
Originally Posted by
SupreChicken
The demo fleet is equipped with attack2 14s, which all appeared to have a sliding afd and adjustable toe height. So I bet you're good with the mtn labs.
Quick reviews of what I got to ride at the Stevens St. Patty's day demo.
6' 170#, 35, creaky knees, probably go a little faster than I should.
Kartel 108 186- great ski. I totally get why most of the employees use this as a DD. Surprisingly stable straightlining groomers, super quick edge to edge, nice in shitty snow bumps - the tail rocker lets you break out of a carve anytime, very balanced in the air and stable enough to straightline over SF (S%*tF&*k) conditions. Out of respect, I didn't take any rails on them, but the big park jumps were great. I'd be happy to replace my 4frnt turbos with them. I aspire to having some more switch game and playful style on firm days. Would certainly be an easy ski for teaching on the bunny hill.
Kartel 116 186 - I was most interested in this one. Not the right day to try them. I have no idea what they are like in pow. Great on groomers, even icy ones, balanced in the air, manageable in bumps. Found a whiff of soft snow in some tight trees, and they floated week old "pow" well, but it wasn't much of a test. I suspect I will always slightly prefer a billy goat in pow. I don't really look for a more playful ski in deep snow - I make a habit of skiing fast in pow to maximize runs before it's tracked out - higher angle turns, more forward lean, etc. However, I was impressed with how easy the K116 was to ski. It is a much more lively ski than the 13/14 Caylor. Certainly I would find some appeal to a K116 setup as a travel ski confident that it could handle anything. I would really like to ski a pair of 191s back to back on a powder day with my billy goats on a steep tree run. However, my own style in pow definitely has a directional bias. If I had to give up billy goats for the Kartel116, I could make do. However, when I owned both 191 BG and the 191 Caylor, I barely skied the Caylor. The goat was just the better ski for me. I bet the same applies here 4-5 years later. But if the right deal on some 191s comes along, I might cave.
Wren 114 184. The tank. Heavy on my feet. It will carve. Doesn't really want to slash or pivot. I found the same "pow" as I did on the K116 and I made half the turns. They can turn, but you have to be against the front of your boot bossing them around. I think they require a slightly stronger skier than me. I'd love to get them into an open bowl. The tip looks really big and floaty. Fun to straightline groomers, but they really didn't feel like my ski.
Should have tried: Magnus 102, K98, Wren 96, 108 Every time I came back to the booth, they were out of those models. Toss up between the magnus and the K108 for a daily/bumps/park ski. I suspect I'd prefer the Kartel because it's more biased toward performance outside the park. Magnus 102 looked damn good, though.
Also, with the problems I've been having with my BG tune, I'm bummed I didn't take a lap on the new 189 BG. Just to see how mine SHOULD be skiing. Alas. The demo crew were great and super helpful as expected. If i can bring myself to spend more than $300 on a pair of park skis, I'll get some K108s. Super impressed with that ski.
They didn't have a C & D, but I happily would have taken them out on the firm snow to see how they did.
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