ski compare and contrast

There is no question that K2 has shifted gears over the past few years with new designers, new skis, and a new attitude. We have also seen a shift at Liberty with brand new collections, including the Evolv 100 featured here. Why did I choose these two to go against each other? First, they are...

Augment All Mountain 88 Dimensions: 126.5-88-112.5 Radius: 21m@179cm Sizes: 163, 171, 179, 187 Size tested: 179 Design: All New Move over, Stöckli -- yep, I said it! The brand formerly known as Croc is now Augment, but its skis are still made in Austria. This a skier's' ski: superb, exacting...

Fischer Ranger 94 FR Dimensions: 126-92-117 Radius: 17m@177cm Sizes: 161, 169, 177, 185 Size tested: 177 Design: All New The Ranger 94 FR was a real surprise for me. I really liked it on the firm groomed snow. It does a lot of things well. It is solid, energetic, and fun, as well as fairly damp...

I've had the chance to A/B these skis in the last week, in Australian early season conditions - mostly man-made snow, firm, fast early morning pistes deteriorating quickly with the dense crowds to choppy slop or push piles on a hard base. The Head Rally's are huge fun and so carvy on the early...

As mentioned previously, after a 30+ year gap, this past ski season I attempted to re-learn how to ski narrower, racing type skis. While I eventually progressed to trying real FIS race skis (Thanks ScotsSkier!), at the start of the season I wasn’t sure if I could handle such beasts, so I picked...

Testing the 2020 skis was particularly exciting for me because some manufacturers are making huge strides in women-specific ski design, strides that are far from the old mantra of "shrink it and pink it." Companies are leaning on female teams who are involved with research and development; no...

It appears that all the insider Pugs have been given the green light by the Powers That Be to let loose with their reviews of 2020 model year skis, so I figured I'd pile on with some quick notes on skis Phil and Tricia were nice enough to lay out in Colorado a few weeks ago. Conditions: I would...

Armada Invictus 99Ti Dimensions: 135-99-125 Radius: 21.5m@187cm Sizes: 171, 179, 187 Size tested: 187 Design: NGT This ski is all business. It's like the Tracer's older brother who got it together right out of high school. It absolutely handled everything like a champ. If I needed a ski that...

DPS Alchemist Wailer 100 RP Dimensions: 134-100-119 Radius: 15m@179cm Sizes: 171, 179, 184, 189 Size tested: 184 Design: All New I am coming around to DPS's lighter Alchemist construction, first the Cassiar 79 Trainer and now the Wailer 100 RP. I really like the all-new Wailer design in the...

Here is the first of many segments of 2020 ski reviews. Dynastar Menace 98 Dimensions: 132-98-120 Radius: 23m@181cm Sizes: 169, 175, 181, 187 Size tested: 181 Design: Mostly New The Menace 98 is in that playful, youth-oriented 98 range at a price point hundreds less than many other options...

Hi guys I'm in the market for my first fat ski and would be keen to hear your views. I’ve short listed the Kore 117 and the Rustler 11 (in 180cm ?) but I’m struggling to make a choice between those 2 skis. Haven’t really found any reviews of those two skis side by side. I’m a reasonably...

Atomic Redster X9 Dimensions: 114-65.5-99.5 Radius: 15.4m@175cm Sizes: 169, 175, 181 Size tested: 175 Design: Carryover Atomic’s cheater GS is very strong, reminiscent of the XT from four or five-ish years ago. Kind of a one-trick pony, it wants to aggressively lay trenches, and that’s about...

Hey everyone, After spending too much time trying to make a decision about these skis, I thought I would ask for a few more inputs... I skied the Faction Dictator 3.0's this last season, and enjoyed them when I was really pushing it, but am looking for something that is a little more playful...

I’m not satisfied with the middle ski in my quiver of three: my Fischer Motive 86’s carve like a scalpel, but are too light for the dense crud we often get in PNW. It was a good day at Crystal Mountain for finding a better crud-buster. All morning we had a lot of challenging crud, but in the...

So in my never ending quest for the "best"(completely subjective to my preferences) tree ski for stowe that can be skied in anything from 2 feet of dry powder, to wind slab, to mank, to tracked up, to wind slab, and be able to shuttle around on at least powder groomers I think I have finally...

Has anyone skied all three years of the Monster 88? Did it really get less stiff / more flexy with each passing year?

Dimensions: 125-88-112 Radius: 14.7m@163cm Sizes: 149, 156, 163, 170 Size tested: 170 Design: All New I am one of the women fortunate enough to get an early look at a K2 Mindbender Alliance ski. First, let's talk about the name "Alliance." The K2 Alliance program was started more than 20 years...

I rented Brahma SP (173) for three days at Park City, Utah over Xmas, felt very comfortable on them. Now that my old ski (2016 Bushwacker) got a giant core shot in one ski, I'm thinking about upgrading. The problem is that I can't find any details on them other than some superficial info about...

After reading everything I could on Stockli Laser AXs from many of the enlightened skiers on these forums, I finally bought them (in 175). I had seriously considered Head Rallys, but when I was offered a decent price on the Lasers, I couldn't pass 'em up. I thought I'd throw in a few brief...

This comparison wasn't on my radar initially, but it was brought up by a few members who were considering both. So, how do these smaller, specialty brands stack up with their offerings of similar dimensions? Well, let's check 'em out. We will start with the golden one, the Stöckli Laser AX...