Mini review Down CD6, Whitedot Director (and what skis for me)

A snowHead

Just back from a week in Chamonix where I hired some Down CD6 from Concept Proshop so I thought I would put up a little review. My boyfriend skis the WD Directors and as they have quite similar dimensions to the CD6s I thought it would be interesting to compare them.

About me
I', 5'9, 175cm, been skiing about 10 seasons, 30-40 days for the last 6-7 years. I am increasingly skiing more and more off piste and on this holiday really only used the pistes to get places so am looking for a new ski. I'm not a great skier, I can ski long stretches off pistes but when it is steep or really chopped up I won't be skiing fluidly and turn back up th ehill to control my speed, I am not a ripper Smile

At the moment I ski a 177cm Rossi S3 and an old non rockered 177cm Volkl Aura.

http://www.downskis.com/skis/countdown-6
The CD6 is described as a carbon all mountain ski, 185cm, 127-106-121, R 25m, flat camber with tip rocker and very slight tail rocker. This is the first carbon and non cambered ski I have skied for any length of time.
There are some really nice reviews of the CD6 here http://www.exoticskis.com/forum/default.aspx?g=posts&t=302 and http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/showthread.php/259532-Short-review-Downskis-Countdown-6

http://www.whitedotskis.com/skis/director
188cm, these are described as a 5 point side cut ski but the sahpe was very similar to the CD6, 117-121/107/111-107 R 27m, flat cambered with tip and more pronounced tail rocker than the CD6s
reviews
http://www.exoticskis.com/forum/default.aspx?g=posts&t=202

I thought it might be nice to read a review from a more average skier so here goes, excuse the non technical descriptions.

I really enjoyed the CD6s, like the other reviewers said they are ridiculously easy to ski, they turn so easily and I didn't feel the extra length over my old skis at any point. They were also surprisingly good on piste, I only skied on pistes for small amounts of time but skied down on a reasonably hard packed red tun at the end of the day and these were fine, no worse than my S3s. They do feel really short on piste, like the ski finishes about 10cm in front of your toes but thus didn't bother me, there really aren't supposed to be piste skis. They were a lot of fun in any untracked or lightly tracked snow, they had a really fun, poppy feel to them. We swapped skis at lunch time then went and skied some of the same runs. The Directors were similarly easy to ski in all conditions. They weren't as lively as the CD6 and didn't have as fun a feeling in the untracked snow but felt much more stable to me in the heavily tracked stuff.

I don't have a lot to say about either of these skis, I pretty much agree with what exotic skis says except his reviews also apply to skiers skiing at a far lower level. If I was buying a ski mainly for touring or skied a lot of untracked snow then I would buy the CD6, it was incredibly light and a lot of fun to ski in untracked. Unfortunately I am often skiing more heavily tracked out snow and for this I preferred the Directors, I think if you were willing to drive the CD6s then they would probably be as good in tracked snow but I enjoyed the dampness of the Directors and found it gave me more confidence, if my boyfriend did't already have a pair I would be tempted to buy them, unfortunately he really, really likes skiing them as well.

So in conclusion, bigger fatter skis can still be easily skied by an average skier, both the CD6 and Director were as easy to ski as my S3s but a lot more confidence inspiring, they were both easier to ski than my Auras in all conditions I tried. I would happily ski either ski as an everyday off piste ski and if I was looking for a dedicated touring ski would buy the CD6 immediately. I only tur a few days a year at the moment so am looking for something else, any suggestions? I guess the Rossi Soul 7 is obvious but am wondering whther I should go fatter, the Super 7? Anything else, this demo showed me I really want something that's good in heavier, cut up snow, everything is fun in untracked. I want a ski that is easy to pivot and I guess 105-110 underfoot, up to about 190cm?

here's a surprisingly flattering snap of me on the CD6s under the top gondola on the Grand Montet in Chamonix on Tuesday, I'm not posting the ones where I'm traversing across the fall line in the back seat Smile

[/img]

A snowHead

If the Directors work, why not get a pair?

You could also take a look at the CD7, which begin a bit longer/wider/heavier should be a bit better in tracked/crud than the 6, though I can't say it excels in re-frozen mank type stuff. For that you (or at least I) want something with some metal in it, al la Blizzard Cochise. Probably more work in tight spots though.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

BTW a shop in Munich called Black Sheep Sports seems to have a great range of indie ski brands, may be worth a look to see if there's anything of interest?

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lynseyf, get the carbon rangers then Wink

You'll need to Register first of course.

kitenski, the Ranger probably is worth a try, would be interesting to see the differences between it and the Director anyway

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

Thanks for the review... there's far too little information about Down skis on the internet. Given your description, I'm assuming you tried last years version of the CD6 as the new one is full reverse camber. I've not come across any comparisons of old to new (or even reviews of the new design at all!) which is a shame.

If you're not shopping for this season, it might be well worth your while to wait for Down's summer preorders as they've been astonishingly good value in past years, and substantially cheaper than the Whitedots. There have also been teasing rumours of different lengths and the possibility of models with metal layers in, but nothing concrete as yet...

After all it is free

Serriadh, no it was the 13/14 version from the website info, certainly that topsheet and the skis looked brand new. I would have described them as flat with rocker but it is probably just my terminology, they had a reasonably pronounced tip rocker but the tail rocker was very subtle, I haven't skied any other non cambered skis except for 1-2 runs so not really sure I would notice the difference between flat camber with rocker vs full reverse camber unless it was really banana shaped. I was generally really impressed with the quality of the Down skis, I skied over quite a few rocks and only got one tiny scratch in the bases and the top sheets looked really nice. They were also really, really light, even compared to my S3s, the Downs had Marker squires and my S3s have schizos (not the jester ones, just the plastic ones) which may add a bit to their weight but it was really noticeable even just carrying the skis around.

I want new skis obviously, but I have 3 pairs so don't [i]need[i/] new skis now and certainly can't afford them so will probably try to try out a few more pairs then look for a bargain in the summer.

I'm not really sure I want or need carbon skis at the minute, when i get more into touring they would be a welcome addition but think I'm really looking for something to ski lift served off piste at the minute.

Just looking at the Blister reviews of the Cochise and really wish I had tried a pair now, I had it in my mind they were really stiff?

lynseyf, my wife much prefers lighter skis, she finds "mens" skis feel very heavy and heard to turn, so the lightness of a carbon ski maybe beneficial?

I got my wife a pair of the Armada TSTw in the end of seasons sales last April/May

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lynseyf,
Just my opinion ......

The Cochise is not a ski for light riders who don't charge (we don't know your weight and it would be rude to ask snowHead

).

To be honest from what you have written, I doubt changing the skis will make a great deal of difference. From the pic and what you have written, it's probably your head playing games. Unless you commit and get the weight over the ski on steep and tracked out offpiste, you are gong to be on the tails and pick up speed then have to bail out. Your money might be better spent on a steep 'n' deep freeride course to take your skiing to the next level.

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

DB, I appreciate that but, but, but I want new skis Wink

Seriously though I have 2 pairs of skis, one of which is too short or soft for me and one which is a bit too stiff and has no rocker, I want to sell them both and get one pair I am happy with, I've had both pairs for about 4 years so I'm not that fickle and yes I am wary of getting a ski that is too stiff but I found both the skis I demoed to be much easier to ski than my Auras and no more difficult than my S3s but a bit more confidence inspiring.

snow reports

lynseyf,

If you are planning to do more touring then add these to your test list ....

DPS Nina 99
Volkl Nunataq
Kästle FX94 (might well be too stiff)

http://youtube.com/v/j_ve4uqKfrM

Sometimes the resorts / sports shops do touring ski test days - if I see any I'll post the links here. There can be good finds on Willhaben (e.g. people who have bought the wrong length skis or realised big mountain skis don't suit their wedelning on the blue piste. Laughing

)

http://www.willhaben.at/iad/kaufen-und-verkaufen/sport-sportgeraete/ski-snowboard/

Thanks DB, I went touring with a club from Munich but they all had super light short skis, I impressed them with my strength I think if not my speed Wink

I mostly ski with my boyfriend who skis the Directors with Barons so not too worried about weight, I have Marker Tours quiver killered on my Auras. I liked the idea of carbon skis to make touring easier but I think in reality I want an everyday lift served off piste ski at the moment then when I start to tour more will get a lighter ski and go dynafit.

I did a weeks instruction at Tux in the summer and the instructor basically said I ski ok, I just need to push it a bit more, ski steeper, ski faster, more bumps etc. My skis have been great as an intro to off piste and are fine for picking my way down a slope with small turns. When I started skiing off piste more I found it really tiring skiing carvers when my friends were all on fatter skis, the minute I bought a fatter ski I skied off piste more because it was immediately more fun and I'm kind of hoping for the same again, a step up in skis will give me a bit more confidence to ski a bit faster and go for it a bit more. I found a big difference skiing the same runs on my S3s vs the CD6s then felt even better on the Directors. Anyway I can't believe I'm defending gear whore tendancies, i thought the whole point of these forums was to tell me to buy moar stuff

You know it makes sense.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

A snowHead

In the last couple of seasons I've saved around 400g x 2 going from fritschi freerides to dynafits and then another 750g x 2 going from Dynafit Titans to TLT6 performance. The skis have put on around 250 gram per ski though.

A snowHead

Am already using TLT Speed Classics, so not much to lose from the bindings. Boots are BD Quadrants. Could go for lighter boots but that'd be £££ and hassle to get a boot that fits. CD6s in presale for £300 sounds reasonable...50p a gram! Talking myself into it...

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

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Looks like the Pure Nina99 comes in at around 3.2 kg / pair and the rossi S7's are around 4 kg / pair. If you go for the hybrid Nina 99 there's very little in it.

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Mini review Down CD6, Whitedot Director (and what skis for me)

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