Salomon Gun Lab Review

First day on the Gun Lab

I'm 5' 11" , 190ish.

Mounted boot center with 914's initially until i get hold of some ninja 916ers.

Skied on :

1ft of fresh
ice crusted off piste
moguls
fresh groomers
icey groomers
Park and off piste Jumps and drops.



Result:

Love them.

They matched up to my 188 nordica beasts and surpassed them.

Off piste, they were stiffer than the pocket rockets rewarding you with confidence at high speed over fresh and crust. They also felt balanced in the air and handled fresh landings with ease.

They handled groomers surprisingly well. They inspired confidence with every carve which is surpising for a ski with a 100+mm waist . I layed down some serious groomer carves to try and find their limits and they kept on asking for more. They like speed.

I have still to try them in tight and steep situations.

No issues found as yet apart from having to use snowboard slots on euro gondolas. I will update if any found.

what size were the guns?

i they're one size fits all....in sally's eyes, that's a 188

thanks for the update w.s.

Additional:

135-101-126 188cms Radius 24.2 m

They seem to have a pretty tough Ptex on them as well. I bounced off a few small rocks and was thinking the worst but found they resisted v.v.well. I assumed i had a few dents and a couple of scrapes at the end of the day but they were mint. Very impressed.

I found them to be too soft and too turny, but that's just me.

Good skis, just not my cup of tea.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by wildstyle

They seem to have a pretty tough Ptex on them as well. I bounced off a few small rocks and was thinking the worst but found they resisted v.v.well. I assumed i had a few dents and a couple of scrapes at the end of the day but they were mint. Very impressed.

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I took a pair for a spin last weekend at Sunshine Village and put 2 core shots in them. Could be that Banff rocks are just sharp... I put 3 core shots in my Stocklis the day before. Good thing I got the insurance on the Sollys.Overall I liked the ski but was a bit soft for my taste.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Slider&BucketO'nails

I took a pair for a spin last weekend at Sunshine Village and put 2 core shots in them. Could be that Banff rocks are just sharp... I put 3 core shots in my Stocklis the day before. Good thing I got the insurance on the Sollys.Overall I liked the ski but was a bit soft for my taste.

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Gun Labs or Guns ?

Quote:

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Could be that Banff rocks are just sharp...

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As mntlion likes to point out, they don't call them the rockies for nothing.
Did you manage to catch up with anyone slider?

It was the Gun Labs I was riding. I am kind of a big dude, 6'2", 215 lbs so I work over skis pretty good.

I didn't manage to meet up with any maggots, no Internet connection, but I met a chiropractor from Calgary on Thursday at Lake Louise who showed me around. The backside had some great lines I would never have found w/ out a guide. It would have been nice to have a guide for SSV. I kept ending up in the flats, but then I was pretty hung over that day.

i guess a bit outta date, but always good to get info up here. so i destroyed a wailer 105, 188 flex 2 on the monster easter pow day (jump to front of massive windlip, snapped about 12 inches infront of the toe, but i'll put together a full report on that at another point). with the biggest storm cycle of the season in full force in cham, i was w/out a big gun, yikes! i stumbled into the alps center in argentiere and they had a cherry pair of gun labs already mounted with 916s for exactly my bootsole for 250 eurobucks. i was always interested in the stick and the conditions forced my hands, the impulse buy was on...

me- 5'10" 175 lbs (80 kgs), decent skier in the real world, in maggotland maybe less-so
skis i like- 180 explosiv, 188 dps wailer 105 flex 2 (until it snapped obv), 178 zag 84
conditions- everything from the biggest pow faces and big turns, tight couloirs with funky snow, some fresh groomer on the way home

i was pretty bummed when my wailers went, they were performing pretty impeccably and i'd gotten very comfortable laying them out in big pow turns at speed, sweet feeling with that ski. these have a fair amount of camber (esp considering the wailers were almost flat), but i have to say that it gave them a bounciness and liveliness that i liked. they're also damn heavy, lots heavier than a stock gun especially with the 916s. the flex is pretty round with a slightly stiffer tip than tail which kinda works in that you can pull back a bit to keep the tips up when the going gets thick.

this is a great all around stick. maching powder turns was do able, eating manky crud was fine, swinging around in very tight spots with exposure was no problem. on tops of this all, the damn things absolutely rip on groomers. i did the home run at gm super g style all the way (empty in the late a.m.) and as long as they were on edge, they were happy and lively at silly speeds. finally, they also are great in the air and landing as they're more centrally mounted than other big mountain sticks.

hopefully they don't degrade as fast as solly's are reputed to do so. :(

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Originally Posted by ulty_guy

hopefully they don't degrade as fast as solly's are reputed to do so. :(

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don't you go worrying on me, i skied on that ski for 3 years and never did a goddamn thing to 'em.

yeah, but i crash and suck a whole lot more ;)