2017 MIDWEST TEST
FEST
THE WIDE ONES
Waists of 100 and up
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.
* marks women’s specific models
Nordica
Enforcer 100, 185 cm (?-100-?, ?)
CS: This is a really nice ski for a powerful
skier. It skis a lot like the Volkl
Mantra. It wasn’t great in short turns,
but that was the only shortcoming I found.
JG: The 100 was fun to ski in all conditions.
KS: The 105 is a super nimble, light weight ski
that requires a solid forward stance to really get the tips to hook up when
carving. The 171 length felt too short and
too soft for me, lacking both grip and stability at higher speeds. This one would be superb for intermediates
looking for a wider ski for skidding or skarving all over the mountain.
K2
Marksman, 177 cm (130-106-125, 20m@184)
CS: I didn’t like this one much at all. I found it lacking stability and grip, and it
really didn’t feel comfortable in short and medium turns. It’s a burly ski, even for strong, speedy
skiers.
Rossignol
Soul 7, 180 cm (136-106-126, 17.0m)
KS: Strangely enough, the 180 length felt too
short to me, even on the groomers – if you’re looking to purchase this one, I’d
suggest you go up at least 1 size from your “normal”. This is a calm, damp, forgiving powder ski
that is fully competent on the scratchy stuff as well. This is a ski that can be taken anywhere!
Elan
Ripstick 106, ? cm (140-106-122, ?m)
JG: The Ripstick won’t win any beauty contests,
but boy was is unexpectedly good on hard pack!
I couldn’t believe it!
Volkl
100-Eight, *173 and 184 cm (141-108-124, 19.7 and 22.0m)
KS
(173w): I take back everything I said
about the –Eight series 2 years ago.
When I tried them then, I 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!! I found the
100-Eights to still be a bit bouncy on uneven terrain, but they were dead solid
under foot, and way too much fun. I even
took them adventuring for a while and wasn’t disappointed at all!
CS
(184): The 100-Eight seemed to be
missing something for me. I found it
balky in short turns and just okay in medium turns. It lacked both stability and forgiveness, and
even grip and rebound weren’t up to what I expect from a Volkl.
Icelantic
Pioneer 109, 182 cm (144-109-131 19.0m)
KS: The Icelantic skis are by far the prettiest
skis we tested! Given the dimensions and
the reputation of Icelantic, I really expected to love these skis. I was impressed that the demo guys were doing
edge work on the skis when we got there.
That said, though, I found the Pioneers to be super stiff and very
unforgiving. They were damp and
confidence inspiring at speed, but I absolutely could not get them to skid at
all. I have no idea if that was a design
issue, an edge issue, or a tuning issue, but I couldn’t get them to do anything
beyond carve large radius turns. In all,
it was a very scary ride!!
CS: The 109 has tons of grip and ripped long
turns at very high speeds, but they are very demanding, and have very little
forgiveness. I could have a blast on
these skis!
Nordica
Enforcer 110, 177 and 182 cm (?-110-?, ?m)
KS
(177): Holy Moly, and Yee Haw!! This is ski that feels way bigger than it is!
The 110 is absolutely solid at the highest speeds in medium and large
turns. The tips get a bit floppy at
speed, but that feel never translates to any motion under foot – the center of
the ski just stays glued to the ground.
This ski tends toward the big and burly end of the range and it’s not
big on forgiveness. Strong/heavy skiers
only need apply!
CS
(182): The 110 was my second favorite
ski on the first day. It’s another ski
that doesn’t really want to do short turns, but it’s rock solid everywhere
else.
Line
Sick Day 114, 180 cm (140-114-26, ?m)
CS: The Sick Day is a soft snow specialist that really
suffered on our frozen groomers. It’s
soft and damp, and prefers to smear and skid rather than carve. It feels like it has a super shallow side
cut, which should help it rock in deeper and cruddier snow.
Lib
Tech Wreckreate 110, 181 cm (?-110-?, ?m)
CS: Yes, Lib Tech the snowboard company makes
skis. I found the Wreckreate to be nice
and easy to ski, best in long turns, but with great grip, stability, rebound,
and forgiveness. I enjoyed this one!
Armada
ARV 116 JJ, 175 cm (139-116-135, ?m)
CS: The ARV 116 is a fantastic crud buster that
loved big turns at speed. It’s a bit
damp and lacks a bit of grip and rebound, but it’s basically a crud and powder
ski, so those aren’t priorities for this type of ski.
Rossignol
Super 7, 188 cm (140-116-130, 20.0m)
CS: The Super 7 has so much rocker, you really
only ski about 1/3 of the ski on groomers.
This is way more ski than Michigan hills can handle. It excelled in long turns at high speeds, and
had tons of stability and rebound.
JG: These could be your best friend in any deep
conditions.
Volkl
Confession, 186 cm (144-117-133, 23.8m)
KS: Supposedly the Confession is the replacement
for both the Shiro and the non-V-Werks Katana, but I’d say it’s much more like
the old Katana than the Shiro. It had
none of the easy forgiveness and fun feel of the Shiro for me, instead, it felt
sluggish, stiff, and planky, and that makes me very sad. It absolutely said “We don’t need no stinking
short turns!!”, and was even a bit cranky about doing medium turns. My dislike may have been a function of the
length, but I ski the Shiro in the 183, so it’s not THAT far off my norm. SO DISAPPOINTED in this ski.
CS: Yup. My
#1 ski for day 1! This will be my next
ski when my Katanas and Shiros are done.
Top marks across the board! After
reading everyone else’s reviews, I was thrilled to find it’s all true!
Head
Kore 117, 189 cm (145-117-129, 24.6m)
CS: This is a big ski for big turns in deep snow. It held its own on the groomers, only lacking
a bit of grip and forgiveness on steeps, but that’s not where it will shine.
JG: This ski is a battleship! It’s great in crud and in long turns. It doesn’t have a ton of rebound, and it’s
not happy doing medium or short turns.
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