Icelantic Skis

A snowHead

Well, at the eosb kiwi1was nice enough to let us all try some of his icelantic skis which are new for next year.

I first had a blast on the pilgrims, which are the 'thinner' of the three, still quite a whopping ski, It's quite similar to my volkl karmas and I got on very well with it, It held its edge very well whilst carving.

The shaman, I didn't take this out on my own choice, but was persuaded to give it a go, with massive shovels it was perfect for blasting around in the slush, It was way too hard to ski for me, but I just dont have the power to edge it and put it to its full potential.

The nomad, the middle of the 3 skis, I loved it, Took it out early and expected poor performance on the icy conditions, but it held up well on the ice and as the snow softened up it really began to shine. It's the kind of ski that you really have to put power in to get it going, but if you can, it's so worth it.

I think ill be on the nomads next season (wallet permitting that is)

Would be good to hear what others thought of the skis.

(except the high society as admin had them all week.)

A snowHead

I skied the Pilgrims for a few runs and found them very stable and easy to turn off-piste and surprisingly easy to edge on-piste. They were 169 twin tips and felt too short but apart from that, very nice

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

I've got a pair of the new 07/08 Pilgrim's in 169cm which is the longest length they do. I haven't skied them yet but I'm convinced they're too short for my 15st frame as they're not that stiff, although the VIST Speedlock on mine plate does add a bit of stiffness. The extra height of the Speedlock plate also helps getting them up on edge on piste etc.

However Deb had her first foray off-piste in March & has now pinched them. Interestingly the 169 Pilgrim has exactly the same 136cm running length dimension as Deb's Burnin' Luv's so being a twin tip they effectively ski 9cm shorter when being compared to the length of a conventional ski.

Hopefully kiwi1 can convince Icelantic to make them in a lot longer lengths, say mid to high 180's.

Icelantic's certainly have the coolest graphics on the market. I've got the green 'python' snake skin bindings which look superb on the Pilgrim's.

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spyderjon, Although I did not ski them I thought some of the Icelantics were works of art. A huge thank you to kiwi1 for his efforts

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

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I'm well used to short skis having loved my old B5's in 162cm, but they were very stiff. The Pilgrim looks to be a great all-mountian ski for light to mid-weight folk but needs to be available in longer lengths for heavyweights, especially with them being twin tips. I reckon a 185 Pilgrim would be ideal for me as it would compare to my 176cm Crimson's.

Did anyone ski the High Society's?

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

The beauty of the range for me is the 168 nomad. The best feed back I had on this ski what when Sebastian from Titicaca skied it. Keeping in mind his team has just won the Derby de la Meije the man knows how to ski and I mean really knows how to ski. I told him to have fun, its a great fun ski.
On his return and after getting his ear on the snow whilst carving the 105mm waisted nomad he said thats more than a fun ski, its a serious all mountain ski. Personally I just found it easy. I'm not a great skier I think its won of the most forgiving all mountain skis around. I took it out early one morning just to see if it would hold an edge on the hard pack and it gave me a big yes.

I'm expecting the mother of all reveiws from admin since he had the High Society FRs for 4 days.

After all it is free

We met him hooning down Tete Ronde on the RC4s and I have never seen a bigger smile on his face.

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

LOL. Friday was a nervous day. Thought he was going to test them for a couple of runs in the stadium and when they were still not back after a couple of hours kiwi was one very worried lad with all the rocks out there. Luckily they were fine and he seemed to love them. They're your's for £200 Graham if you want them.

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kiwi1, Crikey - if admin doesn't take you up on the RC4's at £200 then can I have them?

I was with Frosty the Snowman on the Tete Rond run when we met admin and others. He was having a blast, but was taking care not to gouge the bases.

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jmdohanlon, I agree, from what I saw it was impossible for the bases to touch the snow due to the extreme angle they were being cranked over at Very Happy

Apart from Kiwi and Sypderjon has any snowhead owned and used the Pilgrims this season?

You know it makes sense.

kitenski, I think redrunmarcus has some, and seems to love them.

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

A snowHead

spyderjon, I've got to say I'm really intrigued by these skis. My wife is currently looking for a more all-mountain ski to give her confidence in deeper snow and off-piste. She's 165 cm tall, 55kg, reasonable ability (10 weeks skiing), but not very aggressive. The Pilgrim looks like an interesting choice, but I'm struggling to get my head around the two length choices. 151 or 169 with nothing in-between ?? She currently skis 156 on conventional piste skis, which she's happy with and seems about right for her weight. For a conventional all-mountain ski I was thinking she should go slightly longer i.e. 160 ish. I gather the Icelantics are designed to ski much shorter than a conventional ski, which implies the 151 should suit her. But it just seems massively short, especially given that it's a twin tip. The 169 sounds better as a twin tip, but is that designed for much heavier skiers as there's nothing longer in the range? So I'd be really interested in your opinion on this i.e. should she go ultra-short as implied with this design, or longer more conventional sounding length. Or to put my question another way, what skier profile is the 151 Pilgrim aimed at? Cheers.

A snowHead

The Nomads are great and have really helped my off piste skiing ......especially the deep Cool

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

AND...... they look sooo cool I could have sold tickets the amount off people who wanted to look at them

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uktrailmonster, where is the closest indoor slope to you. After the EoSB I could maybe meet you with the demo skis so Mrs uktrailmonster can try both lengths. She would be OK on both lengths but I'd suggest only the 169 if she was going to venture into more off piste.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

MK is just around the corner from us. Demo sounds like a great idea thanks, except her ski boots are out in Canada until next season! But still worth a go with hire boots, I just hope they don't cloud the result too much.

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uktrailmonster, No worries. I'll PM you after the EoSB and get down to MK so she can try the lot out.

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

kiwi1, Cheers, thanks for that. She'll look forward to it.

After all it is free

uktrailmonster, The 169cm Pilgrim would definately be the length for her as her stats are virtually the same as Deb's. Deb used to have the 160cm K2 Burnin' Luv which has a conventional flat tail. The Pilgrim is a full twin tip design & it's running surface length is within a mm or two of that of the BL so I can say with confidence that the 169cm Pilgrim actually skis to a conventional 160cm length when on-piste & then will ski a bit longer in soft snow as they'll be some float gained from the tips & tails.

spyderjon, Thanks for that, all sounds logical. It just leaves me wondering who would suit the 151s then, if not lightweight women? I'm also wondering why there aren't longer versions for the big guys? Please could you also PM me a price inc appropriate bindings.

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uktrailmonster, there are. Next season there is a 179 which is very nice. The 151 would not be too short for your wife if she was not heading off piste much. Although even I feel a better length would have been 159 instead of 151, most of the 151 pilgrims this season have gone to people your wifes weight or lighter most of them being teenagers. Most of the 169s have gone to instuctors of all weights.

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i was stoked to be on the icelantics for the 2008 SIGB tests, some of the best skis ive even clicked into! check out my reviews under equip reviews and the title "SIGB Ski Test"

okok im not a tech head and cant work out how to link the page.... Embarassed

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FenlandSkier, That links to a thread about Dynafit boots.

You know it makes sense.

Doh, http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=37631 was the one I meant but I'd found it via the search box and jumped back and forth a thread.

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

FenlandSkier, Cheers, found it too with a search but nice to have a quick link.

the_doc, Thanks for pointing out your excellent review. They sound like great skis and will be high on my own shortlist too next time I'm looking for new skis.

A snowHead

Well I was very kindly loaned a pair of 169cm Pilgrims, aimed at my wife to try for an all mountain ski.

She is 5ft 8", I am 5ft 10" 13 stone, we are both good, ski anywhere on and off piste skiers.

She skied them for an hour at XScape, and really didn't get on with them. Compared to her 1080s she said they didn't feel nimble. She said they carved well, but wouldn't want a pair. She also commented on the weight of them, I suspect some of this is due to having a demo binding. However we went into Ellis Brigham, and women specific skis are definetely lighter, and compared to the Pilgrim are not as "thick" near to the tip tail.

So having a new pair of skis in the hall was too much for me, so I "popped" up to Cairngorm today, and I'm sad to say I didn't enjoy the skis that much at all. First few runs I really didn't like them at all. I found them very slow edge to edge, a few times I missed the inner edge and *almost* fell, which didn't do much to my confidence in the ski.

To be fair, it was warm, so conditions were not perfect. After a sit down and some lunch I got on with them a little better on piste, but they were surprisingly disappointing in heavy spring snow. I felt the weight as well under foot, and sometimes (whilst trying to analyse) thought it felt almost as if the tail was dragging?

They were fine carving at speed, but they are just not a ski for me or the missus. I wish I'd chucked my Missions in the car for a comparison as I think they would have skied the conditions much better and given me more confidence.

To be fair, the missions are 178cm whilst the Pilgrims are 169, so maybe they are just to short for my height/weight?

A snowHead

kitenski,

I don't know this ski but I think you have to re-evavluate the way you ski it, IMV. For wide skis, they aren't going to feel nimble and if you think that is a requirement then wide skis will never work. Generally, if you let them run the ski will work so much better and be a real plus in deeper snow.
I accept some wider skis of around 90mm will feel odd on the piste and that is where you have to make the compromise.

I have come to this conclusion after wanting a wider ski to perform fast...and it doesn't want to, but when you let an 96mm Mantra go ( for example ) it just planes the snow..and you are almost on for the ride. Try and chuck it around and you'll feel it very quickly.

What makes the Mission a popular ski is that people can do most things on it and it doesn't feel as clunky....but if you fight a wide ski normally it will cost you in energy, I think.

If you want a 50-50, then maybe this isn't the ski tho', I can see that.

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

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kitenski,

I did realise it was a turning point for me when I stopped trying to turn then like an SL.... Laughing

I initially read your post that H was 13st... I nearly choked on my cornflakes..!!!!! Laughing

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Kiwi let me test the pilgrims, nomads and those big spade ended monsters on his Salbach test. I have to say I comfortably loved them all having never tried this type of ski before. The pilgrims were a great allrounder that gave me much more confidence off piste, despite my limited experience. The Shamen (I can only equate to in car terms) as being a V8 chevvy Pick-up truck. These monsters dont care what gets in their way, nowt is stoppin' these puppys! But I WANTED a pair of 168 Nomads so much we went all the way up to Scotland to test them again. I now have a pair proudly adorning my chimney breast and can't wait to bust some rad moves next trip. Cool

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chubby pluto, What skis did you have before? Just to help put them in context. My wife has never tried a wide ski either, coming from 67 mm wide piste carvers. I'm not expecting them to be brilliant in the confines of X-Scape, but if she at least feels comfortable on wide skis there they can only be better off-piste.

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

uktrailmonster, I have the 168 Nomads as you know ...they are much harder work on piste and I really have to concentrate but off piste they are unbeliveable they have helped my off piste skiing improve dramatically this season but they are not for easy relaxed on piste days or not for me

After all it is free

I thought the 168 Nomads were a right giggle in the confines of MK. Not the same as a trad ski but certainly fun. I think they do require some fluidity in technique i.e. you've got to be prepared to play around a bit.

uktrailmonster, I've skied on some Atomic Beta carve 165's for about 7 years (a quite early skinny carvers). To help put them in context, when we went up to Scotland for the "Snowheads get together" on the last bank holiday ( good fun by the way, recommend it for next year) I skiied like a muppet for the first few runs even though it was on good snow. Straight onto some Nomads and I was away! this was of course piste skiing, but I didnt find them any harder work, in fact they made me stay out when I was all for giving up for the day. I was 360'in so much I thougth I was on the waltzers. I thought for a big flat ski there would be a lot of chatter and would be hard work, I have skied in them in Salbach power, crud and "end of the day" scraped off hard mogul pistes, and the best and worst of scottish terrain and I can say I havent found a situation they dont feel comfortable in. Ps, I'm only a little lad 5' 8" and 13 stone and the 168 feel fine with me.

Help!!

Icelantic Skis

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