2012-2013 Atomic Punx

Atomic Punx, Blister Gear Review
12/13 Atomic Punx

Ski: 2012-2013 Atomic Punx, 182cm

Dimensions (mm): 112.5-82-112.5

Sidecut Radius: 21 meters

Actual Tip-to-Tail Length (straight tape pull): 181.5 cm

Boots / Bindings: Nordica Jah Love / Rossignol FKS 140 (DIN at 12)

Mount Location: True Center

Test Locations: Park City Mountain Resort

Days Skied: 10

At first glance, the Atomic Punx appears to be a pretty standard park ski: it’s completely symmetrical, traditionally cambered, and is a fairly narrow 82mm underfoot. But the Punx is all business. Pitched by Atomic as a competition-ready park destroyer, it is built to outfit competitors at the highest level.

But I wanted to find out if the Punx was more than just a burly comp ski. In my preview of the Atomic Punx, for example, I highlighted Atomic’s stylistically diverse team of athletes, and took their varied approaches to skiing as evidence of the Punx’s versatility as a park ski.

Flex / Sizing

Hand-flexing the Punx reveals that it’s fairly stiff underfoot, with a progressive but subtle softer flex in the tips and tails. The flex pattern is similar to the Nordica Ace of Spades, but the Punx is marginally stiffer underfoot.

At first, I was apprehensive about riding a 182cm ski. I’m 5’9”, and my ideal length for a park ski is around 176cm. I was a bit disappointed that Atomic doesn’t offer the Punx in any size between 173 and 182, as the 173 would feel a tad short, and I’ve had some issues adapting to a 182cm ski before (e.g., when reviewing the Bluehouse Antics).

Six centimeters doesn’t sound like much on paper, but at first, it was enough to make a noticeable difference. I was also concerned with the 82mm waist as a possible stability issue, as I mentioned in my preview.

With all that in mind, I knew that I needed to get the Punx on some big jumps in order to test it properly.

Jumps

In late January, Park City Mountain Resort finally opened their largest park, King’s Crown, which has jumps ranging from 40 to 80 feet in length—an ideal testing location for a supposedly burly park ski. I was to be able to get a few days on some large jumps, in addition to medium-sized jumps and rails.

Given my initial concerns, the Punx exceeded my expectations in terms of stability and rebound on off-kilter landings on larger jumps. The landings of a few of the jumps in King’s Crown were a bit flat for the steep takeoff angles, but the Punx didn’t waver on some of the big impacts from the flat landings. They remained solid and tracked straight without scrubbing out on some of my less-than-perfect landings, and I have little doubt that this issue would have been more prevalent on a ski with a softer flex, like the Scott Jib TW or the Bluehouse Antics. If I landed a bit tip-heavy on switch landings or backseat on forward landings, the stiff core did its job, allowing the skis to rebound and to keep me upright.

Stability is my primary concern when analyzing jump performance, but the amount of pop I got out of the Punx on takeoffs was a really pleasant surprise, too. The responsive and spring-like pop that I felt when jumping on the Punx was reminiscent of the Line Stepup.

Like the Stepup, I appreciated how responsive the Punx felt on takeoff and how it felt more like an extension of my body than something bogging me down. I believe that allowed me to adjust to the longer length of the ski more quickly than I’d expected.

Scott Nelson, Atomic Punx, Blister Gear Review
Scott Nelson, Rodeo 540 Safety on the Atomic Punx.

That being said, in comparison to an equally stiff ski like the Stepup, the Punx did feel like more ski when performing bigger spins like switch 1080s or double corks because of their moderately heavier swing weight. For me, where the Line Stepup has an edge over the Punx is how it excels in stability while maintaining a lower swing weight, thus giving it a more agile feeling in the air. This, of course, could be chalked up to the Punx’s longer length (182 versus the Stepup’s 176), but it’s worth noting.

 

8 comments on “2012-2013 Atomic Punx”

  1. Just to add my 2 cents… Talking about versatility, Punx are incredible ski for teaching! This is the only ski I found that let you perform ALL PSIA gimmicks (including arc-to-arc with 1/2 ski length transition without up-unweighting) and at the same time provide you with the feel of normal, fun skis. It was a big deal for me since I was liberated from skiing front side carvers once I found Punx. They ski short, size up.

  2. Great review, and super timely for me; I am looking for a ski for bigger jumps in the terrain park. Not interested in rails or boxes, just Air. Is this the ski, or are there others to consider as well?

  3. Jonathan,

    The Punx isn’t the only option, but it’s a great choice for what you seek. It’s very dependable on bigger jumps from a stability standpoint.

    The Nordica Ace of Spades, Line Stepup, and Volkl Wall are all good options as well. I’d still recommend the Punx over those options based on stability and durability, though.

    Hope that helps

  4. [Editor’s Note: Our review was conducted on the 12/13 Punx, which is unchanged for 13/14 and 14/15, except for the graphics.]
    Is the above really true? On the internet I find varies sites saying that the 13/14 and 14/15 have a width of 84 mm (and not 82 mm), I do find sites acknowledging that the 12/13 punx have a width of 82 mm.

    Anyway, nice review (and so are your other reviews). I can’t wait for my punx to be delivered.

    • Hi Wessel,

      Sorry about the confusion; there was a mix-up on our end in updating our review listings this season.

      You are correct. Last year (for the 13/14 season) the Punx was made 2mm wider underfoot, given a longer turn radius, and tip and tail rocker, and it comes back that way this year. We hope to get on the latest iteration soon.

      Best,

      Will

    • my understanding is that the infamous are softer than the punx…?

      what about the ’14/’15 and ’15/’16 punx models? did they change in comparison to this review?

      thanks!

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