 Poster: A snowHead
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I am 85kgs, 196cm tall or 13.5 stone, 6'4" in old money aka tall and slim. Been skiing since 1991, mostly a couple of weeks per season. Gradually building up the amount off piste until I had kids starting 2005 which has knocked back these activities somewhat.
I have previously skied on Salomon Super Force 9 2S with Salomon Driver bindings. They've been dead a while. A bought these back around 1993, after I'd only been skiing a couple of seasons. If I remember correct they were just a tad over 200cm as was normal with the old style ski's. I liked them quite a lot at the time, although the bindings developed probs which I had checked out with no success.
The last few seasons I have been using Rossignol Bandit XX with Diamir Fritschi touring bindings (because I was hoping to do some when I bought the ski's but never did  I bought them on the recommendation of a mountain guide that I spent a couple of days with. And fair play to the man. That was a great steer as I loved them from day one. In fact the missus bought some aswell, and she loved them. Funnily enough after a week or so, I took me old Salomons back out for a run. After one morning I took them home vowing that would be the last time I would ski with them!
The Bandits are still going strong but I was thinking recently about getting another pair of ski's. The Bandits came with a pair of bindings which I had taken off for the Fritschi's. And I was thinking it would be good to have a second pair of ski's. Anyway, to cut a long story short I saw a pair of Movement Thunder's advertised. I'd gotten some good vibes about Movement ski's and when I read up on them they seemed like they could work well for me. Here is one such review.. http://citizenski.wordpress.com/2008/06/23/movement-thunder-skis-2009/ and here is a forum thread http://www.epicski.com/forum/thread/56093/volkl-mantra-vs-movement-thunder#post_713036 I ended up getting them for a couple of hundred quid and I took them out on a family ski trip to ADH last week.
Now because it was a family ski trip (with small kids) my opportunities to cut loose were a bit limited. But I did enough to give them a good test in all conditions. I guess these things are all relative but bloody hell were they stiff. It felt a bit like having two metal planks on my feet the way they held and scrapped on vaguely icy bumps in the snow. the combined weight of ski's and bindings was huge compared to the Bandit/Fritschi combo. Once out on the slopes the second thing I noticed was just how different manouevrability wise compared to the Bandits. They certainly weren't going to do anything without some severe effort on my part. Not totally unexpected given the reviews. Nevertheless, I found myself being a little a irritated by this rigidity.
As the week went on I got used to them a bit. I gave them some freedom and punch. And certainly at speed and with effort they could give you a nice feel. Perhaps it was the jippy knee that flaired up a bit before I went out, perhaps I am not as strong or as aggressive as I thought but the thought that I could always resell them to recoup my outlay seemed to come back to me on a regular basis. It didn't seem to matter whether it was piste, crud or powder, I think they worked as they were designed to do. They just didn't seem to fully work for me. The missus observed that I didn't look comfortable, and was getting them to turn the way she would expect.
Because I didn't take my Bandits, I was forced to use the Thunder's all week. That was probably a mistake, as it would have been nice to compare them session by session as it were. On the other hand it meant I had to persist with them and try to get them working for me all over the mountain. In the end, I don't think they are bad ski, they just aren't for me. Catch them on Ebay in the Autumn!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I'm sorry you don't like your Thunders. I have a pair and have to say I think they are a fantastic ski. Like a lot of Movement skis they do need to be worked and are aimed at more technical/advanced skiers (i'm not having a dig). I did make the mistake of lending them to a friend one day who now skis on them more than I do. I find my Movement Gladiators are slightly better on the steeps. It's quite a popular ski with the lifties!
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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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Anything would feel stiff/precise after skiing a bandit/fritschi combo.
MTFU 
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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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Layne, whatever you do don't teach your kids to ski yourself on whatever ski's you have 
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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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