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Captain Furious

A ticking time bomb of fury
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Gang,

I can find plenty of reviews of Origins in 96 and above but nothing on the 90. I guess it's new. Looking at buying a pair at my local shop but am hesitant to do so without feedback. Thanks.

Bill
 

Eric Edelstein

ExoticSkis
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I made a few laps on the whole Origin lineup last February at the Stratton trade show....the 90 is a scaled-down, grippier and more carvy version of the 96. Liberty brought the progressive sizing of the Origin line through a nice continuum, going from more camber-effected, less-rockered feel in the narrow waist sizes up through the most surfy and loose feel of the 116mm version. The wider you go, the more surfy the ride. Each has a nice difference from its siblings. The Origin 90 does not have the grip and solidity of the Variant models, but is more all-mountain with a bias toward 3D snow than the Variants. The Origin 90 would be a really friendly ride for most frontside, resort-lift terrain where people don't want 95+ underfoot. I would have no problem using the Origin 90 as a daily resort driver out west...possibly in the East with a tight tune job...but If I had my preference at this size for the East, it would be the Variant 87. The Origin 90 gives a quicker edge-to-edge response than its 86mm sibling, but looses the fun, surfy and easy-handling of the 96 in chopped-up, skied-out fresh snow. The Origin 90 has a really nice grip on groomers when placed into high-angle situations, and has a nice turn shape...less demanding than the Variant 87 (but less impressive), and skis a bit longer feeling than the 96 due to the higher degree of rocker-feel in the 96 on-edge. If you spend more time on groomers than fresh snow and want the easy-handling Origin feel rather than the spunkier, stronger Variant series, the Origin 90 works nicely. I really liked the few laps I had on the entire Origin lineup. Very nice range of sweet-spot performances in each width...so you can dial-in your level of surfyness with widths... That's my 2 cents...
 

ski otter 2

Making fresh tracks
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Wow, great review!

I haven't been on this ski. My one bit of feedback here was that I asked a nice, older, long time ski shop manager at Larson's Ski in Denver what his favorite ski from recent demos was, and he walked over to the Origin 90.
 

Miller

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It seems that there are not a lot of people who have skied the Origin 90. On paper it seems like a great ski for a good east coast skier. I am debating between it, the Brahma CA, and the Origin 96.
 

Freddo Bumps

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It seems that there are not a lot of people who have skied the Origin 90. On paper it seems like a great ski for a good east coast skier. I am debating between it, the Brahma CA, and the Origin 96.
Did you make any decisions?
 

ski otter 2

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Two more bits of feedback on the Origin 90, acquired since:

1. I found the Larson's manager liked the way the Origin 90 handles a laid back, smooth bumps style for a normal guy who loves bumps (not a bump zipper-ripper).
Another guy in the ski biz confirmed this, saying that relative to other Liberties, the 90 was a great bump ski (narrow enough, just playful enough).

2. Today I rode the lift with a guy on the Origin 90 who said he was too injured to ski bumps as much as he once did, and the Origin was also good at laid back carving, and all mountain.
 

Miller

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Did you make any decisions?
I ended up getting the 96 and I hated it. The ski would hook up when I didn't wanto, but then didn't grip like I expected when needed. I re-tuned the ski, but it different make a difference. I couldn't trust the skis, so I ended up exchanging them for a pair of Blizzard Brahma CA. All that being said, I still want to try the 90. I also think that maybe the 96 that I got was fluke. Too many people have had good experiences on the 96.
 

ski otter 2

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Early on, I was told that Liberty had production problems with consistency. The pair of Liberty Double Helixes I got from four or so years ago was literally too warped for me to really know what the Double Helix was supposed to be like, no matter how I tuned or base-flattened it.

But I was also told they had probably solved such problems.
 

Ron

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Just saw this..... I demoed the 90 at SIA on firm groomers at Copper. I really liked this ski a lot. I felt it skied short for a 179 but the ski had a nice solid and stable feel underfoot and was a lot of fun. its less serious and forgiving but in a good way. I liked its energy and pop. I agree its soft snow centric but I could see owning this ski for all mountain use in the west and I am betting it would be a good tree and bump ski.
 

ScottB

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I ended up getting the 96 and I hated it. The ski would hook up when I didn't wanto, but then didn't grip like I expected when needed. I re-tuned the ski, but it different make a difference. I couldn't trust the skis, so I ended up exchanging them for a pair of Blizzard Brahma CA. All that being said, I still want to try the 90. I also think that maybe the 96 that I got was fluke. Too many people have had good experiences on the 96.

Sorry to hear you didn't like the the Origin 96. It has become my favorite ski in my 7 ski quiver. I guess I care so much about people having good experiences on the ski because I recommended them to all my ski buddies and we have about 7 pairs between us all. I also paid to demo two pairs one day, which is rare for me. (If its free, its for me).

Anyway, you have returned the skis, but for anyone else interested in them, they are very tune sensitive. They are very hooky unless you dull the tips and tails back to the contact point. I don't treat them like a park ski's (I never go in the park) edges (dull the sh*t out of them) I just take a hard stone and run it over the tips and tails at a 45 deg angle. This takes all the hook out of them and really improves the pivotability of the ski. There is so much rocker, the tips and tails flex some and hook up weird. I also make sure the rest of the ski has a race tune (0.5 deg bottom / 3.0 deg side) that is very very sharp. The effective edge is relatively short, so you need them sharp to get great overall grip.

By doing this I get a ski that feels like two skis in one. Bases flat they are light and pivot easily (my go to tree ski now). Float is great in fresh snow, any depth. Put them on edge, though, and the stiff middle of the ski and sharp edges hook up and hold tenaciously. Not the equal to a race ski, but a similar feel of stiffness and grip. You need to be able to make this skis do what you want, if you are learning, these skis may be unpredictable for you. My friend has a 1deg/2deg tune on his skis and they don't grip nearly as well and feel a lot more surfy and playful. Again, very tune sensitive ski, so tune for the performance you like, and detune the tips and tail.
 

ksampson3

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Based on all of the reviews that I've been reading, I just bought a pair of new 90s and a pair of new 96s. Granted, they are 17/18 models, but for $800 total (with Tyrolia Attack bindings) I couldn't pass up the deal. Looks like I'm done shopping for my17 year old's Xmas present.
 

Dwight

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I have had a pair of the Origin 90 in the quiver for while. Son purchased them for tele skis. Didn't like it for that so I mounted Attacks on the center point. I did not like that feel so remounted on the traditional line. Skied them for the first time today and I think they will be the new everyday patrol ski for me this year. Hopefully in the near future some fresh powder can be used to test them.

New resident Liberty and Renoun fan boy. :)
 

Ron

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and don't forget I have a minty pair of Evol90 with attacks for sale right now. And, always mount liberty's on the suggested point.
 
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