2018 Midwest Test Fest - Intros and Overview

2018 Midwest Test Fest

Test Central

Meet The Test Team:

KS:  52 year old heavyweight female with a love of speed, junky snow, and tough conditions.  Previous PSIA L2 certified instructor and twice-a-week gold/platinum league/NASTAR racer.  Technically proficient in most conditions, skis with finesse backed by speed and prefers to dance with the mountain.  Current daily drivers – Volkl RTM 84 177 (UVO version), Hart Lady Twin 176, Volkl Kiku 178 (full rocker version), and Volkl Shiro 184.

CS:  56 year old heavyweight male with more balls than technique.  Generally fearless and skis with speed and power; likes to use the whole ski, powering up the tail to rocket out of the turn and prefers to blast through the cruddy stuff.  Current daily drivers – Volkl Grizzly 177, Volkl Mantra 177 (tip rocker version), Volkl Gotama 176 (camber and rocker versions), and Volkl Katana 184.


NW:  70+ year old midweight female with solid intermediate to advanced skills, but skis cautiously in cruddy conditions and on steeper terrain.  Current skis – Volkl P60 World Cup SL Jr 150, Volkl RTM84 166 (full rocker version), Volkl Aura 163 (full camber version), and Volkl Shiro Jr 163.




JE:  70+ lightweight female most comfortable making very short turns on easy terrain with short skis.  Current skis – Volkl P60 World Cup SL Jr 150 and Dynastar Intense 10 153.

TR:   Diminutive 30-something ex-racer female who grew up on skis and now carves high speed short turns with power and grace all over the mountain. Current skis - Atomic Metron.

Test Conditions:

Day 1 - Teens to low 20s but cloudy and windy, perfect groomers becoming a bit chunky at the top.
Day 2 - Low 30s warming to mid 40s with beautiful sunshine and howling winds, crusty groomers changing to thick and creamy slush.
Day3 -  Consistently in the 30s and partly cloudy, crunchy groomers turning to deep sugar over hardpack.

Test Notes:

Testing is Seriously Hard Work!

2019 is going to be a stellar year to try some skis from the lesser-known brands! I spent much of my time on these indie-type skis and was beyond impressed by most of them. If you're curious, or happen on a demo day, don't hesitate to jump on a pair!

Volkl has hit it out of the park with the new M5 Mantra, and the Deacon series, and I can guarantee you the Secret won't live up to its name for long!

No, Really, It Is! Homework During Lunch.

Salomon was a total surprise for me this year, as I typically don't like their feel. They're still not really my cup of tea, but they will make lots of people very happy with their models for 2019.

There were 2 skis that really stood out for the stronger women on the test team, and the fact that we all loved them, even with our vastly different skiing styles and speeds, speaks to their quality and versatility.

Play Time on Superbowl

Those 2 skis are the incredibly capable carver, the Atomic Cloud 12 and the the fully redesigned replacement for the venerable Volkl Aura, the Secret.

In addition, the strongest skiers of our group enthused about all the Icelantic skis we got on, although 2 of the women felt that the binding mount point was too far back for them.

The "token" male tester fell head-over-heels for the Volkl V-Werks Mantra, the Icelantic Natural 101 and Pioneer 96, and the Blizzard Brahma and Bonafide.

Just like last year, we did have one rep show up with badly tuned skis (different manufacturer, though). This was unfortunate because I was anxious to get everyone on these skis since I loved them so much last year.

I have a total of 95 ski score cards to sort, tabulate, and put into words, so stay tuned for full reviews in the carving, all mountain, and fat ski categories!