 Poster: A snowHead
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No guarantees, but I will be up at Loveland's demo days this coming weekend, and plan to get a bunch of demos in. I will typically be on high-end skis, but I'd be willing to consider specific skis for which you'd like to get my personal and objective views.
If you have a particular ski you'd like to hear about, let me know here.
BTW, I'm a 180lb, 6' male with 33 (of 43) years of skiing under my belt. And, as with anything skiing, YMMV.
Best,
ssh
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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If you can give me your view on Atomic SX B5, Atomic 6 Star, as an alround Skis.
cheers Bob
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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?
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ssh, in bumpy broken pow:
Elan M02 176cm vs. Volkl V Expression vs. Elan M555 please
Elan S8 vs. Volkl 4star
Elan S10 vs. Volkl 5star
and if you see a Liberty C-Note or Karhu Kodiak . . ..
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Bob, do you mean a Volkl 6 star? I'll do my best to get on the SX:b5. I'm looking to get on the Metron b5, too.
comprex, I hope I get those conditions! Looks like a couple of inches a day is likely, but it won't be very deep. What are you looking for from these boards? They are a bit lower-level than I usually ski (I tend to ski quite fast), so help me understand what you're looking for from them if you can.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Your take on the Metron B5 will be interesting if you manage to get a ride on them...
Have fun!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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ssh,
Goals:
For me, a
Vermont tree ski with good ice grip, direct tip response, and soft enough in the midsection to deal with utterly frozen-over bumps (first comparison). I have first hand experience of Elan M10 with Marker on it, so the M555 is really the baseline.
Further, there was interesting speculation about Volkl shifting manufacture of the park/new school AME skis to Slovenia (and I don't really think Alpina is quite likely to make these), the V-Expression being the first one of these I know about. If there is a quality issue, I would like to know about it. If "Volkl design and tradition" counts for much next to it's same-factory brother I'd like to know about that too.
(This is not the first connection I see between the brands. For example, the RD Helidog was made in Slovenia, with suspiciously familiar sidewalls and, eventually, the typical older-Elan crackling of the topskins just at the root of the shovel. The sidecut, tip dimensions and layup, and sizing, match the Volkl Explosiv so well that one of the first upgrades to a Helidog is to glue and screw on a set of Explosiv tip guards.)
Thus the first matchup. I am mostly interested in relative damping and tail release behaviour.
The S-series vs. *-series comparison is really to see whether their previous similarity of role and function (commented upon on Epicski for the S12/6*) can be generally extended across the line. Or not.
The last two are for my curiosity. I have never heard of 'Midsection stiffenning claws' as Karhu puts onto the Kodiak, and I wonder whether the applause those received in the telemark world might be extended to purely alpine, in a way it is a verification of all those claims of 'binding stiffness' or 'free float'.
The Liberty C-Note has an interesting Zag-like tip and might be a US market Zag-alternative.
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| David Murdoch wrote: |
Your take on the Metron B5 will be interesting if you manage to get a ride on them...
Have fun! |
I will have fun, I promise.
I already have the order filled out for the b5. I think it will be a gas!
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BTW, I'll print out whatever is here at 5pm Mountain on Friday. After that, I'll not get any additional comments. I will post my reviews here the following week. 
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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ssh, have a great time.
I love Loveland - my favourite area in CO.
A day boarding at Loveland and then beers in the Walnut Brewery eh?
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Well, I was not able to get on many of these, and the snow was pretty hard, but my review is here. Let me know any thoughts or questions you have.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Can you compare the RX9 damping/feel to that of the Superspeed?
Thanks, good work!
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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.
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comprex, I prefer the feel of the Fischers, myself. They feel more "lively", and I like that. The "liveliness" does not translate into less stable, however, just a greater feeling of energy coming from the ski. I think of it as more like a thoroughbred race horse: ready to go. Again, though, this is just a feeling, not a claim that the Volkl can't go as fast as the Fischer. It just feels a bit more quiet and controlled.
Does that make sense?
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ssh, perfect sense.
Any specific ones other than the Omecarve you feel could have been better tuned?
Would you be able to take a look at Stockli and Head also this year sometime?
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You know it makes sense.
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Stocklis are difficult to find around here. The only place I know that has them is in Vail, and I am not sure they make them available for demo. I'll try to find out. Which Heads? Did you look at my review from last year on the Head?
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Thanks Steve!
I don't expect the Monster feel has changed that much since last year; you've already answered that question really. I would have liked to see the
i.XRC 1100 RD up against the RX/S12/SS7 especially since it isn't as commonly available (to demo either). If not the RD then the SR2 non-Chip.
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