Movement Black Rose

So I am in love with these skis, and am happy that my freeride+ will soon have a place to call home but I have a little delema.

Q: Should I buy this years Movement Black Rose or next years?

These skis will be for touring and slackcountry, and they’ll probably come out for some inbound days at WB. I know for touring you want a light set-up but then for pow you want a bigger ski, so I’m unsure which year ski and length to get.

Length:
Black Rose 06/07 are only available in 175 and 185. The weight of the skis are 1.55/1.66/1.55 kg (+/- 20g).
Next years, 07/08, will be available in 165 so less weight.

Waist:
Black Rose 06/07 is 87 mm.
Next year they’ll be 88 mm. I spoke with the Movement Distributor and he said that when Movement makes a change there is a good reason for it.

I’m 5’8” and weight about 134 lbs.

Any advice would be great!

if they are changing then A) you get a deal B) this is what you have skied and know it works for you. This means C) more money for road trips, lift tix, other gear.

get whatever color fits your outfits!

serious answer: -you're light and have good technique - you could ski the 175 just fine and when they circulate the demo sheet with prices you should hop on that deal

I think the 175s make sense. I'm guessing by the rounded tail it is a twin, so the 165s would not be much ski at all. If the only dimension they are changing on the ski is the waist by 1mm, I can't see it making a night and day difference either.

IIRC you have the CMH explosives in like a 165. Maybe you should make those your touring/slackcountry skis? And then buy something that is super big for deep inbounds days. Not trying to complicate the process any more though :).

for slackcountry weight isn't so much an issue.. i doubt you would notice the weight difference between a 165 and a 175 and i highly doubt if anyone could notice a 1mm difference underfoot. get the 175's at the best price you can find, which will probably be this years model.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by LeeLau

get whatever color fits your outfits!

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Begin rant:
Why is it that male ski reps think I care that the skis I am demoing match my ski outfits or boots. Honestly, 3 different guys within the span of a few hours made the same freakn' comment...who gives a fuck...maybe Barbie on skis. They probably have heard their fare share of snowbunnies saying "Oh my god, those skis like totally match your outfit, so styln' ". Fine they may have been joking but was sick of it by the third time.
End rant.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dirtybryan

IIRC you have the CMH explosives in like a 165. Maybe you should make those your touring/slackcountry skis?

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Bryan my CMH are 173 and find them too heavy for day long tourings, especially the skin up.

So I spoke with Sharon tonight and she also mentioned that the 165 might ski very differently. Her vote also was for the 175....so I'm gonna way till the beginning of next season and see if I can score a deal on last years model. And maybe demo the 165 if its not a hassle. Also demoed the Blackdiamond Kilowatts and Fischer Watea 84, but they just didn't do it for me.

Spark,
I've been looking for reviews on that ski but didn't find anything.
What are your impressions on them?
Thx.

BTW I don't believe the 1mm increase for next year. Probably BS IMHO. Could be wrong though...

Cool...will put some thought into it and write something up...stay tuned.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Spark

Bryan my CMH are 173 and find them too heavy for day long tourings, especially the skin up.

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Explosivs are actually not that heavy. They compare pretty favorably to 75% of similar width skis. You can save about 1-1.5 lbs with a bro, jack BC, or similar but it's not that much.

If they feel heavy to you, it's probably the bindings.

alpine boots + freerides + skis = heavy. shaving a pound or fraction of a pound off the ski weight isn't going to change much if you've got 12 pounds on each foot to begin with. skinning uphill is hard work, nothing is going to change that except conditioning. if you want to move faster and not get as tired as quickly, then go all the way.. sell the freerides, buy some 179 bro's (or something equally lightweight), dynafits and touring boots..

ps. deals are usually found at the end of a season not the beginning.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Spark

Cool...will put some thought into it and write something up...stay tuned.

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very cool. Looking forward to it.

My review: Movement Black Rose

My knowledge and lingo are quite limited when it comes the structure and performance of skis but here are a few reasons why I really like the Black Rose.

1) These skis just excel....you can put a lot of energy in or less and they just pop with power and finesse. I was apprehensive about demoing 175 but on the open slope I was able to turn with such ease...felt like the skis where with my flow and I didn't have take full charge like I do with my Explosivs. Didn't try them in the trees so don't know how well the control would be with tighter turns.

2) Unfortunately I did not demo these in powder, but in crud they just charge through which shocked me because I think a thin and lightweight ski should not. On groomers they hold an edge and carve well. With an 87/88 mm waist I believe they are decent in powder.

3) For a lighter ski they are stiff. As an aggressive skier the problem I normally find with lighter skis is that they are too noodly or
they feel like feathers and don't trust them at high speeds. An example of this is the Black Diamond Velvet I demoed.

4) Movement skis have a wood core. Talking with the rep he informed me that they use some special tropical wood (the name escapes me) and use a sandwich construction. This gives a ski that’s very durable, flexible, and able to effectively transfer the energy across the ski while skiing.

So in summary, I think the BR is a great lightweight ski(so good for touring)that has good flexibility and "pop", while maintaining torsional rigidity, stability, and snow contact at high speeds and in crud.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by grapedrink

alpine boots + freerides + skis = heavy. shaving a pound or fraction of a pound off the ski weight isn't going to change much if you've got 12 pounds on each foot to begin with. skinning uphill is hard work, nothing is going to change that except conditioning. if you want to move faster and not get as tired as quickly, then go all the way.. sell the freerides, buy some 179 bro's (or something equally lightweight), dynafits and touring boots..

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true ... working on getting some alpine touring boots for cheap and these skis are mainly going to be day long tours.