OK, anyone tried them? Anyone know where to try them in UK? Do we know if it will be easy to try them in Europe this season?
These look like either being the very next thing, or..............
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Not seen any yet...it's very much a viral marketing thing, saying they are revolutionary, designed by the X-Scream/Pocket Rocket guy, but those sold squillions of pairs and yet the BBR doesn't appear to exist outside of a few teaser videos - they are trying to build up an Apple style buzz of frustrated would-be buyers I guess...
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?
BBR? Haven't heard anything about them, what are the rumours?
I've just come back from Alphe D'Huez and saw a monstrous pair in a shop ..198cm I think. But the idea seems sound. (I declare a bias of being an x-surfer and water-skier.) So seems to me that they could be the next really big thing, ..... or ...... a complete disaster; that great big front looks a bit hooky to me. So, I'd like to try them on a piste to see if they do carve well. The shop in Alphe D'Huez only had the one pair, no demos, but said they could order what ever I wanted, but that delivery was uncertain. ..bit of marketing here me thinks. But, if anyone knows of any to try I would like to see how they go. I guess we could learn a lot by bashing them down an in door run.
Thanks for the tip. I am certainly going to have a go on these when they are available to try. I will keep a look out and see if any resort shops are encouraging their use. Lockwoods are one of my "home" shops, -good place, , but I am not sure they will let me take a set to the Snowdome.
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Sounds like a Whitedot Preacher to me, unfocused ski.
After all it is free
After all it is free
Chike, Have Been speaking to the guys who have been on them some Salomon Workers some not and all have said good things about them! Dying to get on a pair myself very curios and skeptical but hey wont know until I try
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Chike, Have Been speaking to the guys who have been on them some Salomon Workers some not and all have said good things about them! Dying to get on a pair myself very curios and skeptical but hey wont know until I try
I was just wandering innocently about in Alp D'Huez the other week and spotted these weird things in the shop ... BBRs, -that was the first I had heard of them. I like the theory, but, they are far to expensive to buy and then try. My, fairly basic, research on the internet shows what you have found, those that have tried them have liked them, but then they are trying to sell them. So, yep, dying to try them. Trying them across the pond in East Coast powder is fine, but that is not what most of us in the Alps get regularly. They seem fat enough to float on powder but do they carve on a choppy piste with those huge bows (boat analogies seem appropriate) without being very hooky or catching? I am looking forward to finding out. I have a week in Montgenvre coming up and two in Lauterbraun. I shall be stalking the shops looking for a demo pair. I must admit, they look great.
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Hmm not convinced, but time will tell...
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.
Saw a guy with a pair today in Kitzbuehel, look hideous in real life!!! Don't think they're available to general public though, will ask mate at salomon.
Pointy skis just aint cool anymore...
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Quote:
Pointy skis just aint cool anymore...
Were they ever
But cool and trendy moves on ...... what's next.
Personally I shall get them if they ski well, pointy or fat or whatever. I confess that curiosity is my main drive, -most good stuff comes from evolution not revolution, these look just a little too much like a statement rather than a development.
..... time will tell.
You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Hmm...wait til you see Abma, Townsend etc on em
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
does anyone know of any demo days at any fridges uk? very curious.
Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Chike, Not looking easy to demo, all the shops I've seen that have them only have one pair and are going for €550 without bindings. Seen a few people skiing on them, the type of people that probably shouldn't mind! All the gear no idea sprang to mind.... I'm afraid demos might have to wait until shops can get hold of more than one pair
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Just seen some demos out yesterday...i'm on it, need to try these weirdos out
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?
I dont think this is anything new really just taking Zag`s ideas and tweaking them and trying to make them look like something revolotionary (not) Zag skis have always made very large shoveled skis with narrow waists and rounded tips for less hooking I think its just plain old copying plus in the flesh they look totally wrong.
Fairly average. Of course they look funky/interesting/weird but were actually a very tame ride. I think there's a bit of a rocker up front, effective edge seemed to start at the 150ish mark (on 179cms) 79 underfoot and 12m radius I am told! You can do nippy little turns on them as the radius is small and longer turns are nice and cruisy, although flappy at speed. (Just like most 'fat' skis)
Nothing to write home about, although I bet they'll be popular next year - they look funky and ski easy. A good ski for someone looking for a cruisy ride that will handle most terrain well and look good too
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Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
heidiky, is there any point in them?(pardon the pun),is there any reason other than looking different to buy them like they do something well?.
After all it is free
After all it is free
meandrew, They're actually kinda pointless
I tried the 79 underfoot version and apparently there's an 89mm version that's stiffer and more suited to freerider types. Like the majority of Salomon skis they are fairly boring - no springy-ness and pretty un-lively. But that's just my opinion of course! I think the stiffer/fatter one would be good fun for off piste but I wouldn't rush out to get some. The 79s just seemed OK everywhere (once you got used to the ridiculous shovel size of course) but didn't stand out in any area I'm afraid. I was told more than once it looked like I was skiing on surfboards. Defo going to be an 'all the gear no idea' ski.
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thought as much when I looked at them in a shop the other day,do I need another pair of ski`s that are really taking a step side ways and backwards really.I dont get the point in either really when they are both just all mountain ski`s with fat tips that really do nothing more than any other ski on the market.All the gear no idea is right the 89 mm one may work a bit better but I would rather buy a pair of Missions or Crusades,do they still make the Lord aswell?.
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meandrew, Defo opt for Scotts over these! I believe they do and will still make the Lord next season, big seller i think. Bit of fun but at €550 w/o bindings they aint THAT fun!!
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Had a good look at the 79s and bigger version in Blues at the weekend. They've sold one pair (or they had by Saturday afternoon anyway)
That's one mental looking pair of skis and i don't see the point. surely the point of having a wide ski is that you need the width along the length of a ski. Mind you, having said that, they should be nigh on impossible to get the tips to dive in powder! downside to that is that there'll be a lot of forced back seat skiing in those softer conditions.
got this photo from google. sums it up for me. they'll be find for folk that want to colour co-ordinate their skis with their clothes. or maybe for folk that want a one ski quiver for snow skiing and water skiing
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.
Having read a bit about them on epic where it seems early testers like them (& bearing in mind epic seems skewed towards many people searching for the perfect carve on groomers quite often) I think these could be quite a big deal. A ski that is very well mannered on piste with a big rockered nose to help those just finding their feet in (s)off(t) piste. As noted above probably not for the hard core but for the aspiring why not? Even if the idea seems to be partially ripped off Icelantic and others.
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I saw a pair of these in the window of a shop in Chantemerle in Serre Chevalier, they looked pretty ugly to me and shoogly, don't slag folk for matching, I've bought all my ski stuff minus boots at a very, very reduced price and somehow or other ended up very matchy matchy At one point everything, including boots was either blue or grey, I think I forget what I own and think oh that's a nice blue bag on sale and forget how many other nice blue things I've bought because they were a bargain. I'm very turquoise at the moment though, again not intentionally
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You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Your average punter will struggle with the size of the nose though, as long as people can get used to the shape they will be popular because a. they have 'Salomon' written on them. b. they're blue (like everything else will be next season) and c. they look ridiculous. But hey, if that's the way the industry is going, just guess we'll have to roll with it! Still boring to ski on lol
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
lynseyf, i have a pair of blue Adidas Yodai goggles i could sell you
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Poster: A snowHead
fatbob, I agree - I bet I'd hate them, but they're aimed at a pretty valid niche and I can see them doing well.
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Snow & rock have them at their Manchester Chillfactore store. Spotted them yesterday.
ps. and i think there was a pair on the demo rack.
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?
Saw a pair in Sport 2000, a sports shop in the Carrefour complex in Cluses. 719 euros down from 799, not sure if that included binding though.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
I'm not sure they will start a revolution of coup proportions, but they are different in a market where ski progression seems to be a bit more rocker on that one and a bit less rocker on that one etc. They could have just as easily not bothered. The proof is in the skiing.
They carve well, float well and the pintails give a fair bit of flexibility. The tips look daunting, but you don't notice them unless you ski thigh to thigh and calf to calf. They are all out on their own rather than tacked on to Salomon's freeride or all mountain lines. Not a ski for an epic dump, not a ski to shave seconds of your SL times, but pretty fun everywhere else.
The preproduction seem to hold their own in the the steep and deep in this vid though, and the interview with the designer:
I saw a lot of these Salmon BBR skis in shop windows (at a ridiculous price IMHO) but very few people actually using them. Those that did have them, with the exception of one chap, seemed to have them as a 'novelty' rather than anything else.....you all know the type of skier I mean
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
For those interested in trying them and Canada-bound, you can demo them for free in Whistler - either from the Salomon store or the Canski tents on both mountains.
After all it is free
After all it is free
Demoed the smaller one (7.9 or something) in it's longest 179cm today, friend was testing them for his shop and got me to try them for the afternoon. Did two top to bottom runs of hardpack groomer, super light sugary snow on old crud and debris, boot top/knee tracked pow and suncrusty pow. I hated them for every possible condition, the tips are way too soft, contact length is tiny, the massive tip makes short turns really awkward and hooky (good luck carving a turn with it's 12m radius), big GS turns felt suprisingly stable considering the snowblade underfoot, but who wants to do that? In the crud, I'd find myself hooked and spun by the stupid soft tip if I skied normally, and if I got forwards and weighted the tip I could drive through the crud but turning was a bit miserable. In the crusty pow, the tip stayed up but the underfoot width made them sink and they felt about as easy as a 70mm underfoot carver to actually make a turn nicely. Could make some kind of fun bouncy turns just gunning into the fall line in longer turns, but that works for a conventional ski too.
Oh, and the pointy thing is really a bit concerning on blind bumpy traveses with snow walls. I think it could be a half decent ski if they just decided what it was supposed to do, but right now I can't help but think they're just bad at everything. I assume I'd hate the 186 fatter one (bbr 8.8?) a little less, but really, I can't imagine it fixes much.
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Tried the 89mm BBRs 186 length in Serre Chevalier last week on the "SOPiB11 Scaled Off-Piste Bash".
Sorry to disagree with everyone.... but I thought they were awesomely good fun!
I was skiing a variety of terrain from steep & deep light-ish powder through tight trees; heavy-wet stuff up to your boots; bumps; and some spring snow on the groomers.
The BBRs handled it all v well. Easy to control and good enough to let me be confident about making speedy 90-degree turns through 1-metre gaps in the trees.
So they get my vote.
I'd definitely hire them again.
They were a real grin to ride in the mixed stuff.
And that was using them with a pair of packed-out touring boots, on the next to last day.
Think the BBRs would be even more fun with a new pair of boots.
For comparison, in the rest of the week I was on a variety of skis on the same kind of terrain
my old pair of Salomon Bandit B2 ( 76mm)
Scott Crusades ( 90mm)
K2 Hardside ( 98mm )
Dynastar Legend Sultans ( 95mm )
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3 different size BBR's in the Hemel S & R as test skis.
FAQ
Poster: A snowHead
But, if anyone knows of any to try I would like to see how they go. I guess we could learn a lot by bashing them down an in door run.
The link above is to the page on the website
plus in the flesh they look totally wrong.
At one point everything, including boots was either blue or grey, I think I forget what I own and think oh that's a nice blue bag on sale and forget how many other nice blue things I've bought because they were a bargain. I'm very turquoise at the moment though, again not intentionally 
