Following my tests of the Augment Masters GS and Non-FIS slalom skis – https://www.pugski.com/threads/augment-masters-skis-gs-world-cup-pro-and-sl-world-cup-pro.14952/ - my appetite was well and truly whetted to try the Augment FIS race skis. Based on the quality and performance of the Non-FIS skis I had high expectations!
So, the day I was leaving for mammoth for the US Masters Nationals I picked up a pair of 165 FIS World Cup slaloms, Flex 2 and a pair of 188/30 FIS W World Cup GS, Flex 5. Both pairs had seen use as long term demos so they also came with a fresh grind, courtesy of @smoothrides, to my spec of 0.5/3, with a “Techwave" pattern. As with the non-FIS skis both these pairs exhibited the same top-class build quality that is the hall-mark of Augment skis –think Stockli/Blossom levels of build plus some – despite having not insignificant miles on them. They were both mounted with the Look R22 plate and Look PX18 rockerflex bindings. So after a few quick passes with a fine steel brush on the new grind and a quick cost of wax they went in the truck (along with the other 10 pairs . BUT, with some major races coming up was this really the time to break them out without any test time???
Tester Stats; 64 y/o, 165#, 5’8”, L200 coach and experienced Masters racer.
Boot: Tecnica WC, Mold #13
Augment GS World Cup FIS W 188/30
98/65/83, r30/188, weight 4000g/pr (ski only), Flex 5 (medium plus), Look R22 plate, Look PX18 Rockerflex bindings.
First examination of the ski showed, apart from the build quality, that these have an unusual design element. The tail of the ski has a distinct taper for ~6 inches from the widest part of the tail. Also, the tail has a little bit of rise on the last 3-4 inches. While all the 188/30 FIS skis have a relatively narrow tail, this is definitely distinctively different from the competition. Hand flexing, they felt like the medium plus as marked.
(A quick aside: for the last several years I have been successfully racing on Blizzard WC for GS, initially 182/25 than 188/30. At the start of this season, based on my very positive experience with the Rossignol FIS SL ski, I switched to the Rossignol 188/30 FIS ski. Unfortunately this year I have found myself struggling to get used to the Rossi and my GS results have been deteriorating badly. Whether it was the skis or the pilot is debatable but my confidence in GS – previously my best event – was seriously damaged and I even pulled out my old Blizzard GS race ski in an attempt to get back to form)
After a morning of DH training I had the chance to take a few free-ski runs on them on (what this season in the West passed for) a decent surface. First impressions: wow, this feels good! Hooks up easily and turns in really well – IMHO even better than the 185/25 Augment Masters ski. Unlike the Atomic G9, which also hooks up really quickly but feels twitchy/nervous in the process the Augment displays a smooth consistent feel through transition into full edge engagement. Lay it over like it is meant to be skied and it holds on like the proverbial excrement on a shovel and accelerates through the turn. Nice! It has that solid (Austrian?) feel I like, like the Blizzard/Nordica GS, and is just planted on the snow, regardless of surface.
So, another couple of runs highlights some other characteristics of the ski. The transition/switch as you exit the old turn into the new one is super smooth and quick. I am pretty sure this is the impact of the tail design, as highlighted earlier, which also supports the ease of the turn-in and engagement of the tip as you roll onto the new edge. Because the tail design supports easy release, the old edge/transition/new edge process becomes a smooth single action rather than being three distinctive elements. Distinctively different from all the competitors and, IMHO, results in the ability to move quickly and seamlessly from turn to turn and apply strong pressure very early at the top of the turn.
This is very positive so far, definitely the best I have felt all year on a GS ski! But one more test in gates required before I can feel confident enough to race on it. On to the GS training course, which is getting well chewed up and see what happens. Feels really good, the easy release, early tip engagement aligns well with my preferred approach of a very quick strong transition to the new turn. In a 26m course, I am able to get early pressure and run a high line without issue. However the – now getting rough – course also highlights something else about the ski, which I have found to be a major characteristic of the brand. The ride and dampening of this ski is superb! I am not getting bounced about nearly as much as I expected. Much more importantly, this dampening is NOT achieved simply through a heavy, less responsive ski. It remains quick and performance driven while also having excellent ride quality and controlled damping. Think Porsche GT3 combination of suspension/performance. OK, more than good enough for me! Six runs total on the ski and I am going to use it for the Masters Nationals GS.
Now, here is where I wish I could provide conclusive proof of the quality of the ski by saying I had an awesome race result! ROFL! Unfortunately as a result of weather delays we ended up running GS on the same day as the SG, and on the same length course. Which gave us a 1’20” GS course from Air Jump to the bottom of Terrys. The ski was great! The pilot….not so much! . I had a reasonable first run but aggravated a hernia injury I have had. So the second run became an endurance test with a few mistakes that moved me down the order in a highly competitive class. But absolutely no complaints about the ski. It continued to perform as before, definitely a top class ski!
I had another opportunity to race on the same ski at our FWM season finals. This time we had a soft surface that bumped up very quickly. But the Augment cut through this without issue, again giving a much smoother ride than could reasonable be expected which, in gates translated into being able to get the pressure – and power – onto the ski much more quickly than would be expected when you are being bumped around. And this time the pilot was able to stay with it successfully!
I have since been able to get several of my Masters athletes on the ski to test it. Most of them are currently on the Atomic G9 either in 188/30 or the very popular 183/25 G9 RS Masters ski. Some immediate feedback –“I hate you coach” (after 3 turns form someone who had just bought 2 pairs of G9s J). “No, you can’t have them back”; “the 188/30 Augment skis waaay better and easier than my Masters ski…”. The overwhelming feedback and impressions highlighted the great mix of damping/smooth ride/accessible performance. I mentioned earlier that the automotive equivalent of this GS ski was the Porsche GT3. In comparison, my athletes felt that the Atomic G9 – one of the benchmark skis in the class – felt more like a Mustang GT. Still lots of performance but required a lot more hard work to be able to access it.
There have been several questions raised about the selection of flexes on Augment race skis given that they are available in a range of 1 (super stiff) to 10. This particular ski is a 5, defined as medium +, and for me it provided an optimal blend of flex/stiffness. For most Masters races this would be a very good choice of flex.
So, conclusions. This is an AWESOME ski. I have skied on all the top brands of FIS 188/30 GS skis and this stands head and shoulders above the rest. The combination of accessible performance and superbly controlled ride it offers is not matched by any other competitor I have skied. With the choice of flex, plate etc, This is probably the nearest thing to a Factory WC/EC/NorAm level race ski that most of us are ever going to be able to purchase. (And having owned several skis with that type of provenance I can attest to that) Premium pricing, yes, but in this case you definitely get what you are paying for. Open your checkbooks, sell your first born or whatever but if you are serious about racing GS you need to get on this ski!
Augment SL World Cup FIS 165
coming!
So, the day I was leaving for mammoth for the US Masters Nationals I picked up a pair of 165 FIS World Cup slaloms, Flex 2 and a pair of 188/30 FIS W World Cup GS, Flex 5. Both pairs had seen use as long term demos so they also came with a fresh grind, courtesy of @smoothrides, to my spec of 0.5/3, with a “Techwave" pattern. As with the non-FIS skis both these pairs exhibited the same top-class build quality that is the hall-mark of Augment skis –think Stockli/Blossom levels of build plus some – despite having not insignificant miles on them. They were both mounted with the Look R22 plate and Look PX18 rockerflex bindings. So after a few quick passes with a fine steel brush on the new grind and a quick cost of wax they went in the truck (along with the other 10 pairs . BUT, with some major races coming up was this really the time to break them out without any test time???
Tester Stats; 64 y/o, 165#, 5’8”, L200 coach and experienced Masters racer.
Boot: Tecnica WC, Mold #13
Augment GS World Cup FIS W 188/30
98/65/83, r30/188, weight 4000g/pr (ski only), Flex 5 (medium plus), Look R22 plate, Look PX18 Rockerflex bindings.
First examination of the ski showed, apart from the build quality, that these have an unusual design element. The tail of the ski has a distinct taper for ~6 inches from the widest part of the tail. Also, the tail has a little bit of rise on the last 3-4 inches. While all the 188/30 FIS skis have a relatively narrow tail, this is definitely distinctively different from the competition. Hand flexing, they felt like the medium plus as marked.
(A quick aside: for the last several years I have been successfully racing on Blizzard WC for GS, initially 182/25 than 188/30. At the start of this season, based on my very positive experience with the Rossignol FIS SL ski, I switched to the Rossignol 188/30 FIS ski. Unfortunately this year I have found myself struggling to get used to the Rossi and my GS results have been deteriorating badly. Whether it was the skis or the pilot is debatable but my confidence in GS – previously my best event – was seriously damaged and I even pulled out my old Blizzard GS race ski in an attempt to get back to form)
After a morning of DH training I had the chance to take a few free-ski runs on them on (what this season in the West passed for) a decent surface. First impressions: wow, this feels good! Hooks up easily and turns in really well – IMHO even better than the 185/25 Augment Masters ski. Unlike the Atomic G9, which also hooks up really quickly but feels twitchy/nervous in the process the Augment displays a smooth consistent feel through transition into full edge engagement. Lay it over like it is meant to be skied and it holds on like the proverbial excrement on a shovel and accelerates through the turn. Nice! It has that solid (Austrian?) feel I like, like the Blizzard/Nordica GS, and is just planted on the snow, regardless of surface.
So, another couple of runs highlights some other characteristics of the ski. The transition/switch as you exit the old turn into the new one is super smooth and quick. I am pretty sure this is the impact of the tail design, as highlighted earlier, which also supports the ease of the turn-in and engagement of the tip as you roll onto the new edge. Because the tail design supports easy release, the old edge/transition/new edge process becomes a smooth single action rather than being three distinctive elements. Distinctively different from all the competitors and, IMHO, results in the ability to move quickly and seamlessly from turn to turn and apply strong pressure very early at the top of the turn.
This is very positive so far, definitely the best I have felt all year on a GS ski! But one more test in gates required before I can feel confident enough to race on it. On to the GS training course, which is getting well chewed up and see what happens. Feels really good, the easy release, early tip engagement aligns well with my preferred approach of a very quick strong transition to the new turn. In a 26m course, I am able to get early pressure and run a high line without issue. However the – now getting rough – course also highlights something else about the ski, which I have found to be a major characteristic of the brand. The ride and dampening of this ski is superb! I am not getting bounced about nearly as much as I expected. Much more importantly, this dampening is NOT achieved simply through a heavy, less responsive ski. It remains quick and performance driven while also having excellent ride quality and controlled damping. Think Porsche GT3 combination of suspension/performance. OK, more than good enough for me! Six runs total on the ski and I am going to use it for the Masters Nationals GS.
Now, here is where I wish I could provide conclusive proof of the quality of the ski by saying I had an awesome race result! ROFL! Unfortunately as a result of weather delays we ended up running GS on the same day as the SG, and on the same length course. Which gave us a 1’20” GS course from Air Jump to the bottom of Terrys. The ski was great! The pilot….not so much! . I had a reasonable first run but aggravated a hernia injury I have had. So the second run became an endurance test with a few mistakes that moved me down the order in a highly competitive class. But absolutely no complaints about the ski. It continued to perform as before, definitely a top class ski!
I had another opportunity to race on the same ski at our FWM season finals. This time we had a soft surface that bumped up very quickly. But the Augment cut through this without issue, again giving a much smoother ride than could reasonable be expected which, in gates translated into being able to get the pressure – and power – onto the ski much more quickly than would be expected when you are being bumped around. And this time the pilot was able to stay with it successfully!
I have since been able to get several of my Masters athletes on the ski to test it. Most of them are currently on the Atomic G9 either in 188/30 or the very popular 183/25 G9 RS Masters ski. Some immediate feedback –“I hate you coach” (after 3 turns form someone who had just bought 2 pairs of G9s J). “No, you can’t have them back”; “the 188/30 Augment skis waaay better and easier than my Masters ski…”. The overwhelming feedback and impressions highlighted the great mix of damping/smooth ride/accessible performance. I mentioned earlier that the automotive equivalent of this GS ski was the Porsche GT3. In comparison, my athletes felt that the Atomic G9 – one of the benchmark skis in the class – felt more like a Mustang GT. Still lots of performance but required a lot more hard work to be able to access it.
There have been several questions raised about the selection of flexes on Augment race skis given that they are available in a range of 1 (super stiff) to 10. This particular ski is a 5, defined as medium +, and for me it provided an optimal blend of flex/stiffness. For most Masters races this would be a very good choice of flex.
So, conclusions. This is an AWESOME ski. I have skied on all the top brands of FIS 188/30 GS skis and this stands head and shoulders above the rest. The combination of accessible performance and superbly controlled ride it offers is not matched by any other competitor I have skied. With the choice of flex, plate etc, This is probably the nearest thing to a Factory WC/EC/NorAm level race ski that most of us are ever going to be able to purchase. (And having owned several skis with that type of provenance I can attest to that) Premium pricing, yes, but in this case you definitely get what you are paying for. Open your checkbooks, sell your first born or whatever but if you are serious about racing GS you need to get on this ski!
Augment SL World Cup FIS 165
coming!