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.

This test is not comprehensive – as the conditions were concrete like hard pack only. On the other hand, one could say this was the ultimate test on how wide skis perform on very hard snow.

I got some problems with my camera and only got few very lousy pics. Well, not the best trip this time but at least I got some observations on the skis and how they perform on very hard snow…

Ok, let’s move on to the ski testing:

Conditions: boilerplate hard pack

Resort: just another of out little mole hills but decent pitch to get just a couple of turns in…enough for some ski test observations.

Armada The ANT 191cm is a stiff and straight big mountain ski

Measurements: 133-107-123mm

This ski (image above) had no problem to hold an edge on the hard stuff, which is nice for a 107mm waist ski – but only if you only have enough speed and wide enough turns. For our little hills here, this is kind of a boring ski though (you get very few turns per run) but otherwise Armada ANTs left a very good impression.

The ANT reminded me a lot of the old Head Monter 103′s I had a few years ago -  but were only significantly lighter. The dimensions are also pretty much like the first generation Atomic Big Daddies

This is clearly an “all business, no bullshit” big mountain charger made for (pretty damn) good skiers. The weight to stiffness ratio is impressive (stiff but quite light). I would probably get schooled skiing these all day long in a place like Chamonix or LaGrave…

The only complaint I would probably find is that the recommended mounting point felt a bit too centered for a skis like this. And I remember reading from TGR forum that many people have mounted their Armada ANTs -2cm from the manufacturer’s reference point.  (But you got to remember the “father” of this ski, Anthony Boronowski, spins 900′s on every direction on this monster…so his preferences might differ a bit from us ordinary hacks!?)

Armada JJ 188cm – suprisingly works even on a hardpack, believe it or not!

Measurements (five-dimensional sidecut): 126-136-115-133-121mm, rockered and tapered tip and tail, sidecut and camber in the middle = Armada’s “elf-shoe” technology  (Armada JJ right on the picture above).

I could not believe skiing these planks on boilerplate could be a bit fun. But to my surprise these were not as bad on firm stuff as you would expect from a 115mm wide skis.

I guess the nature of this ski is pretty much double-sided: on the soft stuff you can just slide/pivot around but on the hard stuff it is more than possible to get the small sidecut and camber in the middle working; on snow this firm (we had at the test night) you got to weight the downhill ski very hard though. Not the most fun skiing, but I am still impressed how well Armada JJ could handle the boilerplate snow!

The binding mount felt really centered (for an old school mogul guy like me). For soft snow I’d be tempted to mount just a bit further back (1-2cm?). But this is just guessing – as the Armada recommends using the reference point to get most out of the little sidecut in the middle. The rockered tip is supposed to work in soft and deep snow even when you ski quite centered

The centered mounting point allowed for easy “switch” skiing (if that is your thing) and I felt I could go and shred some (soft) kickers with ease on these skis. Armada JJ’s are light and the “swing weight” is even smaller (because of the shape of the ski).Playful is the word that comes to one’s mind when skiing the new Armada JJ’s. I am definately trying to get a new test ride on these, with softer conditions!

Armada ARV 185cm is a well thought-out true all-mountain ski

Measurements: 130-95-119mm

Skied with Alpine bindings by me, and with telemark bindings by a friend – and we both dug the ski. Friend compared this to a 06/07 K2 Seth – only a slightly stiffer and straighter feel. For me the ski felt a tad soft at first but it didn’t matter once you started to make turns. Seems like Armada ARVs have a good combinations of longitudinal flex and torsional stiffness.

Armada ARV Still felt somehow wide on the difficult conditions we had but could carve some half-decent turns (on almost pure ice), it just required lots of effort (short, mogul style turns felt easier for me on this ski than longer carved turns, on these conditions).

The recommended mounting point is somehow centered but not too much, there is well enough tip for skiing “traditionally” (and “switch” is still very easy). I’d say Armada ARV is a good all mountain ski for our Lapland hills, smaller/not-so-snowy resorts all over the word and for those that want one ski that can take anything from off-piste to park skiing

Movement Goliath Sluff 184 cm – this ski didn’t quite impress me

Measurements: 134-99-118 mm

I was digging the shape of the Movement Goliath Sluff when I got these on my feet: the binding mounting point felt quite “old school” and the ski had some serious taper in it, I got the feeling that this is pretty much like the proper all-mountain/big mountain ski should be. However, it didn’t work as well as expected on the rock hard snow. I don’t know if the edges were just dull or if the edge bevels were somehow weird (= prepared for the soft snow not the boilerplate). It felt like the ski started the carve but the couldn’t hold it well enough into the end of the turn (could be because of the quite tapered shape too?).

Not too much “pop” in Movement Goliath Sluff either. This would probably be very predictable and versatile all-mountain ski in bigger resorts and softer snow but I have to say I wasn’t impressed with the carving capabilities (but take this with the grain of salt, dull edges / wrong bevels might have affected on this feel)

Movement Thunder 177cm – fine for couloirs and touring?

Measurements: 122-89-111mm

I only skied two runs on Movement Thunders, so take that into consideration…Pretty similar feel with the edges than on Goliath Sluff – dull edges or wrong edge bevel?

Movement Thunder is a quite straight ski and also pretty stiff – good for couloir skiing and touring? (But I wouldn’t say the ski is extremely light, maybe just average weight?)

Didn’t impress that much on the firm stuff, edge hold was fine but it was still kind of hard to do clean turns.

Elan Speedwave 12 and 14, 168cm – pure carving machines

Measurements 116-70-105mm

I dug skiing the Elan Speedwave 12‘s after the fat/mid-fat on the firm conditions and thought the ski was the sh** on the icy surface…Then the rep guy told me to try the stiffer version a.k.a Elan Speedwave 14, which were still significantly stiffer than Elan Speedwave 12 and just railed the icy snow -I almost felt like ice skating (whether that is a good or bad thing is up to you?)

I haven’t skied a proper carving ski for a year or so and got to say that for given conditions this type of ski rules – I had more fun on these than on any other ski that night.

I cannot say much about the features of the ski because I haven’t that much experience on this type of skis. Maybe just that sometimes even with the versatile “all-mountain” skis of today, it is better to take the right tool for the right job…

If you want a solid carving ski for the prepared slopes that is stiff and just rails on the edges on the smooth and hard stuff, I think this is the one! Also, one thing to add is that for this type of a ski, more stiffness can be good – and I am not usually a fan of über-stiff skis. But if you are not light-weight and know how to put a ski on the edge, stiff ski like Elan Speedwave 14 is great for rock solid conditions, no chatter or ski wandering around, just pure bliss of perfect carves. If I had more dough at the moment I could buy a set of these, just to add to the quiver. After all, I guess almost every skier could benefit from a pair of pure carving skis in his/her quiver, skiing a day or two once in a while with skis like these would make wonders to one’s technique (park rats and lazy powder hounds take notice!).

The testers stats:

• 185cm (6′)
• 67kgs (147lbs) .. and yes I know I’m skinny
• 100+ days on snow for last 4 seasons in Austria, before that 30+ days/season on the icy pistes of Finland
• Not super technical, no race background, lately developed a liking for stiffer skis (Explosiv)

Construction and build quality of Praxis Powder Boards

I got the Praxis Powder Boards during the first season of their existence, in the late season 06/07. The model is still unchanged. Since the purchase, I’ve had over 110 days on these skis (estimated).

Already while unwrapping them the build quality of these skis impressed me, sidewalls and the layup of the ski seemed solid.. but at this point I am totally convinced. Although I’m a light guy I’m still not exactly light on my gear. After over 90 days the normal wear and tear is somewhat noticeable and the topsheet is scratched, but I have experienced no topsheet chipping or similar problems whatsoever. I’m usually not the one to believe the stories about this and that ski’s bases being super durable, but when it comes to Praxis Powder Boards I’m the one to make such comment myself. Sure, my Praxis have some scratches in the base, but no core shots! Now for someone who takes good care of his/her skis that might not be amazing at all, but I’ve always thought that a good powder run is worth a few stone hits, and have skied these babies in shallower conditions also. The p-tex on these skis seems to be holding up amazingly well. The edges are thick also. These skis are not afraid of use.

Flex and weight

The Praxis Powder Boards are by no means noodles, like for example the K2 Pontoons are. The flex is nice and even, getting progressively stiffer towards the waist. Underfoot the ski is plenty stiff. And what comes to weight; these planks are light. They’re noticeably lighter, a lot lighter actually, than my 179cm long Seth Vicious’.. The light weight is very impressive considering the build quality and the relative stiffness of the ski.

How Praxis Powder Boards behave on snow?

The Praxis Powder Boards were the first funshape skis that I had ever skied. The first runs on these skis were a bit confusing. Getting used to the idea of reverse sidecut & camber took me some time and I didn’t feel confident on them first, but after couple days the problem was gone.

In soft snow, which is what these skis are made for, the Praxis Powder Boards excel. Sinking the tip is practically nearly impossible, it stays on top of the snow even on low angle runs. I use my Praxis on days with only 10-15cms of new snow since they will float on the top anyway. In soft snow and wide open areas I haven’t really found a speed limit, although they have a different feeling to them than a “normal” ski at very high speeds and it is not always as confidence inspiring as on normal skis, but these skis are still by no means unstable in soft snow. The “different feeling” is what best describes the way these reverse/reverse planks ski. It is a feeling that some might not get used to, for example a skier who likes to rail big turns on very stiff skis might have some problems adapting or might not adapt at all. I’m not saying that doing big turns on the Praxis is hard or more uncomfortable than on “normal” fat skis, but some might dislike the feel of the ski and the slight adjustments one might need to make to his/her technique. Having said that, I ski stiff skis also and very much enjoy the way they ski, but still am still in love with the Praxis. Someone who wants to retain the feeling of a normal sidecut ski might want to look into skis with just rockered tip. Some of them are mentioned in our Rocket Revolution article.

In powder it is possible to ski the Praxis the way normal fatties are skied, but dividing weight more on both feet and standing in the middle of your ski, slashing and sliding your turns, will open up another dimension of powder skiing. Real sliding in soft snow is really hard with “normal” skis but with a bit of practise the Praxis Powder Boards make it easy. The turn initiation is also amazingly easy and fast while the shape of the ski still allows the skier to choose the size of your turns. In chopped up, tracked out powder, the different feel of these skis becomes evident again. On big stiff skis you’re charging it, killing and going through everything that is in your way while blasting some heavy metal from your mp3 player; on Praxis Powder Boards you rather switch your music choice to some funk and let the skis run, at higher speeds they will stay on top of the chopped up stuff, instead of going through.

Praxis Powder Boards Rip the Trees, Crust & Heavy Snow

The best area of use for the Praxis Powder Boards is clearly the trees. The easy turn initiation and the ability to throw your skis sidewards to scrub speed at any point you like is so so great. Skiing trees just became much more fun! Being on these planks in trees feels like cheating, it enables me to ride much faster and with more confidence in tight spots. Earlier on I mentioned how someone might not like the Praxis Powder Boards as much for skiing wide open areas than a normal fat ski, but in trees I think it’ll be impossible to find a ski that rivals the reverse/reverse design.

Another area where I’m really happy to be on Praxis Powder Boards is snow with some kind of breakable crust layer on top, be it either wind- or suncrust. With normal planks, especially ones with a lot of sidecut the problem with a ski “locking” into a turn is very evident. If the crust is not thick and I’m on Praxis it nearly feels like skiing powder. Thicker crust becomes a lot more manageable also. No worries about catching an edge. Just like when skiing trees, this is another area where I personally feel like cheating.

Heavy snow is no longer a problem either. Because of the massive surface area and decamber the tip of the ski just refuses to go under, and the overall shape of the ski will help in making turns. Bottomless rotten slush is now skiable, just remember keep those bases well waxed!

The Downfalls of Praxis Powder Boards

Obviously, these skis are not designed for hard snow use. The Praxis Powder Boards do not even pretend to handle hard snow well; as mentioned the reverse camber of the ski is a continuous curve with no flat spot underfoot and there is no sidecut underfoot either. As a result, the hard snow performance of these skis could be best described as very sucky. Some people report that you can “kind of carve” on these skis by either pressuring the tip or tail portion of the ski, but really I found that the best way to survive the few hundred meters of the piste back to the lift after emerging from the trees is to just slide your turns, think you’re back in the 80s and ski these planks the same way. So be warned: While you left your friends behind you in the trees where the snow was still soft, the obligatory hard snow patches, traverses and cat tracks will have struggling a bit.

Very big drops are not my specialty but the at least up to 4-5meters (~15feet) they seem to be doing fine. The rockered tip can sometimes prevent faceplants when landing weight a bit too forward since it doesn’t dive as easily. I can imagine that the rockered tails might wheelie out if landing bigger drops on the tails though.

I found steep lines with relatively soft snow somewhat problematic also, but I haven’t skied much steep stuff on the Praxis Powder Boards and it might be a simple question of getting used to it. The main problem seemed to be that the tails and tips wash out easily when doing (landing) jump turns, and once the tail or tip washes out it’s not easy to recover, getting weight back to the middle of the ski is hard. I wouldn’t be the first one to do steep, technical, long, no-fall lines with reverse/reverse skis like Praxis even if the snow was soft at the top – the thought of running into ice or hard snow further down is too scary. I don’t feel the need to, either; as soon as you’re doing jump turns you know the Praxis are out of their element. So relatively steep, high speed, technical lines with loads of powder – sure, but for jumpturns, no-fall zones and long lines I would still choose another ski, even if the snow is soft.

One thing I’ve mentioned several times is the general “easiness” of the Praxis Powder Boards in soft snow. This might make you assume a bit more lazy style while on these planks. Don’t be misled though, these skis will still reward you for good technique and punish for bad, so keep your form and don’t forget about the proper technique and you’ll find yourself ripping through the trees even faster.

Conclusion

All in all, despite the sucky hard snow performance I still wouldn’t call these skis unversatile because they handle all soft snow conditions without problems, and that is a lot. If you’re looking to add a funshape ski to your quiver I can definitely recommend Praxis. Because of its downfalls, this is not a ski to pair up with your slalom skis, though. Praxis Powder Boards are best to have to compliment another, “normal” fat ski in your quiver. Check out our new products and innovations article for more 08/09 season rockered skis!

However, if you are  interested on solid and cheap gear that you can trust, read this.

I scored a pair of these from German E-bay. There has been good offers in e.g. Steap and Cheap

The dimensions are on the narrow side: 113-79-106mm. Lengths 168cm and 180cm (tested). Essentially this is also the same ski as Salomon 1080 Candice Lab, just the top-sheets differ.

I was looking for the replacement of my beaten up 05/06 Völkl Dogens. Volkl usually has really good skis but the Dogens were a failure – too much quality problems. Otherwise the pair I had was ok but the bases just didn’t glide anywhere, even with waxing every time before hitting the slopes. Also, I wanted slightly stiffer skis with some more “pop” in them. Dogens were kind of lazy and dead feeling from the beginning – you get used to that but IMHO lively park skis are just more inspiring and more fun (I guess that depends on your style though… as an old mogul geek I tend to be quite active and actively pop/jump from the lips not just lazily launch/carve from the take-off).

First touch with Salomon 1080 CR Lab ski

First impression from these skis is quality. Salomon isn’t know for its superb longevity, stiffness and durably – in contradiction the reputation of Salomon is more like easy-skiing, forgiving, fun skis for the masses. Take Pocket Rocket for example, the concept was a winner but it never gained the popularity from the hard-core, 100 days a year crowd. All in all, Salomon skis with their foam core and cap constructions just have generally been too soft and weak for the real chargers.

The above doesn’t hold for the LAB (race room) series. With LAB you get full wood core and black (graphite) race bases. The skis also weight more than the more “mainstream” models = the offer you have to pay from the real durable construction.

Salomon 1080 CR Lab skis for example weight significantly more than my old Dogens. The first feel on the slope is also that they’re much stiffer. This is all good, but has also its downside. Couple of runs and you realize this is no lazy man’s and/or beginners ski.

I only had a few short, low angle runs to test the real skiing abilities. The impression is that the skis obvioysly have pretty good all-mountain characters in them. You get a lot of liveliness and pop. Sidecut is pretty straight in today’s standard though. One thing you also notice (if you have any old-school experience/feel) is that the recommended mounting mark is very center! This didn’t bother me because I plan to use these maybe 80-90% for park.

I had a feeling if you mount Salomon 1080 CR’s 2-3cm back from the recommended point, they would have quite an “old school SL/mogul ski feel”. The thought of that even tempts me to remount at some point; I can image a nice slushy mogul zipperline with a few good jumps to be an absolute blast with these beauties. You can always buy cheap park skis from spring offers etc. But C.R Labs are SKIS that have so much more to offer than strict park planks.

In the park I had mixed feeling about these skis. Overall, the combination of these and my new 08/09 Dalbello Krypton Il Moro’s offered a very enjoyable couple of hours session. Stiffer skis were very good for bombing the quite rough in run to our biggest kicker (a reasonably high cheese wedge booter/gap with around 35~40 gap). On the smaller but even more steep lip with lots of “kick” I really felt the “pop” of these skis: I felt like I was rocketing skywards.. pretty cool feeling, after all!

Other important findings from Salomon 1080 CR Lab

I’m no acrobat in the park, so a few cm:s difference or a slight weight difference didn’t mean anything at all. I could do what I can do (not much  in today’s standard but the basic 3′s I do a lot felt great)

The landings then. Well, with stiffer (both longitudinally and torsionally) skis the landings were more unforgiving. With my old noodles I could revert/”butter” some bad landings much easier. But this is former C.R’s ski after all. And in his speed and with the side of his hits, I guess, stable and stiff is good, very good (imagine the pro-level 90 feet gap jump, the in run requires almost SG speeds, after all!). For us normal hackers, this is more demanding ski than your average china made jib stick. I guess for me this is both good and bad. This forces me to be more precise and concentrate on good landings etc. On the other hand, I feel small jumps and jibs don’t feel as good ( f*** those anyway, “high speed, low tricks” has always been my motto! )

The conclusion for these Salomon 1080 CR Lab skis is that you get a lot of ski (and probably pretty cheap these days). They might be a bit narrow for really good snow resorts / parks but to our mole hills 79mm middle is just perfect. With that you get also good hard snow performance and mogul abilities, especially if mounted a few cm’s back.  I’d say this is a solid all-mountain ski disguised as a twin-tip. Especially if you don’t like too much of side cut and like a lively, playful ski, this is for you. I also think that mounting plays a big role on the skis feel: recommended mark is great for park but if you like more all-mountain feel, mount 2-3cm back from that. Graphics don’t usually get too much of my attention but I have to say the understated camo-topsheet is pretty cool and doesn’t jump into your face like many of today’s prints in this genre.

Ok, that’s all for now. Hopefully my next post will be from Flachau, Austria in the week 5. I guess it will be a hassle (with kids) on the trip but I’ll try to find time to post a few trip reports and/or pictures.

Let it snow!

07/08 Volkl Gotama ski review results

I only got to ski this beauty really briefly but I’ve rocked 06/07 Volkl Gotamas for a season now, and what I’ve heard from the Volkl rep (and also felt myself), the ski is essentially the same for the 07/08 season. Only the golden Buddha design is much cooler IMHO. And besides, white pow skis are kind of a stupid invention anyway…

Otherwise, what can I say? 07/08 Volkl Gotamas simply rock. The 190cm model is maybe a tad long for our (Lapland) mole hills but perfect for me in the Alps. (Btw. I put the bindings in a 1,5cm + position from the FR line, which also seems perfect for me).

I never got to test the earlier black Volkl Buddha Gotama but everybody seemed praise it. The newer ones are about 10~15% stiffer throughout the ski. Herein lays my only complaint for the ski: it could be just a tad softer actually, especially in the tip. On the other hand, these destroy the crud too without being total tanks like some even stiffer and beefier skis (like my old Head Im 103’s at 193cm, those had only one speed: full ahead, and if you were tired or lazy, they just killed you, no questions about it). On newer Volkl Gotamas there’s just enough sidecut for lazily “rolling” from edge to edge on the groomers but still not too much for the tricky off-piste situations. A near-perfect mix of characteristics you need in the all-day, every-day big mountain skis and you can still enjoy the groomed slopes back to the village/hotel/your car etc. I guess every skier who wants to ski in a place like Chamonix, for example, needs a ski just like this. Maybe, just maybe, the newer, more radical designs are even better on the really deep stuff but the versatility of these skis is what makes them a real winner.

175 cm Volkl Tigershark 10 FT Power Switch ski review results

Now, this is something completely different. The Volkl Tigershark 10FT Power Switch is the ski with which you can self-tune the stiffness. I won’t go into the full details but the idea is that the ski has some loaded carbon bands in it, and you can switch the bands to being “ON” (=stiff) or “OFF” (= softer, more forgiving flex).

The dimensions of Volkl Tigershark 10FT Power Switch are fairly standard (I guess): 121-73-105mm. The funny thing is that a few years ago, this would have been classified as a “mid fat”, but these days this seems to be one of your piste-oriented carvers…

07/08 Volkl Tigershark 10 FT Power Switch – a good ski for well prepared slopes

I had mixed feelings about this ski. It felt pretty powerful. I had the dial in “off”, giving softer flex for the slush. The “on” position felt too stiff for the conditions. Still, the sidecut and flex didn’t allow for easy cruising. You had to be on top of the ski all the time, otherwise it would punish you. The slush and very variable surface was not for this ski, I especially felt the inside ski wandering all the time – whether this was due to my old school outside ski dominating technique or the conditions, I’m not sure. But I’ve got the feeling that Volkl Tigershark 10FT Power Switch is for the really well-prepared slope, not for the varying spring conditions and deep, wet slush. On a few harder patches the skis felt fine, and for me still better in the “off” mode. I guess if you like very fast gs turns on hard slopes, this is the ski for you.

On the good side, the switch thingamabob didn’t seem like just a gimmick. It really affects the flex and/or feel of the ski. Also, my review of this ski would probably be totally different if the test were performed in the concrete-ice conditions of the same hill on a typical very-cold January day. This said, I don’t want to report anything final now – clearly the conditions were too far from optimal for this type of ski.

177 Volkl Mantra 07/08 ski review results

These were probably a bit small for me…or so I thought at first. I normally ski 06/07 190cm Volkl Gotamas and/or 189cm older (green) Seth Pistols, and some 180cm park skis.

The dimensions of the Volkl Mantras are a very versatile 133-96-116mm. On the slopes, I was really surprised how well the 177cm Volkl Mantra behaved: I’d say predictable and stable but still somehow unforgiving. Both Volkl Mantra and Katana have a little bit softer flex and a somewhat “lazier” feel, whereas Gotama is very “snappy” but at the same time a bit more demanding.

My groomer technique needs some updating, and I was actually getting some tips from a ski-instructor friend while testing these skis. We both laughed at how I was much more comfortable on Volkl Mantras than on some real “carvers” and managed to do much better two-footed carves on these wonderful masterpieces of German ski engineering. Conditions probably played a role here: skinnier skis really started to “boot out” in the bottomless slush (yes, really weird conditions…you kind of had to surf the slush in a way just slightly resembling real pow skiing).

Volkl Mantra 07/08 is a good all-around ski

I’d say Volkl Mantra is a real all-around ski. I especially dig the fact that there’s almost a “pintail” design put into the ski: while the tip is as wide as in Gotama, the tail is much narrower. So even with a slightly narrower waist the ski lets you plane as the tip goes up and the tail goes down on the snow. Brilliant, don’t you think? Still there’s enough sidecut for quick carves on the harder stuff. The narrower tail also lets you finish the turn as you like, skidded or carved.

My only gripe with the 177cm Volkl Mantra length was that the tail felt really short (ok, let’s admit that a slight back seating is one of my normal bad ski habits). Seems like the standard binding mounting for these is pretty “traditional”, i.e. really far back on the ski, like it usually has been in the Volkl lineup. But I also think that on the 184 cm version, I wouldn’t have even noticed this. I also think that the longer length would rock in some longer turns, and I’d really like to test the 191cm model on some creamy windbuff or just on some groomed long gs-run…hmmmmm, can you say speed!

Overall impression: 07/08 Volkl Mantra is a very good and well thought-out ski. Also, it is suprisingly forgiving for Volkl – this might even be considered a drawback for some people though. These skis are probably not the best ones for any particular condition but I’d say that if you suck on these, don’t bother blaming the equipment…

A few words about the reviewer of 07/08 Volkl Katana skis

Height/weight: 184cm (~6″) 83kg (~160lbs)
Ability: very experienced, not the best/most modern carve/on-piste technique though.
Age: 34
Days/year: currently ~30/year (but skied several years over 50 days a year)
Conditions: Very soft spring groomers (groomed slush basically) with around 5cm (2inches) of new natural wet spring snow.
Resort: Pyhätunturi, Finland, around 250m (~800feet) of vertical, nothing very steep but variable, high speed groomed runs, even some short off-piste routes
Skis tested: 183cm Katana, 177cm Mantra, 175 cm Tigershark 10FT Power Switch, 190cm Gotama

Volkl Katana 07/08 skis in review – Review results of Volkl Katana 07/08

Let’s move on to the most interesting stuff first. Volkl Katana is marketed as the newest and most innovative big mountain and powder weapon of the Volkl line-up. The dimensions are hefty 140-111-130. Very fat but still not as ridiculously fat as some of the other offerings these days.

But width is not the be-all, end-all character of the ski anyway. Volkl Katana has some nice details that keep things even more interesting. The ski is said to have a “rocker” design (which means negative camber at least for part of the ski). The ski also has a unique powder channel, which is kind of a mix of normal twin tip and swallow tail design (see the picture above). Last but not  least, the sticks are offered now also in the “real men’s” length, 197 cm! Finally, skis are getting longer again as there is a clear trend for fatties in the length of +194 cm (e.g. Salomon X-Wing Lab, Dynastar Pro Rider XXL, DP Skis Lotus at 198 cm and 200 cm etc.)

Ok, now let’s move on to the action. In practice Volkl Katanas looked/felt totally flat. It seems like there is no “rocker” actually but the ski is just totally flat, no camber whatsoever. Or at least the “rocker” is so small that you won’t notice it when the skis are laying flat on the ground.

The first feeling on the slope was “damn these skis are wide and somehow lazy getting onto the edge”. When I started to get some speed and make turns I didn’t feel the flat camber actually having that much effect on anything. Also, the slow and sluggish feeling was gone after just a few runs. You would think the 111mm middle skis require more input to get on to the edges, after all. At least in these conditions the width was actually a real strength: where skinnier skis started to “boot out” (into the ~25-30cm of wet slush), the Volkl Katanas skied round, nice turns and you could really lie down and carve the soft surface.

Ok, this is not an SL ski but I was able to do carved medium-sized turns with ease. There was one steeper north facing part where you actually hit a hard/icy surface. At speed, when hitting harder patches, I noticed some tip flapping. That’s maybe the only negative sign of the zero camber /”rocker” design. On the other hand, these skis let you surf the softer snow with great control and feel – I can just imagine these skis on a couple of feet of nice, light fresh snow…

On Volkl Katanas there is enough twin on the “powder-channel” to (at least) land silly little 180′s from rollers to deep slush – if that’s your thing. Anyway, those were really fun because the 111mm middle body felt really nice and stable when landing fake (a.k.a backwards).

Volkl Katana ski was a bit disappointing

If you’re familiar with the Volkl Mantra feel and like it, this is the ski for you. It really felt like a bigger Mantra on the slopes. IMHO Katana and Mantra would make a nice “quiver”. Still, on the other hand if you already have an “all mountain/mid fat” with around 100~105mm middle (e.g. Gotama), you might want to look elsewhere: in the end the difference between my Gotamas and these skis wasn’t so great that I’d like to buy a pair of Volkl Katanas immediately. If you already have something like Gotamas and like to buy something even bigger then why not to go on and have a full reverse camber (and even reverse sidecut) ski for those big days? Not to say Volkl Katana was a disappointment but I was maybe expecting a more radical design/feel (=more rocker). After this test ride, I’m really eager to test some more radical new design like the original Volant Spatula, Armada ARG, K2 Pontoon or Hellbent, Praxxis Powder…the list goes on.

And finally a word about the length: if you really feel you’re man (or woman!) enough for the 197’s, go for it! But if you have even a slightest hesitation, my advice is to opt for the more “mortal” 190 or even 183 cm. I felt like I could go everywhere with the 183 (and my normal pow skis are 190cm Gotamas).

My next post in this review will discuss Volkl Mantra (177 cm). Stay tuned!

Oh, and if you are going to purchase new skis, check out our tips for defining the right length for your skis!