- Joined
- Mar 7, 2017
- Posts
- 234
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 morning groomers. Instructor turns, tip and rip, they can do it and make me crack a huge smile in the process. The corollary to the big sidecut and wide shovels however is that they don't like to run flat, especially with any depth of loose or soft snow. The easy answer, of course, is to always keep them on edge! Unfortunately this isn't always possible in crowded Australian conditions, where sometimes it's necessary to quickly turn away from a noob wobbling into your path. Making a quick transition in a snowgun pile or soft push pile is a recipe for catching a stray edge and possible crash.
Nonetheless I love the responsiveness of these skis and will ski them when conditions permit. Conditions just need to include very sparse crowds...
The Fischer The Curv GT's, at 80mm underfoot, are wide for a carving ski and have a less aggressive sidecut than the Heads, 49mm tip to underfoot compared to 59mm. They need a little more input than the Heads and don't have quite the same limpet-like edge hold on hardpack. Nonetheless, they are easy to crank over on edge, helped no doubt by the stand height of the included MBS Race Track bindings, and can hold an edge sufficiently well on Aussie hardpack. But what I really love about these skis is the smooth, confidence inspiring ride no matter the conditions underfoot. Transitions in soft snow or push piles are no problem, thanks to the slightly less aggressive sidecut and slight tip taper. And boy, do these skis love to do long, shallow arcs as fast as you dare to go! A couple of times on these I felt like I was floating on air. Easily the most fun I've ever had standing up with clothes on!
I'd been concerned at first that the square, flat tails would lock into turns and be reluctant to break and slide when evasive action was needed, but so far that hasn't been an issue. For me, these seemingly single-focussed carving skis have proven so versatile that my all-mountain skis have stayed in the car.
These skis have a lot of metal in the layup, so may not suit a lighter intermediate skier. But heavily-built intermediates, like me, have no reason to fear these "advanced to expert" rated skis. I think I've just locked in the frontside half of a 2 ski quiver for Australian conditions.
Worth a look for East Coast hardpack or Sierra Cement groomers.
I'm 5'9" (174cm) and 240 lbs. I skied the Head i.Supershape Rally in 170cm, and the Fischer The Curv GT in 175cm.
The Head Rally's are huge fun and so carvy on the early morning groomers. Instructor turns, tip and rip, they can do it and make me crack a huge smile in the process. The corollary to the big sidecut and wide shovels however is that they don't like to run flat, especially with any depth of loose or soft snow. The easy answer, of course, is to always keep them on edge! Unfortunately this isn't always possible in crowded Australian conditions, where sometimes it's necessary to quickly turn away from a noob wobbling into your path. Making a quick transition in a snowgun pile or soft push pile is a recipe for catching a stray edge and possible crash.
Nonetheless I love the responsiveness of these skis and will ski them when conditions permit. Conditions just need to include very sparse crowds...
The Fischer The Curv GT's, at 80mm underfoot, are wide for a carving ski and have a less aggressive sidecut than the Heads, 49mm tip to underfoot compared to 59mm. They need a little more input than the Heads and don't have quite the same limpet-like edge hold on hardpack. Nonetheless, they are easy to crank over on edge, helped no doubt by the stand height of the included MBS Race Track bindings, and can hold an edge sufficiently well on Aussie hardpack. But what I really love about these skis is the smooth, confidence inspiring ride no matter the conditions underfoot. Transitions in soft snow or push piles are no problem, thanks to the slightly less aggressive sidecut and slight tip taper. And boy, do these skis love to do long, shallow arcs as fast as you dare to go! A couple of times on these I felt like I was floating on air. Easily the most fun I've ever had standing up with clothes on!
I'd been concerned at first that the square, flat tails would lock into turns and be reluctant to break and slide when evasive action was needed, but so far that hasn't been an issue. For me, these seemingly single-focussed carving skis have proven so versatile that my all-mountain skis have stayed in the car.
These skis have a lot of metal in the layup, so may not suit a lighter intermediate skier. But heavily-built intermediates, like me, have no reason to fear these "advanced to expert" rated skis. I think I've just locked in the frontside half of a 2 ski quiver for Australian conditions.
Worth a look for East Coast hardpack or Sierra Cement groomers.
I'm 5'9" (174cm) and 240 lbs. I skied the Head i.Supershape Rally in 170cm, and the Fischer The Curv GT in 175cm.