Background:
White Dot Freeride is one of two ski companies in the U.K. (both born last year, testing their skis this season for retail sales next year...both led by guys named Andrew...go figure..). White Dot is a small company with only a few guys who want to make only three (maybe four) models of different skis, but make them well. They designed all their own skis, specified their own construction and materials and decided to outsource construction to another country in Europe to conserve cash right now and concentrate on R&D to get the first skis the way they want them. I tried their park & pipe ski ("The One") and their cambered powder ski ("The Preacher"). They were still tweaking the rocker and stiffness specs as of January, 2009 so I could not try their "Redeemer" rockered pow ski, but they said their final pre-production version should be ready by the end of February (maybe..)..I'll let you know as soon as I can get on a pair. Anyway...nice guys making some good skis at a decent price. Plus, they have dots...lots of dots...
Usage Class:
All-mountain positive camber powder ski
Your Rating (with comments): (1="get me off these things"->10="I have to own a pair")
9
Summary:
A spot-on widebody ski of very nice quality that goes anywhere on the mountain with grace and confidence. Carves surprisingly solid, grippy turns on the groomers back to the lifts and handles like a dream in the soft snow. Not a super-softie or a stiffy hard-charger, but perfect for just about anyone on any surface or terrain where a wide ski is the ticket. A crowd pleaser that will probably be the "bread-and-butter" ski for White Dot Freeride since nearly everyone will like it for nearly any freeriding. Nice.
The white dots on green background grew on me after a minute. Even better against a snowy white background. Very nicely constructed and finished powder ski with balanced flex, good torsional rigidity where it counts, and nicely dampened. I got the impression this ski would be good for nearly any terrain we could find. Excellent quality of fit-and-finish. Really attractive price of €555.
Test Conditions:
Cold, dry, powder snow 1 day old, boot-deep powder, tracked-out boot-deep powder and packed groomers. Les Grand Montets - Chamonix, France. January 2009.
Test Results:
I tested these skis after getting off the Icelantic Shaman and Icelantic Nomad earlier in the day in the same terrain, with the Shaman being closest in width to the Preacher, so I will mention the differences a bit as I go along. The Preacher was instantly skiable without any learning curve. This pair, being a final pre-production model (serial 000-000-001-09 or something like that), was mounted a teeny bit forward of the final recommended mark according to Andrew Phyn of White Dot, but it really didn't feel funky at all to me. I could get right on this ski and point it at cut up crud, fluffy untouched powder, groomers and crossovers and bumps without any hesitation.
Slow turns were easy, faster turns were stable and predictable, and traversing across surface types was a breeze. The Preacher loved powder and was silky and responsive as you would ever want. You could adjust your depth in the soft stuff at will, and adjust turn radii with no effort at all, point them where you want them to go...they go. Quick turns and carving grip on the hardpack was impressive for a ski with 150mm tip and 112mm underfoot. I found the White Dot Preacher much more grippy and carvable on the hardpack than the Icelantic Shaman (which people generally think is great on the groomers for a widebody). Maybe that's because the Preacher was brand-new and the pair of Shamans had some miles on them, but the responsive control on hard surfaces was distinctively more impressive with the Preacher. Big grins from me on this category.
Andrew said their graphite-infused base is ultra durable, and after catching some Chamonix rock outcrops lurking just under the powder surface a few times on my runs (sorry Andrew...I tried to be careful), my inspection of the skis showed they held up great. No deep tears as I might have expected, just shallow "dents", which means the edges might live a little longer and avoid getting pulled out as often as they do on softer-base skis. While the Icelantic Shaman wanted to be skied "all up front" and showed a tendency to hook you quickly into directional changes (an excellent behavior in tight trees if you want that kind of turn...lots of people like the Shaman for tight trees because of this behavior), the Preacher was rounder, smoother, and somewhat stronger feeling because you feel the whole length of the ski working its turn rather than just the forebody. Compared to the Icelantic Nomad, the Preacher is stronger, more stable and more speed-freindly, while the Nomad is more playful in short-turn situations and bumpy terrain. I really liked the way the Preacher smoothly navigated the terrain and never had a mind of its own. Sometimes the Shaman wants to grab the terrain and turn for you, while the Preacher cruises on command and never deviates from what you tell it to do. No surprises, only great manners.
Since it's not a stiff, cliff-hucking, mach-schnell, hard-charging ski, you can get get the Preacher to flap a little through the cut up crud if you get ripping at hyperspeeds, but it's not meant for hard-charging (White Dot is considering making a limited edition hard-charger version if people really want one). The Preacher is the big-mountain, all terrain ride for all day long. Nice, and right-on-target for the market segment they aimed for. They have a winner. And the price is right.
Analogies: (this ski is like...)
A good bottle of young red Burgundy. Graceful enough to go with just about anything you want to do in soft snow anywhere on the mountain, robust enough to carve confidently on harder terrain when necessary, pleasing, fun and versatile with a definite sophistication and subtle undercurrent of quality. Not a bruising, muscular, big-mountain freight train requiring concentration, stamina and obliteration of all senses of precision, but something you'd reach for over and over every day on snow because it just goes with everything so well. The more you enjoy it, the less you'll want something else. (sorry, I've been living in Bourgogne, France for a while, and I'm starting to think of EVERYTHING in terms of wines now...)
Photos:
I was lucky enough to get invited to try the White Dot Freeride skis during their photoshoot at Chamonix for next year's catalog and brochures. Their pro athlete Justin Hawxhurst was SpeedFlying (paraskiing) and I got to capture a little handicam video of him flying. Fun stuff. Andrew sent me some low-res pictures from his photoshoot you can see below (stamped with names).
YouTube Video:
(click the "view in high quality" link if it does not display in high-quality at first)
exoticskis, Thanks for the great review. Pleased you liked them.
stoner, Hmmmm, an independant review in the review section of a snowsports forum........ Spam away
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Seems like a very well informed, impartial test from a regular poster.
After all it is free
After all it is free
"Positive camber" is that the same as "rocker"?
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.
the ice perv, no. Positive camber is the upward curve of the ski to form an arch. Most skis have a positive camber.
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
stoner wrote:
Nice SPAM
stoner, as a newbie I'd suggest checking your facts before you wade in. The co-owner of WDF is a regular contributor on this forum & is well known to many of the members who have been waiting to see these skis since they were first announced last summer.
Exoticski runs a website promoting independent ski makers & their products & posts regularly on that subject on Epic & TGR. As WDF is a UK brand he has kindly posted this review here.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
Sounds great and well made and people forget how important a very durable base is.... even the wall paper top sheet isn't too bad but as with a lot of these types of skis....you need to be doing a season and have a quiver to get the best out of them IMV.
In soft snow, you'll likely love them, but for those hardpack days, of which there are many, you'll need to be on something else...
But..... I'd put these ( and Black Crows ) down as a must-try in soft snow.
Just my thinking in general, for these types of skis, and I haven't skied them..........yet
Sounds a nice effort
Last edited by snowHeads are a friendly bunch. on Sun 8-02-09 12:56; edited 1 time in total
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.
spyderjon wrote:
The co-owner of WDF is a regular contributor on this forum...
... and has arranged very helpful ski tests for forum members of his own and other brands. It would be a great shame to put off contributors to this forum simply because they are involved in the ski industry. By and large the spam-detection on the forum is pretty good and I don't think this review falls into that category:)
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
rob@rar wrote:
spyderjon wrote:
The co-owner of WDF is a regular contributor on this forum...
... and has...
...and is a fat Fitzwilliam, he'll sit on your head...
Who was it SPAM for BTW? Erotic, sorry, Exotic Skis?
You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
stoner, and you have 4 posts to your name, and presumably haven't long been involved with snowHeads and don't know that kiwi1 is an amazing bloke who has done a lot for the community. The company is owned by a snowHead, and it is natural that the community wish to support him, and the company. Maybe you need to hang around a bit longer and get to know how the orum and community works before posting comments like that?
That said, it also appears to be an impartial and thorough review.
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Respect!!!- I'm going to retire my faithful Rozzi bandits and order some of those boards coz I want to look good in the air like that -probably not
Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
stoner, get a life!!!
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Stoner Visit Exotic Skis and Tech Talk before you post any more terrible assumptions. Or lay off the weed for a bit, it's making you paranoid...
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?
Well donekiwi1, they look great...... Montalbert would love a ski test could even get ex bond girl and world mogul champ to turn up............
stoner, please ............do you own a rival co and are therefore a bit miffed????????????
The co-owner of WDF is a regular contributor on this forum...
... and has...
...and is a fat Fitzwilliam, he'll sit on your head...
Ouch.......I wouldn't wish that on anyone.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Sorry if it looks like SPAM you anyone...I get that a bunch from other forums as well....My hobby to maintain a list of the "not well known ski builders" over the last 4 years and publish the most thorough reviews I can of oddball or unknown skis has turned into a beast of its own with more than 200 ski companies listed. I simply email the ski builders and ask "Can I try your skis and publish my review of them with some photos?...check out the site with other unique ski tests and see if you want your skis reviewed there...I typically post my tests on several other ski forums so people can hear about skis they might not otherwise get to see."
I don't sell skis, I don't sell advertising to ski companies, I don't get paid by anyone, and I have to pay form my own lift tickets and beer (bummer). I do get to ski some interesting skis every season and meet the builders, so that's pretty cool.
Anyway, I thought the review of the new skis from a little UK startup might be interesting for people. If the skis sucked, I would tell you. If they were the best things in the world I ever skied, I would tell you. I encourage people to get on a pair of ANY skis described in ANY review and give everyone your opinion. I can see why people might think the logo-ed photos would be SPAM....but Andrew at White Dot sent me copies of some of his favorite photos he captured during that day, I asked if I could post them, and he said OK if I put the credits on them....there you have it.
Everone SHOULD be on the lookout for SPAM...there is plenty of it going around. It shows the readers at Snowheads actually care about the content of their forums.
Oh...to answer "The Ice Perv", the "positive camber" ski is one that typically is arched from tip to tail with space underfoot if placed upon a flat surface. The current trend of developing "rockered" or "negative camber" skis is to essentially have a "bent" ski that has space under the tip (front rocker or early-rise) and space under the tail (rear rocker).
Essentially, a cambered ski looks like an "n" on a flat surface, and a rockered ski looks like a "u". There are tons of variations of pure full-rocker, front rocker only, rear rocker-only, front and rear rocker with camber underfoot...pure flat with rockers front and rear (or front only)...you name it..people are trying it..
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
To be fair it wasnt clear where the review came from on first reading, apart obviously from those in the know - maybe a line of introduction laying out who you are and what you do would help (ya fair enough it's in your sig bit at the bottom but not that noticeable). So just like you have "manufactuer info", why not have the same for "reviewer info". You can have that for free bud.
Good review, sounds a nice ski, but not sure about them dots (bit dizzymaking?!)
After all it is free
After all it is free
barry, the dots are like the dimples on a golf ball - they improve the aerodynamic properties of the ski...
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.
exoticskis, You really make a comprehensive job of these don't you? FWIW I think they are great write ups
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Poster: A snowHead
