ON3P SKIS Discussion

[kid-kapow]

Finally got to take these bad boys out today. In Kids neighbourhood btw.

oh, nice! Def C&D conditions around here, perhaps even more so the next two days.

While we are discussing wren 102s has anyone compared to mantra 102 or mindbender 99. Hopefully can justify picking up some new low tide sticks this summer.

wrens with titanal are strong groomer / ice skis like all skis with titanal.

I never used my wren96tis and mantra102s back to back, but both are good on firm and in shit snow. Both are easy to ski skis, but wrens perhaps need a bit more speed and commitment to come alive / become loose, though Mantras kinda require that too due to their weighty tips/tails. I am more fond of the wren's mount point than Mantras though - it feels a bit more balanced imho. Mantras will still engange a far bit more easily due to their significantly lower splay and wider shovels.

I have not found my wood96s without titanal to be lacking on hard snow in the least. I have not skied them on pure ice, but they had zero issues on refrozen, man made snow. Actually, they were surprisingly good in that kind of conditions, poppy and fun.

[Doremite]

I have not found my wood96s without titanal to be lacking on hard snow in the least. I have not skied them on pure ice, but they had zero issues on refrozen, man made snow. Actually, they were surprisingly good in that kind of conditions, poppy and fun.

Just chiming in here to double down on this Wood96 assessment. I use them as my east coast low tide ski and while they won’t bite like a perfectly tuned slalom ski, they are great on firm groomers. I haven’t had any issues with the Wren 98, Wren 96 or WD96 on firm ec snow. I continue to be intrigued by the Wren 102Ti but I am not sure I need it given how well my 96 platforms perform in all conditions other than those that have me reaching for 108s.

[TeleBeaver]

I wonder what the difference is between the people who find wrens/woods/ON3Ps in general to be fine in hard snow and the people who find them to be absolutely useless/scary on firm. I learned to ski in Maine, and could not fathom using my wren 96s as a daily out there (I have no race background at all, have been a tele skier since day one so no internal racer bias towards fis skis). I now live in LCC and the wrens barely cut it on the groomers right now given the last month+ of high pressure. If I hit a spot of truly firm snow mid carve it's like the rug is pulled out from under me and I have to catch myself every time. Luckily we have a plethora of steep shady chalk to ski which they are fine for but even then a little more bite would make me feel 10x more confident going into things with speed. I have had them tuned several times, and increased the edge bevel to 2 from the factory 1, and it doesn't seem to be the issue.

[davjr96]

I think it really depends on people's definition of hard snow. I grew up skiing the Northeast (whiteface err iceface to be exact) with a racing background and now ski in Tahoe. My Woods 96s are perfect on "hard" snow here. If there is any give at all to the surface they will hold an edge. They would be useless on the sheets of ice that grace the east coast resorts. I still have a pair of slalom skis which I don't use in Tahoe much because the woods are good enough on "hard" here but when I travel back home I do not bring the woods with me. Haven't skied a wren yet.

Also skiing style can differ. Woods would probably be fine on east coast ice unless you are trying to put your hip to the ground carving. If you just straight-line groomers with some skidding to get to more interesting terrain then they would be perfect.

[jackstraw]

I just skied my 108 woodsman for the first time. Granted, I search for powdah, but EC skiing you're always on a bumped up icy slope or just an icy groomer searching for soft snow. If you have a millimeter of camber under foot then you can grab the edge on ice. Can you rail a turn like on a SL race ski? Hell no, but you can carve a turn for sure. The 108's are the skinniest ski I've been on in years and they handled high speed gs turns on firm snow easily as well as bump lines. I found them completely suitable for skiing EC...the way I ski EC anyway.

[kid-kapow]

to summarize my two hours or so of skiing today in one picture. I thought both skis went on the upside of the tree, but a branch had me fooled


I tumbled into soft snow in a pretty low speed fall though, so I can't really complain. Nice to know that my Pivot releases predictably if nothing else

It was still fun skiing, even if my skiing was even more shite than usual. Perhaps especially fun as SF brought both C&Ds and BGs, and I brought C&Ds and Wood116s. It is kinda unusual to see four pairs of ON3Ps in rotation on a single day in my neck of the woods where I do not bring all four pairs Especially so two pairs of C&Ds. So happy times.

[sf]

Yeah, and conditions were really good. Proper BG conditions today. The 186s are without a doubt the best skis I've ever had.

By the way: the "OG Supergoat" Dennis Risvoll was there today. Holy crap, that guy can ski

[jacob_dbu]

I would say I don't find the WD102 I have to be scary on ice, rather I find it to be uncomfortable. I think part of the reason is that I'm lighterweight and I can't flex the ski strongly enough to really get it to bite, so I get a lot of chatter.

In anything edge-able even if it's firm is totally fine and really really fun.

[Orthoski]

oh, nice! Def C&D conditions around here, perhaps even more so the next two days.



wrens with titanal are strong groomer / ice skis like all skis with titanal.

I never used my wren96tis and mantra102s back to back, but both are good on firm and in shit snow. Both are easy to ski skis, but wrens perhaps need a bit more speed and commitment to come alive / become loose, though Mantras kinda require that too due to their weighty tips/tails. I am more fond of the wren's mount point than Mantras though - it feels a bit more balanced imho. Mantras will still engange a far bit more easily due to their significantly lower splay and wider shovels.

I have not found my wood96s without titanal to be lacking on hard snow in the least. I have not skied them on pure ice, but they had zero issues on refrozen, man made snow. Actually, they were surprisingly good in that kind of conditions, poppy and fun.

Not quite the comparison you were looking for, but I have the Wren 102ti in a 184 and a Mantra M5 in 177 (as per Blister review I blindly went 177 in lieu of 184). The mantra has much less tip splay, so probably running length is similar. I thought the addition of Ti to the Wren made it better on out east "hard stuff" than something like the Woodsman 96. The Woodsman still prefers a bit softer snow, can do groomers incredibly well, but slides out when it truly gets firm. The Wren 102ti is still not a race ski, but it holds better and, honestly, I haven't found that it needs that much speed to come alive. It's super easy to turn, the splay in the tip makes it so forgiving if you hit a bump head on, even with the stiffness, the rearward mount point makes it easy to release the tails, it doesn't have a super long turn radius but doesn't feel hooky. It was an impulse buy with last year's beautiful Yosemite top sheets and I've used them by far the most this season. For anyone out east, it's a strong consideration. I could also easily see someone traveling west on a trip with a Wren 102ti + BG combo. I'm not near as "core" as most on this forum and I can't for the life of me figure out why the Wren has the reputation as a more intimidating charger, even with metal. Literally, if I were only allowed a single ski out east, it would be it as the perfect compromise for harder snow and when it gets soft. I also find the Mantras very maneuverable and fun out east, and I think the issue is that comparing a 184 Wren to a 184 Mantra isn't fair - the Mantra will ski much longer because of its rocker even though ON3P measures tip to tail. They feel similarly accessible to me at Wren 184 vs M5 177.

[DumbIdeasOnly]

I can try and A/B the Wren 96 Ti (189) against a 191 Mantra 102 sometime (aware a Wren 102 Ti or M6 Mantra is a more natural comparison but I have the skis I have). Off the top of my head, the biggest differences are that the Mantra 102 has somewhat better edge hold on very firm scraped off snow (still not as much as a dedicated frontside ski with a plate) and bull dozes through crud piles a bit better, probably due to being a bit heavier and wider.

On the other hand, I’m pretty sure I prefer the suspension of the Wren (no weird ping-y sensations which are a growing source of annoyance with the Mantra). The Wrens definitely feel better on drops. Oddly, I think I prefer the Wrens on nice relatively soft corduroy or chalk because of the more traditional sidecut and narrower tip but I’d need to do a more deliberate test to be confident on that one.

Variable soft to firm off piste is also too close to call without trying them on more similar runs in more similar conditions than I have. I think the Wren is more maneuverable but doesn’t track quite as well (again, width/mass), the Wren 102 Ti could be closer to the M102 there. Really though they’re both toothpicks vs. a Legend Pro for variable off piste and my first choice would be the LP.

[kid-kapow]

honestly, I haven't found that it needs that much speed to come alive. It's super easy to turn, the splay in the tip makes it so forgiving if you hit a bump head on, even with the stiffness, the rearward mount point makes it easy to release the tails, it doesn't have a super long turn radius but doesn't feel hooky. (...) I'm not near as "core" as most on this forum and I can't for the life of me figure out why the Wren has the reputation as a more intimidating charger, even with metal.

yeah, I agree.

The point I was trying to make is that they become way looser and funner at speed in soft snow than their sidecut number alone would suggest, due to their shape / rocker lines + heavy splay. They are not super lively at my weight at super slow speeds, but that kinda comes with the territory as a directional charger. They also have great suspension. I love wren108s and 114s especially, and regret selling my wr96 and 96tis before getting more time on them. Still, I like Woodsmans even more. I do have an increasing urge to get some wren102tis, not lessened by this debate...

I do not care for small turns at all, so if a ski can do those easily is not something I consider when assessing a ski (the reason I did not care for Rustler 10s on groomers, too turny). Wrens and Mantras both do big turns really well and release relatively easily. I did find that +1.3cm mounted m102s to have this weird hinge point or 3d radius activation (of the middle sidecut) feeling that I did not care for (really me totally overthinking how they skied <1% of the time ), so moved them on.

[retirwntm]

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CZXZm...dium=copy_link

Which one of you posers is this?


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[2FUNKY]

Pulls out the pocket bird. Lol!

[Sessiøn]

Hypothetical here. Would there be interest in a more frontside/groomerish oriented ski from ON3P? Low 90's, lower rocker profile, maybe metal. Basically something for when you're in the middle of a freeze thaw cycle (or just frozen) that can rip hard groomers a little better until everything softens up.....or doesn't.

It pains me to bring out my rossi experience 94ti, even though they ski well. And I would love if ON3P had an option in the same vein.

What say you?

[Joey311]

Hypothetical here. Would there be interest in a more frontside/groomerish oriented ski from ON3P? Low 90's, lower rocker profile, maybe metal. Basically something for when you're in the middle of a freeze thaw cycle (or just frozen) that can rip hard groomers a little better until everything softens up.....or doesn't.

It pains me to bring out my rossi experience 94ti, even though they ski well. And I would love if ON3P had an option in the same vein.

What say you?

Yes.
I have a 3 ski quiver w/ WD and BG as the 2 wider options. Rustler 9 recently replaced the Experience 88 for my low tide/ hardpack ski. IMO ON3P doesn't really make a ski to fill this spot. And the way things are going the low tide ski is probably the appropriate tool for more days than others

[Backward_Banana]

Hypothetical here. Would there be interest in a more frontside/groomerish oriented ski from ON3P? Low 90's, lower rocker profile, maybe metal. Basically something for when you're in the middle of a freeze thaw cycle (or just frozen) that can rip hard groomers a little better until everything softens up.....or doesn't.

It pains me to bring out my rossi experience 94ti, even though they ski well. And I would love if ON3P had an option in the same vein.

What say you?

Honestly, I'd rather is just snows.

[adrenalated]

Honestly, I'd rather is just snows.

+1

If it's that shitty inbounds I go touring. Or mountain biking.

[RudyGarmisch]

Tychoon?

[Norseman]

Tychoon?

That's my daily. Great ski.

[johnmtl11]

Hypothetical here. Would there be interest in a more frontside/groomerish oriented ski from ON3P? Low 90's, lower rocker profile, maybe metal. Basically something for when you're in the middle of a freeze thaw cycle (or just frozen) that can rip hard groomers a little better until everything softens up.....or doesn't.

It pains me to bring out my rossi experience 94ti, even though they ski well. And I would love if ON3P had an option in the same vein.

What say you?

I use my full camber Prester. Think it was the last year they made them, cassette tape topsheet. I’d buy another if these ever broke, or would go for something with very low rocker lines, maybe only a bit of tip rocker and a flat tail if it’s going to be just a front side / groomer ski.


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[Sessiøn]

Tychoon?

Without the rocker, or with a lot less. And a tighter radius. And metal.

[teledad]

Hypothetical here. Would there be interest in a more frontside/groomerish oriented ski from ON3P? Low 90's, lower rocker profile, maybe metal. Basically something for when you're in the middle of a freeze thaw cycle (or just frozen) that can rip hard groomers a little better until everything softens up.....or doesn't.

Sounds like the Wren 88? Don't think it sold well though (since it was only around for a year or two).

I picked up Enforcer 88s as a firm snow ski, and was surprised how much better they edge than my Wren 98s, including on off piste hardpack. Probably partly tune, but the Wrens also have a much shorter effective edge and a looser tail. OTOH the Wrens are much more fun in 3D snow.

[Gman]

Love my wren 88’s but they didn’t sell well at all. Very niche ski for most ON3P customers.

[kid-kapow]

Sounds like the Wren 88?

no, not really imho. Wren88s had the same rocker profiles as wren98s and 108s - so lots of splay and deep rocker lines. They were also very stiff, a lot stiffer than both wren96s and wren96tis. Never touched a wren98, so can't comment on it.

The combination made them interesting to ski, but again more toward skiing variations of softer snow or if you just wanted a narrower ski to rip fresh in low tide areas - not carve ice or be more dedicated groomer zoomer type freeride ski. So basically a narrow freeride ski, not a low tide, rip ice ski if that even makes sense.

like, this is not a typical 88mm ski shape, especially given how stiff that they are. Too bad really, as they ski off piste super well

wren114s for comparison

[Norseman]

Tychoon much flatter