, 2011 and 2012, and Freeskier’s Microbrew Award.

So are you ready to show all those on the mountain that it is time to take skiing back to its roots? Well, there are few other bonuses that come along with buying these sweet boards. You’re not only pitching into the cause that ski areas are about the needs of the riders, community and environment; a portion of the proceeds will also go to helping out the Native American Olympic Team Foundation. NAOTF is a nonprofit started by blond bombshell beauty Olympic medalist Suzy “Chapstick” Chafee to help support Native Americans Olympic hopefuls. MRA and Skilogik are also donating a portion of the sales to The Nature Conservancy to assist with reforestation in Brazil.

Extra bonus: each purchase gets you a free MRA t-shirt, ski strap, and sticker as well as a microbrick of Green Ski Wax and a $100 coupon towards a future MRA Mountain Playground membership.

To order your own pair of these uniquely beautiful boards, and to show your support of MRA on the mountain, visit www.MountainRidersAlliance.com/skis/.

Recon Instruments is a Vancouver (BC) based technology company that has released a micro optics display for ski/snowboard goggles.

So what the heck is that?

It took me some time to figure it out as the press release is pretty “nerdy”, but shortly said their two versions of their GPS-enabled goggles provide skiers and riders with a variety of data including speed, jump analytics, vertical, altitude, location, distance, chrono/tracker, run-counter, and temperature. This means that you can record lots of different data during your day on the slopes, and you can share all this data in the Internet. You can re-live and learn from your trips and runs, add images and video to create a highlight reel to share with other community members or with friends and family via Facebook and Twitter. Pretty cool I would say. Kids must really like this.

There’s even more. The Android-based MOD Live ships with four new, industry first applications:

• Buddy Tracking
• Smartphone Connectivity
• a Navigation app pre-loaded with the largest database of trail maps in the world
• Music Playlist Mode
• Camera Connectivity for use in the future with select wireless point-of-view action cameras.

“The transition to modular based optics allows us to expand our reach exponentially,” said Darcy Hughes, Chief Marketing Officer, Recon Instruments. “The snap-fit design, Bluetooth interaction, combined with the ever-evolving Android platform, is a game changer for the action sports industry in terms of connectivity, real-time information direct to eye, and community sharing.”

Other new features this season include a fasten-anywhere Bluetooth remote control, 33% larger widescreen optics, and an adjustable optics arm for a truly custom fit. Recon Ready goggles are already available from Uvex, Briko, Alpina, and Zeal Optics, with several more leading goggle brands scheduled to come onboard this winter and spring.

MOD and MOD Live are available now for $299 and $399.

This is a pretty good Christmas present idea. Products should be available in Amazon soon.

I opened the package to get this sleak looking product in my hands.

ThinKing comes inside of a small black box which opens by pushing from the bottom. There is a short description of the ThinKing credit card holder in the backside of the box, both in Finnish and in English. ThinKing is a Finnish design product, so that’s why two languages.

ThinKing is made of anodized aluminium, and it is available currently in eight colours. All models can be seen in ThinKing online store. The colour of my credit card holder is “titan”, although I really like the black one. I’m a skier, but I’m also an entrepreneur, so black credit card holder fit well with my black Armani suit (he he..). Quite frankly pink credit card holder is pretty sweet or what say ya?

According to ThinKing website this product has a unique, patented construction and it can hold up to four cards securely inside. Although the inner material of ThinKing keeps credit cards in place, it’s not difficult to get them out either. I don’t know what the inner material is, but it really works well.

ThinKing credit card holder feels nice in hand. It’s leightweight and fancy. I used to carry a huge wallet with tons of stuff, but not anymore. I prefer having only the minimum amount of cards with me, all packed inside ThinKing credit card holder.

“ThinKing’s beauty lies in its smooth functionality and small size. Being both lightweight and slim it is easy to carry in any pocket or purse“, is said in ThinKing website, and I totally agree. Once you have started using ThinKing, you won’t carry your huge wallet anymore.

If you are a skier, snowboarder, surfer, mountain biker, base jumper or any other action sports enthusiastic, you MUST get this product. It’s so much easier to carry max four credit cards than a wallet full of stuff. ThinKing protects your credit cards from so that they won’t break in action.

It’s a beatiful weather here in Helsinki right now. It’s almost 4 pm, and I’m about to leave office. In couple of minutes I’ll take my ThinKing credit card holder and Ray-Ban aviator sunglasses, and will head to the bar. I’ll impress all the ladies with my stylish look.. HA HA!

Hell yeah, this is a nice product, and I truly love it! For more check out ThinKing website! You like or not? Leave a comment.

Ski Logik’s philosophy arouses interest. They are upfront about the fact that the skis are produced in China. But here comes the major difference compared to other ski companies – although the skis are made in China, they are not mass produced, but rather handmade in Ski Logik’s own factory, which was founded by David Mazzarella, together with the Ski Logik brand. Ski Logik states that they pay their workers an above the market rate and that employees receive full benefits including things such as health insurance, retirement, unemployment and disability compensation, something that is not common in China.

David Mazzarella’s and Ski Logik’s reasoning behind this is that the low-cost location is supposed to enable them to produce high quality product at a reasonable price; production at a more expensive location would force them to use cheaper materials or reduce labor times, which would in turn reduce the overall quality of the product.

But do the skis live up to their promise? I’ve had a pair of Bomb Squads for a while now and I’m happy to say that they have not disappointed.

Ski Logik Bomb Squad

Length: 188cm (the only length available).
Dimensions: 148-122-143mm
Radius: 22m
Weight: 4300g (according to manufacturer)
Retail price around $820 USD

Construction: Paulownia wood core, reinforced with carbon fiber and fiberglass, black locust sidewalls

OK, let’s discuss the obvious first. I’m not a guy who usually cares about the looks of skis but the build quality and the inlaid wood topsheets that these skis have are gorgeous. The sidewalls are black locust, which caused some concern for me first since bamboo and other wood sidewalls tend to have a bad reputation (old Voelkl Gotamas, Lotus skis etc), but after several days of use I don’t see anything out of ordinary. The spot where the sidewall connects to topsheet is rounded and not sharp, which should prevent topsheet chipping.

We are living in an era when the sexiest and coolest freeride skis come out with flat profile and usually quite a bit of rocker rocker. The Bomb Squads on the other hand have small amount of early tip raise and a normal amount of camber. Their hand flex is medium with a nice progressively softer feel towards the tip. The ski is not super stiff, but not a noodle by any means. Just the way I like it myself.

So how do they ski? The bottom line: In soft snow and tracked out crud the ski is predictable, easy and fun to ski. The skis have a really nice, quality feel to them that inspires confidence. People who are more into old-school shapes might find the tip shape and size somewhat big and might not like how the tips get moved around a bit in the crud. Don’t get me wrong, they don’t flap around uncontrollably, but they do move around a bit. I myself think that the effect is more visual than real; the ski feels stable at higher speeds also. You can vary your turn size easily and considering how stable these skis are at speed it was really fun to notice how easily you can throw them around in the trees. After having skied the Praxis Powder Boards, which excel in trees, that is not something that I say lightly.

Recommended if your wallet can afford it. However, a big skier who demands planks that can do mach 7 in icy chop will have to find something else. You can see me ski the Bomb Squads in this helmetcam video.

Salomon XW Enduro tested in Trysil, Norway

Last spring I had a chance to test some 2010/2011 skis. Testing was done in Trysil, Norway. Trysil is a great place for on-piste skiing and the mountain has a wide variety of slopes to choose from. Trysil is not a true big mountain freeride paradise but it can offer some nice off-piste skiing when the conditions are good. We wanted to see the whole resort and ski all the possible slopes and off-pistes there was. So it was quite tricky to pick up the one ski you wanted to ski all day. I denied my doubts and chose an all mountain ski. Salomon XW Enduro was chosen and I was not disappointed.

Enduro is a full wood core ski and it’s filled with Salomon’s latest techniques to make the ski please even the most demanding crowd. Antivibration layer, sandwich sidewalls, wide integrated aluminium plate, double titanium laminate, active dampening system + some other technical finesse. The rocker revolution- which is taking over even the all mtn. and on-piste skis- has also taken a nimb of the Enduro. Its has a small all terrain rocker and that is what makes it special.

This is how Salomon puts it:

“A true high-performance all mountain ski, the Enduro combines unrivalled stability and control from Powerline with all mountain rocker for more terrain.”

Salomon XW Enduro is available on the following sizes:

Skiing the Salomon XW Enduro – rockered fun in all conditions

Skiing with Enduro was fun. It still has the typical Salomon character, it feels a bit liveless at first but when you get that dialled and gain more speed it really starts working great. The pair I was skiing was 177cm. I am 183 cm/6 ft  tall weighing 83 kg/183 lb. When doing small radius slalom turns I’d prefer a lot shorter ski but with the rockered tip Enduro worked out fine and made keeping the slalom rhythm easy. When gearing up the speed and making mid size GS-turns the ski is at it’s best. It arcs perfectly and feels very stable and lively at the same time. Changing your rhythm on varying terrain was effortless and the snow contact was easy to maintain.

The slopes in Trysil are steeper on the top and get quite mellow and easy when getting down the valley. With all these expert ski-finesse on it, Enduro would feel  hard and heavy to ski on the mellow parts but thanks for the rockered tip the ski feels quite easy and fun to cruise even on the flat parts of the slopes.

Unlike in many other resorts Trysil has some nice bump-runs and I wanted to give The Enduro a shot of bashing the moguls. Skis with the traditional camber and carving-side cut are not the best choices for the bumps. The oversized tip tends to drag on the sides of the moguls. I didn’t mean this review to be a praise for the rockered skis but while enjoying the bumpy ride I noticed that the rockered tip was the key that made Enduro good even in the moguls. There simply was not so much dragging.

We didn’t have the real powder conditions but had plenty of awesome corn snow to spray with our skis. Once again the all mountain rocker made slashing the firn really fun and easy. You could hold on the GS style and didn’t have to worry about the tip to cut too deep into the snow. The 84 mm waist is wide enough for effortless riding in slushy corn snow. In deep powder this kind of all mountain ski would not be the perfect choice but you could still have lots of fun with it. The 84 mm waist is also wide enough for keeping your bindings and boot soles off the snow even in the most aggressive turns.

All over technical impressions on Salomon XW Enduro

• Salomon XW Enduro is a clean carve ski and the edge hold is very solid even on the high speed and ice.
• The ski is very accurate once you get some speed. The tip is not wandering around and the accuracy is easy to maintain even on crud, corn, ice or whatever the surface is.
• On scale of 1-5 the XW Enduro gets the full 5 points on stability.
• The ski rebounds very well on high speed. On lowers speeds this ski needs more work and the skier has to be active all the time.
• For good skier the ski is very easy to roll from edge to edge. On lower speeds and flatter terrain once again you need to work a bit more.
• Enduro feels a bit sluggish at first but after getting some speed this turns into a good thing. It rolls like a train but responses quickly and smoothly.
• At first Enduro may not feel very forgiving for technical mistakes but after a couple of runs you  will get the feel of it and you  will be in charge again. On low effort cruising Salomon XW Enduro is not at its best. The rockered tip helps a lot but you still have to be quite active to make the most of this ski.
• The rockered tip is really valuable on this ski. It is right sized and gives the extra character and diversity for the ski.

Salomon XW Enduro is a great choice for a good skier who mostly skis on mid-sized mountains on all conditions and spends most of the time on the groomed slopes with short excursions on nearby off-pistes. Enduro is also a good choice for the rocker virgins. Once you feel the idea you’re sold.

I skied all of the tested models for about three or four runs. This won’t give you conclusive review of all the skis but some impressions how the models have changed, different upcoming ski types and shapes and so on. I believe almost all new skis are pretty good from the start. The thing you have to realize is, however, that unlike some five years ago the skis in the so-called “freeride” category are not just rebadged, widebody GS skis.

Today there are a refreshingly wide range of different shapes, widths, flexes and most importantly rocker profiles  - the last feature being probably one of the biggest ski innovations since increased sidecuts and first “fat” skis! So, the key is to demo, search information and especially know (or find out) what you are really looking for.

You can find out more about the tester e.g. here. The conditions were soft spring snow groomers and later on the day wet, deep slush. There was also one little kicker where one could get a bit of air – perfect for classic “tongue in cheek” late spring/season end tricks like cosacks, spreads, daffies…

Movement Super Turbo GTI

Now, let’s start with the biggest and baddest. Earlier I have never been that impressed on Movement skis but now I have to admit that Movement had two of the most interesting models on the whole demo fleet. The first one being the Super Turbo GTI – at an impressive 202cm length.

Movement Super Turbo GTI is a big mountain and powder ski with dimensions of 150-120-135mm (tip-middle-tail) and long tip rocker. It has no tail rocker though, giving the ski a more traditional feel when finishing the turns.

On the feet the first impression of the skis is “holy s**t these are big and heavy” (see the picture below – compared to my friend’s Dynafit Mustagh Aga touring skis!). When you start to get speed these didn’t feel like total tanks though. There is just enough sidecut to even get decent turns on the groomers and the ski isn’t overly stiff. Tip rocker part is also so long that on the firmer stuff the ski feels more like a middle stiff 185cm traditional fat ski. The very tip of the skis flap a bit at speed but it doesn’t seem to has an effect on the performance at all.

Conclusion from the four test runs: manageable but quite boring on the low angle groomed stuff (can’t be surprising to anyone?). I also wouldn’t like to jump turn these beasts or try to flick them around on the tight trees – if you are going to buy these, you better know what to do with them. Big ski for big mountains and good skiers but not overly demanding. Seems like this category of skis has “softened” a bit since the likes of Head Im 103s, first generation Big Daddies and Nordica FF 105s.

Movement Fly Swatter 185cm

This is a freakish looking ski: short(ish), very fat and with abrupt rocker and deep sidecut. People carving these on the slopes looked like they have some kind of little “boats” on their feet. Fly Swatter is kind of exaggerated version of the Armada JJ. 150-125-145mm, 17 meter sidecut radius and very centered binding mounting point. It also has the similar “5-dimensional sidecut” profile than the JJ. Nice graphics too. I forgot to take a picture of these, check out the graphics and some more info on this link.

However, on the slopes this was a very positive surprise. Fun, poppy and lively, carves and surfs well, depending on what you like to do. Very playful, makes you want to try silly little jumps/180s everywhere – see the picture below, the skier looks stiff but the ski works better, heh.

Soft, forgiving round flex probably has some speed limit if you really like to charge. And the effective sidecut is quite short -I guess this ski need some amount of soft snow to come alive.

Positive impression probably come also from the conditions (deep slush, small hill) but as a huge fan of Armada JJ I think I could like this ski almost everywhere as long the conditions are  on the soft side. I would be tempted to mount the binding just 1,5-2cm more back (from the recommended mark) but on the other hand due to lots of tail rocker this might not work at all?

Conclusion is that despite the awkward look, Movement Fly Swatter works very well. For the skiers that like soft, playful skis. Also, I bet good backcountry freestylers would make wonders with these “surf boards” on their feet. Btw. Pretty much everyone around seemed to like these skis.

K2 Hellbent 179cm

Already huge-dimensioned Hellbent has growth some more for the next season. It now has a whooping 132mm waist but otherwise the concept is unchanged.

This was a small disappointment for me. The ski has the typical “K2 feel”, soft(ish) but stable and damp. The downside is that this feel offers not that much liveliness and “pop”.

The Hellbent carved ok and absorbed small ruts and bumps very well. But something lacked in my opinion. Maybe the very wet snow had an effect – I felt that ski this wide began to “glue”/stick to the snow, making it even more out of its element (while 132mm waist ski can carve on the groomed, no one could argue that this width is made for the prepared slopes).

Some guys on the test tent praised how K2 Hellbent behaves on the real powder and I guess the story is totally different there. 132mm waist and “powder rocker” concept can’t be bad on real blowder days. Still, I am beginning to be in the school of thought that skis with waist widths bigger than say 125-130mm work better with “5-dimensional sidecut”/pointy tips.

K2 Obsethed 189cm

I have been the fan of the whole K2 Seth line since the original yellow Seth Pistols. For the next season, K2 ObSethed has growth some more, the dimensions now being 146-117-134mm.  It has the rocker profile 20/40 on the tip and 10/20 in the tail (see the picture below).

Again, Seth’s ski didn’t disappoint. For some reason, despite having the same K2 feel as the Hellbent, the whole concept worked much better to me. Maybe for me the longer but slightly narrower ski just felt better? (So take this with a grain of salt – hard to say anything between different lengths anyway, 179cm vs. 189cm). Some have speculated that now the ObSethed have moved from “all-mountain” category to the pure powder ski status. However, I felt that this is “just a ski” (in a positive way). It felt that I could just click into the bindings and ski anything without thinking too much of it.

Armada ARG 185cm

Armada ARG hasn’t changed for the next season (graphics excluded). This was my first time on the so-called Reverse-Reverse skis, like Praxis Powders (I count ARG’s to this category, even though the ski has a very short section of minimal of sidecut). I know what to expect though – a good friend of mine skis these pretty much all the time, everywhere, even on groomed slopes(!).

Very fun skis, just forget carving! If you try to carve, the skis will split and go to the separate directions. But you learn to avoid that in a few runs. Think old school “windshield viper”, sliding turns. No problem for an old mogul skier like me…

Where the slush was deep enough I could feel the ski start to surf/plane. When that happens, everything become totally effortless. In powder this type of ski lets you do the things unimaginable before. There are other options too but if you look for uncompromised and at the same time fun/playful powder performance, I guess ARGs can’t disappoint.

Jumping felt strange with these – no wonder Armada team skiers seem to use JJs more: on booters and kickers some sidecut is your friend IMHO. I guess for powder cliffs there shouldn’t be any problem (once you have got used to the R/R feel).

Armada JJ (as telemark skis)

This was something I have waited for a long time. The JJs are also unchanged (graphics aside) for the next season. Being the huge fan of the concept I have been thinking that JJ must be a really fun freeheel ski too.

Well, telemark skiing is way more dependent on the bindings than alpine. So, I had some troubles with loose (too long) cables and just couldn’t get the “right” feel in the tele turn. General impression was that the “loose” feeling of the rocker ski is really fun also when dropping the knee but with JJs I also felt the tight sidecut become quite “hooky” on couple of occasions (might be my bad tele technique and/or the problem with the bindings).

I tried to jumps couple of times from the small kicker available – here I can understand why some people don’t like tail rocker on tele skis. I ended up very back seated after the launch from the lip.

Can’t say much based on this experience – fun skis as telemark too but one must have good technique and balance and I guess binding selection is pretty essential factor too.

Btw. Another interesting tele option was available too – Voile Drifter 182cm (See the picture below). The cables were just too long for my boots. People seemed to dig that ski quite a lot and it also seemed to work very well in slushy conditions. Too bad I couldn’t test them this time.

Armada ARV 185cm

Unchanged for the 2010-2011 season. I already reported some impression of that ski last season. The fatter skis worked better for the heavy slush conditions though. Anyway, Armada ARV is a nice piste/park oriented all-mountain ski that still work on the soft snow too. Neutral, not too stiff and predictable – good skis but don’t particularly impress on any special area.

Völkl Gotama 186cm

This was also one ski I have been eager to test for some time already. Völkl Gotama changed quite radically (on the paper at least) for this season but for 2010-2011 there is no new modifications. Measurements are 137-106-122mm and the ski has a very subtle rocker through the whole ski.

The original black Gotama had quite a cult following. After skiing this incarnation I’d say that the new model also lives up its legendary status. But there are just huge amount of other options and “competitors” around these days. The ski felt pretty same as my own 190cm 06/07 (white) Gotamas. When standing on the skis the rocker is so mellow that you don’t even notice it. The tips of the skis are very low, to the degree that you wonder how they work in the soft snow. Reports confirm that there shouldn’t be any problems though.

The ski engages the turn just a tad slower than the 06/07 and 08/09 models and the rocker gives maybe minimal amount less “pop” from turn to turn but after a few runs you shouldn’t notice the difference. Seems like Völkl didn’t want to change the winner concept too much,  just changed it a bit more modern.

I guess the new Gotama offers all the same than the older one but adds  a bit more flotation and “looseness” in the soft snow. If you dig Völkl skis/older Gotamas and look for a solid all-arounder, look no further. The 194cm version should be also good option for the big/strong skiers.

PS. This was our last ski review for this winter. The test day was the 43th ski day for me. The awesome winter of 2009-2010 gave us six months of skiing here in Southern Finland. And despite the small molehills we even enjoyed some very rare real powder snow in January and February.

Please comment if you have any more questions – or additions to the ski  test, or even if you totally disagree with me!

While skiing the Swiss Alps I was curious to test something from Birdos against my beloved Armada JJs. While I love the JJs and find them very FUN skis in almost all conditions, sometimes I feel that a bit more effective edge and girth would be welcome. You know, all those hard surface/piste runs, avalanche debris, cruddy conditions, occasional icy patches in the couloir/line entrances etc. While telling all this, Dan quickly gave me a pair of “Early Birds” 191cm for a test in Andermatt. Thank you Dan and Birdos Skis for the test!

Birdos Skis Early Bird specs, test conditions and about the reviewer

Dan described these skis simply: “built for speed”. He also stated that they are not overly stiff though, round- medium-flex and slight rocker on both ends adding some versatility, while the relatively traditional shape and long(ish) effective edge would offer the needed stability for varying Alps conditions.

The shape is fairly standard 143-111-124mm and sidecut radius 28,5m. The skis are offered in three lenghts 171, 181 and 191cm. (Read more on Birdo’s own site.) Note also that all Birdo’s shapes are available in custom rocker profiles and flexes – very cool option in my opinion, you can choose standard skis if they suit you, go semi-custom with an available shape or create just the monster (or beauty!?) you have in your own mind. Try that with big corporate manufacturers! One thing I also like is Dan’s approach to use only local, sustainable subcontractors and materials. Check out the the mentioned article by Antti (above) if you want to read more about that. Another argument for why you might consider a small scale local ski builder (like Dan and Birdos) for your next ski purchase?

Tip Rocker

Tail Rocker

Test conditions were pretty optimal, some new snow, variable crud here and there and moguls forming up in the most popular routes. We skied everything from boot deep light powder to soft moguls on the test day. The only negative thing was that the visibility was pretty low all day – so no good skiing pics this time. Also, the low visibility restricted the possibility to really “open it up” (where these skis obviously shine). So, take my observations with a grain of salt. And for example pictures of the snow condition/terrain click my Andermatt trip report.

Few words about the reviewer. First, while we have been quiet with the blog for some time, I was able to log most days in eight(!) years this season: over forty days so far, and March and early April giving some twenty ski days.  I’d say that I am fairly strong all-mountain skier that can ski pretty much everywhere and in every conditions.  My stats are: height/weight: 184cm (~6feet), 83kg (~160lbs), some 29 years of skiing experience, mogul back ground. I like playful skiing and eventhough I can’t call myself a “newschool” skier (anymore) I still like to jump here and there and ski some park too at times. I also do more and more telemark skiing these days (19 days this season).

Birdos Skis Early Bird on the Mountain

My first feel on these is that the skis are long and quite heavy. And compared to my JJs the 191cm is at least true to the announced lenght (see the picture below).

Once you start skiing some of that feel disappears. The flex is not overly stiff and the skis absorb little ruts/chopped up stuff nicely. At first we ski some ungroomed runs that are skied by hundreds of others already, making them good testing grounds for pretty typical Alps conditions; the snow is still soft but moguls start to form up and the snow is uneven, somewhere you still go through everything, somewhere you get bounced by the early-stage moguls. Here the skiing is easy and effortless, as long as there is enough space to just go for it and open it up.

Then we hit the real off-piste and to our bad luck the visibility gets worse. Traverses over some exposure feel harder/scarier with these skis than on my own, the added lenght definately feels there. Slow speed skiing on the steeps is also quit a lot harder, the more traditional shape with moderate rocker doesn’t seem to help much here. The skis are ok but feel a bit dead and unresponsive, or should I say “traditional”. The 28,5 turn radius also feels a bit longer than you might expect…or maybe I am (too) used to the JJs almost “slalom-like” sidecut probably?

We manage to ski a little bowl of perfect powder while having a “sunny window”. Now, once you get the skis to plane properly the rocker starts to work and you can “slarve” /”schmear” the turns (similar to my JJ’s or e.g. Praxis Powders). Skiing powder in low visibility is a bit frustrating, knowing that just a bit of more speed would really make the ski alive – ski at too low speed and these skis require quite a lot of power and your legs get tired pretty soon. “Built for speed” seems really appropriate slogan here!

Near the village we got to (or have to?) ski some soft moguls. The skis work suprisingly well. You feel the lenght and weight but the relatively straight tail lets you finish the turn by sliding the tails old school style. The ski won’t “hook up” or do anything too suprising. Just stay forward and aggressive. At least I can say the 191cm lenght is not for the weak/technically less skilled skiers.

Cons/pros of the Early Bird skis and another observations

Pros

• Stable and damp
• Shines at speed on long radius turns, while not being overly demanding to ski – very good combo
• Long turn radius (feels longer than announced, could be bad too if you like turny skis)
• Lets you dictate the turn shape, no “locked in turn” feeling. Rocker adds  to this but IMHO only works at speed on this model (or compared to e.g. Armada JJs which are easier to ski on slow speeds)
• Forgiving, round flex makes the 191cm model easier to ski than you would expect
• Nice finishing, hand made feel, materials seem bomb-proof to me
• Custom option on the flexes, camber profiles and graphics = very nice
• Not “just another big brand ski” (if that means something to you)

Cons

• Just a tad heavy (could be good too – just plows through the crud. Note: Marker Jester demos are not light weight either)
• Quite “traditional” feel (if you are used to the “fun shape” feel)

Other observations

• I would like to have tried the binding just a tad more forward, 1-2cm
• I would love to test the “Floater” and “Floater 110″ shapes, Floater 110 with NTNs as tele skis…hmmmm
• Read this and you’d probably consider buying from Birdos too…

This is how the marketing message of iSki Instructor begins. Although I have seen already quite a few similar ads I got curious and wanted to know more about this particular application, so instead of reading and trusting the whole marketing bribe I wanted to hear more from the company behind iSki application. I contacted  Pernille Slot who runs the Danish company and shot few hot questions.

Interviewing Pernille Slot – the creative founder and owner of Danish iSki company

[Hometown Boy]: Pernille, what’s the purpose of iSki application? As a self-learned skier, snowboarder and telemarker I’s like to know what kind of benefits such an application provides to skiers?

[Pernille]: I believe you “Homeboys” are already experienced and skillful skiers, so I wouldn’t recommend iSki exactly to you, but people who are learning to ski can benefit from using iSki application. Having iSki on your iPhone or iPod Touch you can listen to how you get into the most optimal skiing position and you can also watch live on the screen how your are doing the exercises. This way you can start preparing yourself at home or on your way to the destination and listen to iSki’s guiding when you are on the slopes. If you find special interest in certain chapters you can choose to practice them as many times as you like.

[Hometown Boy]: All right, I see. I’d like to dig this a bit more, so could you describe who exactly needs “a ski instructor in a pocket”?

[Pernille]: I would say iSki Basic is for you

• who have been skiing more than 3 weeks
• who would like a dynamic skiing style
• who would like a nice relaxed and stable skiing style
• who would like to learn how to control the speed during turning
• who would like to learn how to carve ski

In fact iSki is not meant to be used only by beginners. It could also help experienced skiers who have been away from the skies for a little while, to find there balance point again. It`s a good brush up for everybody who is not standing on skis several months a year. So for the common ski enthusiasts who have few weeks a year time to ski, and who would like to develop their skiing from the beginning, I would say iSki brings them faster to the point where they can start developing instead of using a day or two to adjust body to the new environment. Start with iSki and develop to the level you want.

[Hometown Boy]: May be my next question is a bit silly, but do you personally use your own product?

[Pernille]: No, it’s not silly at all. I do use iSki when I go skiing. I have the opportunity to do my ski lessons when I like to and as many times as I like. Basically with iSki you get your own personal ski instructor for less than the price of one ski lesson, and iSki you may use again, again and again.

[Hometown Boy]: Does this mean we won’t need real ski instructors anymore in the future?

[Pernille]: No, because iSki is not meant to replace a real human ski instructor. Anyhow, it can prepare you so that you will get the absolute best out of your skiing also when you are with your local ski instructor.

[Hometown Boy]: Ok, I see. iSki seems to be an additional tool for learning to ski. Pernille, how did you come up with the idea of iPhone or iPod Touch teaching people to ski?

[Pernille]: Well, it’s a long story, but let me tell you..

I had been away from teaching skiing for a couple of years when I was invited to come along on a trip with teenagers. The first day I had 16 beginners on a cold frosty northside of the mountain. I started teaching without thinking too seriously about all the ski teaching or technicals trueness. It was just me teaching these kids and having fun. After 1,5 hour of balance training all 16 beginners could ski.. All this happened without talking anything about technics such as “This is how you break, this is how you turn”, but only by letting them play with there balance on skis and guiding them to the good feeling of balance. That was amazing to me, and I acctually thought it was a coincidental.

Later on the afternoon a pair wanted to get a ski lesson. In the beginning the of the lesson the lady told me that she was a little bit scared because she was ran over by a snowboarder earlier that day. We started out nice and easy, and I did the same way as with teenagers. I communicated with my tools from my knowledge about how the human brain works and the fact that the body is learning faster than the brain. I trained them balancing in 2 hours on all diffrent kind of terrain. In the end of the day I was waiting on the side of the slope when she came down to me doing nice big curves, while suddenly a snowboarder approaced behind here and came really close to here legs. She just continued with the same peace and dynamic as before. I was affraid in that moment on her behalf, but she just continued and told me afterwards: “I saw him but It’s fine now, I have the control. I know how it feels when I’m running good, and I knew he would stop because he had the giving way.”

Then it stroke me. This is to good to keep in my mind. I had to find a way to provide this information to anyone who wants to learn to ski. Afterwards some of their friends said to the male “Soren, what have you done? You ski like a whole other skier than for 2 hours ago!” They have been skiing together for over 15 years.

[Hometown Boy]: Interesting story, Pernille. Thanks for giving us your time and sharing your story. Is there something more you would like to say?

[Pernille]: Well, my bottom line is that the strategy of my work is to do it as simple as possible, and to make it work most places possible. People can see the video at home, on the road, in the lift or even on the slope. They can plug in the earplugs and let them be guided for just 1 hour to their best balance point where all good skiing begins. In the future I will add some software technical features as speedometer, altitude meter, trailtrack and even a movement sensor. So it will become an interactive ski instructor.

[Hometown Boy]: All right, thanks! All the best for you and your iSki Instructor application!

What do YOU as a reader think about apps like iSki? Is this the future of learning to ski? Please have your say.

What got our initial interest in this particular ski-binding combination was that we wanted to know whether the 6cm fore-aft adjustable Jester SchizoFrantic and 85mm wide in the middle K2 Extreme would be the true do-it all combo for our conditions. Basically we were looking for a solid performance in all park, moguls, (often icy) groomers and the occasional softer run here and there.

Many people swear for around 100mm middle skis for all-day every condition skiing but you gotta remember here we ski a lot of icy man-made snow conditions (think East Coast USA), small hills, moguls and tight runs in the woods if the snow allows.  At least for me the best middle-width of a ski for all this have been around 85-90mm –  it still floats some in the soft snow but you are not offering too much of a performance in the park or hard groomers, or even moguls if you are not interested in the competition level zipper-line skiing.

Skiing pictures in this post by Juha Roivainen.

K2 Extreme – A true all mountain machine?

The extreme has a measurements of 118-85-109mm. It has a fir core and standard taper – meaning the ski, while having twin tip, is still meant to be more directional than a true park ski. K2 states on their site that the performance of the ski is aimed at 60% park, 40% powder. They also give this statement in the site “Emulate PK Hunder’s double cork 1080 or just bust out some of the ol’ moves on the topsheet. Either way, we’ll be proud. Keep it Extreme”.

From the above line I got the idea for this test day. While I can no longer call my self as a 100% ”new school skier” or “park rider”, I can easily take the latter role of busting some of the old school moves and then we  can always “hire” some of our younger friends that really know their moves in the park to “emulate PK Hunder”, or at least represent the hardcore park skiers. Well, Miika Rissanen that helped us for the test might not be as good as PK but I guess he knows his stuff well enough to tell the difference (see the pictures!)

Miika Rissanen, classic crossed 540 tail grab, Serena, Finland

Marker Jester SchizoFrantic - Six centimeters of adjustability, from powder to new school

Marker Jester SchizoFrantic is a new type of binding that allows the skier to adjust his/her binding location on the ski six centimeters fore-aft. While this has been possible earlier with the so called demo-bindings (used for ski demos and rental skis), earlier all the solutions have been both quite high off the ski (generally not good for freeride or park) and/or offering a bit of “slop” in the system. In other words not offering 100% performance for the dedicated skier.

Jester Schizo system has a clever solution of keeping the stack height low through adjustability made by the steel wire that moves the binding along the two-piece thin plate on the ski (see the picture above). This solution won’t put you any higher than probably 2-3mm more compared to a  ”traditional” binding bolted straight to the ski. On the slopes when you click to the binding it feels like all the other Marker Freeride models, like e.g. the Marker Duke binding I’ve liked so far quite a lot.

The new schooler’s opinion -  Miika Rissanen’s take on the K2 Extreme and Marker Jester SchizoFrantic combination

Before I go to the Miika’s notes from the test day I have to admit one thing: I probably made a slight mistake when mounting the bindings. Www.suksikauppa.com provided the mounting but we chatted a few words about the placement and I decided an adjustability range on the ski from “traditional” (or zero) mark to +6cm. (Note that this was the version of the ski without the pre-drilled inserts for the SchizoFrantic system)

Miika would have liked even more forward position of the binding, from +7,5 (core center) to even 1-2cm front of that. While I like more traditional binding placement, my first impression was that for this ski I could have put the whole system a few cm’s more forward – the K2′s traditional mark seems way too far back for anything else than maybe deep powder (but this ski isn’t the best option for that anyway). We’ll see how it works later when we got to ski some more outside of the park but for now we consider remounting the whole system a few more centimeters forward in the near future.

Miika getting EXTREME (cork 720 I guess)

But let’s move on to the Miika’s comments. Here are some of his thoughts:

“The good old Extreme. It hasn’t changed that much from the last year (08/09)”

“The ski is stable, damp and on the stiff side – Probably aimed a bit more for an all mountain use than a pure park and jibbing. On the back seated landings the ski did some great damping though -saved me from some hurting!”

“Frankly, on the little jibs and bonks the weight is quite depressing compared to my own park skis (Armada AR6s + Salomon bindings) – you loose a lot of fun factor in the smaller tricks and jibs”

“The binding is suprisingly low weight and pretty flat on the ski, despite the six centimeters adjustability range. And otherwise Jester felt pretty good too – the long time durability  raises some questions. I wonder how long it would last in my use? I’d say for 100% park use I wouldn’t buy the binding, for powder/all-mountain skis probably yes”

“Even on park skis fresh edges are a nice thing to have. New and stable ski with sharp edges provided some solid take-offs and landings, eventhough I would have liked the bindings mounted still some three-four centimeters more forward”

Miika on his own park skis, feeling comfortable – spinning corked and grabbing his ski tail

Janne’s comments – old mogul skier’s view on K2 Extreme/Marker Jester SchizoFrantic

As said, I can’t call my self a pure park skier or “new schooler”. I still like to hit kickers when the conditions allow though. These days I hesitate from the biggest booters but can do the basic stuff on the middle size hits. Otherwise I’d say that I am fairly strong all-mountain skier that can ski pretty much everywhere and in every conditions (Height/weight: 184cm (~6feet) 83kg (~160lbs), some 29 years of skiing experience, mogul back ground).

Here are some of my opinions:

Pros

Feels stable and solid. More of a “real ski” feeling than on your typical park ski. Gives you nice control and damp feel on the snow. The bindings add to that feel – Jester feels as good as any old, trusty race binding out there

Typical K2, reminds me a lot of my old 04/05 green Seth Pistols. Some hate the K2 feel, some love it. I gotta admit I am a fan of it too

As Miika stated, dampens the landings VERY well. (The difference was huge to my current park skis – Salomon 1080 CR Labs)

179cm is more of like a 185cm in other manufacturers’ scale (another typical thing for K2) – I liked that, because originally I was even interested on the 184cm version, “short skis suck, long skis truck”…

Jester SchizoFrantic adjustability is a very good option for a skier like me (or if you don’t want to hassle with big “quiver”)

Very cool graphics in my opinion

Rocket a.k.a. “Plake’s grab”, giving the test an old school twist

Cons

Not that much “pop” and liveliness in the ski, feels a bit planky

No rocker (can be a good thing too) (A side note: K2 is putting rocker to almost all of the line-up next year! And the Extreme is discontinued, instead there are three models around 85-90mm width, one symmetrical park ski, two aimed at more all-mountain, and all three with varying degree of rocker)

Jester Schizo boot sole lenght adjustability was a bit of a hassle (it is not a demo binding after all, you gotta remember that though)

The mini-tool (see the pic below) that comes with the binding is pretty useless if the binding/adjustability screw has any snow accumulation on it at all, you have to use an ordinary  Philips head screwdriver – not a big deal but just for the info

Other notes

Jester SchizoFrantic system’s long-time durability remains to be seen

To be continued…

Ok, that was it for now. I will write some more when I get to ski some moguls and groomers, giving a perspective of how the K2 Extreme turns and behaves at speed. Before that big thanks again to Sakke Ekman of www.suksikauppa.com (Finnish) – be sure to check out the different country/national versions of the shop too:

http://www.skidbutiken.com (Sweden)

http://www.skishopen.com (Norway)

http://www.skishoppen.com (Denmark)

http://www.skiwebkauf.com (Germany and Austria)

These shops specialize in freeride skis, so you will find plenty of models that don’t necessarily belong to the assortment of your local sport shop. The deal includes binding mounting too, if you want to, and there is some great, good-value offers of different binding/ski combinations. We can highly recommend the shop and we have also heard some pretty good feedback on their accuracy of delivery and good service.

ColdAvenger looks like some kind of a Star Wars thingy, but in fact it is a winter mask that makes use of a special breathing valve that mixes the cold outdoor air with your warm breath while still keeping your face dry. Didn’t get it? ColdAvenger traps moisture and creates an air chamber while you breath. By this it also keeps your face dry.

The company behind the mask is Talus Outdoor, and they claim that ColdAvenger can make even -20° weather feel comfortable. How about -35° which is pretty common up here in north? Not even talking about Verkhoyansk in Siberia where the average yearly temperature is -50 °C. The coldest temperature measured in Verkhoyansk is -69,8 °C while during the “hottest” day they have measured +37 °C. This makes the whopping difference of 105 °C. I guess even ColdAvenger doesn’t work in such hostile environment.

Anyhow, ColdAvenger is an interesting innovation because it can be helpful at least for people working and living in cold environment. See what the company says:

“ColdAvenger mixes inhaled cold air with exhaled warm air to achieve a dynamic balance of warmth while keeping the face dry. Inside mask temperatures are 40º to 60ºF higher than outside, depending on activity. The patent-pending ventilation design allows for easy breathing during exertion, a critical feature for high endurance outdoor activities.  Moisture from exhaled air binds to the plastic piece, keeping the face dry.”

The ColdAvenger starts at $50.

White Dot Freeride is the long-held dream of two friends and avid skiers, Andrew Phyn and Lloyd Macfarlane. Guys spent hours and hours designing and perfecting their ski ideas on CAD software, and finally in 2008 they were ready to launch Whitedot.

White Dot Freeride company is driven by the personal experience and passion for skiing and mountains. Guys have long experience on skiing, and although building production is a helluva project, they still haven’t left the mountains. By having their operational center in the legendary Chamonix valley White Dot Freedire has a direct contact with some of the best freeriders of the world.

Whitedot skis are the result of long product development, intensive testing and continuous perfecting. The company doesn’t want to sell any “gimmicks”, but high quality skis. Even the simple painting tells people that these skis have nothing new or fancy. They are simply good quality skis for freeriders.

Whitedot skis are manufactured with the finest quality material, and their European manufacturer was selected after a long and detailed search for just the right supplier. They had to be sure that the factory that they entrusted to produce their skis could meet our strict quality standards. The factory came up trumps with their quality control and post production support, and they also came with a highly recommended reference from ISOsport Austria.

Check what White Dot Freeride says about their manufacturing in their website.

“Our bases are sintered ISO7200, to produce the high speeds and durability that we demand. Our tip to tail cores are made from ash and poplar for durability, dampening and the correct stiffness. The wood is grown from sustainable forests and milled in close proximity to the factory to help lower our carbon footprint. And, if that wasn’t enough, all of our composites are sourced from the very best suppliers in Europe.”

Got interested in Whitedot skis? Check if they have a dealer in your country. If you are visiting Chamonix you can get a pair of demo skis from White Dot Team Chalet, and while visiting you can shake hands with Whitedot team riders like Fred Syversen.

Oh, and how about the ski models? There are three different Whitedot ski models, namely The One, The Preacher and The Remeeder. It is better that you check the technical details straight from White dot Freeride website.

You can contact White Dot Freeride with the following contact information. It’s a small but ambitious company with high motivation to serve their customers, so you can expect warm and friendly response. If you’re interested in Whitedot skis, just send your questions by email and you should soon receive an answer.

Email: info@whitedotfreeride.com
Phone: +44 (0) 7971 471306
Skype: whitedotfreeride
Web: Whitedotfreeride.com