Here are my first impressions from the first three days on the new boards. Used 2016 Fischer SL 165cm skis with Meidjo 2.1 bindings mounted on the stock riser plates. I've been so busy I haven't had time to tune them, so I'm still running on the previous owner's tune, but for this sort of ski the previous owner was definitely either a racer (college or Masters) or ex-racer, so the bases and edges are in acceptable shape.
The first discovery is that I can tell they are shorter, but I've had no problems with ski crossing. Most of the time I don't notice the shorter length, but occasionally I'll misjudge fore/aft weighting and I can tell that I need to be a bit more precise as I weight on to the skis.
I've done very little off-piste so far (it's been nice and chilly so far this season, temps hovering around 0 and then finally warming up to 15 this past Sunday), but the packed pow steeps I've done with them have been a little more challenging just due to the additional weight, narrower platform under foot, etc. Still doable, though.
The on-piste is a blast - these things don't chatter when the groom is slightly chunky, they grip better, and I can't wait to see what they do with a fresh edge. The weird thing is that while they are definitely turnier than my all-mountain boards (2017 Atomic Vantage 95C 186cm), they don't seem quite as short a radius as I expected from watching adult racers on slalom boards. They feel like the turn radius is a littler shorter than a Master's GS course, but not much. At least that's what I thought. This past Sunday I ended up assisting with course set-up for the first time - hauling GS poles, dyeing the course so the kids don't screw up on the hairpins, etc. Hauling 30 pounds of GS poles on my shoulder, I found myself really paralleling for the first time in 30 years. With the stiffer boots (this is my second year in full plastic telemark boots), it's actually doable. And I discovered something - when I telemark, they ski like a cheater GS ski, but when I parallel, holy smokes these things are turny! I'm not saying I'm converting to the dark side, but I'm definitely going to mix it up a lot more with these boards, because it's really cool to stand on that outer leg and feel that ski load up and turn like it's on roller coaster rails!
So a shout-out to
@ScotsSkier for really forcing me to consider a true SL ski, to
@TimF for following up on my post this fall to convince me I wasn't crazy (or at least alone in my insanity), and to everyone else who chimed in. I really feel like I made the right decision in what to get. The ski shop (SkiAK) that did the mount for me mentioned that while they had them in the shop they showed them to a customer to explain the Meidjo bindings, and they told the customer to ignore the skis and not ask questions, but these things are totally working. Woohoo!
This past Saturday, I was 21 out of 30 racers overall, and I won my age bracket (admittedly, there were only two of us in Mens Class 5). So the other news is that I am really enjoying Masters. There's a great range of skill levels in the group, from ex-racers to recreational skiers taking up racing for the first time, and everyone is really supportive and has a blast. While the coaches and I are still figuring out teleing, I feel I'm already getting great feedback and coaching.
Now I just need to sharpen these boards up and learn to trust them in the ruts so I can get closer to those gates (and yes, I picked up a hard-ear helmet with a chin guard).