Shaggy's Copper Country Skis (Tubby, Ahmeek, Bootjack)

This set of reviews is a conglomerate of reviews I've written on their skis over a number of years - I'm now 52, so that means these go back (currently) 5 years.

Test Day #1 (originally published 2013)

The Tester: 47 year old heavyweight, ex-instructor and ex-2x a week league and gold/platinum NASTAR racer turned free skier with a love of high speeds and cruddy snow conditions.

The Conditions: Shaggy Day - 24-28 degrees, firm groomers and softening crud with plenty of death cookies.

The Boutique Skis: Shaggy's Copper Country Skis are hand made by a family in a small building in Boyne City, Michigan. They feature full wood cores hand picked and matched for desired flex characteristics, and standard sidewall laminate construction. Their graphics are odd but interesting.

• Shaggy's Copper Country Skis "Tubby"

Specs: Size 178 (142-117-142, 21.5 m TR, tip and tail rocker, flat under foot). Also available in 168 and 188 with differing dimensions and turn radii for each size.​

Impressions: The Tubby is one of SCC's "all mountain" offerings and on paper, it seemed like the perfect fit for my current taste in skis. On the hill, though, I was totally unimpressed. They felt heavy and sluggish and completely reluctant to make any size or shape of turn. They locked on edge and shot me across the hill on 2 occasions. Hubby tried them as well and found them equally unimpressive. In their defense.....while I was waiting to get on my next pair of demos, I ran my hand along the base of both skis and they both felt like they had concave bases right under the binding. This would likely be a product of uneven curing and is not an uncommon occurrence in hand made skis. I mentioned it to John (the builder) who said he would check them when he got back to the shop (I really wish I'd had my true bar in my pocket because he looked really skeptical). I'm hoping to try another pair (that's hopefully not railed) next weekend and will update my review if I get that chance.​

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• Shaggy's Copper Country Skis "Purder 2"

Specs: Size 184 (110-146-121-133-100, 25m TR, tip and tail rocker, full camber under foot). Also available in 174 and 194, with differing dimensions and turn radii for each size.​

Impressions: The Purder 2 is a redesign of their original dedicated powder ski, the Purder. The new design ditches the original's true pintail making it a capable performer on the groomers. While it feels very heavy, I had no problem making long, medium, and even short turns on this speed-loving beast. Make no mistake - this ski needs to be driven hard and fast to really come alive, but skied aggressively it devours the cut up crud and frozen chop that makes other skis shimmy, chatter, and break loose. Skied slowly, you'll feel every bit of this ski's considerable weight, but it remains obedient and compliant regardless. Still, this is an awesome ski for a hard charging skier that may encounter deep powder and serious crud in equal amounts. This monster doesn't disappoint.​

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Test Day #2 (originally published 2016)

A few years ago, I had a chance to demo a couple of Shaggy's hand made skis, and I came out pretty unimpressed by their biggest seller, the Tubby - previous review. Fortunately, I got another chance at them this year and am singing an entirely different tune - there was definitely something wrong with the pair I demoed the first time!

The Tester: 50 year old heavyweight with a love of speed and cruddy snow. Ex-PSIA level II instructor and NATAR/league racer.

Conditions: 38-43 degrees with bright sunshine. frozen groomed granular changing to granular, corn, and slush throughout the day, over a scratchy, firm base.

The runs: A scratchy, narrow blue, then several runs on our blacks, quickly developing boot-top slush bumps and deep, sugary crud.

The Tubby: 178 cm, 145-118-139 (dimensions vary based on length), full twin tip, rockered tip and tail, flat underfoot, mounted on the line (very close to centered).

These guys have really stepped up their game since last time I demoed their stuff. Fit and finish is now very close to factory production quality. I know it shouldn't matter, but I LOVE the graphics on this ski!!

My first run down the blue was a bit unimpressive, not surprising given a ski of this width. It quietly slid across the scratchy stuff in the middle, not really skidding, but not really gripping, either. Once I hit the softer stuff on the sides, it was perfectly fine but still just "meh". Then we headed to the deeply crudded-up, sugary, slushy steeps.....instant LOVE!! Quick, poppy, and skiddy in the slush bumps, solid and powerful while making deep carves through the sugar and across the icy scratch in between. I couldn't wipe the smile off my face the whole rest of the time I was on this ski, and apparently I wasn't the only one, as the 178 cm version disappeared immediately after I brought it back and didn't reappear until they were tearing down the tent. The length was absolutely perfect for me.





The Ahmeek: 180 cm, 139-105-124, rocker-camber-rocker twin tip, mounted on the line.

This one was hubby's favorite - so much so that he said he'd happily sell his beloved Gotamas (the older, full camber version) and replace them with the Ahmeek. While I liked the ski and thought it was solid, it didn't wow me like the Tubby. I thought it was eerily similar to the Coalition Snow S<O>S that I currently have for demo and have been riding frequently and neither have enough grin factor for me to want to give up my Kikus (the newer full rocker version). It held solidly on the hardpack base and wiggled easily through the bumps. It also powered through the slush and sugar, but I think I was completely spoiled by skiing the Tubby first. I would totally recommend this ski for a strong skier looking for one ski quiver for anything except true ice.






2017 Big Mountain/Powder Prototype: 184 cm, ?-115-?, early rise/tapered tip and tail, camber underfoot, mounted on the line.

Wow! This is a BIG ski. I don't mean waist or length, necessarily, either.....it just skis HUGE - three turns hauling a$$ as fast as I could go down a 325' black without a wiggle or complaint huge! The first couple of runs I felt just a bit off balance and was really struggling to go slower or make shorter radius turns, so I suggested to John that they may need to be mounted a bit farther back. He said that was his impression when he tried them, too, so I hopped back on them a little later after they moved the bindings back 2 clicks (about 1 cm). Bingo!! That was just the adjustment the skis needed to come alive for me, and I noticed the change simply getting off the lift. Not only were they happier about going slower and making smaller turns, they also started going up and over the crud instead of just plowing through it - a much better trait for a powder/big mountain ski. John seemed a bit hesitant to put me on them at first (I don't know if it was the length, or what), but then acted truly appreciative for my feedback and observations.

Overall, I was really impressed with their current offerings and recommend stronger/heavier skiers to give them a try if possible. These guys have seriously stepped up their game in the last 3 years! Yay for the little, local guys!!


Test Day #3 (originally published 2018)

You may remember that I got a chance to ski one of Shaggy's prototype skis about 2 years ago. They were a bit reluctant to let me try it as the only size they had was a 184, but since I typically ski a 177+, I wasn't worried about it at all. It was described as the ski in between the Ahmeek 105 (which I really haven't loved the 2 times I've tried it) and the Tubby 125 (). At the time, I told them the binding needed to be moved back at least 1 cm to make it more balanced, and they had said that was their general impression as well.

That protoype is now in production as the Bootjack 115, and they've fixed the binding mounting point. Long story short; I've always considered myself a Tubby girl.....until now.

I debated taking a ski this wide out in the conditions we were having, especially after skiing most of the day on my skinny race skis. I was already a bit tired and wasn't really looking forward to rolling over a 115 waisted ski while skiing on groomed ice with deep glumped up sugar on the top and edges of the runs and a dusting of fresh over top. Knowing the race heritage of the guys behind the Shaggy's brand, I should never had doubted the capability of this ski on scratchy crap.

Holy cow!! This ski is STRONG!! It hauled ass and blasted through the sugar with glee. It clung to the ice and scratch like a race ski. It even happily smeared along at a snail's pace in the sugary edges. At all speeds and whether fully edged or running flat, it happily hummed along....powerful yet undemanding, tenacious yet yielding, speedy yet not headstrong. The 180 was absolutely the right length for me, even though the guy that set up the demo for me looked and acted totally skeptical. I. Am. So. In. Love. I kept saying "just run more run and I'll take it back"; for 6 more runs! They have somehow figured out the perfect balance of light weight (no metal) and unflappable performance. The fact that they're gorgeous doesn't hurt one bit.

Like all of Shaggy's skis, they are also available with semi custom graphics (same ski with your choice of graphics from their list of available graphics), or fully custom (graphics of your own design, or their design from your vision), both for a minimal extra fee.

For a peek at them (although the picture doesn't do the see-through top sheet any amount of justice), and all the relevant stats, see the link below:
https://www.skishaggys.com/collections/2017-2018-skis/products/2018-bootjack-115

These get my unequivocal