A rental ski stole my balls!

A snowHead

I thought I'd rent a pure piste ski today, just to try something different. I went to the shop and told the guy my requirements and he gave me some Rossi Hero Multiturn Carbons and took 28 Euros off me. I've seen dozens of these in the lift queues this week, so they must be good. So I thought.

First impressions: they turned ridiculously easily and felt so light it was like there was nothing on my feet. I wasn't sure that I liked that feeling, but it was probably because it was just different.

Anyway, no problem at all on the first couple of flattish blues. Then I came to a steeper, faster piste with some icy and bumpy patches and... nearly soiled myself! Edge hold was terrible; upon merely touching icy snow they broke away suddenly and were difficult to recover, and they were also very easily deflected off line by crud and bumps.

I persisted but after a few more heart-in-mouth moments over the next hour or so I began to lose confidence - not in the ski, but in myself: I could actually feel myself carrying a layer of tension and a nervous sensation whenever the terrain got a bit steep or icy: these skis were making me scared. Utterly ridiculous I told myself, and pressed on, hard, convinced I'd push through.

I didn't!

One more bad slide and I bottled it completely, took them back to the hotel and got my own skis out. It only to a few turns to reassure me that the problem was the rental skis (or my technique in relation to them) rather than me, but it took me fully the rest of the day to recover my confidence completely.

What a difference a ski makes! Until today I was honestly naive enough to think that skiing was a one way journey; forward to move skill, more confidence, more ability. Sure, not every ski would suit you, but that wouldn't stop your growth as a skier. How wrong. I honestly think that if I had to spend a week on these I'd be a worse skier at the end of it.

A snowHead

Sounds more like the tuning of the ski rather than the ski itself. How were the edges?

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

I have two thoughts:

- You would be better off with some Metal in the ski
- The edges were not as sharp as they could be.....or you may be used to 1,3.

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Rental ski tune could easily be fubared. Plus easy turning kinda hints that vice like ice grip might not be in the performance envelope.

But mainly your post reminds me how I hate really hardpacked pistes.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

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The Hero Elite Multi Turn is a brilliant piste ski with great edge hold, sounds like they were knackered with no edges.

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After all it is free

As above, bad tune

@greengriff, Out of interest what are your own skis and do you service them yourself?

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I found your balls. Please western union me £200 & I shall return them polished like new.

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You know it makes sense.

@greengriff, ...the scene: I walked into Yves' office and said 'oh new race skis' (Rossignol GS 170) he said 'have a go...', I said 'hmmm....OK...'.

Up the hill....adjust bindings to my BSL at the top station, note that the DIN starts at 10 and I am usually 5.5 .... gulp. Do not FooK Urp.

Turn Radius 21M.

Gingerly drop into the slope. The sensation is like being in an accelerating supercar. What the F%++++.....we're off!!!!...I get on the front of the ski and the edge just locks in, and the ski is soooo smoooooth. Completely damped vibration and my eyes still being sucked into my eye sockets. It's simply terrifyingly fast. I try to skid the ski to scrub off some of the hypervelocity and the ski is having none of it, nope we are locking into 21M and that's what's going to happen. So I turn left, and turn right, and turn left....nope still warp speed. And my ACLs seem to be passing in front of my vision as would the life of a drowning man. The BIG temptation is to try to hockey stop but I know that getting in the back seat in any kind of hesitant way is A Bad Idea. So I press on, in control but woah, so fast...and smooth...and fast.

Arriving at the bottom station is a considerable relief. I am not tempted to go again.

I go the SMS office and Yves says 'how were they....' (rather too nonchalantly I think) '...er...fast...' said I. 'Yep' says Yves, and gets on with some paperwork....

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

@greengriff, ....blimey just read that you use full rocker Mantras. I CANNOT imagine more of a contrast: from full rocker sidewall Mantras to Rossignol Hero Carbons. Blimey that's like switching from a full 200mm full sus DH bike to a TDF Carbon lightweight. Which is a VERY good analogy. You only get edge grip (but heaps of it, I know) on the FR Mantras by dialling in that contact point just to the fore of the front binding, and bending the ski around that. You only get edge grip on the Heros by strong engagement of the tip, followed by really pressuring the rest of the edge. It's COMPLETELY different. Your brain was probably lapsing to Mantra-mode, with the very slight backseat tendency which the Mantras encourage, and which makes them excel in slop and chop. I don't think your brain was ready for such a HUGE change and I genuinely mean that. And yes, the skis could have been terribly prep'd too....

A snowHead

@valais2, Great anecdote - it makes we want to try a GS ski - on a very wide, very empty slope with lots of run off!

Interesting thoughts re. the Mantra. It could well be me, but I also own a stiff full camber ski (Atomic Vantage 90ti) which I absolutely love and get on really well with.

A snowHead

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

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@valais2, And that is why, despite her protestations, I only let my daughter use her FIS GS skis when actually race training or racing! They are bigger than her, and heavier than my Stockli piste skis. She can control them, but the turn radius is too big and the speed too high for safety around recreational skiers. Plus its annoying when she kicks my backside on piste. She started migrating away from racing at around 14 as she saw the gap between her and the really committed/talented athletes widen massively. Only full seasons of training would cut it, alongside huge commitment to off-snow training, and probably did not have the core talent to make it to the top anyway. She has now migrated back to occasional race training and racing for her school mostly to get her fix of that GS feeling!

All that said a session on proper GS race skis is a great lesson. One of my guide friends has the same BSL as me, and put me on his GS skis a couple of times to teach me a lesson on balance and full commitment as I get a bit lazy at times. It was an uncomfortable but useful exercise, the race skis will absolutely kick you if you get it even slightly wrong!

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

@greengriff, bad edge prep. Almost no question. The Rossis are a detuned, mid radius piste ski. I’d imagine, in theory, very easily skiable.

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

Having read this thread, can I ask the experts here about a rental ski choice...

Me: skiing for 40 years, mainly 1-2 weeks per season (except the forced break..) and always rented skis. I'm a piste skier who likes to travel at a reasonable pace mainly doing nice long open turns using the width of the piste. Sometimes I like to pretend I'm on a slalom course and chuck in some short sharp turns too!

I've booked hire and I can choose from:
Atomic Redster G7 or S7
Movement Go 90 or 98 TI
Elan AMPHIBIO PORSCHE DESIGN
Dynastar speed 963
Blizzard BLIZZ THUNDER R15 WIDEBODY

What would you hire?

After all it is free

@ciderinsport, from various reviews, my opinion.

Atomic as median choice, elan if top end speed performance is where it's at for you, Dynastar to really enhance the short radius turns if you prioritise that element.

All those look fun on piste though.

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@ciderinsport, I actually acquired Movement GO 98s at the start of the season for something a bit more soft-snow. They're very nice but would not be my choice as a piste ski!

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@valais2, we so enjoyed reading that! Very Happy

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You know it makes sense.

@greengriff, Another vote for a bad tune on those skis from me. They are designed to be a fun ski.

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

A snowHead

@Orange200, I'm guessing that's just what's in the rental list

A snowHead

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

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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

@ski3, ….absolutely. In both mtb and skiing, design innovation is pressing ahead really quickly….

Why didn’t we insist earlier on 63deg head angles and steep seat angles….

And more rocker but with stiffer sidewalks and torsional stiffness….

These are easy to deliver…and change so much….

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Can't comment on either ski in question, but I skied most of a fairly powdery week in Jan on my Atomic Vantage 100ctis which I had 'tuned' myself. They were glorious off piste in 10-15cm of light powder on a softish base, but I was skiing like crap on piste and really struggling to get the edges to hold. Ended up losing my nerve a bit. I assumed it was just a lack of fitness/practice over the last couple of years. Took them to the man on my second last night to get them tuned so I wouldn't have to do it myself next time I was going away. The Friday morning was a revelation. All of a sudden they did what they were supposed to. I couldn't get over how different they were. The moral of the story for me is to stop pishing about with stupid wee files and just give them to the guy in the proper shop.

TLDR: bad tuning is real.

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

@element, …indeed it is real…

…and can see you are in NI

In middle Earth we have access to Jon Coster, who does brilliant tuning courses …and he really knows his stuff

I service maybe 50 sets of skis each season and can, due to Jon’s magic, precisely prep with a vengeance….

After all it is free

This thread has got me wondering. I am an off-piste skier (ie only normally ski pistes to get to/from off piste). I ski Head Kore (180). Not particularly wide (93 waist) but skis everything off piste brilliantly and does quite well on piste too. I ski fast and hard and guides complement my technique. However on piste, icy steeper pistes do get me skidding my turns quite a bit.
At one time, nearly forty years ago, I did ski what they called racing skis on piste. They probably weren't proper racing skis.
If there were a day in the future where I had been rattling over hard sastrugi all day, with occasional breakable crust as light relief, and decided to try a grippy GS ski on piste again, what would people suggest?

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I'll leave the GS recommendations to others, so setting aside that view a ski covering both aspect and particularly good mix of soft and hard condition is the "Kastlè FX 96 HP" pushes substantially toward GS with torsional ability to rival, but with waist, rocker and geometry to support off piste too. Its a sublime mix across the disciplines and worthy of testing/consideration I believe.

These are seriously good, and easily exceed in design remit and performance of your existing ski @snowball, in relation to that very specific edge hold in GS type attributes.

Help!!

A rental ski stole my balls!

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