ON3P SKIS Discussion

[japanada]

I have some great condition 2014 186cm Viciks, with bindings, for sale if anyones interested. PM me.

BRO! Think of your boy first! Hit me up, sheeeeeeit

[derivative666]

BRO! Think of your boy first! Hit me up, sheeeeeeit

I miss mine, such a great pair

[Gman]

What's the difference in mount points on the Wrens vs Kartels? Also, anybody want to chime in on the Line SN 108 vs the new Wren 108 & how about the Nordica Enforcer vs the Wren 98, yeah, I know the Sidecut is 18m on the Enforcer, but they say you can still open up your turns a bit. With the longer Radius of the W98 how easy is it, conversely, to get a smaller radius turn out of it? Does the Bi Radius Sidecut design on the Wrens maybe do something for you for shorter turns that the Paper Sidecut Radius of 24'ish wouldn't otherwise suggest.
Also, in every review that I can find, the major Kudos have gone to the 108 and not the 98- just saying. I wonder why that is??? Hey The Powtron himself seems to prefer the 108 as his DD @ LL. I'll probably end up like I said with a W88 later on on sale (hopefully) and a BG, but my personal delimma is whether I want to go 96/100, or a 105/108 waist for a DD. I guess really that's the biggest question. Fuck me, but this Gearhead shit can drive you nuts.
Thanks for your review adrenalated.

The Wren 98 and 88 are new skis this year so not many people have gotten a chance to ski them. Once the season starts to get under way more, I imagine you'll see more reviews on the 98 and 88.

[nyskirat]

I know its not a 2016-2017 model, but picked up a pair of Steeple 102s and I am stoked.

[Sessiøn]

The Wren 98 and 88 are new skis this year so not many people have gotten a chance to ski them. Once the season starts to get under way more, I imagine you'll see more reviews on the 98 and 88.

I had hoped to get on my 98's last weekend, but it didn't work out. We are looking at 3-5 feet this week for a friday opening. so I may be on the Kartel's.

I will say on the 88. One of the fastest skiers I know called the 88 "hip dragging goodness".

[Sessiøn]

Got on my 98's for about an hour yesterday. Conditions were absolute shit. Heavy tracked the fuck out, drizzled on mank. Chopped up, early season, uneven groomers. They were super intuiative, and have a really nice sidecut. I could make a variety of turn shapes. But they were super stable in the chop. Took me a minute to adjust my stance due to spending the morning on Kartel 116's. But I didn't find them lacking in straightline stability. Super happy to have these as a DD. From the first turn, they just felt right. FWIW they are sharp under foot with the same edge angels as from the factory, with a heavy detune in the rockered section of the ski.

Just in case your wondering, I weight 210, and yes I do lift.

[ScrewYou]

Sold the viciks, regretfully, but they have a good home now. They just dont fit into my quiver any more, now that I'm heavier.

I'll never forget the wolf though, one of my top 10 favorite skis of all time. The money I got from them is going towards a new puppy too, so atleast I can replace one wolf(vicik skis) with another (real dog).

I skied the 191 wrenegades at squaw yesterday. Gotta hand it to On3p, they are beasts, but fairly tame beasts. First and foremost, those bases! I took only 6-7 laps, but was hitting rocks/shrub stumps like it was my job. There was only one minor scratch! Skied some groomers, but mainly bumps, early season, with a lot of imperfections and big gaps i had to jump with leg strength, rather than popping with momentum..

Definitely not the skis for this type of skiing, but im surprised how well they performed in the more open bumps. No doubt theyll be fine for old growth trees. On some of the groomers, and spots where I could kind of open them up (there was lot of kids out), I really liked the feel of them. Fast, but not too locked in. Forgiving, but super chargey and directional. I thought they felt alot like a much-better-Bibby Pro, that was more directional and had on3ps awesome bamboo/carbon feel. Or like a bamboo Jaguar Shark. They also ski switch pretty well, not as well as the bibby, but just as good as the vicik, or say an armada tst (nothing like the TST in any other way, other than switch skiing performance)

I was trying to get them in the air a little, but only could manage 6 feet or so popping of moguls and side hits. Absolutely phenomenal in the air, and the stiff landing platform puts them over the top for me. Even on small hits I could tell, they are hero skis, just like the Billy Goats! I cant wait to get them in better conditions!

[uglymoney]

Got on my 98's for about an hour yesterday. Conditions were absolute shit. Heavy tracked the fuck out, drizzled on mank. Chopped up, early season, uneven groomers. They were super intuiative, and have a really nice sidecut. I could make a variety of turn shapes. But they were super stable in the chop. Took me a minute to adjust my stance due to spending the morning on Kartel 116's. But I didn't find them lacking in straightline stability. Super happy to have these as a DD. From the first turn, they just felt right. FWIW they are sharp under foot with the same edge angels as from the factory, with a heavy detune in the rockered section of the ski.

Just in case your wondering, I weight 210, and yes I do lift.

Thanks for the mini review. I keep going back and forth but I think my Brahma 88, Wren 98 and 2017/2018 BG is where I am heading. My baby acl doesn't want anything too wide this winter.

[papatroller]

The Wren 112 is my first ON3P ski and I read a lot of reviews before buying, so I thought it was time to give back, albeit only a little since I have only spent one day on them.

This is a short/early review of 186 Wrenegade 112. I know this ski is no longer sold but thought it could help someone decide if something used pops up or even for choosing from the new Wren lineup.

1 day on shitty groomers but I can already tell this is one of the dampest, most stable skis out there these days. A few notches down from an 188 RC112 and a very few notches above a 185 Cochise for dampness, power and stability imo. For clarification, the Cochise just had a little more energy, carves slightly better but gives this up in the straight trucking category.

Mounted with a Pivot 18 I am confident I have the most indestructible ski known to man! That was my main reason for choosing this ski and am confident it will stand the test of time.

Incredibly stable, feels a lot like a ski that would do well for the lower level(shitty snow) freeride comps. Strong, powerful, charger. But the beautiful part is that the tail readily breaks free which is a beautiful thing on a ski that likes to go straight!

Where it lacks is that it is not too turny and basically sucks at groomers. I wouldn't call it scary on groomers like some monster skis I have skied. However i have been on better groomer skis at 120 underfoot and that is because they were softer in the tips and more ready to engage a shorter radii turn. However, if you only ski 110+ skis ,like some of the kids these days, then you might actually call groomer performance good. But if you know how to carve a modern ski or have ever ski raced you would only take the Wren steep and off piste, where it belongs.

Overall, super happy with purchase and I am so confident in the construction I will be getting a 184 or 189(hmmm?) Steeple 108 as a heavy touring ski if they get them back in stock before the new year. Amazing skis, superb construction. For fall line charging in bounds check out the Wren line! [emoji83]

[undertow2]

Got on my 98's for about an hour yesterday. Conditions were absolute shit. Heavy tracked the fuck out, drizzled on mank. Chopped up, early season, uneven groomers. They were super intuiative, and have a really nice sidecut. I could make a variety of turn shapes. But they were super stable in the chop. Took me a minute to adjust my stance due to spending the morning on Kartel 116's. But I didn't find them lacking in straightline stability. Super happy to have these as a DD. From the first turn, they just felt right. FWIW they are sharp under foot with the same edge angels as from the factory, with a heavy detune in the rockered section of the ski.

Just in case your wondering, I weight 210, and yes I do lift.

So stoked to hear about the 98s... My 189 98s and Kartel 116s are at the shop and picking them up this week... I have been looking for a long time for a sub 100 ski and finally think I have found one... Thanks for the quick review...

[Sessiøn]

So stoked to hear about the 98s... My 189 98s and Kartel 116s are at the shop and picking them up this week... I have been looking for a long time for a sub 100 ski and finally think I have found one... Thanks for the quick review...

If it's just a little bit soft i think I will be on my Kartel's. I was questioning having the Kartel's over the Billygoat. I only really bought them late last season because I didn't have any ski's and needed something that I could ski more all mountain. I was mulling over selling the Kartel's and replacing them with Billygoats. But I have had so much fun on the Kartel's so far that i think I may hold off on that plan.

[TBS]

Just here to say ON3P bases are the shizzle. They crush volcanic rock with nary a scratch

[PowTron]

Just here to say ON3P bases are the shizzle. They crush volcanic rock with nary a scratch

[MHSP1497]

Got my custom order today. Very stoked to get out and ride! The wife loved the Wren 88's I put together for her and really loved the extra addition the folks at ON3P threw in...

My Billygoats are just spectacular too. Got both pairs mounted and ready to ride already (jigarex sure makes things easy).

Thanks ON3P! You got another loyal and happy pair of customers here.

[auvgeek]

I spent some time with adrenalated at the Loveland demo last weekend. Think he mentioned, but I'll repeat that conditions were a few cm of recent on top of the WROD.

I'm 5'11", ~160#; I own (and love) the 191 Billy Goat and 186 Jeffrey, both are woodgrain topsheet and stiffer than stock.

Tune: I couldn't really discern a difference in edge hold between any of the demo ski I got on, particularly in the back half of the ski, and nothing felt as locked-in as my Jeffreys. Rather shocking that the Wren 88 and Kartel 108 have the same edge hold, so I'm guessing they were both detuned a little too much for my taste. [Edit: see below for PowTron's comments on the tune.] So it's hard for me to evaluate, especially because I tend to prefer relatively sharp skis—I typically don't detune my ON3P skis from the factory (or, at most, I take a light pass or two with a soft gummy fore/aft of the taper).

It's also interesting because ON3P tunes all their skis (even at 88 underfoot) at 1 deg for both base and side bevel. For example, I'd like to see how the Wren 88 would do with a 2 deg side bevel and maybe a 0.5 base bevel.

Overall: I think ON3P has made a line that will sell very well. Nothing I skied felt demanding in the least—even the Wren 108 is quite easy to ski. Again, maybe this is in part due to the tune, but I think it's intentional by ON3P to make their skis accessible to the vast majority of skiers. Coupled with their increased offering of custom stiffer- or softer-than-stock skis, I think it's a winning strategy, and I'm really pleased they've shown increase interest in custom options rather than the opposite. And now you can even order custom skis directly from their website. They have also expressed interest in making small batches of "reserve" skis, so maybe we'll even see a 19X BG or Wren again. Who knows. Good stuff regardless.

Anyway, here are some specific thoughts:

184cm Wren 108: This ski was interesting, mainly because I couldn't tell a difference in stability between them and my extra-stiff Jeffreys. Which means I'd prefer the Jeffrey because might as well get the ability to jib if edge hold and speed limit don't suffer. I'm not necessarily a "jibby skier," but it's something I like to work on. Again, this is on the WROD, so not skiing fast or pushing things. I'd like to ski them back to back in some challenging terrain to see if there's a reason I'd prefer the Wren. The tail was definitely easy to release, and is probably what made them so easy to ski. The real question, which I can't yet answer, is how much stability do you lose by making the Wren easy to ski? I'd need to get them on something steeper to tell. Also, I would like to get on the 189 (they didn't have one this time).

In theory, I like the additional tip rocker and taper for better pow performance. One thing I dislike about my Jeffreys (and the old Caylor) is the neutral stance they demand in chopped resort pow—between the rocker and progressive mount, there's just not much tip to drive into. So, for me, there's a huge difference in tracked-pow performance between the 186 Jeffrey and 191 BG, despite only an 8 mm difference in waist. Charging tracked pow/chop could be a big reason to pick the Wren 108 over the Kartel/Jeffrey as a compliment to the BG. That said, I think there's a little too much tip and tail rocker in the Wren 108, just to my eye, and I think ON3P could improve the gradualness of the rocker lines. Like the tail rocker from the previous Wren 112 (which adrenalated had there) just looks right. (Of course, less tail rocker comes with the expense of making the tail harder to release, but my point was about the curve not the overall amount.)

191 Kartel 108: Overall, it seems like a nice jib ski. In theory, I like the reduced tail rocker compared to the old Jeffrey I own. But it was hard to tell because my Jeffreys had better edge hold in the back half of the ski despite having less overall length and more tail rocker, which is what first clued me into the tune issue. Turn radius is a little tight for my taste—I like the 25 m that the Jeffrey had, but I suspect 22 m better suits most people interested in the ski. In the past, I've wished ON3Ps jib skis had a more even flex profile (the tips and tails feel pretty soft for how stiff they are underfoot), but I didn't notice any issues with the K108 on snow. Very fun ski. I would love to ski it more when there are more side hits, etc, to jib on. The 191 didn't feel like more ski than my 186 Jeffreys; made me want to try the 189 Wren 108.

184cm Wren 88: This is an interesting ski. I think it will sell, but not to the TGR crowd. I'm not sure why you'd want a ski with that much rocker and that narrow of a waist...unless you're somebody who can't fathom buying anything over 90 underfoot. (Or I guess maybe if your knees are shot and it's just to uncomfortable to ski anything over 90 underfoot so you're stuck skiing pow on narrow skis. But that seems like a very, very small number of people.) Regardless, those people will be impressed with its ability in powder. I think most other people will be bummed by its lack of effective edge for the width.

184cm Billy Goat: I didn't ski these, so I can't comment, specifically. But from adrenalated's comments and watching how well he skied them on ze piste, I would guess they're much better than previous generations.

[PowTron]

Thanks for the mini-reviews, guys!

For clarity, EVO did tune the skis prior to the demo and did an excellent job...what was not done prior was the normal detune in the tip and tail to the contact point that we feel matches our skis shapes the best. That is what we were doing on site.

I can see for those conditions if someone didn't enjoy the detune and would want a sharp ski all the way through the length of the edge because the snow was for sure HARD and man-made junk (WROD).

After this recent snow I'm confident the tune is perfect for normal, CO conditions.

[MHSP1497]

Thought I'd throw up a pic of my new Billygoats (and my new Kye 95's):

[Banquo]

3 days on my 184 BG's and all I can say is WOW!!!

[alect47]

I wonder how many grizzlycorns there are at loveland now. Saw 2 other people on on3p today

[doebedoe]

3 days on my 184 BG's and all I can say is WOW!!!

Awww -- so you're the person whose skis I wanted to steal.

Rad setup cat. See you on the hill.

[undertow2]

3 days on my 184 BG's and all I can say is WOW!!!

My only advice for you is either ski check or lock... My Grizzly Corns started to walk off when I was at Bach 2 years ago and saw the guy... When I caught up to him he said he thought they were his...

Def a very nice setup...! Congrats...!

[ScrewYou]

Holy fuck, if someone ever walked away with my On3ps like that..

[MHSP1497]

3 days on my 184 BG's and all I can say is WOW!!!

beautiful boards, man! Bold move leaving them outside the Rat like that (looks like Govy to me)...

[SupreChicken]

I like that you big goons are so gentle. @undertow did you call him a fucking liar and threaten to cock punch him til he bled?

And yeah, that setup doesn't suck.

[undertow2]

I like that you big goons are so gentle. @undertow did you call him a fucking liar and threaten to cock punch him til he bled?

And yeah, that setup doesn't suck.

Trust me that is what I thought I would have done but honestly I owe him... I was careless as shit with my gear - meaning I would just leave my skis anywhere when heading in for a beer... Luckily I was sitting on the sundeck and watched the thievery going on... From that point my shit gets either checked or locked... When I see a set of kick ass sticks on a rack I send them positive vibes they will still be there when the owner comes back for them...

Sorry - preaching and rant over... Back to the regular scheduled program of ON3P stoke... Oh yeah picking up my new 116s and 98s this weekend... Between these and the new Q my purchasing is done for a while...