 Poster: A snowHead
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After several months of waiting, trips to the fridge at Hemel and MK, and the season finally getting underway, the Sultans finally got out where they belong. On the mountain.
So, thoughts after a week of skiing them on everything from patchy ice in Meribel to freshly groomed pistes in Courchevel and powder in Val Thorens, and I thought it might be useful to post a few thoughts on these skis for others, because they've come up a bit in recent discussions.
Background
I have previously skiied a load of different skis, mostly piste orientated, and was looking for something a bit wider to give me some more float as we moved towards a bit more off piste skiing. I was previously 99% on piste, now that is more like 80/20 on recent trips, and I really wanted an allrounder that could cope with most things. Previous skis used include K2 Omnisport, Axis, Apache Recon, Apache Explorer, Apache Crossfire, Rossi Scratch BC and various Storm and other skis used at ski tests and on rental. I have previously been a big fan of K2 skis and chosen from their range, my last ski was a 167 Recon that I really enjoyed, but not enough float let me down when the conditions allowed a bit of dabbling.
My skiing
A bit difficult to explain, but basically I am a fairly lazy skiier who learnt to ski as a kid and did no tuition whatsoever until this April EoSB where various faults had to be ironed out quite a bit, other than that I watch people skiing and read on the internet about technique now and again. I am fairly typical of most skiiers - I want to get around pretty much the whole ski area available to me, but don't spend a lot of time off piste compared to the time I spend on it.
Why I bought them
They fitted with what I wanted, they seemed to get good reviews and be well made, and they came up incredibly cheap at the end of last season. They are the wood and silver design, which I like, the newer graphics are very different but the ski seems to be pretty much the same. I am not someone who cares what his skis look like, but the design seems fairly innocuous - nothing that anyone would be bothered by or notice, so they won't look like a gawdy flourescent mess in a few years time.
I bought the 172s, I am about 110kg, 5'11", and have very strong calves and thighs, slightly weak knees. I like my skis short, and if buying again I'd buy exactly the same length in a heartbeat.
How did they do
Well, at various points during the week we joked about them being the ultimate all mountain ski. But the reality was that they were pretty much exactly that. They handled the powdery and variable snow better than any of the narrower skis I have used before, even those marketed as capable of more than just a piste ski (like the Recons) had less float and my memory of them was that they tended to cope with soft bumps by riding right through them, the Sultans rode over most things and through the lighter stuff - it meant that it had a confidence inspiring ride, if you were going to go through a bump it didn't slow you down a lot, which threw me with other skis.
They like to lay down big wide carved turns. On the first few days we had bright sunshine on fairly well groomed pistes, which meant no ice to worry about and when leaning them over they just dug in and drew big wide lines across the piste. A really nice feeling, they turned like they were on rails.
When the visibility dropped later in the week they were perfectly good at shorter more skidded turns - there simply wasn't the visibility to put down the big carves of the first couple of days, and for quite a bit of the time there wasn't the visibility to know what was in front of me. They were the equal of the Recons in this area, which surprised me as they were longer and wider skis, but they seem to be stiff enough to pop from one turn to another, and their stability meant that I felt I could trust them to provide a reliable edge in the turn.
On ice - this is the area where I struggled with them when I tested them last year. I had rented them for the day on a particularly icy morning, and they made it hard work. I think my skiing has progressed, largely as a result of the tuition on the EoSB, and this time when we hit ice the ski seemed to cope better. It may have also been as a result of being a new ski with fresh edges, instead of the rental ski I used before which may have been a little duller. But it coped ok, as well as anyone else on a 100% piste ski, and without any real fuss - it also helped that I knew if we could get off the patch of ice we were on at pretty much whatever speed the ski would cope with it at the bottom of the ice.
On the really soft stuff - the Sultan seemed to cope with deeper snow reasonably well, it was certainly leagues ahead of the piste skis others were using. Where they would be up to their knees, I was up to my ankles. There was a lot of float from the wide front and waist it has, and I enjoyed just relaxing and floating through the soft stuff instead of sinking in and having to keep up a lot of speed to cope.
Summary
Basically the Sultan is designed to be about 60/40, and looking around at the lift stations it is clear that many need something like it, and the rental companies have started to make these more widely available than when I was looking for a pair to rent last year. But I wouldn't go as far as 60/40, they are more like 70/30 at most. They coped with all conditions, and by comparison to narrower skis excelled at softer stuff and variable conditions, but if I was spending 40% of my time off piste I'd be looking at something wider than this. I found them reliable, enjoyable, and they feel very well built - though only a week in, I have no doubt that they will last like the 10 year old K2s I have.
I can honestly say that I would reccomend them to any intermediate who is looking for something to provide a little bit more capability when heading off the edge of pistes or into softer snow. I don't think they are going to cope as well as some of the seriously wide skis on the market, but they are a very good compromise and a really good allrounder. They do a bit of everything and you don't lose out in another area to get that.
This season they are selling for around £500. I think if I had my money back, I wouldn't buy at that price. That is a lot of money for a ski, and whilst they are very good, I'd hold off for end of season deals or keep an eye out for last seasons stock now the graphics have been changed. That said, I wouldn't buy any ski at that price, I couldn't afford to if I wanted to. I've seen last year's ski at £400 and less, I paid a lot less than that as a result of the sales, but compared to other skis in the K2 range they are priced competitively at normal price - another reason why I didn't stick with the brand I was previously loyal to - they just didn't come up cheap 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Thanks Great review!
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Very good review. Thanks Monium, as someone who is looking for some new skis in the Sultan 85 bracket this was very useful
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Nice review - I tried the 176 Sultan 85 late last season in Tignes & Val, and sharper edges certainly made for an easier time on early morning ice.
They were strong on piste as well as off to the side; I didn't get them in anything really deep as there just wasn't the snow. They also work well in the slush and bumps, so would be a great all-rounder for an early intermediate and beyond looking to hire and ski the majority of a resort.
You wont struggle with their width even if you're only used to narrow skis.
+1 on the design too, I think it's the best they've produced.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Good review - and pretty much mirrors my view of them too. Compared to the Legend 8000 (their precursor) they carve better (even though wider), and float much better - better than you'd expect for 85mm. Probably because of the wider shovel. Not quite as good in short quick pivots (more aggressive sidecut locks you in a bit little), but it's a minor difference and more than made up for by the other positives. I found very little difference between them and a piste ski on the groomers, apart from on the very hardest of icey pistes. IMV they excel in cut up snow and bumps, and so would be ideal for most people who even stick to the pistes but ski all season.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Very good review indeed.
One thought, re the 60:40 vs. 70:30 viewpoint.
For your weight and the ski length chosen, indeed they would be 70:30 at best, due to the pressure per sq cm.
For someone around 65-80kg, in the 172 length, they would be more like 60:40.
And indeed if you were to ski the 178s or 184s you'd find them more like 60:40. But as you say, you like shorter skis ( hey, I do to - they just require more work for the same results)
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| quadwould wrote: |
Very good review indeed.
One thought, re the 60:40 vs. 70:30 viewpoint.
For your weight and the ski length chosen, indeed they would be 70:30 at best, due to the pressure per sq cm.
For someone around 65-80kg, in the 172 length, they would be more like 60:40.
And indeed if you were to ski the 178s or 184s you'd find them more like 60:40. But as you say, you like shorter skis ( hey, I do to - they just require more work for the same results) |
Now that is a very sensible observation. I think you're right. It is enough for me right now as a compromise ski, but if I went with the textbook length it would be more floaty. You wouldn't get me on the longer ones for all the tea in China, but it would be another way to get a bit more 60/40 than 70/30 (or even 80/20 which is probably closer to reality for me using them)
I suppose that is why Mrs M is getting the same kind of float and performance (at least it looks like she is, if not a bit more) from the K2 Lotta Luv, only 82mm waist. My Recons were 78mm and sank like stones by comparison.
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Interesting report as I skiied on exactly the same pair of skis in terms of lenght aswell on the same week where they were exposed to lots of powder, chopped up pow and heavy snow.
There were times during the week where I was jealous of the waist of my friend's K2 Kung Fujas. Happy with their performance on piste, but still desiring another 10mm I would suggest for those skiing powder regularly. My technique in the powder may have been at fault to a certain extent as it was the first week where I've been unable to ski on groomed or moguled blacks to practise short turns on real steeps. As a lack of this practise felt that my turns in the powder took a while to progress well from traversing to flowing turns.
Fearful of going up a length to 178cms for extra float as I'm quite light and not particularly tall.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| clarky999 wrote: |
| GCompared to the Legend 8000 (their precursor)... |
That was an interesting revelation for me. I hired some of those once, and thought they were the worst most cumbersome unusable skis I've ever had on my feet.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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So on to the next question - if I am to be content that this really is the perfect ski for me. What about the Icelantic Pilgrim with 90mm waist and claims to be able to do the same things that Dynastar claim of the Sultan 85? Anyone skied both and could offer some comparison?
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Well, two years down the road I ended up with the Pilgrims above as a more powder orientated ski, and I've just pulled the trigger on some Kneissl piste skis, so the Sultans are up for sale as I'm now a 2-ski-quiver guy minimum and these are caught in the middle of 4 pairs that need to be 2.
Anyone interested just shout, I guess £175 is fair for a one ski quiver ready to go with bindings included. They've had about 4 weeks use, no base grinds or excessive sharpening so good for many years to come. Happy to meet up at Hemel if anyone wants a test drive and save a bit of postage.
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FAQ
