Exp. vs. Gotama

[ChowdahRidah]

The Gotama is obviously a bigger ski than the Explosive but do they handle that much differently? Is the Gotama much softer? Does the added width under foot drastically change the way it performs on groomers compared to the Explosive? How much more 1 dimensional is the Gotama?

Woooh.... I know that's a lot of questions...answers?

[DJSapp]

Originally posted by ChowdahRidah
The Gotama is obviously a bigger ski than the Explosive but do they handle that much differently? Is the Gotama much softer? Does the added width under foot drastically change the way it performs on groomers compared to the Explosive? How much more 1 dimensional is the Gotama?

Woooh.... I know that's a lot of questions...answers?

The answer?

SEARCH FUNCTION JONG!!!!

[Beavis]

EXPLOSIVES SUCK!!! GOTAMAS RULE!!!!

[snocat]

I was flexing Gotamas in the shop and the new ones seem significantly stiffer than last years. They seem like one of the stiffer fatties out there now, so they may be closer to the Explosive's than last year's ski.

I emailed Volkl to get their take on how the ski compared to last years, their response:
"Yes, the new Gotama is substantially stiffer than the original. It will certainly be more stable, but I find the turn response to be about the same."

[azzure]

Chowda, I was also thinking the same thing. In fact, I even picked up some Gotamas only to return them 2 weeks later (explosiv on the way) Anyway, I didn’t ski them last year but the ones I had seemed very soft. Lastly, knowing the type of skier you are, I’d only get them for full on powder days as you’d like the stiffer explosiv more (to compliment your race background) Anyway, just my 2cents, but personally the explosiv would be a much better all mtn ripper.

[davey]

I'm really hoping this years are stiffer, as I should have a pair coming in a month or two from warranty. I loved last years, but bit too soft..

[Plakespear]

I was wondering about this myself, since I'll probably sack up and buy a pair of fatties this year. I'm leaning towards the exploders myself, since most of the "powder" here is pretty heavy, and turns into crud by lunchtime. So you neeed something as stiff as Ron Jeremy on Viagara to plow through the crud.

If I lived in phUnk's basement, though, and LCC was a short hitchhike away, I'd probably get Gotamas.

[Arty50]

I caught the rep in my local shop this spring. The new Gotamas will be "at most" 10% stiffer than last years. Frankly I think this will be perfect.

I'm sick of all the stiff vs. soft bs that people spout. Ski them a few days then tell me what you think. I weigh 230 and I love the Gotama. You've just got to learn how to trust it. The old days of purely stiff and purely soft skis are almost gone. Companies are playing with progressive flexes now. Case in point, the Seth Pistol. The tip and tail are floppy as hell, but it's fairly stiff underfoot. You just have to learn how to ski something like this. The Gotama is no different. It will hold its own against the best of them, including all those uber stiff "I'm think I'm a god because I'm on a plank" skis out there.

In not so crotchety terms, "Think Different."

[cj001f]

Originally posted by Arty50
Companies are playing with progressive flexes now. Case in point, the Seth Pistol. The tip and tail are floppy as hell, but it's fairly stiff underfoot.

oi. talking about flex profile. How the ski flexs as a function of its length. A progressive flex would be like a progressive suspension spring on your car - the force required to flex it further wouldn't increase linearly - i.e. the last few inches would require 4x the force of the first few. (which may be how most skis are?). Sorry for the geekage.

[ChowdahRidah]

Thanks for the feedback. Would the Gotamas be a little more versatile in a shorter length? Does that much width under foot make them perform much more poorly on a groomed slope compared to the Explosivs?

[skieast]

I think they're easier to ski on groomed than my explosiv's, mind you my exp's are 190, gotamas 183, so a lot less contact length.

Only groomers i've really skied either of them on are runouts and cattracks.

[Theodore]

Also bear in mind that the Gotamas are twin tip so the effective length is even shorter...

[ChowdahRidah]

Yes that is what I'd like to know. How much shorter is the effective length due to the huge tail on the Gotama?

[AltaPowderDaze]

length

it was the 6th result when i searched for gotama length. from what i remember when i was looking to buy some, most people like em long.

search results

[bagtagley]

Originally posted by AltaPowderDaze
length

Or, if you're my Junior High shop teacher, Lemf.