Just got the shipping notice on my custom Kartel 108's. Super stoked. Now please snow!!!
Just got the shipping notice on my custom Kartel 108's. Super stoked. Now please snow!!!
I can assure everyone that deviation 5mm from the line backwards does not cause a tear in the space time continuum. I skied them all day, it was fine, they work great in powder, windboard, crud, etc. Left myself wondering why it took so long for me to goat up the quiver.
Package received and the new Wren 98s have been all mounted up. The first ON3Ps to hit the quiver. Have a feeling they won’t be the last.
Thanks to Jay for the weekend sizing help and to the rest of the team for getting them out so quickly.
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So after lurking for a while I pulled the trigger on 189 Wren 108s for a Whistler daily driver (me:6'4, 195lbs, technically unrefined go faster hack with very limited time in the pow). I'll preface this by saying this is my first new ski purchase having come from 8 year old Head Mojo 94s. Two days in and these skis continue to surprise me in how versatile and capable they are and put a shit eating grin on my face.
First off the service from the ON3P guys was some of the best customer service I've ever had. Responded to my questions on the front end, and when I received my skis but the tracking hadn't been updated to say they were delivered on the delivery day, I received a call to check that everything was ok and if there were any issues.
First day on these was mainly wind blown groomers with scoured patches, second was soft groomers with patches of light chop, and combinations of all the above, sometimes in short sections one after the other. I was instantly surprised how easy these were to get from edge to edge for a 108 ski. They were noticeably more nimble than my Mojos and were really easy for me to make quick short turns or break the tails free and scrub speed at any speed I've had them. Where the Mojos were hooky pigs at moderate speed in chop, the Wrens were extremely predictable and let me fly through anything on the day at speed and with confidence. They smooth out bumpy sections well where the Mojos would give a more bone jolting ride. The stability in fast medium and long radius turns is good and they have a really nice spring out of the turns, much more lively than the Mojos. By the end of day 2 I was happy to open up through any snow knowing the Wren would be stable, predictable and dependable. The Wren has been really easy to ski and didn't punish me for my errors as my legs began to fade.
It's obviously less than ideal for icey groomers, but that's not what it's really for. Never the less, it's still predictable. The other downside is that if you don't like talking to people these may not be the skis for you. I had someone stop and ask about them on my second day. They're simple to sum up-I love them.
The 113mm waisted Wrens were beasts. They were the perfect Big Sky ski. Most anywhere else, not so much. Out here in the PNWet, not so much.
I liked em so much, I found an early version of the Vicik in 186. Works great in the damp, mank, dense snow out here.
And now, I have Wren 108 in a 189 length.
Skied the last two days on 191 Wrens here at Big Sky. Such good skis, but unfortunately they are turning into my rock skis lol. Cant wait for next years big wrens, with the updated shape.
First day I was skiing powder most of the day, and a lot of trees and tighter spaces trying to find the last of that powder. They were a little out of there element in the trees, I really had to manhandle them around. However they float really well in the powder/chop. The newer Wren design should work a lot better in the trees, which intrigues me.
Yesterday I just lapped challenger lift for a couple hours until my big toenail busted and fell off. They really excel in the wide open, chundery fall line, and widely-spaced bumps. I need to get the edges tuned so they have a little more bite, but otherwise they felt great.
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It’s almost impossible to ski 191 Wrens from the backseat. If you try to, you will have a bad time, they will take you for a wild ride.
It was already pretty messed up from a few months ago, but I busted it again by slamming into a gully the day before last, and then it came off yesterday from a very minor occurrence. Since it was already messed up before, and has been for a few months.. I think I busted it originally dirt biking.. the new toenail already grew in underneath, so I’m good to go ski and don’t have to deal with any of that weird sensitivity if nothing was there yet.
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Crud, chunky shit, good. The stiff flex, 29m radius and big tip rocker make the ski hand that stuff good.
Firm groomers... meh. Better with a detune but anybody who says these are great groomer skis hasn't been on a great groomer ski. But if I'm busting these bad boys out I'm not gonna ski groomers anyways.
Can confirm. Those, of nearly any other skis, will absolutely force you in to skiing like a proper human. Back seat tail gunners need not apply.
[AKRover}
After a five day hut trip in the Baldy Knoll Yurt, I tried to ski my Wren 191 at Jackson on 3" day. I made it until about noon until I double ejected into a bar stool. I was worked from the trip and those skis require all sorts of energy, of which I did not posses.
[\AKRover]
The BGmagickz are creepin in...
They are more “locked in” than 191 Monster 108s. Probably the straightest ski I own, in terms of feel. Rx have a longer turn radius on paper, but they dont feel like it on snow. I have yet to ski Supergoats yet, but those hand flex significantly stiffer than these 191 Wrens.
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Where's the face-palm emoji?
I've been scheming about how to run my WTR, XT-130 Freetours at a demo since the guyz at ON3P are still in mid-transition to WTR Tyrolias according to Powtron. A sole block fabrication project for the Langes stalled when I realized that I needed a better tool than my belt sander for planing down my newly fabricated sole blocks.
Flash of light ... demo some boots, knucklehead! I just picked up a pair to use tomorrow for under $20.
I re-read this thread from post #1800 to today and what did I learn? Nada.
I'm still interested in either Wren 98's or 108's and tomorow's low tide conditions at Loveland will tell the story. Given a choice of softer vs. harder conditions, I'd prefer the latter as I'm interested in finding the DD that makes end of the day (when tired) bumps with scratchy downhill sides tolerable.
My recent errors with a daily driver selection for Colorado have been due to getting a bit too stiff of a tail for this purpose. I'd like to get through life without needing knee replacements ;-)
... Thom
Galibier Designcrafting technology in service of music
Don't overlook the 88's for low-tide conditions.
Anyone compared the Wren 98 with Moment's Tahoe 96? Looking for a daily driver down here in Australia (similar conditions to east coast US I guess), with probably 1 or 2 trips to the northern hemisphere in the future. Might even consider the 108 in that case, although maybe be better off just renting something fatter when travelling 🤔.
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