 Poster: A snowHead
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Disclosures:
I have spent 2.5 weeks on these skis so far. Bindings are Look Pivot 14s. Skiied in factory tune (except edges polished and properly waxed) until the very end of the period, when I retuned them myself. Any other skis I compare it to are ones I have actually skied, so no theoreticals! This is my own pair.
I am a level 9 skier on the InsideOut scale, and my preference is for lift accessed off-piste, hence my needfor a piste-orientated ski and my buying the Cassiar.
These skis were bought entirely untested, as a piste day carver that had to do a little bit of stuff over to the side of the piste, and some bumps when presented with them.
Construction.
Honestly, flawless. These are beautifully made skis, and feel like a quality item. Very light (they are carbon). Yet they do not feel at all flimsy. These are stiff, and the edges are burly. Mine took some serious knocks on this season’s rocks, and frankly the damage is far, far less than I thought there would be. These are tough. Topsheet is very tough, with little damage from lift lines etc. There is some very light chipping at the front edge, but nowhere near the amount that my other skis had chipped at this stage on their life.
Pottering around.
The ski is easy to amble around on. When not being challenged or driven, it is happy to loaf along. It is fine at pivoting on piste and very precise, so speed control is easy. However, it has a bit of an edge to it so even at moderate speeds, it does not like it if you sit back while attempting to turn – it will then pick up speed very quickly indeed and try to run away from under you.
Ride.
Odd, but good odd! In more words, it is damp, but not terribly. Yet neither is it light. The Cassiar has a delicate feel to it, so really seems to reward small inputs, yet is not cumulatively uncomfortable over the course of the day in the way that something like a Volkl Racetiger is.
Short, carved turns.
Good, but the ski requires you to really unweight and make sure you have a controlled upper body. If you fail to do this properly, or lean back, it hooks in and becomes quite difficult to manage. Like everything else you do, it requires a surprisingly light touch here. Very, very rewarding when you get it right. Turn initiation is excellent, and I think this must be due to the tips – stiff, but rockered so rather more forgiving than the Volkl Racetiger I have spent a bit of time on. It also has a slight rise in the tail, which means that with the rockered tip, I imagine that it skis a bit shorter than a 179cm race ski would.
Long carved turns and high speeds.
This really is the Cassiar’s party trick, which it will pull anywhere there is even a touch of softness in the surface (on pure ice, it i a bit skittish). This ski has a top speed that I simply did not discover. It is frankly astonishingly stable, adjustable and rewarding at very high speeds – more so than the Volkl Racetiger. Yet speed management is fine – it does not run away with you, and speed and turn shape are very, very easily modulated with subtle inputs. Interestingly, I skied this ski repeatedly on a GS course last week, and those mid sized turns were fine (nothing like as good as the Racetiger), but really not its sweet spot. This ski really is a speed machine. And no washing out at speed when the surface changes to either swept piste or actual ice – it rails over those surfaces without a tremor. Very, very impressive.
Moguls.
The Cassiar is long and stiff, so not a brilliant bumps ski. Very much easier to use it to turn on the top of bumps, rather than get in between them. That said, it is very quick to bring around due to very low weight, so can be made to manoeuvre very fast if you need to correct. Horrid when you get it wrong – the combination of stiffness and hookiness really can get you out of shape. It rewards a very aggressive, forward style where you throw the ski around and put extra turns in, not really giving it a chance to hook up with the surface. If you do this (it’s exhausting!) it skis bumps well. Being lazy on it makes for a very uncomfortable bumps experience!
In the air.
The ski loves to jump. This is probably due to its very low weight – but getting it in the air is easy, whether on a kicker, or just on the odd bump on piste. It swings beautifully too – compared to my old Whitedot Ones, the Cassiar will bring its tail around into a 180 very easily. The problem here is not the ski – it’s my ability to land backwards. Or rather, my lack of ability. And on that – landing it is fine, if you get it right. Those edges will hook in and throw you over if you don’t...
Off-piste
Here, you really run into its limitations, fast. The ski does not like to smear in a loose surface, at all. Everything about it seems designed for carving, and the combination carve/smear turns needed in powder are not its strong suit. I skied the same run in the morning on these, and in the afternoon on my Whitedot Preachers, and the difference in handling (unsurprisingly) was immeasurable. Where the Preacher is damp, smeary and charging, the Cassiar is nervous, hooky and easily deflected by surface irregularities. Interesting, as due to its length, width and rocker, most people who saw the Cassiar assumed it was an all mountain ski with a bias for powder. Not at all – it is all mountain with a (heavy) bias for piste.
Verdict & Value.
- Objectively, it is not as good an all mountain ski as my old Whitedot One, which was nowhere near this in on-piste carving ability at all speeds or low swing weight, but a bit better at everything else. And the DPS ski is very expensive – I am pretty sure that you could get something as able for less (Head Titan?). It can be very unforgiving of sloppy technique: a rearwards posture will lead to it picking up and charging away from you at speed, or dropping you in bumps. Yet powder requires you to be right over the middle of your boots – too far back and it will tip you off, too far forwards and the tips dive. Nothing like as forgiving as something like a Preacher or Line SFB, and far less float than you would expect from 95mm.
However, its performance and stability at high speeds, on piste, are breathtaking, even compared to a race type design like the Racetiger. The way it gathers speed, holds speed, soaks up surface irregularities and makes minor or major corrections with subtle imputs is a revelation - I’m just not sure if you can really use it in this way most of the time, in a crowded resort.
- Subjectively, I love the ski. It is beautiful, rare, and simply stunning, addictive and rewarding at speed. I have now actually overtuned it to 3 degrees on edge, which make it very, very hooked up on piste, but marginally worse elsewhere (especially in bumps).
It also has a feel I have not encountered before. Very light on its feet and manouevrable on piste, but very hooked up at speed, with great appetite for short carved turns. Not at all tiring in terms of ride. Vertically agile (i.e. loves to jump and swing around when airborne). To me, an odd, but oddly compelling combination.
I would buy it all over again for the way it looks, its quality, how rewarding it is when you get short, carved turns right, and frankly because of how it makes you feel when you are really, really hooning it.
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