Individual Review 2019 Renoun Endurance 98 V3.0

[Brian Finch]

Welcome Alex (@2Balls), I haven't mounted up a 191 yet..I haven't even seen one...let me look at what I have here and do some quick calculations. I will get back to you a little later.

 

[2Balls]

Thanks so much Philpug.

 

[Brian Finch]

Officially “watching” thread as my 98’s @ line & 104’s @ minus 1 both need remounts & I’m downsizing boots next season & 191 Citadels are coming in ~6 weeks!!!!

 

[SlideWright]

Mine arrived last week week and they seem to vibrate against the wall in anticipation of bindings and and lots of vertical this winter as my daily driver when not carving on the Z90's.

 

[Guy in Shorts]

Mine arrived last week week and they seem to vibrate against the wall in anticipation of bindings and and lots of vertical this winter as my daily driver when not carving on the Z90's.

Vibration is rarely used to describe Renouns.

 

[Wendy]

I've noticed on some of the wider, more "all-mountain" oriented skis I've been on that they prefer to be skied more neutral. As a narrow ski guy getting used to the more modern shapes and widths I tend to try and drive the tips. That's not always what the ski is looking for. I really noticed this on some of the DPS offerings in the Cassiar Alchemist/Foundation line. Totally different ski when skied neutral or even a little tail weighted. When your knee is better give it a try.

Just read this....many months later (lol) and you spot-on described how the DPS Alchemist Wailer 99 skis. Ski it from the boot center...do not drive the tips!

 

[TeamWeasel]

Is anyone using these regularly in the BC? I'm looking closely at the Endurance as a backcountry daily driver.

 

[Philpug]

Is anyone using these regularly in the BC? I'm looking closely at the Endurance as a backcountry daily driver.

I don't thin they will be bad...not the lightest but by far not the heaviest either. I would lean to the Citadel for a BC ski though....because of the weight.

 

[Ron]

I had the pleasure of skiing the Renoun 3.0 over 2 days on soft groomers to boot deep. If anyone recalls, I lauded the V2.5 for its off-piste chops and felt in those conditions is was better than the Nordi Enforcer 100. My issue was the same; its on-piste performance was lacking. I am very happy to say that @Cyrus has remedied the on-piste issue and the V3.0 is probably the ski he envisioned, The ski engages well now and the changes to the tail are welcomed. In addition to the vastly improved groomed performance, I prefer this new shape on steeper headwalls too. Like the V2.5, I love this ski in the bumps. The HDT really shine here, absorbing in the troughs and the tip still has enough rise that it doesn't spear in deeper snow. Like Phil, I would have much preferred the 184 but the 178 worked ok. I would put the V3.0 in its own class; somewhere between a charger and more playful skis. It is still more on the firmer side but can be skied traditionally or more loose and drifty making this a ski in 184 that I could own. BTW, I agree with Phils -2 mount point. this felt just about perfect.

To answer @TeamWeasel I would think this new version would make for a great BC setup. its so light, if you put a set of Shifts on the V3.0, it would be pretty ideal. You would have a ski that could handle any condition.

 

[USCskibum]

We are currently down here at Mammoth and spending even more time on the new V3.0 and using my "Steadfast Rule", there is no other ski I would rather have been on in the Mammoth wind buffed chalk. If you have ever skied Mammoth, you know how the conditions can change from the top to the bottom, not so much in they type of snow but from the wind buff chalk at the top to the groomers at the bottom and the soft bumps inbetween. I am fortunate enough to ski this mountain for a few days every season when we come down here for our WWSRA on snow tests so I am testing dozens of skis here in these condtions and I know what skis are best suited for this mountain. While there are many skis that would have been fine, the V3.0 just excelled...something that I just would not have said about the V2.0. Where I felt the V3.0 was better, was in the turn initiation and control, there was just more confidence in the steeps like Wipeout Chutes where the tip would start the turn with authority but it was the tail that followed through creating conficence that I never felt the 2.0 had...that 6mm addition with in the tail is significant.

“There is no other ski I would rather have been on...” can you elaborate or provide a compare to any other skis with similar specs (i.e. Enforcer, Bonafide, Mantra, or others).

Really curious how the weight difference affects dampness and stability.

 

[Philpug]

“There is no other ski I would rather have been on...” can you elaborate or provide a compare to any other skis with similar specs (i.e. Enforcer, Bonafide, Mantra, or others).

Really curious how the weight difference affects dampness and stability.

The HDT dampening works. We ahd an interesting conversation with another manufacturer at one of the recent ski tests that could not speak well enough about the HDT. As far as the weight..it is neither heaviest nor the lightest in the class. As compared to the other 95-99mm skis...take the best attributes of them and put them together because you are getting a level of refinement that they just do not offer.

 

[USCskibum]

The HDT dampening works. We ahd an interesting conversation with another manufacturer at one of the recent ski tests that could not speak well enough about the HDT. As far as the weight..it is neither heaviest nor the lightest in the class. As compared to the other 95-99mm skis...take the best attributes of them and put them together because you are getting a level of refinement that they just do not offer.

Would you say the “level of refinement” is better than say an Enforcer 100? Still new to where I need to ask a lot of questions, sorry. Based upon all me recent readings/findings everything seems to point towards a heavier ski (+2,000g range) for taller, bigger, heavier skiers such as myself. Would you call the Endurance 98 a daily-driver or more of filling a speciality niche?

 

[Ron]

Would you say the “level of refinement” is better than say an Enforcer 100? Still new to where I need to ask a lot of questions, sorry. Based upon all me recent readings/findings everything seems to point towards a heavier ski (+2,000g range) for taller, bigger, heavier skiers such as myself. Would you call the Endurance 98 a daily-driver or more of filling a speciality niche?

1- refinement- yes, clearly
2- with the 3.0, yes. I could easily use this as a DD, As far as your size, personally I'm wary to definitively say yes or no. I know of some your size who would be happy an others not to much. this comes down to how aggressive you ski and where IMHO. I would give @Cyrus Schenck a call and discuss. his guarantee is legit and he wants all of his customers to be 100% happy.

 

[David Chaus]

Would you call the Endurance 98 a daily-driver or more of filling a speciality niche?

I think it’s a daily driver, even a one-ski quiver, for people that like to go off-piste at least 50/50. I can’t think of any way in which it’s a specialty niche ski, unlike say, a 120+ wide powder ski or a slalom or GS ski, or mogul competition ski.

 

[SlideWright]

I REALLY enjoy my Endurances as a capable and playful ski from firm groomers, chalky to soft bumps, crud and up to 12" of light snow. I did find that when the snow was dense, the tips dove and I really had to be paying attention. Maybe a back from the suggested mark would help. Regardless, as a BC ski they'd be capable and ski way better than a lot of skis, except denser snows.

I'm thinking the corn harvest this year is going to be a blast on the Endurances

 

[Ron]

I found what Phil recommended -2cm was perfect.

 

[firebanex]

I recently bought a pair of the white V3 Endurance 98s, 184cm and mounted a pair of Shifts to them to use as a 50/50 type ski as well as a daily driver "working" ski for patrolling. Now my season is drawing to a close and I got to ski them on the final two days my local mountain was open this year, we had a low snow year (70" total) and the temps have been in the 40s for well over a week.. the snow is going away fast. So I got to ski them on refrozen hardpack, death cookies, death marbles, ice, groomed soft snow, slush, and a very small amount of 4" deep 3 week old powder; I am impressed with them. Now keeping in mind that I am skiing these with a pair of Salomon MTN lab boots and I felt that the conditions are keeping me from a comprehensive idea of their performance. As I received them on a Friday night and was skiing the next morning, I did not touch the edges out of the wrapper but the bases looked super dry so I tossed a quick couple layers of the Swix cold universal wax on them (totally not the right wax, but I got 8kg of it left). By the way, Renoun let me know that they come with a 1/1 edge out of the wrapper and that they recommend a 1/2 edge. In the same email with Renoun, they confirmed that the mount point had been moved back a bit and so I mounted them on the line which is 85cm from the tail on the 184 ski.

As others have described, these skis are smooth. With the exception of the ice and a slight lack of grip that I attribute to the 1/1 edge, their performance was universally smooth, agile, accessible, and confident. I just can't say enough about how well these skis worked for me this weekend, the HDT worked for me in a fairly subtle way, at no point did I feel like the skis were going to get away from me. A fellow patroller noticed that they skied softly and fun, but were stable and strong. My Dad said "why aren't your skis chattering like mine?" They really are everything that Renoun claims them to be. These skis and I got along with each other from about the 3rd turn onward. At slow speeds they played around with my short radius turns with quick edge to edge performance and almost a too light of feel when I flicked the skis around. I am by no means accomplished in the air but I was able to throw some pretty sweet shiftys and I could barely feel the weight of the skis in the air. At no time did I feel like the mount left too much tip or tail, it simply felt perfect, I have picked up a more neutral stance in the last year but I still could drive the tips when I wanted too. While I was not able to ski a full range of conditions, I tentatively would say these skis will handle everything but potentially powder pretty fantastically.

If I was to apply the pugski rating system for my opinion of these skis..

Who is it for? Someone who desires a ski the punches way above it's weight that has a refinement and smooth pose for the entire mountain and the wallet can handle the price tag.
Who is it not for? I feel this is a really accessible ski and just about anyone looking for a 100ish waist ski will like the Endurance 98. But if it does not fit the budget, an Enforcer/Santa Ana 100 or Ranger 102fr will get you very close for overall performance.
Insider tip: Mount point is dialed in now, stick it on the line and ski. Also put a more aggressive edge angle tune on them.

I don't know about uphill performance yet but I did just trim down a set of skins for them and should be able to hit up at least one more outing on them, I expect that their performance should be great.

 

[SlideWright]

I found what Phil recommended -2cm was perfect.

Hi Ron (or Phil),
Are you on 178's? I measure 80.9cm to the line and was wondering you could give me a measurement to your -2cm mark? I'm seeing a discrepancy from my measurement and what Cyrus told me (82.2cm to the line). I'm thinking of adding inserts to the current location and redrilling further back and not sure on how far.

 

[Ron]

I demoed the 178. @Philpug can verify. FWIW I ended up at -2cm on my v2 98’s

 

[Philpug]

Hi Ron (or Phil),
Are you on 178's? I measure 80.9cm to the line and was wondering you could give me a measurement to your -2cm mark? I'm seeing a discrepancy from my measurement and what Cyrus told me (82.2cm to the line). I'm thinking of adding inserts to the current location and redrilling further back and not sure on how far.

I have the measurements at home. I am currently on the road in Utah and can get you the exact numbers tomorrow.