Originally Posted by
adrenalated
I have skied the older Jeffrey and I think your general descriptions are pretty spot on.
One thing that I'll add that I think is an important distinction between the Wren and Kartel/Jeffrey lines is the sidecut type. Wrens have bi-radius sidecut and Kartel/Jeffrey has a hybrid sidecut (elliptical tip, constant radius tail). The older Jeffreys I skied had a full elliptical sidecut. Elliptical sidecut is an interesting thing, in that the more you pressure the ski, the tighter the turn radius gets and the harder it carves. So it's really good for a more playful style where you might want to load up a ski on the lip of a jump and have it help you initiate your spin. I haven't skied the hybrid sidecut but given that the tip is elliptical, it's going to have that feeling at least in the front half of the ski.
If you're skiing with a more directional, big mountain style, elliptical sidecut is NOT what you want. You want to be able to come fast out of a chute, load the ski hard, and make a big arcing turn. You don't want to load the ski hard and have it tighten up the radius and throw you across the fall line. That's why the Wrens have a bi-radius sidecut. It allows them to make big, fast turns, with the ski heavily loaded.
The Woodsman also has a bi-radius sidecut, but with a tighter turn radius and more centered mount point than the Wren. In other words, it's going to ski more like a Wren, but not require as much speed/effort to get it to turn. Before a skier that doesn't ski backwards and doesn't spin, but also doesn't want to have to go 30mph at all times and stay mostly committed directly down the fall line, would end up on a Kartel/Jeffrey. Now they have the Woodsman instead.