Individual Review Long-Term Review: 2019 Salomon S/Max Blast

[Mendieta]

Kudos to Salomon for not following into the bloated tip of the Rally. Also, note how the curved part of the tip tapers in, unlike the Hammerhead style.
Not quite as neutral as the Kastle Mx89 to the left, but close.

Yes, different shapes and different behaviors. Head also produces carving skis with a more gradual sidecut, it's all good. I love the Rallies, not just "like" but love them. And this Salomon was an absolute blast. While the rally pulls you into the turn more aggressively, the blast has a more progressive curve initiation. The bigger shovel does give the rally significant float for a 5-ish waist.

Now, I am not saying that it's all the same, I have been in about 10 different skis last year (mostly on the rally but tested others, and 2 days on a rock ski), and I could rank them in how much I liked them. These two would be in the top three!

 

[GB_Ski]

Now, I am not saying that it's all the same, I have been in about 10 different skis last year (mostly on the rally but tested others, and 2 days on a rock ski), and I could rank them in how much I liked them. These two would be in the top three!

What's the third?

 

[James]

What's the third?

What he said.

 

[Mendieta]

Oh, the third is the Nordica Enforcer 100 @ 185cm. The idea would be to add a second ski to the quiver for offpiste, and it works beautifully there for my needs!

 

[Zrxman01]

I had a chance to demo these in re frozen East Coast “powder”. All I can say is WOW. The faster you went the better they felt. You simply tip them on edge and they hook up and carve like magic. They powered through the iciest of conditions at ethereal speed! They would ski a variety of turn shapes. Rough snow no problem. I left a couple of the really fast freestylers I ski with ski them and they loved the speed and stability. I thought the Head Rally was the reference hard snow ski but this takes it up to “11”. Lastly the rep allowed me a run on the blue consumer GS skis. A little more beef but more than I needed. All in a great ski from a guy who never cared for Salomon products.

 

[ARL67]

^^^ what length were you on -> 170 , 175 ?
The 170 has a 15m radius vs the 175 17m.

 

[Zrxman01]

I skied the 180 cm. I am 6 ft 225 lbs. it was perfect.

 

[Marty McSly]

an 84mm wide counterpart called the S/Max Force,

Would that be a cage match candidate for the Fischer RC One 86 GT?

 

[Philpug]

I have had a few days out recently on the S/Force Bold and for reference I wanted to remind myself how it felt against it's skinnier brother, the S/Max Blast. The S/Max is not only narrower but is is also stiffer, that stiffness lends itself to making the ski much more precise and a little more uncompromising in the turn, you can feel the tip initiate and the tail hold through the turn more. It wants your attention just that much more. I am not saying these are a tail of two skis but there are definitely differences along with the similarities. The similarities are how well the skis hold and how much dampning the skis have, especially in the middle of the turn and that has to do with the beefiness of the super think sidewall or "Edge Amplifier" that Salomon calls it. Yes, it is a catchy name but it is marketing that is visable and does work. These are are very different but they are not so different that they would coexist in a quiver..the rest I will neave for the upcoming Sibling Rivaly Cage Match. Stay tuned.

S/Max say high to your Grandfather, he was a Pilot​