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Stockli AR Verses AX

martyg

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I have two pair of AX and love them. For inbounds powder days I have a pair of Head Core - I think 99’s.

Looking for a ski for days when there are still powder stashes around, but it is mainly a groomer thing.

Thoughts on AR verses AX from those that have skied both? Splitting hairs? Worthwhile addition?
 

Jwrags

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Having only demoed the AX I was debating between the two this winter. I asked @LindseyB his opinion and his reply is below. Of course, your situation may be different but at almost 61 I don’t have the desire or legs to drive a ski all day.



I would strongly suggest the AX.

You sound like you are too good of a skier to need the AR to manage terrain for you as I usually suggest the AR to low level skiers needing assistance or top shape athletes looking to rally. At the same time, it doesn't sound like you would want to ski as aggressively as someone needs to, to get the most out of the AR. The AR wants to be driven like a Baja truck, instead of slowing down in the bumps, it wants you to go super fast until everything smooths out.

The AX is low input, high reward. It will take punishment if you dish it out, but it doesn't require a lot of effort to give back exponentially.

I hope this helps.

Lindsey
 

Scrundy

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Understand I’ve never skied the AR but I look at the AR as a AX Stormrider blend. From skiing the AX and Stormrider, I’d go AX every time. I complicated the AR myself and decided to just stay put with the AX.
 

cosmoliu

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Understand I’ve never skied the AR but I look at the AR as a AX Stormrider blend.
IIRC, that's exactly how Stockli described the AR when it was introduced. Tip of a Stormrider and tail of the AX. Or something along those lines...
 

Cheizz

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The AR is much closer to the AX than to the Stormrider, IMO. The overlap between AX and AR is about 80% or more, I would say.
 

Tony S

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Looking for a ski for days when there are still powder stashes around, but it is mainly a groomer thing.

Nothing I've heard from people who have skied the AR makes it sound like anything but a wider groomer ski. And you already have the AX. Seems like the Stöckli for your use case is the SR 88, if you're sticking with that brand.
 

Jim McDonald

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Given my 2 hours+ demo of the AR (and being completely happy with my purchase of the AX) I'd say LindseyB's description hits the bullseye.
I could've been happy with the AR, but less so than with the AX, and that's a comment on my ability -- not the ski.
But if you want to stick with Stockli I'd recommend the SR95; handles groomers at least as well as the SR88 with more off-piste versatility IMJ(ong)O.
 

DocGKR

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I was recently bitten by the Stockli bug and ended up with several pairs of them. If I could only have one Stockli, I would be tempted to go with an AX. If I went with a Stockli 3-ski quiver, then the SC, AR, SR95 would be my choices. I would probably not choice to have both an AX and an AR, as they are too close.
 

Andy Mink

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If you love the AXs give the Augment AM88s a try if you can. It blew me away. One of the smoothest, easiest to ski skis I've been on.
 

Vendome1888

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Stockli Spirit Evo -- can someone give any info on this ski, and how it compares to the more well known Stockli skis?
 

Seldomski

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I have skied both the AR and the AX. But, the time I skied the two is separated by about 1 year, so take my feedback with that in mind :)

AR is a bit biased toward higher speed and medium to longer turns on the front side vs the AX. AR is definitely better in crud or choppy stuff. AR rewards with tenacious grip and precise, smooth feel. So yes, it is a Stockli, very refined.

However, I enjoy my Kendo's more as an all mountain, ungroomed terrain ski. AR is definitely far superior on the groom vs. my Kendo. AX is better than AR on groomer and bumps. AR is better in crud and at higher speeds vs the AX.

In this case, I am comparing the 182 lengths. Perhaps the shorter AR feels more versatile/playful and would have been better than my Kendo (177).
 

David Chaus

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Nothing I've heard from people who have skied the AR makes it sound like anything but a wider groomer ski. And you already have the AX. Seems like the Stöckli for your use case is the SR 88, if you're sticking with that brand.
When I demoed the AR, I felt it skied pretty much like my Renoun Z90. A wide carver with a lot of versality, though not quite the grip of a Kastle Mx, and a little bit of work in bumps.

My takeaway was since I already have the Z90, the AX would make more sense for me.
 

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