Blizzard Brahma 2018, Stockli Laser AX, Fischer Pro Mountain 95, Fischer The Curv DTX in terrible snow!
The following review is a 3-runs/ski review of 4 good skis, in less than optimal conditions. I find that any ski feels amazing on Colorado hero snow. The kind of snow I was on today was the opposite, and really pulled out the personality and friendliness of each ski. Rain had fallen last week, almost 2 inches, and 8 inches of heavy snow followed. Bachelor had done their usual poor job grooming, trying to groom 60 miles each night and leaving the groomers riddled with ridges, holes, death cookies. Despite our complaints, they have yet to learn “quality over quantity”. Wind was blowing 50mph plus at mid-mountain, which was pushing powdered sugar snow down the hill, filling in spots. Groomers went from concrete to 3” deep of windpack within the matter of a couple of feet. I was able to get much more of a feel for the skis today than I did in Colorado. Good snow masks a lot of flaws!
1st up: the Blizzard Brahma, 2018 model, 180cm. This ski is all new for 2018, different shape in the tip and tail, flipcore design is also different in flex. The overall feel of the ski is nothing like the 2017 version. My perception is of a ski with above average stability, moderate power in the tail, moderate forgiveness, moderate edge grip. It sits right in the middle of the spectrum for everything: arcing turns isn't really it's specialty, as it feels a little sluggish as a groomer ski. Off-piste, I liked it in bigger radius brushed turns, tighter radius higher edge angle turns. It fought me a bit when I wanted to stay fall line and ski it like a more focused bump ski. The tip did feel like it wanted to dive down and find hard snow more than I preferred: it was laterally very stiff at the tip, almost too edgy and aggressive. The tail was quite forgiving however, certainly an improvement on the 2017 model. Due to the aggressive tip, I held back a bit in the junk snow, as I really didn't trust the ski as much as I wanted to. I did note the ski was railed out of the wrapper and really needed a grind.
Stockli Laser AX: current model (current through 2018), 175cm. The Laser AX is fairly narrow for an off-piste ski at 78mm, but one would never know that when skiing it. This was by far the easiest and best ski here, no question. Although the tip had every bit as much power as the other skis tested here, it did not suffer from the “excessive edginess” and artificially boosted lateral feel that was present on the other skis. It loaded perfectly, did not “dive for hard snow underneath, and not a trace of a hooky tip was present. It seemed to surf above the junk snow. I would say forgiveness was easily 30% higher than any of the other skis. The tail was so easy when releasing; the AX truly feels like an off-piste narrow ski in these conditions. On the groomers, it was the only ski in the group that I trusted enough to really open up, as I was confident the tip wouldn't find a hole and dive in, nor would it catch and grab. If I could draw up a ski that responded exactly as I desired, given the terrible conditions, the AX would be that ski. Part of that is the relative quiet, damp nature on groomers: the AX is an all-condition ski, not a groomer zoomer, race-ski lite model. I call it “technical all-mountain”. It is superb in bumps, for example.
Fischer Pro Mountain 86: another ski that is stiff laterally, very aggressive, and has a bit of a wide carver feel. The performance of the 86 mirrored that of the Brahma; the character of the 2 skis is not similar, however. The 86 contains more tip rocker with no taper, it tends to feel more engaged at the tip, and in this snow, that meant arcing turns. The 86 also was great as long as I trusted it in the junky snow, but that is a tough thing to ask with a ski this laterally aggressive. I love the 86 in good snow; I have found it to be a superb all-mountain companion, but once we start talking about somewhat scary concrete and funky snow blown in, it was quite aggressive at the tip, laterally speaking. It also wanted to dive down to firm snow, always looking for a hard surface to engage with. Great fun on the smoother patches, too much in the junk; it skis like a frontside ski with some versatility in width, which is exactly how it was designed. The Ranger 90 is the off-piste ski. The tail was fairly aggressive as well on the 86; best to keep this one as a 75% groomer ski.
Fischer The Curv DTX: a pure frontside carver, one of the best carvers on the market today. I didn't try to venture off-piste on the DTX; it is a groomer ski, not a narrow all-mountain ski. If I had to buy only one pure carver, it may very well be the DTX. Even with that said, it was a heck of a lot of ski for these conditions. Again, very laterally stiff, the tip engages immediately at the top of the turn. The skier needs to be ready for what is coming next: a freight train of power and snap. Incredible power, but it was a little much in this snow; get that tip fully working, and it tends to dig south through the powdered sugar. It was the best ski here provided that I trust it, but in this snow, I did not feel like taking any chances, and backed off. The DTX has serious top end for such a short 171cm ski; power rivaling that of any frontside ski. It may be the best carver available today. A shame I couldn't open it up due to terrible grooming. I dealt with ridges and holes from one edge of the groomer to the other. Bachelor has a view on groomers of “quantity over quality”, the proverbial “half-ass job”, which makes testing hard snow skis a real challenge.
Of all the skis I tested in these conditions, the AX was really only the ski that handled them well. It really brings out the difference between premium skis and more affordable, larger distribution brands. The difference isn't so much at the top end of stability: any ski can be designed for high stability given enough metal and carbon. The premium skis, as I have found, have a range that most top-end skis do not. They can be dialed down, backed off, skied slow in junk snow, with the corresponding sweet spot double the size when compared to that of a ski selling for $599. They are more predictable in rough conditions: the skier finds the ski to be less about what type of turn the ski wants to execute, and more about the type of turn the skier wants to execute. It may sound like a small distinction, but far too many skis today have a “mind of their own” and are artificially designed to feel “boosted”. Car enthusiasts are familiar with this concept: too often big cars are produced that feel dead and ship-like, yet characteristics such as steering are artificially changed to feel more aggressive, rather than actually making a sportier, precise handling RWD car. A friend drives a Mercedes CLA AMG, and it is the epitome of a “boosted” car. Heavy FWD, mad torque-steer, artificially snappy steering rack, boosted turbo engine. To borrow a popular idiom: it isn't a sporty car, but can play one after staying at the Holiday Inn. This is the case with many skis today, and why uber-stiff skis such as the Mantra still remain popular with high intermediates. They feel “edgy”, and those speaking so highly of them from a high intermediate standpoint will refer to how “well they carve”, even though that skier is incapable of getting enough edge angle and pressure to carve a turn. What they feel is that hard, aggressive “bite”, not unlike a car that is too stiffly sprung. Stiffly sprung cars aren't necessarily fast around a track, but they do feel fast. It is mistaken for a ski that is working underfoot, whereas the Laser AX, for example, is actually holding well underfoot, but instead of feeling aggressive, the pressure builds as directed by the skier, as if it were reading the skier's mind.
The following review is a 3-runs/ski review of 4 good skis, in less than optimal conditions. I find that any ski feels amazing on Colorado hero snow. The kind of snow I was on today was the opposite, and really pulled out the personality and friendliness of each ski. Rain had fallen last week, almost 2 inches, and 8 inches of heavy snow followed. Bachelor had done their usual poor job grooming, trying to groom 60 miles each night and leaving the groomers riddled with ridges, holes, death cookies. Despite our complaints, they have yet to learn “quality over quantity”. Wind was blowing 50mph plus at mid-mountain, which was pushing powdered sugar snow down the hill, filling in spots. Groomers went from concrete to 3” deep of windpack within the matter of a couple of feet. I was able to get much more of a feel for the skis today than I did in Colorado. Good snow masks a lot of flaws!
1st up: the Blizzard Brahma, 2018 model, 180cm. This ski is all new for 2018, different shape in the tip and tail, flipcore design is also different in flex. The overall feel of the ski is nothing like the 2017 version. My perception is of a ski with above average stability, moderate power in the tail, moderate forgiveness, moderate edge grip. It sits right in the middle of the spectrum for everything: arcing turns isn't really it's specialty, as it feels a little sluggish as a groomer ski. Off-piste, I liked it in bigger radius brushed turns, tighter radius higher edge angle turns. It fought me a bit when I wanted to stay fall line and ski it like a more focused bump ski. The tip did feel like it wanted to dive down and find hard snow more than I preferred: it was laterally very stiff at the tip, almost too edgy and aggressive. The tail was quite forgiving however, certainly an improvement on the 2017 model. Due to the aggressive tip, I held back a bit in the junk snow, as I really didn't trust the ski as much as I wanted to. I did note the ski was railed out of the wrapper and really needed a grind.
Stockli Laser AX: current model (current through 2018), 175cm. The Laser AX is fairly narrow for an off-piste ski at 78mm, but one would never know that when skiing it. This was by far the easiest and best ski here, no question. Although the tip had every bit as much power as the other skis tested here, it did not suffer from the “excessive edginess” and artificially boosted lateral feel that was present on the other skis. It loaded perfectly, did not “dive for hard snow underneath, and not a trace of a hooky tip was present. It seemed to surf above the junk snow. I would say forgiveness was easily 30% higher than any of the other skis. The tail was so easy when releasing; the AX truly feels like an off-piste narrow ski in these conditions. On the groomers, it was the only ski in the group that I trusted enough to really open up, as I was confident the tip wouldn't find a hole and dive in, nor would it catch and grab. If I could draw up a ski that responded exactly as I desired, given the terrible conditions, the AX would be that ski. Part of that is the relative quiet, damp nature on groomers: the AX is an all-condition ski, not a groomer zoomer, race-ski lite model. I call it “technical all-mountain”. It is superb in bumps, for example.
Fischer Pro Mountain 86: another ski that is stiff laterally, very aggressive, and has a bit of a wide carver feel. The performance of the 86 mirrored that of the Brahma; the character of the 2 skis is not similar, however. The 86 contains more tip rocker with no taper, it tends to feel more engaged at the tip, and in this snow, that meant arcing turns. The 86 also was great as long as I trusted it in the junky snow, but that is a tough thing to ask with a ski this laterally aggressive. I love the 86 in good snow; I have found it to be a superb all-mountain companion, but once we start talking about somewhat scary concrete and funky snow blown in, it was quite aggressive at the tip, laterally speaking. It also wanted to dive down to firm snow, always looking for a hard surface to engage with. Great fun on the smoother patches, too much in the junk; it skis like a frontside ski with some versatility in width, which is exactly how it was designed. The Ranger 90 is the off-piste ski. The tail was fairly aggressive as well on the 86; best to keep this one as a 75% groomer ski.
Fischer The Curv DTX: a pure frontside carver, one of the best carvers on the market today. I didn't try to venture off-piste on the DTX; it is a groomer ski, not a narrow all-mountain ski. If I had to buy only one pure carver, it may very well be the DTX. Even with that said, it was a heck of a lot of ski for these conditions. Again, very laterally stiff, the tip engages immediately at the top of the turn. The skier needs to be ready for what is coming next: a freight train of power and snap. Incredible power, but it was a little much in this snow; get that tip fully working, and it tends to dig south through the powdered sugar. It was the best ski here provided that I trust it, but in this snow, I did not feel like taking any chances, and backed off. The DTX has serious top end for such a short 171cm ski; power rivaling that of any frontside ski. It may be the best carver available today. A shame I couldn't open it up due to terrible grooming. I dealt with ridges and holes from one edge of the groomer to the other. Bachelor has a view on groomers of “quantity over quality”, the proverbial “half-ass job”, which makes testing hard snow skis a real challenge.
Of all the skis I tested in these conditions, the AX was really only the ski that handled them well. It really brings out the difference between premium skis and more affordable, larger distribution brands. The difference isn't so much at the top end of stability: any ski can be designed for high stability given enough metal and carbon. The premium skis, as I have found, have a range that most top-end skis do not. They can be dialed down, backed off, skied slow in junk snow, with the corresponding sweet spot double the size when compared to that of a ski selling for $599. They are more predictable in rough conditions: the skier finds the ski to be less about what type of turn the ski wants to execute, and more about the type of turn the skier wants to execute. It may sound like a small distinction, but far too many skis today have a “mind of their own” and are artificially designed to feel “boosted”. Car enthusiasts are familiar with this concept: too often big cars are produced that feel dead and ship-like, yet characteristics such as steering are artificially changed to feel more aggressive, rather than actually making a sportier, precise handling RWD car. A friend drives a Mercedes CLA AMG, and it is the epitome of a “boosted” car. Heavy FWD, mad torque-steer, artificially snappy steering rack, boosted turbo engine. To borrow a popular idiom: it isn't a sporty car, but can play one after staying at the Holiday Inn. This is the case with many skis today, and why uber-stiff skis such as the Mantra still remain popular with high intermediates. They feel “edgy”, and those speaking so highly of them from a high intermediate standpoint will refer to how “well they carve”, even though that skier is incapable of getting enough edge angle and pressure to carve a turn. What they feel is that hard, aggressive “bite”, not unlike a car that is too stiffly sprung. Stiffly sprung cars aren't necessarily fast around a track, but they do feel fast. It is mistaken for a ski that is working underfoot, whereas the Laser AX, for example, is actually holding well underfoot, but instead of feeling aggressive, the pressure builds as directed by the skier, as if it were reading the skier's mind.
