 Poster: A snowHead
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Hybrid Wailer 112 RP - 184 CM / Yvette 168 CM
Decided to finally put some thoughts on paper regarding DPSs I’d got my hands on for me and the wife. I’ve not tried doing a review before and only been venturing off-piste for a few years, so please bear this in mind. Cognisant of the reviews on TGR, etc, this is from the perspective of someone of more average ability, skis on holiday and doesn't live/work in the mountains.
BACKGROUND:
Me: 10 years skiing, introduced via military race training, slalom and GS (usually on Salomon 2v and 3v) and took up as hobby. 5’9’’, 100kgs and usually ski between 3 - 6 weeks a year. Previous skis, K2 Apache Recons, Rossi b2s, Dynastar Bts, Dynastar 6Slicer, Icelantic Shamans. Prefer off piste and done odd bit of CAT and backcountry skiing over the years. Usually have a Snowpulse on with fair bit in it, so probably sit back a bit when skiing. Unfortunately generally rely on muscle rather than technique when skiing - so need all the help the skis can give.
Skis: I move around a lot and always have to fly to resort. Taking more than one pair of skis just isn’t practical for me, I was on Shamans coupled with occasional on-piste rental for last few years, but became too much of a PITA on piste after trashing my knee. Therefore I’ve been looking for the fabled one ski quiver. Had intended to go for WD Directors, but this review: http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=75330 combined with some comments from some other SHs tipped the balance to the 112s.
Location: First outing was Argentiere just before Xmas 2011 in some amazing conditions with the skis fitted with my Dukes on quiver killers. Had booked an off piste week with UCPA with lower-level off piste group as wanted to take it easy and get legs dialled in - then promptly got put in expert group. 30 minutes for packed lunch, occasional rest on a chairlift, but mostly top of mountain to bottom stuff. Sods law, had gone down with flu as arrived, but was determined to ski given the conditions. However, by end of week was struggling to shift flu and keep going. This probably affected my ability and thoughts on the skis.
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Grand Montets - restaurant balcony filled with snow by sd20_10, on Flickr[/img]
OFF PISTE
At the beginning of my week I was on fresh, dry powder. On varied, tree terrain, found them easy and quick to change direction. Unintentionally took off a few times, but not sure whether this was due to their pop or being deceptively quick or bit of both. They always felt reassuring on landing though and inspired enough confidence to land a few 9-10 foot drops which I normally avoid. After several small hikes during the day, they definitely didn’t feel that light compared to some of the Rossi’s used by others in my group - the dukes probably didn’t help - but they more than made up for it when set off again.
On the bowls I was impressed with long, fast arcing turns. At one point I’d probably done about 30 or so turns and not realised how much speed I was picking up due to the ease of them. Coming out of the turn, cranked over, must have leant back and promptly took off/popped clean out of snow. Guide reckoned the spray from the turn was cool, but not as impressive as seeing me take off and then vanish in a cloud of powder. It didn’t seem to matter in powder whether I was practicing slow, small, controlled turns with just the tips surfacing to letting them rip and feeling like the whole ski was on the surface. They did what I wanted, when I wanted most of the time, with a few exceptions which I’m certain were down to me rather than the ski. I did almost lose it a few times due to becoming distracted by watching the tips - even though had heard about this from someone else!
One afternoon skied from top of Grand Montets to the bus stop at Le Levanchet. Bowls at the top, into trees and on to a narrow path that zig-zags down like a luge run where you’re forced in to some small bumps, obstacles, branch ducking, etc, with no room at times to turn to scrub speed. Had a guide behind me on a pair of Bandit 2s, who actually commented afterwards I seemed to be swivelling on the centre of the skis easier than he was on the Bandits, allowing me to get more turns in when I wanted to. I had expected the track to be a chore on a powder ski, but enjoyed it - found that I could shunt the ski forwards and backwards at a whim and it just soaked up the little berms, bumps and dips that had been left by others.
At the end of the week, finally got down to Brevent, blue sky, sun really shining, but very tired legs from the previous days so I was taking it slow and cautious. First few runs, knee to waist deep were so much fun, then found as day went on that snow was getting very damp and heavy and seemed to have developed a surface cap on it. At this point, I was beginning to struggle to keep skis together, for some reason the snow felt like it was pushing my skis out to a wider stance. I then noticed that the snow was really sticking to the top sheet, causing the skis to become really heavy. Used poles to clear several times, but kept re-occurring. It was almost as if the tips were protecting this accumulation. But it wasn’t simply gathering on the ski, it was well and truly stuck and compressed. A few times I was on the verge of taking the skis off in deep snow to clear them by hand.
I also remembered thinking to myself during one turn that it felt like I needed to have the skis waxed, as some of the turns just felt sticky and the skis weren‘t flowing. After zapping all my energy in a few wipeouts, which knocked my confidence somewhat and as flu tablets weren’t working , I decided to call it a day. Rest of the group I was with (who were far healthier than me) did another run and also sacked it as they too were struggling with the snow, it was like cement if got stuck in it. With hindsight, if I’d let the skis rip and kept them on the surface I think they’d have performed far better - my legs just weren’t up to it to find out.
ON PISTE
I only had a few runs on piste conditions all week. On soft groomers I felt like it equated to doing almost GS style turns. Put them on edge, accelerate and grin as sweeping from one side of the piste to the other. Bit of vibration at the tip, but nowhere near what I’d call chatter. Hitting hard packed artificial snow lower down the mountain didn’t feel too good on them, but they coped with it.
BUILD
On the ridges/traverses I did encounter quite a few rocks during the week. Found the top sheet chipped in a few places as a result. However, despite catching several rocks with the bases during the week (one at speed, cranked over), all they suffered was a small scratch that was easily filled.
YVETTES
Unfortunately, wife refuses to try and describe the Yvettes other than “they’re good and I really like them.” To put this in to context I’ve had to force her out of her Atomic Metrons, which she’s used to ski Jackson, Vail, Fernie, Whistler, Big White et al. She’s tried various off-piste skis over the years including Rossi’s, K2s, Atomics, Priors, Volkls and always reverted to working with her Metrons in deep stuff. Next trip she’s already said she’s taking the Yvettes and leaving the Metrons at home - even if we only get to play on the sides.
SUMMARY
In comparison to my Shamans, I found my legs did work a lot harder in real deep stuff and didn‘t feel as if they were as forgiving in powder when made mistakes. But - this is amply countered by how much easier the Wailers are over the rest of the mountain. All the anecdotes I’ve heard about them skiing short, not feeling wide, turning quick and easy and being pretty effortless at moving from piste to deep seem true. They seem to have struck a really good balance between absorbing and damping but retaining the playfulness. I was left feeling like I need to experiment some more with them to find how best to work them in certain conditions and can’t wait to try - intend to be on them for everything short of ice for rest of season.
Normally I’m lazy regarding waxing skis and have them done weekly, towards end of week it did feel like they needed wax more often. I am also going to try some silicon spray or something on top sheet to prevent recurrence of heavy snow sticking, though it could have been unique conditions. Definitely recommend trying a pair - for me personally its the closest I’ve had so far to the sought after one quiver ski that’s biased to powder.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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sd2010, the DPS bases, by most accounts, don't hold wax long. I think it's something to do with the quality of their construction but you do need to wax them more often than many other productions skis so your wax comment actually makes a lot of sense.
I get to ride mine for the first time on 19th Jan ....
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