The recent Mother's Day get together at A-Basin was a fantastic opportunity to try skis in bad snow conditions. The Ministry of Bad Ideas was in full operation -- over the course of the week, we skied sticky mashed potatoes, frozen coral reef, lumpy thawed reef, and even hollow snow that had melted out from below. The one category missing was "Eastern firm". Of course, we also skied some nice bumps and good corn, but where's the fun in that?
Phil did an uncanny job of picking out skis for me to try. For comparison, I had two pairs of my own skis -- my trusty Atomic Automatic 109 (189 long) and the Stockli Laser AX (183 length) that I bought nearly-new this year on a whim.
For context, I am 5’10”, 205 pounds, 61 years old. I ski 20 to 35 days a year, usually till last chair. I’ve been skiing for 43 years, but only the last 12 are since I realized I was doing it wrong. I generally prefer skis with camber that are long and fairly soft, but sometimes explore options that don’t fit my pattern.
Stöckli Laser AX (183)
The different lengths of this ski behave like completely different skis. The longest length is a beast. It skis longer than it is. I've come to like it on hardpack and big swoopy moguls, but it is not friendly in heavy snow. "Slalom Slope" (there's a misnomer...) at A-Basin is steep with deep moguls that had a firm foundation and a frosting of mank. I knew they would be horrid in there, but I wanted to find out just how bad it would be. It was bad; had to muscle them around most of the way down.
Renoun Z-90 (180)
I really wanted to like this ski. Several skiers I respect own it and love it. I've tried it before but figured maybe it was the wrong length or I was demoed-out by the time I got to it. This ski has a distinctive feel that is hard to put into words. There wasn't anything specifically "wrong" with it, but I just couldn't feel the love.
Renoun Endurance 98 (178)
This is a Renoun I could own. It is a competent all-mountain ski, that does everything well, and some things really well. Unlike the Z-90, I was content to ski it all day. But for a premium priced ski, I want to fall in love, and I just didn’t.
DPS Cassiar Foundation 94 (185)
I skied several different DPS in Utah, including narrower Cassiar models in both Foundation and Alchemist constructions. I liked this ski a lot, but it suffered in comparison to other DPS models that I liked even more. If I were to buy one DPS ski, it would probably be the Wailer 99 in Foundation construction.
Atomic Vantage 97 Ti (180)
This is a stiffer ski than I usually ski. At first, I felt that I was being thrown around in uneven snow. But the more I skied this ski, the more I liked it, even in the conditions that gave me trouble at first. (My theory is that “passive” absorption with loose knees isn’t really all that passive, so a stiffer ski requires subtle timing changes.) This ski ate up all the weird snow we challenged it with. I liked the energy it gave back when I pushed it into tight turns. My second favorite ski of the week.
Nordica Navigator 85 (186)
This ski was a surprise. It was totally off my radar, and I only tried it because Phil asked me to. It is not a “prestige” ski -- you can get them new for what I think of as a used price. (Check out Ski Essentials, for example, for a current deal.) The Nordica website positions them as a middle-of-the-road ski.
But I love, love, love this thing! I even snagged them for a second day. The Navigator handled all the bad or strange snow we threw at it with aplomb. This ski will quote Doug Coombs to you: “oh, was I supposed to make it look hard?” They danced through the deep, steep, mank-frosted bumps on the absurdly named “Slalom Slope”. But this playfulness did not hurt their stability at speed on coral reef. No problems. These skis did what they needed to do with very little thought or effort from me. I’m guessing they would even handle “Eastern firm” groomers. I see owning this ski in my future.
Phil did an uncanny job of picking out skis for me to try. For comparison, I had two pairs of my own skis -- my trusty Atomic Automatic 109 (189 long) and the Stockli Laser AX (183 length) that I bought nearly-new this year on a whim.
For context, I am 5’10”, 205 pounds, 61 years old. I ski 20 to 35 days a year, usually till last chair. I’ve been skiing for 43 years, but only the last 12 are since I realized I was doing it wrong. I generally prefer skis with camber that are long and fairly soft, but sometimes explore options that don’t fit my pattern.
Stöckli Laser AX (183)
The different lengths of this ski behave like completely different skis. The longest length is a beast. It skis longer than it is. I've come to like it on hardpack and big swoopy moguls, but it is not friendly in heavy snow. "Slalom Slope" (there's a misnomer...) at A-Basin is steep with deep moguls that had a firm foundation and a frosting of mank. I knew they would be horrid in there, but I wanted to find out just how bad it would be. It was bad; had to muscle them around most of the way down.
- Who is it for? Strong skiers who are willing to work the ski or stick to appropriate conditions.
- Who is it not for? Anybody looking for a a relaxing ride.
- Insider tip: Are you sure you want this length?
Renoun Z-90 (180)
I really wanted to like this ski. Several skiers I respect own it and love it. I've tried it before but figured maybe it was the wrong length or I was demoed-out by the time I got to it. This ski has a distinctive feel that is hard to put into words. There wasn't anything specifically "wrong" with it, but I just couldn't feel the love.
- Who is it for? About half the world
- Who is it not for? The other half
- Insider tip: Give it a spin -- you might be in the first half.
Renoun Endurance 98 (178)
This is a Renoun I could own. It is a competent all-mountain ski, that does everything well, and some things really well. Unlike the Z-90, I was content to ski it all day. But for a premium priced ski, I want to fall in love, and I just didn’t.
- Who is it for? Skiers who want a Renoun that isn’t as quirky as the Z-90.
- Who is it not for? The price sensitive.
DPS Cassiar Foundation 94 (185)
I skied several different DPS in Utah, including narrower Cassiar models in both Foundation and Alchemist constructions. I liked this ski a lot, but it suffered in comparison to other DPS models that I liked even more. If I were to buy one DPS ski, it would probably be the Wailer 99 in Foundation construction.
Atomic Vantage 97 Ti (180)
This is a stiffer ski than I usually ski. At first, I felt that I was being thrown around in uneven snow. But the more I skied this ski, the more I liked it, even in the conditions that gave me trouble at first. (My theory is that “passive” absorption with loose knees isn’t really all that passive, so a stiffer ski requires subtle timing changes.) This ski ate up all the weird snow we challenged it with. I liked the energy it gave back when I pushed it into tight turns. My second favorite ski of the week.
- Who is it for? Strong skiers looking for a strong and precise ski.
- Who is it not for? People who don’t want to pay attention.
Nordica Navigator 85 (186)
This ski was a surprise. It was totally off my radar, and I only tried it because Phil asked me to. It is not a “prestige” ski -- you can get them new for what I think of as a used price. (Check out Ski Essentials, for example, for a current deal.) The Nordica website positions them as a middle-of-the-road ski.
But I love, love, love this thing! I even snagged them for a second day. The Navigator handled all the bad or strange snow we threw at it with aplomb. This ski will quote Doug Coombs to you: “oh, was I supposed to make it look hard?” They danced through the deep, steep, mank-frosted bumps on the absurdly named “Slalom Slope”. But this playfulness did not hurt their stability at speed on coral reef. No problems. These skis did what they needed to do with very little thought or effort from me. I’m guessing they would even handle “Eastern firm” groomers. I see owning this ski in my future.
- Who is it for? Any competent skier, intermediate through true expert.
- Who is it not for? People who want some drama from their skis.
- Insider tip: Forget you have skis on your feet. Go explore!
