I’m not satisfied with the middle ski in my quiver of three: my Fischer Motive 86’s carve like a scalpel, but are too light for the dense crud we often get in PNW.
It was a good day at Crystal Mountain for finding a better crud-buster. All morning we had a lot of challenging crud, but in the afternoon it was getting too loose and sloppy.
The same could be said about this 63-year-old’s legs after plunging for many top-to-bottom runs in heavy conditions. And for reference purposes, I’m 160 lbs.
All five of these skis, except where noted, carved great turns; seemed to have excellent edge grip (but I didn’t have much hard snow on which to test); have modest tip rocker; are not light; have a similar turn radius; and are good crud busters. It’s remarkable how similar the top four skis are to each other.
In the order in which they appeared on my feet:
Rossignol Experience 88 Ti, 180cm
These are heavy and powerful. Great crudbusters. On the groomers they feel great, with a decent rebound out of the turns. They have a very natural feel through transitions from smooth to rough snow. I like these better than the Exp 88’s of yore because they have what I call “relief” in the tips and tails. Relief can be from any combination of softening, tapering, and/or rockering to make the tips and tails less engaging, thus more amenable to maneuvering off piste. As I recall the old E88s, they had more effective edge on piste, but were too hooky off-piste. These are in a tie for first place for the middle spot in my quiver.
Nordica Enforcer 88, 179cm
Another splendid crudbuster with great carving and some tip and tail relief. Their camber feels a little stiffer than the Rossis, and they’re less heavy. In some way that I can’t figure out, they don’t feel as natural off piste and in transitions as the Rossis (and K2 Mindbenders). These come in at third place today.
Blizzard Brahma 88, 180cm
Once again, they carve well and these are perhaps the easiest to turn off piste. I only got one top-to-bottom run on them (which would be two runs at most ski areas), but they seem to have too much tail relief for me. I think I’d prefer a stiffer tail. These also feel like they have the least camber of all the skis, and too little for me. Fourth place.
Stockli Stormrider 88, 179cm
These are the softest of the day and a pleasant all-mountain ski. They have full camber without the tip and tail relief of most skis these days. Since they aren’t as stiff as the other skis, I suppose their tips and tails don’t need softening nor rockering. But they don’t carve as powerfully as the others, either. They feel like an excellent ski for 2006. Fifth place.
K2 Mindbender 90 ER Titanal, 177cm
They do everything well. Good carving and steady through the rough stuff off piste. These, like the Rossis, somehow feel slightly smoother and more natural in rough conditions than the Enforcers and Brahmas. It could be that they’re a little heavier, but they certainly aren’t as heavy as the Rossis. These are the other first place carving crudbusters of the day.
Head Monster 88, 177cm
I wish I’d skied on them, but we ran out of time. They were a favorite at earlier Demo Days. Terrifically well damped and smooth in rough snow, but maybe a skoch stiffer than I want.
It was a good day at Crystal Mountain for finding a better crud-buster. All morning we had a lot of challenging crud, but in the afternoon it was getting too loose and sloppy.
The same could be said about this 63-year-old’s legs after plunging for many top-to-bottom runs in heavy conditions. And for reference purposes, I’m 160 lbs.
All five of these skis, except where noted, carved great turns; seemed to have excellent edge grip (but I didn’t have much hard snow on which to test); have modest tip rocker; are not light; have a similar turn radius; and are good crud busters. It’s remarkable how similar the top four skis are to each other.
In the order in which they appeared on my feet:
Rossignol Experience 88 Ti, 180cm
These are heavy and powerful. Great crudbusters. On the groomers they feel great, with a decent rebound out of the turns. They have a very natural feel through transitions from smooth to rough snow. I like these better than the Exp 88’s of yore because they have what I call “relief” in the tips and tails. Relief can be from any combination of softening, tapering, and/or rockering to make the tips and tails less engaging, thus more amenable to maneuvering off piste. As I recall the old E88s, they had more effective edge on piste, but were too hooky off-piste. These are in a tie for first place for the middle spot in my quiver.
Nordica Enforcer 88, 179cm
Another splendid crudbuster with great carving and some tip and tail relief. Their camber feels a little stiffer than the Rossis, and they’re less heavy. In some way that I can’t figure out, they don’t feel as natural off piste and in transitions as the Rossis (and K2 Mindbenders). These come in at third place today.
Blizzard Brahma 88, 180cm
Once again, they carve well and these are perhaps the easiest to turn off piste. I only got one top-to-bottom run on them (which would be two runs at most ski areas), but they seem to have too much tail relief for me. I think I’d prefer a stiffer tail. These also feel like they have the least camber of all the skis, and too little for me. Fourth place.
Stockli Stormrider 88, 179cm
These are the softest of the day and a pleasant all-mountain ski. They have full camber without the tip and tail relief of most skis these days. Since they aren’t as stiff as the other skis, I suppose their tips and tails don’t need softening nor rockering. But they don’t carve as powerfully as the others, either. They feel like an excellent ski for 2006. Fifth place.
K2 Mindbender 90 ER Titanal, 177cm
They do everything well. Good carving and steady through the rough stuff off piste. These, like the Rossis, somehow feel slightly smoother and more natural in rough conditions than the Enforcers and Brahmas. It could be that they’re a little heavier, but they certainly aren’t as heavy as the Rossis. These are the other first place carving crudbusters of the day.
Head Monster 88, 177cm
I wish I’d skied on them, but we ran out of time. They were a favorite at earlier Demo Days. Terrifically well damped and smooth in rough snow, but maybe a skoch stiffer than I want.