2017 Midwest Test Fest - Women's All Mountain Masters

2017 MIDWEST TEST FEST

THE WOMEN’S All MOUNTAIN EXPERTS

Waists of 80-99

Skis arranged by waist width where possible – in some cases I couldn’t read the specs with my contacts in and on-line info searches yielded little or nothing.

* Blizzard Alight 8.0 Carbon, 156 cm (124-80-107, 12.5m)

JE:  The Alight was really heavy on the lift, and this one felt longer than I expected when skiing.  It was very easy to get on edge.

* Rossignol Temptation 80, 154 cm (125-80-114, 14.0m)

JE:  This one was hard for me to get on edge, and it wobbles a lot when not on edge.

* Volkl FLAIR 81, 163 cm (128-81-109, 14.7m)

NW:  Fun, Fun FUN!!  Solid, easy, grippy.  Makes me feel like a hero!  Bomber!  I even took this on my steepest run of the week.

* Head Total Joy, 158 cm (132-85-113, 13.0m)

NW:  All the Heads I skied had floppy, chattery tips.  It must just be that I’m not a Head skier.

* Line Soulmate 86, 165 cm (125-86-111, 13.2m)

KS:  I asked for a ski in the 170-180 length category for a hard-charging skier, and the demo guys put me on this.  I figured I’d attempt to give it a fair shake, but it was most definitely too short and too soft for me, making it super scary and completely unstable in long turns at speed – I really think this was simply a function of length and stiffness for me.  In shorter turns and at slower speeds, it was super mellow, forgiving and poppy; damp, but not dead.  This would be a great intermediate to expert ski for lighter weight skiers who prefer shorter turns all over the mountain.

NW:  The Soulmate was just okay, and not really a standout for me at all.

* Nordica Astral 88, 165 cm (?-88-?, ?)

KS:  The Astral is a nimble, forgiving short turn specialist.  It lacked a bit of stability in longer turns and at higher speeds, and it’s really too light and turny to be any fun in cruddy snow or powder.  It clung to steeps and harder snow like it had claws and stayed engaged until deliberately asked to release.  It was competent and quick when carving short turns, but there was no encouragement for me to floor the accelerator.  The Astral would be a great training tool for the intermediate looking to make the jump to expert carving!

* Blizzard Black Pearl 88, 166 cm (126-88-110, 14.0m)

NW:  The BP was solid, fun, and zippy.  It didn’t have as much pop as I would have liked, but it’s otherwise a fine front side, mixed snow ski.  Intermediates just beginning to venture off the groomers or looking to make the leap to advanced skier will love, Love, LOVE it!!

* Fisher Ranger 89 W, 172 cm (119-88-108, 17.0m)

NW:  Maybe it was just that they were too long for me, but I felt the tips were a little floppy.  Other than that, they were fine.  I thought that with the rocker, that it would ski shorter.

* Head Wild Joy, 168 cm (?-90-?, ?)

KS:  The Wild Joy is new for 2018, and it fills the width slot between the Total Joy and the Great Joy.  I skied the Total Joy and Super Joy 2 years ago, and I really disliked the super light and stiff construction at the time, so I was excited to give the Wild Joy a try when I heard that they had made some changes to the series’ core material and construction.  Boy, I’m glad I did!  The Wild Joy was light yet stiff, but not so stiff as to be rattly or bouncy.  While slower speeds were doable without any fuss, it really shined at high speeds and in larger turns.  That weird vibration underfoot from the previous construction was totally gone.  What a complete surprise!!

NW:  The Wild Joy was just okay for me.  I found the tips to be really floppy.  This may be a ski best suited to bigger, heavier, more charging skiers.

* Volkl Kenja, 163 cm (129-90-110, 16.8m)

KS:  After years of skiing its big sister the Aura, and its very early predecessor, the Karma, I FINALLY got on the Kenja and I’m so glad I did!! What a fun ski!  This one got high marks across the board from me, although I could see that lighter/less powerful skiers might get bucked by its power.  It’s super flickable and rock steady, even though the 163 cm was definitely too short for me.  Still, it never got squirrelly or wobbly, it simply stopped going any faster when I hit its speed limit.

NW:  The Kenja was fun, but I liked the 90-Eight better, and I didn’t think it was as fun on the rock hard groomers as the Dynastar Intense 10 or Volkl FLAIR.  I Just didn’t feel like the ski was glued to the snow.

* Atomic Vantage 95c W, 170 cm (132-95-118, 16.8m)

KS:  SO LIGHT AND SO FUN!!  This ski excelled at all turns in all conditions, and even at a 170 length, I could not shake them loose at any speed.  Wow!!  Light, flexy, poppy, nimble, and super fun!  Highly recommend this ski for skilled skiers who want to take on the whole mountain!!

* Volkl 90-Eight, 156 (W) and 177 cm (133-98-116, 14.6 and 20.1m)

KS:  This was another ski that I tried 2 years ago and really disliked the construction, finding it bouncy, rattly, and unpleasantly stiff.  Just like the Head Joy series, all the Volkl skis with the 3D Ridge construction have had core and construction changes, and I was ready to give them a second look.  Again, just like the Joy series, the construction updates have totally changed the way the skis feel, in a VERY good way!!  With a 20.1 meter turn radius, the 90-Eight does not excel at short turns, but in medium and long turns on groomers, it was a rocket ship.  The ski is now more forgiving and well balanced, with plenty of grit for high speed carving.  Yee Haw!!

NW:  The 90-Eight skied a lot like my full camber Auras – solid and just goes through anything.