All Mountain Performance
The Allplay is a fun, playful ski in the park, and this extends to the all-mountain sphere as well. I had a blast skiing the Allplay on the Pali lift at A-Basin, thanks to its surfy and buttery feel.
Again, the tapered tips and tails helped keep a low swing weight, which gives the Allplay a quick and nimble feel for a ski of its waist width. Initiating turns on groomers is fairly easy and intuitive, and the Allplay’s nimble, playful attributes make quick slashes, butters, and side hits quite fun.
But, to go one step further with this discussion about the pros and cons of tip and tail rocker, I find that tail rocker is a hindrance of all-mountain performance as well—at least when the conditions are firm. As soon as you get a bit back seat, the Allplay’s tail rocker and soft flex pattern can make it difficult to get back into an aggressive, forward stance. The Allplay isn’t all that damp, and I got a fair amount of chatter at high speeds.
I haven’t had the opportunity to ski the Allplay in powder, but its substantial tip rocker leads me to believe that it will float reasonably well in up to 12-16 inches of new snow, just like the Edollo did with its similar tip profile.
Durability
After ten days on the Allplay, I have to say that these skis seem absolutely bomber. I beat the absolute tar out of the Allplay on rails with a lot of really high-impact tricks, like disasters and gap-to-flat tricks. Moreover, I was unable to borrow a file to round off my edges before hitting rails, which usually is a crucial step to avoiding edge cracks.
Rather miraculously, I am unable to find a single edge crack. That’s pretty mind-boggling to me, honestly. If I’m hitting a decent amount of rails, I often find at least one edge crack after about four days.
Beyond the seemingly bulletproof edges, I find no reason to believe that there are any durability issues elsewhere, either. I have one tiny topsheet chip, no base nicks to speak of, and there’s definitely no sign of impending delamination. I’m very impressed, to say the least.
Bottom Line
The Allplay is a very fun, intuitive, mid-fat park / all-mountain jib ski that is showing impressive durability. It isn’t the best option if your first priority is stability on big jumps, but if you aren’t looking for a competition-ready slopestyle ski and / or don’t intend to hit a jump over 35 feet, this won’t be an issue, and you’ll find a lot to love about the Allplay.
In short, if you’re looking for a playful, lightweight, mid-fat jib ski that is equally fun in the park as it is jibbing around the mountain, the Allplay is a solid choice.
NEXT: ROCKER PROFILE PICS
Great review Scott! If you get a chance I would love to see a review and comparison of the 181 ON3P Kartel 98
You mentioned both the Edollo and the Blend as comparisons. Is Blister serving up reviews for these skis soon? It would be great to get an official Line Blend review. I love the Edollo as well and have to use that as a benchmark in this category.
http://blistergearreview.com/gear-reviews/2014-2015-armada-al-dente
Blister promised in this year’s SIA coverage to finally get around to reviewing the Blend. I think they’ll be pleasantly surprised if they’re as fun as Chronics and the old Bacon.
Thank you Skadi, I looked but missed this one.
Heads up! My name is Jason levinthal and J skis is my ski company, so if you have any questions about this ski or any of my others, please feel free to post a comment and I’ll do my best to get right back to you here. You can also hit me up directly anytime at jason@jskis.com or (802) 585-1098. To check out my other skis and customer reviews go to http://www.Jskis.com. Thanks Blister for another great honest and in depth review!
I have to agree with the comments re. rocker in freestyle oriented skis, and other skis generally. I have a set of J Skis Masterblasters myself and they’re great at trying to be an all rounder as i use them everywhere inc park. I do however find that a stiff, longer radius (>20m), traditionally cambered twin tip ski such as the Dynastar Big Trouble or Atomic Theory is a better fit for my style of skiing (long fast turns, pow, and big jumps in park), and i’m struggling to find something like either of those any more. Both were excellent all rounders, i used them in everything from waiste deep powder while heli skiing in BC, to big air or piste blasting in hard pack or end of season slush, and both were more than capable in all settings. The rockered ski just provides less stability / confidence on the way into large fetures, or if you’re riding the tails out of fast heavy carve turns.
I’m looking to replace a pair of aging Rossignol Scimitars that I bought based on an early BGR recommendation. They have served me well in both alpine and now Tele (with 22Designs Axl bindings). I’m looking to retire them and find something new. These popped up on my radar. I love the relatively soft flex of the old Rossi’s, combined with the factory mount point. How would these bad boys compare to those in terms of flex, mount point, and ability to hold an edge? These would be my 1 ski quiver for Tele, so some skinning, resort groomers, and powder. I recently skied the Sky7 on a trip, and found the tip rocker to be a bit deep for my taste, but liked the overall flex.