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WTFH

Booting up
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Joined
Nov 12, 2015
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21
It's a brand I've not seen mentioned on here, and even though I don't visit that often, I thought I'd share my review of a pair of skis from one of the guys behind the Bro skis of a few years ago.

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At the start of the season I was thinking that it was time to move on from my 10 year old Head Supershape Speeds. One of the things I've found since I stopped living on skiing forums is that I don't change my gear as often as I used to.
I mostly ski on-piste with the odd foray into powder. I’m not going to pretend I spend all day off piste. I’ve also been skiing long enough to know that I’m not an expert. I’ve been on stiff “Race” skies for about 15 years (2-3 weeks a year) and they are great on hardpack and well prepared pistes. When it got lumpy, they weren’t as much fun. I’m about 1.8m tall and weigh in on the cuddly side of healthy.

My initial thought was to go for something wider (although not as wide as my Seth Pistols) and a bit more forgiving. I posted on here looking for suggestions and various ones were made. Separately, I was contacted by an Ric Reiter who shared some research on width of skis and knee injuries (knowing that my knees aren’t great). He suggested that maybe I shouldn’t go too wide. The last part of my consideration was for environmental impact. Is it possible to get skis that aren’t just plastic and metal, or maybe have greener credentials?

And that’s how I ended up researching and eventually choosing a pair of Idris Skis. ( www.idriskis.com). The tops are made of fir, oak and bamboo. If you like a minimalist design, they’ve got it. Logo on the front, brand on the sidewall. Everything else is just woodgrain.

The model I chose was the Renard (French for Fox, which my friends might consider coincidental), 71mm under foot, 175cm long. I got them paired with Elan FreeFlex Pro bindings. The second* thing you notice when you take them out of the box is their weight. Compared to the Heads, they are really light. Because we were staying on mountain, the first run is a red down to the base station. Late season, early morning in the shade and this is groomed ice. Not the best location to make your first turns on new skis. A bit of trepidation to the lift, and then we headed up higher. I suppose it took me a couple of hours to get the feel of the skis and the rest of the morning was spent getting a little faster, a little further over on the edges and a little more of a smile on my face. Afternoon skiing was on crud that turned to slush, where my confidence quickly grew to the point that I needed to check my speed, not my balance. As the week progressed I pushed the skis harder. I’ve not found their speed limit yet, but they certainly aren’t slouches. They will happily lay down railroad tracks and quickly go from edge to edge. Hopefully next season I’ll get to take them into powder just to see how they go.

I would strongly recommend that if you can find some to try, you won’t be disappointed.

The first* thing you notice about them is their looks. They look amazing. And that’s my biggest dilemma with them – what wood polish do I put on the tops?
 

dbostedo

Asst. Gathermeister
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Cool... neat to see an unusual brand. Were there others you considered?
 

4ster

Just because you can doesn’t mean you should!
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Nov 12, 2015
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7,219
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Sierra & Wasatch
Idris used to post some great stuff on epicski. Mostly touring from the Aquille du Midi.
 

Philpug

Notorious P.U.G.
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Looking through their line, I really like the shapes and dimensions. Very interesting, congrats on the purchase.
 

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