2017 Midwest Test Fest - Carvers

2017 MIDWEST TEST FEST

THE SPEED/CARVING SPECIALISTS

Waists of 60-79

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

* Fischer The Curv, 164 cm (??)

KS:  This little beauty is a short turn, hard snow specialist with the backbone of a true race ski!  It wanted nothing to do with long turns and coaxing it into medium turns required concentration, skill, and massive amounts of finesse.  As long as it was on edge in short turns, it was fine, but riding flat, running through crud, or trying to eke out longer turns highlighted a decided lack of stability and forgiveness.  Strap on your shin guards, put on your race face, and be prepared to rock out short turns until you’re breathless and spent!

Head WC i.SL RD, 165 cm (119-67-103, 13.0m)

JG:  If you don’t know how to turn, these will take care of that for you.  These rock and are super stable in short to medium turns, but suffer some in longer radius turns.  They are full-on race skis, so don’t expect any forgiveness, because there isn’t any.

Head WC Rebels iRace, 170 cm (122-68-102, 14.4m)

KS:  The iRace is surprisingly adaptable for a race ski.  It excelled in medium radius turns at any speed, and simple stance changes are all that’s necessary to make this one sing!  Pressure up the tips for short turns, stay centered for medium turns, and drive them for high speed turns.  Since the iRace is a true race ski, it lacks much of the easy forgiveness of the iSpeed, but skilled skiers with a racing background will love this ski as a hard snow daily driver.

Head Super Shape iSpeed, 177 cm (124-68-104, 14.0m)

KS:  Loved. This. Ski.  How is it possible that high speeds can be this fun and this easy???  The iSpeed easily skidded around on steeps and in short turns when asked, but it really shined when pushed hard and fast.  It was third in forgiveness after the Salomon X-Max and the K2 Turbo Charger.  First time or improving league/NASTAR racers should do well on this ski.

* Elan Speed Magic, 160 cm (122-69-104, 12.0m)

NW:  Fair action and fun, but not zippy. I really wanted “more” of everything.  I also retested the 155 cm on better snow and was again left wanting

Atomic Redster X7, 175 cm (115.5-70-102.5, 16.2m)

KS:  Go, GO, Speed Racer!!  Yeah, it can be pushed into short turns, and can meander along at slower speeds, but why would you want to do that?????  Unleash your inner speed demon and try not to get bugs in your teeth!  This ski hauls ass in medium and long radius turns, and clings to steeps and hard snow with tenacity.  It begs for high edge angles, high speeds, and big turns.

* Volkl FLAIR SC, 160 cm (122-72-105, 13.1m)

NW:  The SC is a fun, stable carver for groomed front side runs.  Not at all sure how it would fare on crappy or cut-up snow.  This one requires a fairly skilled and attentive pilot.

K2 Turbo Charger, 165 cm (129-72-107, 13.0m)

KS:  The Turbo Charger is a super calm, damp, confidence inspiring carver.  It lacked any real rebound, but that’s part of what makes it so easy and accessible to improving skiers.  At 165 cm, it got a little wiggly at high speeds in big turns for me, but short and medium radius turns were a breeze.  If you’re looking to really improve your carving skills without scaring or punishing yourself, this one is a total winner.

Salomon X-Max X12, 170 cm (120-73-101, 15.0m)

KS:  This race-based ski is so calm and damp it’s really easy to go deceptively fast on it.  Unlike most of the other carvers in this group, an intermediate could easily use this as a technique improvement tool.  It was by far the most forgiving of the bunch and it rewards good technique with eye-watering speed, but it won’t spank those skiers searching for their balance on a skinny ski.  It was also supremely and surprisingly competent in crud piles later in the day

* Dynastar Intense 10, 153 and 160 cm (120-73-104, 15.0m)

NW (160 cm):  OMG!! REALLY fun!!  Rock solid, speedy, turns on demand. I have nothing negative to say about this one, and even liked it enough to take it for extended exploring, and that says something!!

JE (153 cm):  LOVED THIS SKI!!!

* Elan Insomnia, 158 cm (121-73-104, 14.5m)

NW:  Even in crappy snow, the ski performed well.  Stable, fun, and enough pop to keep things interesting.  Wanted to retest in better snow, but it remained “on the hill” each time I stopped by.

* Rossignol Famous 10, 156 cm (127-73-109, 13.0m)

NW:  This one skis a lot like my Volkl P60 SLs – light, poppy, and fun, but not quite as stable feeling as the Volkls.

* Rossignol Temptation 75, 152 and 164 cm (122-75-111, 12.0m)

NW (164):  These are fairly fun, and I have nothing adverse to say about them, but nothing exciting, either.

JE (152):  These reminded me a lot of my Volkl P60 SLs

Volkl V-Werks Code, 176 cm (124-75-104, 17.4m)

KS:  I have no words for this ski.  Seriously, I’m stunned and speechless.  Fastest runs of my entire week, and absolutely effortless.  Think a turn, ANY turn, and it just happens.  I’m hauling down a steep, narrow run at 60+ mph, thinking “I simply need to remain upright.  Please don’t fall off these skis!”  Wow, just WOW!!!!!!

Volkl Code X, 175 cm (122-76-104, 18.0m)

KS:  Volkl sure knows how to make a carver that sings for strong, speedy skiers.  Skidded turns, carved turns, massive rebound, silly stupid speed, and crazy stability and grip.  This is not a ski for the less skilled as it’s fairly burly, lacks forgiveness, and WILL spank anyone who gets lazy or complacent.

* Elan Delight Prime, 158 cm (126-76-103, 12.6m)

JE:  The Prime is the middle model of this 3 ski series.  They are very light weight, and I like them.

* Blizzard Black Pearl 78, 156 and 163 cm (115-78-100, 15.0 and 16.0m)

      (Note: This is the old Cheyenne, completely reworked for 2018)

NW (163 cm):  The 78 was fun but not “enough”. I wanted more stability, more pop, and more “Wahoo” as I was coming down the hill.  This one just didn’t make me grin. 

JE (156 cm):  This ski is fairly light, but I sometimes felt out of control in messy snow.

* Elan Delight Supreme, 152 cm (125-78-107)

JE:  The Supreme is the top model of the 3 ski Delight series.  At first I thought they were really wobbly when not on edge, and I had a hard time keeping them on edge.  The front seems really long, too.  By the third run, however, I finally figured them out and started to enjoy them.

* Elan Delight Black Edition, 158 cm (125-78-107, 12.8m)

NW:  This ski was squirrelly at any speed on crappy packed snow. It might be good for someone not looking for action under foot.

* Volkl FLAIR 78, 163 cm (126-78-106, 14.5m)

JE:  This one was just too long for me.

* Head Super Joy, 153 cm (128-78-108, 12.5m)

JE:  I thought these were hard to get on edge and they wanted to go too fast.  I really felt uncomfortable on these.