• Dying To Try It Award •
181 ON3P Wrenegade
Yes, in some ways, I’m more eager to ski the ON3P Jeffrey. And Will Brown is going to lose it if he doesn’t get on the updated ON3P Jeronimo. And the much lighter Cease and Desist (from the C&D we reviewed a year ago) is gorgeous and super rad looking. And ON3P says that we absolutely have to ski the new Billy Goat.
But Will Brown and I ski Taos a lot. And at Taos, we ski Reforma a lot. And if you love Reforma, I don’t think it’s possible to look at the 181cm Wrenegade without thinking, “this ski was born to ski Reforma.” (See rocker profile pics of the ON3P Wrenegade.)
Reforma can get bumped up pretty big, so you don’t necessarily want to drag a ton of ski through there. The Wrenegade is 181 centimeters, but it has a flat, subtly rockered tail. And it’s stiff—but not ridiculously stiff. It looks perfect to negotiate the top of Reforma, then open it up to rage through the bottom half of the run. Maybe so, maybe not. But it’s the only ski I saw at SIA that made me think, “I am dying to ski this down one very specific run.”
Dynafit Beast 16 AT Binding
Questions: There are all sorts of tech and moving parts on this thing, will they all hold up and function flawlessly long term? The Beast 16 appears that it will skin well, but can they really replace a dedicated alpine binding to ski hardpack everyday at a big mountain on them, or are they “just” a heavy-duty backcountry binding? And how well will they handle 30- and 40-foot drops?
Salomon Quest 105
Pretty simple: we really like the Salomon Rocker2 108 and 115.
Salomon has now introduced a narrower, still directional 115 (see rocker profiles pics of the Quest 105), and we are eager to put it up against some of our favorites, like the Blizzard Cochise and Moment Belafonte, and a few new rivals, like the…
Nordica El Capo
We’ve got another entry in the ~105mm, all-mountain category: the Nordica El Capo. With dimensions of 137-107-125 (compared to the Cochise’s 135-108-123 and Belafonte’s 135-106-124), traditional camber underfoot, conservative but noticeable rocker in the tip and tail, and a metal laminate construction, is the El Capo a Cochise with positive camber? a Belafonte with tail rocker and some metal? Don’t know. Can’t wait. (See the rocker profile pics here.)
• Favorite Graphic Award, Ski and Snowboard •
Rossignol Retox – Pandamonium!
We’re not quite prepared to call this the “Best” graphic, but it certainly was our favorite.
And for the record, if you don’t love this graphic, you really need to ask yourself, “What have I become? When did I lose my way?”
• The “What Rock Have You Been Hiding Under?” Award •
Blister Gear Review
It seemed that the whole time we were at SIA, every ski & boot company kept repeating the claim that, “Nowadays, everybody wants a walk mode for the parking lot.”
We have clearly missed it on this one, because we have never actually met anyone who was like, “Damn, I wish I had a walk mode for this parking lot!”
So we will just assume that we are seriously out of the loop, and to everyone out there who has been DYING for a non-AT boot with a walk mode, you are now living in a dream world of endless options. Congratulations, your ship has come in!
• The “SIA In a Nutshell / A Picture’s Worth A Thousand Words” Award •
SIA is truly a weird and wonderful place.
How about some Softgoods awards?
Cf. part II.
Did you guys check it out the slightly stiffer Blizzard Gunsmoke and the lighter Scout? What are your thoughts on both of them? Would the stiffer gunsmoke a contender agains the 115?
Hey Marcel,
While I didn’t get the chance to take a close look at the new Gunsmoke or Scout, I will say that I don’t really see either of them as being in the same category as the 115. The Gunsmoke favors a more upright, light and centered stance (where the 115 can be skied from a more forward , aggressive position) and has more tail rocker than the 115. The new stiffer flex may make the Gunsmoke’s tails a bit more reliable, but in any case the 115 is going to feel more directional and less playful. Quest 115 = big mountain powder ski. Gunsmoke = surfy, very playful, backcountry jib ski. The Cochise (the Scout with metal laminate construction) is more big mountain oriented, but is less of a powder ski than the 115 at 108 underfoot. It has a longer turn radius, does great in light crud and chop, but wont float as well as the 115. That’s how I see the three differing. We look forward to getting on both the Scout and new Gunsmoke soon. Hope this helps!
Will
When I came across the Soul 7 footage that is already available on youtube since a couple of weeks, my immediate thought was that someone in their R&D department must have spent a significant amount of time on blister. Seriously, it just cannot be that all of Jonathan’s complaints and concerns on how much the tails of the S7/super7 sucked was not heard by someone at Rossi and this all happened by accident.
Well, there is another possibility; some superior force said: “Well, ok Jonathan, I am going to fix your s7 super 7 problem. Yet, I’ll start messing around with the Bibby instead”.
Can’t wait to read your first impressions on the new Rossi lineup and please when publishing pictures, choose one where Jonathan is grinning from ear to ear while skiing the new super 7…
I was told that Rossi had at least a few people interested in an update, including Dan Treadway. So who knows, and let’s just say, Good going, Dan!
As for your notion that a Superior Force is messing with me, well, that does seem like the most plausible explanation.
If anyone at Blister doesn’t feel like hiking up 50000 m of vert to test the new Dynafit Beast 16 AT Binding, well then I’m your man! Looks like a compelling choice for the new breed of backcountry huckers. Perfect for those who want to ride at Revelstoke Mountain Resort when the Avi is high, and then head of to Rogers Pass when things calm down a bit. It would be nice to be able to hit the big drops in the BC without worrying about premature release. Hopefully it will have some serious pre-sales testing to ensure it does release properly.
Then again, maybe being the first to test a new kind of binding isn’t such a great idea?
All good thoughts. We’re going to start putting time on the Beast in the very immediate future, so we’ll let you know.
I demoed a Soul 7 today. It was the first time I’ve ever skied any of the Rossi S-series skis. Unfortunately, conditions weren’t great (a few inches of dust on crust) and it was 180 cm length (I’m 6’1″/185# and would’ve preferred the 188). Those caveats aside, it felt pretty stable despite the light weight and short length. It was snappy and super easy to throw around. I’d be interested in the larger version.
Cool. And it definitely seems like you ought to be on the 188.
Any more detailed information on the El Capo? Turn Radius? Is it a short 185 or true 185 in length? That ski has me very interested as well.
I’ve skied the El Capo for a day in piste. It’s a big, stiff and strong ski. Felt like a big Mantra that wanted to be skied fast and aggressively. Despite this, it turned easily due to the tip rocker and could be smeared in the icy piste.
It just jumped on top of boilet plate but that might be expexted. All in all, not my kind of ski.
It dove for another skier during a powder day and required quite a lot of weight on the tail not to dive in the pow.
Hmmm, felt like a big mantra? You’re not dissuading me, Magnus, especially since I wouldn’t regard this as a pow ski (as I don’t regard the Cochise as a pow ski), but more of a variable / chop ski. Thanks for the feedback!
Of course not, I just thought it felt like a big, stiff ski. From the day in the pistes of Chamonix I had with it, I thought it felt a bit like a tank, mowing through chop and becoming a handful on more icy patches. Definitely wanted a firm driver and wanted to go crazy fast when railing groomers.
Personally, I thought it was a little too much ski for me but there’s two layers of metal and 107 under foot to you… :)
Also, I think it was the 193 cm version I skied.
Definitely would seem (at least for me) like a lot of ski at 193cm. But those 185s….
Per usual a great article, but I was wondering, wouldn’t the experience 98 be better with some carbon fiber in it for its stiffness instead of the heavy titanal??? I actual was kinda waiting for an update like that…
I could see that, Kevin, but I personally wouldn’t want to see the titanal removed for carbon stringers. I think it would feel like a pretty different ski—lighter, yes, but almost certainly less damp. Might improve the E98’s all-mountain game, but it’s just so much fun to rip these on edge at speed over smooth or rough groomers, I wouldn’t want to tinker with the formula. Mostly, I just need to get back on this ski soon.
Thanks, Im studying engineering so I’m really interested in the dynamics of the skis, so that was a really helpful reply!! :)
I just finished a fantastic week of skiing in the French alps (Paradiski, La Plagne), with about 2 foot of fresh powder, on my new Rossignol Squad 7’s, which I bought thanks to the fantastic reviews on this fantastic site ;)
These ski’s are absolutely amazing!!! They’re perfect for the French alps, they ski well in chopped up snow in the beginning of a route, then they absolutely charge the open fresh powder, and when you arrive at the tree line they still are super!
They also handle really good on the slopes, especially short turns. One thing though, I suddenly have the sides of my legs bruised up because of the effort it takes to put them on the edges on the slopes :) , good thing I work out up to 4 times a week!
After skiing powder on Rossi 9s for a long time and then full camber twin tip Blizzard Titan Chronus for about the last 8 years, I notices I had to change my technique completely! No more backseat skiing! I wiped out the back about 3 times this week :) mostly on harder snow, but I like it because on the slopes I’m used to pressure the front a while lot.
There is only one thing I really didn’t like about these skis, when on very icy slopes, when turning/slipping they would start flapping very violently!! Maybe it has to do with the edges I’ve set, at 0.75 base (which im going to change to 0.5, I think) and 2 side angle????
but overall, I’m in love :)
Do you guys sometimes ski in Europe??? I’d love to join if possible :)
Oh yeah and one more thing, those squad 7’s turn on a dime in powder, which absolutely awesome for the technical routes!! :p
I am shocked the bibby pro has changed. Dear moment: no paulownia ever again. The weight savings gains you what? Nothing! We can all loose two pounds off our fat asses or stop being such massive VJJs and we will be able to rock the OG bibby pro for more vert than whatever that paulownia noodle saves us.
Now c’mon, Tommy – you sound almost as bad as me. I think for everyone out there who felt like the 190 Bibbys were too much ski, this could be a good thing. And for the rest of us … well, we ought to ski them first. Hopefully we will be able to let you know ASAP.
Unfortunately for me, while the new bibby might be better than the original, the 190 length is perfect. I don’t want it to be wider…but could deal with that. Longer or shorter? No thanks. I think we’ve seen enough of paulownia in skis over the past few years to know one thing: it just isn’t as damp as other core materials. Frankly I’m selfish with my infatuation with the original bibby so I just don’t care if Josh Bibby himself wanted another ski. The obvious solution is giving him a second ski AND keeping the original in the line up.
So…I’ve gone ahead and purchased another pair of the 12/13 bibbys, knowing they’ll have to last me until they are brought back (an inevitable conclusion to this story).
What about the Black Diamond Megawatt? Is this years model the golden goose or should we be frothing to jump on next years model?
Good question. But my understanding is that the changes to the Megawatt are subtle, the ski has been lightened up a little bit. But we’ll look to get on the 13/14s to see exactly how similar or different these are.
Looking forward to trying the new bibby. loved the 190, hopefully it hasn’t changed TOO much
any news on the k2 boots? Blister’s thoughts on them?
damn the night trains and ghost chants are gone too. now we get the ghost train. i’m not so sure moment should have tweaked three of there best skis or gotten rid of them.
Didn’t get a chance on the new Bibby, but the Exit World feels just as stiff if not slightly stiffer. The ride is definitely damper than the current Bibby and perhaps some changes will be made before production. Honestly, I felt the Exit World could use more carbon fiber to add more pop. Doesn’t feel quite as lively as the Bibby.
As far as the Ghost Train, that ski is the tits! Didn’t get it in fresh snow, but felt plenty stable on it at high speeds everywhere else.
Appreciate the comments, Tommy, thanks.
I took note of the big changes w/the Moment line up, including the ghost chant/night train mating, the more powder oriented Bibby, the reworked Belafonte and Tahoe, the newly redone Governor which was itself just redone and now the Exit World.. Many seem to have some portion of the Death Wish’s multiple sections of minicamber. As someone commented above. paulonia is great in ultralight bc skis ( I have a 5 1/2 lb ski though it is only 83cm wide and has a definite, i.e. low, speed limit and range, qualities not normally associated with Moment). What was the thinking driving these changes and when will you get your hands on these models? Thanks
Pretty simply, Moment liked the dirty mustache rocker enough on the Deathwish to add it to the Belafonte and Tahoe. The Paulownia was a result of the fact that they were touring a lot on the Bibby Pros, and decided to lighten it up – 1/2 a lb. per ski. As for when we will review the new lineup, hopefully as soon as possible.
Any more details on the Redster Pro 120?
After trying a variety of boots this year I have come to realize that I am one of those people who likes a bit more forward lean than current boots offer (other than when standing in line!) Given that the Redster seems to be one of the only boots that offers this feature, it is on my short list.
Does the Pro 120 have a different boot board or other features that make it more of a ‘freeride” boot? I know Atomic offered three stiffness options in the 110/130 boot board anyway so I am curious what, if any, differences there are between the red 110/130 “race” boot and next years 120?
As always, thanks for the great reviews of next year’s gear!!