'08 skis (demo day review):
I skied in the retailer demo day @ Keystone today for my shop and rode about 16 pairs of next years skis. Some were for the shop and some were for myself. I don't really have time to write up detailed reviews for each ski, but I'll post all the highlights and lowlights I can remember. If anyone has any questions feel free to ask and I'll give a more detailed response on each ski.
(and I'm 6'2" 175 and regularly ski 190 Pow +'s, Spatulas, and 183 Sugar Daddies with NX21's)
K2 Hellbent: Flat out fun. Unlike a spat you can actually get up on the tails or nose of these skis and butter as much as you want. They aren't super fast since the contact area is limited, but I strongly considered buying these next season in a 179 for park and some hardpack skiing. The sidecut makes these easy enough to carve while the rocker gives you a ton of pop off of rollers and kickers. Obviously they would be a blast in the pow, but I had a ton of fun on them on the hardpack and rails today. I was really surprised at how much of an every day/park ski the Hellbent could be. For a harder charging pow ski though I'd have to ride the 189, but they didn't have any at the demo.
K2 Public Enemy: They changed the sidewall material on this for next year and it made them a bit stiffer than the '07's. I think this made them a bit less of a park ski and more of an all mountain ski than they already are and was pleasantly surprised at how they skied on some "steeper" groomers. I would definitely buy a pair if I needed something that size. In the past the PE has just been a skinny version of the Seth so I'm wondering if the Seth's might also be a bit stiffer for '08, but I didn't get to take a pair out.
Volkl Mantra: Boooring. They're not too stiff, not too wide, and didn't seem to do one thing in particular well. I was really unimpressed even though I really liked these the last time I took them out two years ago.
Volkl Bridge: It's a wider Karma and skis exactly the same as the Karma did. It's wide enough and stiff enough to rail with a full twin, but I was kind of unimpressed with this as well. There are dozens of better all mountain skis out there in this size range and dozens of better park ski so I'm not sure why you would get this since it's only mediocre at both. For some reason the tips were really chattery while the rest of the ski was totally stable at speed which wasn't a huge deal once you got used to it, but was really an issue for a buddy of mine.
Salomon Fury: I haven't been on skinny ski like this in a long time but it flat out killed it on the groomers. I had to take these out for my shop and they'll fit the semi-aggressive groomer skiing demo package skier perfectly. I guess they have enough girth for some pow, but I wouldn't bother since they're so fun on the groomers and not really wide enough for anything deep. These are surprisingly stiff for a Salomon and more than stable at speed on the groomers. Very quick turning though, but the person buying this ski is probably buying it for that very reason.
Line Sir Francis Bacon: I actually bought these two days ago without ever skiing them so I was stoked to take out next seasons and see what they are like. They reminded me a lot of the 179 hellbent's without the rocker. Super easy to ski all over the mountain, wide enough for pow but built more for fun than charging super big lines. They did feel a little "hooky" at times because of the sidecut and I did notice a bit of tip deflection on hardpack since they are kind of soft, but other than that these were really fun. All in all I think they're a good quiver ski but I don't think I'd buy these if I didn't have 190 Pow +'s and Spats already in the quiver.
Salolmon Gun Lab (wood core): They were calling this a "lab" ski but it's mass produced next season and comes with a full wood core. I usually really dislike Salomon since they're foam cores always felt dead to me, but after having so much fun on the Fury I figured I'd give these a shot and they really surprised me. They felt like a slightly wider, slightly softer, more playful version of the Volkl Bridge which might make them a better choice for someone looking for an all mountain park ski. The Bridge is definitely a stiffer ski, but the even fun flex and the added girth of the Gun would have me buying these over the Bridge.
Rossi Bandid B3: Had to take these out for the shop as well and didn't hate them as much as I thought I would. They're stiffened up a bit in the tail this season and I definitely noticed that, but that was about all I noticed. These give a mellow predictable ride in a fairly soft ski that will secure their place in our demo fleet but won't have me buying a pair anytime soon.
I think that's about it. If anyone has any more specific questions let me know and I can elaborate.
Other observations:
-The Duke looks bomber and feels well built, but I didn't get a chance to get out on them. Marker guys were very stoked on them and had several very positive reviews that sounded very honest.
-4Frnt graphics next year are tits.
-Dynafit skis had rave reviews from friends. Bomber, stiff, and burly were words I heard thrown out to describe them.
-Katana looks cool, but only came to the demo in a low 180-ish size and I ran out of time to try them out.
-Salomon Rocker looks massive but the tail looks pretty lame. Looked to have about the same amount of rocker as the Hellbents.
-Line's graphics looks great in person. Really understated colors.
-Hellbent graphics are brutal. Baby devils puking blood among other stupid stuff. Both buyers I was with wouldn't even consider bringing them in.
