2017 MIDWEST TEST
FEST
THE 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.
Fischer
The Curv GT, 175 cm (112-80-112, 16.0m)
KS: Woo Hoo!! This is supposedly the closest
replacement for my beloved Hybrid 8.0, and boy are they a hoot! At 80 underfoot, it should be fairly
competent in cruddy snow and minimal slush and powder, but that’s not where
this ski is gonna shine. It can be blended
into short turns, but it really, really wants to do screaming medium and long
radius turns at eye watering speeds. It
rewards good technical skills, but won’t completely spank you for the
occasional stance or balance error. This
is a ripping race ski with a soft and cuddly side.
Head
Monster 83, 177 cm (125-83-110, 18.0m)
CS: Head has reworked the Monster series, making
it a bit softer and more accessible to a wider range of skiers. The changes work well, as this version is
playful and fun, making it a fantastic front side ski with off piste capability
for strong, speedy skiers.
Salomon
XDR 84 Ti, 177 cm (131-84-114, 15.0m)
CS: Short turns are not this ski’s forte, and it
lost some grit on the steeps, but it’s a speed racer with plenty of rebound and
stability
Volkl
Kanjo, 175 and 182 cm (123-84-104, 19.6 and 21.6m)
KS (182): All new for 2018, this is the unisex version
of the women’s Yumi. When I demoed the
Yumi 2 years ago, I found that my I overpowered it and found its speed limit
pretty quickly. Unlike the Yumi,
however, the titanal stringer down the center of the Kanjo means it stands up
to stronger/heavier skiers and higher speeds. It still has most of the grip and
grit of the Kendo/Kenja, but it has a gentler side lacking in the upper level
skis. That said, though, it’s still a
pretty burly ski and definitely has that Volkl feel. Obviously, with a 21.6 meter turn radius,
carved short turns are not really its forte.
CS (175): This one was a letdown for me. It just didn’t
have that rippin Volkl feel, and I found it lacking in forgiveness and rebound.
Note: KS and CS’s
opposing feelings on this ski makes me think that length may be an issue, and
it suggests that sizing up may be the ticket for the strongest of skiers.
Volkl
RTM 84, 177 cm (131-84-112, 17.9m)
KS: I didn’t demo the 84 this year as I loved it
so much 2 years ago it's now my personal daily driver. I don't believe there have been any changes to
it in the interim. This ski is my happy
place on groomers!!
CS: Wow!
What a great groomer ski!! This
is a short turn mad man, and it had all the oomph that I felt was missing in
the wider and softer 86. Skilled carvers
who love speed will really like this ski on the front side of the mountain.
Fischer
Ranger 85, 166 cm (?-85-?, ?)
KS: The Ranger 85 was fun and steady in all turn
types and sizes! The 166 cm length was
noticeably too short for me, but it still gave me grins in small and medium
turns. Those skiers just beginning to
make the jump from skidded to carved turns would do well on this one as it was
equally competent on edge or flat and it never got twitchy or grumpy at any
speed.
K2
iKonic 85, 177 cm (126-85-114, 17.0m)
CS: I was told this one would be the fastest ski
of the day. Nice try, but no. It was best in long and medium turns, but it
lacked a tiny bit of grip.
JG: The iKonic wasn’t great in short turns, but
it was otherwise very dependable.
Volkl
RTM 86, 182 cm (132-86-114, 19.3m)
CS: The 86 is the fattest in Volkl’s RTM series,
and it’s designed for high speed carving all over the mountain. The 86 width and tip rocker gives it some
amount of crud and light powder performance, but it was most at home on
groomers at high speeds. Like many of
Volkl’s high-end skis, it lacks forgiveness for skier error and short turns at
slow speeds. The 86 is a nice ski, but I
was really hoping for more and it just wasn’t there.
Line
Sick Day 88, 172 cm (127-88-113, ?m)
NW: This one was too long for me, and I found it
super squirrelly. I couldn’t get off it
fast enough.
Rossignol
Experience 88, 182 cm (135-88-124, 17.0m)
KS: The 88 is super damp and forgiving! Carved short turns took some work, but medium
and long turns of any style and at any speed were a breeze. It crept down the steeps with skidded short
turns and flew trough blue screamers with equal ease and competence. Cruddy piles over scratchy hard pack was
handled so smoothly I didn’t even notice the change in texture. Damp, smooth, and stable are the key words
for this one.
Fischer
Ranger 90, 182 cm (122-90-111, 18.0m)
CS: The Ranger 90 was a damp, forgiving, capable
all mountain ski, equally at home in short and long turns. This one was more fun than I was expecting.
Volkl
Kendo, 177 cm (127-90-110, 20.8m)
CS: Anyone who has skied and loved the Mantra,
and is looking for a little narrower, more carving oriented version – this is
its little brother, and it will give you everything you’re looking for! Just like the Kenja above, the Kendo got top
marks across the board for strong skiers.
Nordica
Enforcer 93, 170 cm (?-93-?, ?)
KS: The Enforcer has 2 sheets of metal and a
solid wood core making it a powerful and versatile ski for most
conditions. It is fairly damp and prefers
to be driven with authority in medium and long turns at moderate to high
speeds. It had the power to easily whip
through the afternoon crud piles.
Lighter skiers or women looking for a more forgiving version should try
the Santa Ana 93, which has only one sheet of metal and a core with balsam
stingers for a softer, lighter ski.
Atomic
Vantage 95, 178 cm (133-95-115.5, 16.8m)
CS: This ski is really speedy!! It rocked medium
and long turns at high speeds, and had plenty of grip and forgiveness.
Fischer
Pro Mtn 95, 178 cm (137-95-122, 18.0m)
CS: This one came out of nowhere, leaving me with
a big grin, and earning the gold star of the day for me! It excelled at all turn types at all speeds –
it’s the whole package!!!
Dynastar
Legend 96, 178 cm (?-96-?, ?)
KS: The Legend series is back for 2018, and the
96 looks to be just the ticket for lighter or more relaxed skiers. It’s super light and responsive with very little
rebound, but it suffered a bit when pushed hard. For my weight, it felt very ripply underfoot
and the tips flapped constantly, although they never made the ski bounce out of
the turn.
CS: So smooth!!!
This one gets high marks all the way around. Wow.
Icelantic
Pioneer 96, 172 cm (131-96-118, 17.0m)
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 medium radius turns. In
all, it was a very scary ride!!
Elan
Ripstick 96, 181 cm (134-96-113, 18.0m)
KS: I skied this one earlier in the year while it
was still a prototype and was completely impressed with its light weight,
snappy rebound, and solid grip. It had
all the crud busting and back side capability of the Ripstick 106, while adding
the grip and stability of the Amphibio 88.
CS: You can ski anywhere with this ski and have
fun! It wasn’t fantastic in short turns,
but ripped larger turns at really high speeds.
It lacks a bit of forgiveness and grip on the steeps.
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.
Blizzard
Bonafide, 173 and 180 cm (133-98-119, 6.5m)
KS
(173): Holy WOW!! Scratchy hard pack, piles of slushy crud,
knee-deep powder, slow skidders, and high speed arcs were all handled with
equal aplomb! If I was looking for a
one-ski-quiver for the Midwest, this would be the one! Loved. This. Ski.!!
CS
(180): So. Much. Fun.!! This could be the only ski you need! This one was a real eye opener for me! Top marks across the board, with just a tiny
ding for forgiveness and short turns.
WOW!!
This was the heavy
weight, hard charging skiers’ test fest winner, for both the finesse skier and
the power skier. We liked it enough to
take it for some extended exploration around the mountain in all kinds of
conditions. Oddly enough, our scorecards
were almost identical, with the finesse skier giving a slight edge in short
turns on the 173 length.
Salomon
QST 99, 181 cm (138-99-120, 19.0m)
CS: The QST is calm and predictable, best for
skiers who prefer to not really drive their skis. As a power skier, I found it be missing
something.
For the last 2 years I've been using a set of RBX earbuds that hook around the top of and behind the ears and are connected with a neck band, but I'm so tired of getting tangled up in the cord and having them pulled out of my ears, or trying to keep the headphone plug fully in the phone jack and not shorting out. Plus, if I need to wear a hat or headband, the behind-the-ear loops dig into the back of my ear and rub them raw and cause pain. Argh!!!!
Then, last week, I found a set of the GabbaGoods SecureBuds Bluetooth Earbuds at TJ Maxx for, get this, $12!!!! I checked them out in the store and found the ear hooks go inside the ears and they're a super soft rubber. A quick in-store try-on suggested that they would likely stay in my ears, and the controls seemed to be simple enough I could use them while actually running, so, at that price, how could they NOT go home with me????
Included in the box were the earbuds, a mini/USB charging cord, and a single page of directions (although I didn't find it until the following day, and I ended up not needing the directions at all). I put the buds on the charger and about 2 hrs later, I grabbed my iPhone 6S and the earbuds, and attempted to pair them up. Holding the controller's middle button turned the buds on and a blue light started blinking. I opened up the Bluetooth settings on the phone and there they were, GG-BSB, ready and waiting. With the earbuds in, I heard "Power on", and then "The Bluetooth device is connected successfully". Wow, that was easy!!!
Tonight, I actually tried them for the first time and couldn't be happier! The controls include a volume up button, a power on/off/phone answer button, and a volume down button and using them was pretty intuitive right from the get-go. Music quality is about what you'd expect from mid-quality ear buds, with deeper bass and cleaner sound than I expected for a mere $12. I used them for about 2 1/2 hours while tuning skis and had no issues with pain from the ear hooks or with the connector cable getting tangled up in things. I even answered and ended a phone call with them quickly and easily. Despite having the TV on in the background (which I couldn't hear at all with them in and the music playing), hubby said the sound quality on his end of the phone call was comparable to just being on the phone normally. Wandering around with them showed I could go about 12 feet from my phone before the sound started to break up and crackle, and about 15 feet before it cut out all together. Admittedly, the phone was inside the tuning shop, and I was outside, so I'll be curious to see what happens with distance given a direct line of sight.