HEAD iTitan vs Atomic Vantage X CTI 83

[valeyard]

You'll be fine at your skill level, but I wouldn't want to encourage the use of them as a bump ski. If you spend more time in moguls than just the occasional run, a ski that has a more rounded tail and less aggressive shovel would be better than the head frontside skis. The tips like to engage quickly on them, not ideal for spending lots of time in trees and bumps. I'd grab up a new old stock Latigo for that first.

If you spend 80%+ of your time on groomers, you will be sporting a permagrin from them. Just keep pressure on the tongue of the boot and they will dance a jig.

to be honest, I hate moguls of any size at my current skill level ;p but my wife enjoys small ones so I just need to survive the occasional runs

 

[valeyard]

But the Atomic will fill the technical attributes of the Rally with the bump/off piste ability of the Latigo.

from a learning tool point of view, do you think vantage x will be equally beneficial compared to titan or rally?

 

[eok]

'Ironical. I was about to pull the trigger on some Titans (for a new groomer carver) today... but... I went skiing this AM on a new part of the mountain & encountered some pretty roughed up narrow groomed runs. Rutted out & cut up with a lot of those pesky snow piles. Really wondered how the squared off tails on the Titans would have fared. I was on my old AMP Rictor 82Xtis & even they were sometimes a handful in the conditions. Actually, I just pulled the wrong skis this AM - should have grabbed my LX92s as while they may not be super exciting they are super reliable on iffy stuff.

So, getting home. I reviewed my short list and the Vantage X83s bubbled to the top. So, I'm in the same quandary: Titan vs X83. From a purely practical perspective the X83 is the "wise" choice for me and where I typically ski in the PNW. But I did manage to demo some Titans a while back & holy cow, so fun. No, not interested in any of the Monsters - not what I'm looking for.

 

[valeyard]

I took ititan out yesterday. There were 4in of new snow early morning so I spend the day charging through crud. The skis felt heavier and stiffer than the X80 I demoed early. When I wanted to charge hard and trusted it, the skis were very stable, easy to turn by edging the shovel at speed or steering and can cut through 3d snow. But when I got lazy and ride the tails, the skis would shoot out like a raped ape.

 

[Philpug]

I took ititan out yesterday.... But when I got lazy and ride the tails, the skis would shoot out like a raped ape.

Uhhh, Yup.

The iTitan will require much more of your attention almost all the time.

 

[eok]

But when I got lazy and ride the tails, the skis would shoot out like a raped ape.

Woa! I have some new Titans arriving soon. When I ski them, I promise to be respectful and understand that "no means no".

 

[valeyard]

Uhhh, Yup.

I should have listened. They definitely push me to ski more aggressively and assertively in crud while my instinct is to slow down and skid. But I can't wait to try them out in flat and consistent groomed condition. The edge grip was pretty amazing in crud and patches of hardpack, they don't skid at all when I don't want them to.

I am curious what part of its design gave it this personality? The stiff and square tail?

 

[Myles]

I like the Titans and lot and don't mind the ramp angle (I have a pair of supershape i.speeds so have used the same bindings for the past two seasons). They are pretty stiff, but not super-burly. As you have noted, they are light weight and quite nimble and I find them really easy to make any turn-shape I want. I have also found them to be not too bad in the bumps either (easy to stay centered on and pull-back). I have not skied the Atomics, but a ski that is no longer available that I have also really enjoyed is the 2016-2017 Salomon X Drive 8.3, which was a real blast to carve on (it was much easier to bend than the Titans), could handle chunked up, heavy snow a bit more easily than the Titans (not as hooky), and was also good in the bumps. I have not tried them, but maybe one of the new X-Max (although they seem a bit too narrow for what you are after) or the XDR 84s (which look to have very different tips from the X Drives) would be worth a try as well, particularly if they have the same personality as the old X Drive 8.3.

 

[David Chaus]

The OP is in the PNW. Even groomed slopes don’t stay groomed for long. I feel the advantages of the Titan won’t be as useful. I know many feel they are versatile but I feel they need a skilled pilot for utilize its versatility. I think as an all mountain ski that is comfortable on the frontside, the Vantage would be a better choice for the conditions we experience more.

 

[valeyard]

The OP is in the PNW. Even groomed slopes don’t stay groomed for long. I feel the advantages of the Titan won’t be as useful. I know many feel they are versatile but I feel they need a skilled pilot for utilize its versatility. I think as an all mountain ski that is comfortable on the frontside, the Vantage would be a better choice for the conditions we experience more.

Haha, what do you mean by they don't stay groomed for very long? You are referring to the frequent layers of new snow?

 

[David Chaus]

Haha, what do you mean by they don't stay groomed for very long? You are referring to the frequent layers of new snow?

Well, that sometimes happens, but much more often, the groomers get completely skied out and starts to form ruts and bumps pretty quickly. Corduroy is a rare sighting after the first 20 minutes.

 

[valeyard]

Well, that sometimes happens, but much more often, the groomers get completely skied out and starts to form ruts and bumps pretty quickly. Corduroy is a rare sighting after the first 20 minutes.

That's true. But the same doesn't happen to other resorts in the country? I always thought the definition of groomer is runs that were groomed in the morning, and ruts and bumps formed later in the day are part of that.

 

[David Chaus]

Well, at the Gathering, for instance, the groomers were in much better shape all day long at Alta and Snowbird than I’ve ever seen at Stevens. Same for other resorts, especially in Idaho and BC. Stevens has less than 1200 acres and can have as many as 7,000 skiers in a day. On piste becomes off-piste pretty quickly.

 

[valeyard]

Well, at the Gathering, for instance, the groomers were in much better shape all day long at Alta and Snowbird than I’ve ever seen at Stevens. Same for other resorts, especially in Idaho and BC. Stevens has less than 1200 acres and can have as many as 7,000 skiers in a day. On piste becomes off-piste pretty quickly.

Makes sense, I have only skied at crystal and stevens on weekends in the last 3 years. I guess I should take some ski trips to try other resorts.

 

[Fuller]

I am curious what part of its design gave it this personality? The stiff and square tail?

Certainly that, and if you are a believer the KERS thingy is supposed to be returning energy to the last part of your turns. What I like about them is that they reward you for making a clean rounded turn shape and smack you with a KERS loaded ruler if you don't stay centered.The square flat tail doesn't help when you attempt to swish the tails around. The swishing thing is a lot of fun on my Rossi Sky 7's and I'm not ashamed to spend all day doing it, but it doesn't require much skill. The iTitans require more out of you but when you learn to create some speed and G forces with a proper turn shape the feeling is addicting. I'm not a great or even good skier but I got better the first week.

 

[Josh Matta]

IMO the Ititan eats most chop pretty good as long as you doing SL turns.....which it does SL turns really well. It pretty soft and easy compared the Monster 83s I have as well. The monster is better at Speed in chop but can be a real handful if the chop is in between chop, and bumps and both skis are fine bump skis but the stiffer flex of the Monster is more predictable

I also own a XDR 84 as well in a 179cm, easily the best in powder of this bunch but the also the worst in bumps, the sidecut even though the same as the Ititan seems to makes it basically impossible to ski really troughed out bumps well. THe XDR is a great carver on groomers, and even in chop.

Chop at speed, crud and larger turns = Head Monster 83(mine are 177)
Bumps = Monster 83
SL turns though chop = XDR 84(mine are 179)
SL turns on a good groom = Ititan(mine are 177cm)
Ice = Monster 83
soft edge turns in any conditions = Ititan
Powder = XDR 84
skied out woods = Monster 83

 

[valeyard]

Certainly that, and if you are a believer the KERS thingy is supposed to be returning energy to the last part of your turns. What I like about them is that they reward you for making a clean rounded turn shape and smack you with a KERS loaded ruler if you don't stay centered.The square flat tail doesn't help when you attempt to swish the tails around. The swishing thing is a lot of fun on my Rossi Sky 7's and I'm not ashamed to spend all day doing it, but it doesn't require much skill. The iTitans require more out of you but when you learn to create some speed and G forces with a proper turn shape the feeling is addicting. I'm not a great or even good skier but I got better the first week.

Nice analysis. That kers loaded ruler definitely hurts. I also fall back to tail swishing when I encounter inconsistent bumpy crud and Titans made it clear that it didn't like that at all. I am going out again tomorrow and hopefully the runs will be more consistent that I can gather up the courage to lower my hips closer to snow.

 

[valeyard]

IMO the Ititan eats most chop pretty good as long as you doing SL turns.....which it does SL turns really well. It pretty soft and easy compared the Monster 83s I have as well. The monster is better at Speed in chop but can be a real handful if the chop is in between chop, and bumps and both skis are fine bump skis but the stiffer flex of the Monster is more predictable

I also own a XDR 84 as well in a 179cm, easily the best in powder of this bunch but the also the worst in bumps, the sidecut even though the same as the Ititan seems to makes it basically impossible to ski really troughed out bumps well. THe XDR is a great carver on groomers, and even in chop.

Chop at speed, crud and larger turns = Head Monster 83(mine are 177)
Bumps = Monster 83
SL turns though chop = XDR 84(mine are 179)
SL turns on a good groom = Ititan(mine are 177cm)
Ice = Monster 83
soft edge turns in any conditions = Ititan
Powder = XDR 84
skied out woods = Monster 83

Thanks for sharing your experience. Do you find ititan easy to skid in bumps for speed control?

 

[Josh Matta]

very easy but I ride a flat ski pretty much at will. In fact the only ski I own that is a handful in bump are my XDR....

 

[Fuller]

Well yeah, Josh can ski them in the bumps but I would think those conditions would be a bit out of the design envelope. Worth a try though.

I've been giving the moguls a wide berth so far, but next year I plan to add them to my list of things I need to work on. I'm planning to retire my older worn out Rossi E88's in favor of a bump friendly 88mm ski. Brahma CA perhaps or maybe the new E88.