The future now! Next year's shizzle tested.

A snowHead

Courtesy of my Tardis I was able to spend a couple of days trying next year's kit this week. OK actually the SIA on snow demo at Copper Mtn. Conditions a few inches of fresh each day on top of whatever. Peer group lots of sh:t off a shovel industry types then hackers like me.

No photos here but an advance warning. Next year's graphics have gone a bit provincial 80s disco with so so many skis going for a solid matt or gloss black with neon or bold primary highlights. It's like a designers' convention of the unimaginative and will date as fast as that Damon Grant wedge cut down the Kingsway. Even the Icelantic artist has stopped smoking such high grade skunk and the Hobbit v Salvador Dali v Game of Thrones mashups have been replaced by classy graphics of mountain peoples around the world in a subdued palate.

Anyway on to the real stuff.

What I tried in order. Not going to get too much into specs.

Tester: heavy guy ex rugby player, finesse not really my bag. Certain agricultural moves would horrify any instructor body.

Icelantic Gypsy Skinny 190 - lovely balanced long skinnyish ski. Cruised super well skied the few inches on groom very neatly with just enough heft to cut through crud too. Traditional type shape from Icelantic with tip and tail rocker not too pronounced.

DPS 112 RPC - 190ish Gorgeous carbon layup ski. Light as a very light thing that's just been made professor of feather dynamics at Oxford University. Carbon penalty is of course a bit of chatter on hardpack but well worth it. Kept me out of trouble on backside bowls and in the trees. Definitely would make an " desire" list.

Head Monster 108 (185ish). With Graphene! Certainly can't knock the torsional rigidity claimed re Grapheme. This was a barge. Good for people called Hannes or Herman I suspect. Not a bad experience actually just took some proper skiing rather than the point and smear of many wider skis.

G3 Synapse ( another 108 er IIRC)? Another carbon layup ski but apparently wet carbon so a bit err damper than the GPS. Not bad kept me out of trouble but didn't set my world alight.

Dynastar Cham 2.0 97. All the so most people need I think. Excellent all rounder light agile will ski piste but enough rocker and nose profile to plough through late day crud. Obviously the people I'm thinking of will ski some groomer etc with family but want a tool to cut loose when they can.

Next morning off to the Kastle tent. Mr Davenport himself recommended the BMX 105. First run awful - tips bashing together, almost completely unskiable. Fortunately I diagnosed the problem as the horrendous alignment in the Apex demo boots I had taken out so having practically thrown them at the poor fitter guy with a cry of "worst boot since I borrowed some sloppy Nordica rear entries for a run some years back" normal service was resumed. The BMXs delivered. In the end I decided they were a think n do ski. You think what you want to do on them and they'll deliver the turn perfectly.Groom, soft,,tight, smeary whatever. Another for the "do want" list.

Rossi Soul 7 : I'd demoed these before but only indoors so thought I'd give the benchmark spork ski a longer try. Heaps of fun, more inclined to the smeary and slidey naturally then the more serious skis and the tip is so light a bit of flap I'd inevitable but in a predictable way that flatters you into thinking you're really hauling ass like Patrick Kueng. Would definitely get a place on my fun list.

Blizzard Cochise : With new carbon tip n tail. I'd put these alongside the Souls but on the serious business side of the midpoint rather than the box of giggles side. Very very competent and remains another benchmark ski.

Elan Spectrum 105. New amphibio tech for free ride you know it's cambered rockered stiff forgiving , whatever you want big boy love you long time. Glen Plake is a lovely guy and was spreading all sorts of joy at the show but I really hope these aren't his baby. Worst ski of the test by some margin for me. Hard work and skittish a kind of difficult combo to achieve. And not skittish in a good way I.e. flick them where you want. To be totally fair the length was 180 which is too short for me in a mid sized rocker ski but the guy was totally unclear as to whether this is the longest length they offered or just the longest they had at demo. Plaudits though for my only "do not buy" of the show award.

Dynastar Cham 2.0 107 : to ensure I had fun the last hour I got on the middle bruv of the Cham trio. Kinda exactly how you'd expect a scaled up version of the 97 to behave.
And again well worth considering for a wide band of people.

Apex boots : for anyone that doesn't know these are you essential a snowboard boots that steps into a ski boot modular chassis. Configurable in theory with different flex spines, carbon cuffs etc.and of course no hard plastic around things like my vestigal 6th toes. As mentioned above: for me,awful. I really wanted to like them as it seems a neat idea for some but heavy, very long BSL (341mm in a 28 mondo - srsly??). If the alignment hadn't been horrible ( for the record I only have std in range canting cuff adjustments in my Heads no fancy shimming or planeing) I'd still have been put off by the weight and the flat spot penalty of the crazy BSL. Sorry guys.

Shout out to the Martins doing UK proud with their Skia balance trainer and the Mojo. And the Willyfinder lads bravely taking the fartbag revival back to the land of crazed Bogner wearers.

A snowHead

Oi, I mispent my youth in 80s discos...fond but cheesy memories of that era wink

Thanks for the write up, very, very interesting (I've got my eye on the Wailers for when my current skis give up the ghost).

Help!!

The future now! Next year's shizzle tested.

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