Soft Snow Gymkhana - The Heritage Lab FR110

[jackattack]

I managed to get a couple of runs on the BC110 yesterday, Shift binders and beefed up Cosmos 3 boots. I have yet skied them too little for a review, but enough for first impressions.

To be honest, I was a bit concerned to take them out, because of limited snow conditions and mostly frontside skiing prior to yesterday. Three days on Solly Stance 102 which were great for said conditions in St. Anton. But during the night it filled up with about ten inches of fresh so I couldn't resist any longer.

Now I haven't been on any fully rockered skis before, save for og cochise and og bodes, let alone fully rockered touring skis, and had concerns they'd be unruly on hardpack with the full rocker and pretty lightweight. Turned out i was dead wrong. They tracked beautifully even when skied flat, on piste, cat tracks, and traverses. Got just a few turns in untouched snow, but many more in cut up and tracked out. First runs of the season in touring boots, but the skis behaved very well. No quirks or surprises whatsoever . Very neutral. Could ski them as I wanted from the first turns. A pleasant experience, they will serve me well I'm sure.

The edge engagement is super dialled with that shape, No excessive pull from the tips. They track really well both in the snow and on hardpack. However, I seemed not to be able to vary carved turn shapes much. No rebound to speak of when I tried to push them a bit. It might boil down to lacking technique and in touring boots early season, but maybe that also contributes to their neutral behavior in other situations.

Well done Marshal, I'm happy I jumped on these.

But yeah, got very, very curious about the heavier R's and FR's now...

Nice review. The reverse profile does not respond to being "driven" from the shin like a traditional profile. In order to engage the sidecut and carve, take a neutral stance and roll your ankles to engage the side cut. It was a bit of a learning curve for me, but once I got the hang of it I couldn't get enough of my FR110's.

[waxoff]

Nice review. The reverse profile does not respond to being "driven" from the shin like a traditional profile. In order to engage the sidecut and carve, take a neutral stance and roll your ankles to engage the side cut. It was a bit of a learning curve for me, but once I got the hang of it I couldn't get enough of my FR110's.

Gotcha. That's more or less how I do it. I will also have another read and try the Gaijin approach to full rockers. That sounds sweet.

[Mustonen]

To add on a bit to that, though I haven’t been on my r110 yet, with full rocker you can drive them but the sequence is different. You can’t really drive them into the turn because you’ll just blow past it. Engage the edge, then drive. You’ll also probably find that they’re more responsive to steering input while on edge.

[Self Jupiter]

Had you skied the volkl and were you/not a fan?

No, sorry to be confusing. I loved the Volkl One, I think it’s one of the more underrated skis and not just in powder. I think it rules in spring corn.

I just don’t want to want to buy more skis!

[Self Jupiter]

Nice review. The reverse profile does not respond to being "driven" from the shin like a traditional profile. In order to engage the sidecut and carve, take a neutral stance and roll your ankles to engage the side cut. It was a bit of a learning curve for me, but once I got the hang of it I couldn't get enough of my FR110's.

This, and I think it’s also worth noting that some reverse designs want more input to spring out of the finish of the turn. Took me a bit of time to get the feel from ski to ski.

Off the top of my head the Volkl One was the least intuitive reverse camber ski with a radius with carving potential and took me the most time to figure out, but it can do it.

[gaijin]

187 R110’s, mounted at MO's rec for a 296mm (25) Lange RS 130/Intuition Pro Tongue & FKS 155. Tune = MO's = Out of the box. 1.5base, 2side, whateverthefuckracewax. I believe he'll be offering his hand tune as an add-on in the future. You should add that, imo.

This is probably way too long/shouldn't read. Just buy them. I have nothing else to add.

5'8", 165lb naked, 49yo dad-ripper.

Debut song—


Off the peak from the tram I had a choice of mild moguls or a groomer with 4cm having fallen yesterday.

Bumps, it is.

Two turns in— Is this the ski I grew up on? It feels like it, but it’s damp as fuck. I can’t hear a thing.

Five turns in and finding side-chunder— “Oh, this must be what MO was saying when he said it’s like a Ren and an MF108 had a baby. Because I can’t feel a thing but I keep dancing around from turn to turn like a teenage ballerina.

MO— Bro— unfuckingbelievable how intuitive, quiet, and quick this thing dances.

What else can I say without repeating everyone? Just buy it.

Another unknown homie on his QST 98s tried passing me on the packed-pow bottom runout and I was like— Oh, you wanna race? Watch this. I’m just gonna sit on my couch and GS the fuck out of this. Loser. #homie-bro-heckling.

Good thing the brand name is on the tails. 'Cuz nobody is reading it from in front of me.

Average snow conditions below for reference. Both sides of this spectrum... both fresher and firmer. Early season tram to the top-- ride the hippy chair a few laps shown here, then raw-dog it to the village. (no pics of that, but you an imagine. Every condition.)



Looks even better on snow.

In ankle-deep mank it's just as loose as my Ren. Waayyyyy more loose than my old M102, of course.

Also, the tip/tail taper is dope... so surfy. You can do whatever the fuck you want on these things. Surf or carve at the flip of a thought.

Either everything I just typed is accurate or I'm some sort of God at skiing. You choose. But I feel like a God.

[mr_pretzel]

So glad you like them Gaijin, they really are the hardsnown ren I’ve always wanted. Best HL ski in my opinion!

[gaijin]

That’s right— you called it the hard snow Ren. I get that. This is damper and more turny on firm snow but has that Ren intuition.

Both of these skis = I don’t have to do anything but everyone stops what they’re doing to watch me do what I’m (not) doing.

There has to be a new lexicon— like— Couch Playfulness.

Or something.

Either way— this ski does all the work for me, and I like that. It’s a gigantic bonus that I don’t have to feel or listen to it remind me that it’s doing all the work— like some ungrateful wife.


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[Island Bay]

Good to hear, brother. And you knew.

[Marshal Olson]

That’s right— you called it the hard snow Ren. I get that. This is damper and more turny on firm snow but has that Ren intuition.

Both of these skis = I don’t have to do anything but everyone stops what they’re doing to watch me do what I’m (not) doing.

There has to be a new lexicon— like— Couch Playfulness.

Or something.

Either way— this ski does all the work for me, and I like that. It’s a gigantic bonus that I don’t have to feel or listen to it remind me that it’s doing all the work— like some ungrateful wife.


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Love it, thanks and so fired up on your first imressions!

I think it was Pluffen who said "its like you are standing there, going 60mph, chilling out drinking a cup of coffee".

[2FUNKY]

Awesome, gaijin! Skiing mine again tomorrow. Jacked!


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[kc_7777]

Perfect review Gaijin. haha.

Ya the FR/R HL skis make you feel like a god, or ski like a god. Probably more the latter.

I'm headed to Whistler for the weekend...snow is coming.....FR110, R120 and HB122's are in the truck. It's almost like I don't have any other skis that I want to bring. Renegades maybe?

Life is pretty good when Renegades are your 4th ski choice.

KC

[gaijin]

Yeah, KC— what a life. Stoked for you. I never imagined the Ren would be de-throned… but… maybe it’s just finding it’s niche.

Good to hear, brother. And you knew.

I did know it. I’m generally pretty good at reading skis on paper. This ski is exactly what I thought it was gonna be. Still mind-blowing, though.

I think it was Pluffen who said "its like you are standing there, going 60mph, chilling out drinking a cup of coffee".

It’s so casual. It’s early season and I’m weak. But today was day five on skis, day two on this ski, and I was ripping with an FWQ athlete like it was a random Tuesday in February. I felt really on it.

There were a couple of longer peak-to-base runs where I was beat at the bottom in the chunder and just said “Fuck turning— just go straight.” The skis did everything for me. I didn’t know reverse camber could absorb terrain. The grooming machines haven’t been out yet. It’s just raw, nasty, skied-out mank. But, magic carpet skis.

I’m not tricking-out terrain, yet, but this ski does all the work for me. It’s gonna make me wanna compete again— or at least push for an FWM— Freeride World Masters genre of comps. It’s seriously gonna give me a mid-life crisis. At least on my other skis I know my limits. Not so with this one. This R110 is like-- "You can do a lot more, bro."

I can dance, or just stand still and smash.

All the locals today— Yo, Gaijin— what the fuck is that?

[2FUNKY]

R one ten with their brush stroke on the canvas below. This ski is a damn riot!



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[gaijin]

This ski is a damn riot!

Is anyone unsure if the R One Ten is the best do-everything ski on the planet? I'm convinced it is. But I don't ski every release like some of you maniacs. I'm guessing the Moment Countach 110 is a contender.

The shape, build, fit/finish, then the ride qualities-- the dampness, turn radius, carvibility, releasability.

Go straight, turn on a dime... all that. I just can't wrap my head around how something could be better at being a do-everything ski.

The problem that MO just ran into is that he's gonna sell out of these skis, but the build quality is gonna mean that we aren't ordering any more.

This is a twenty year ski for me. I could probably retire from life right now and just ski this thing for the rest of my days. It's just so easy, mindless, intuitive... and robust.

From here onward-- the HL business model is going to have to be life-long products. Every HL ski you buy is destined to be that quiver slot for the next 20+ years.

Knowing that, after having skied this core/layup, I'm gonna go ahead and plan my life's quiver. But that doesn’t make me a lifetime customer. That makes me a two-to-three year customer.

The HL ROneTen. Best ski in the world. Period.

[Core Shot]

Wow. Gaijin write up makes me drool.

Can’t wait to get on my R110 after Christmas. What a present.

The FR was so much fun last year. Had it in the canyons for one week as my only ski. Was a bit nervous about that decision. But it really is the most versatile reverse I’ve ever had.
And yet it’s not the best DD. No reverse can be.

When the R was announced I knew I needed it.

MO knows skis.

[Core Shot]

In case any young punks missed the BO knows reference. It was a Bo Jackson Nike thing early nineties


MO knows skis.

[MagnificentUnicorn]

[emoji638]][emoji640][emoji639]][emoji637][emoji6[emoji640][emoji638]][emoji[emoji6[emoji640][emoji638]][emoji640][emoji6[emoji640][emoji637]]][emoji637][emoji[emoji6[emoji640][emoji638]][emoji640][emoji6[emoji640][emoji638]]][emoji640]]In case any young punks missed the BO knows reference. It was a Bo Jackson Nike thing early nineties


MO knows skis.

It’s always better when you have to explain your oblique references.


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[Shredeagle]

Nice Gaijin!! Stoked someone else is on board with the best ski ever designation.

I’m hoping MO keeps making these things forever for those of us that ski more rocks than snow. Bridger just opened the entire amount w a 16 inch base but I couldn’t bring myself to take them out. I was having fun skiing them at Big Sky up until then. Going back to normal skis really put a damper on my stoke. I’ve been ruined!!

R110 mogul stoke: https://youtube.com/shorts/ToT9SwC23ME


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[kc_7777]

Quick weekend comparison of the HB122 and 4FRNT Renegade (and indirectly the FR110).

It dumped at Whistler this past weekend...and the highway was closed from Sat am to Sun am, which kept some from Vancouver away (but I think the entire city of Squamish was there).

2 pretty great ski days.

Sat: 40cm of light, new and very stormy throughout the day (100km/h winds) so no alpine open. Lots of good Red Chair laps, with lots of good snow and refills every run. Enough snow base (again) meant Insanity and Goats Gully on Red were both skiable. Steep, gnarly, soft bumps….like a Baker day but at Whistler. Spent all day Sat on the 183 HB122's....perfect ski when the snow is coming down hard and piling up quickly over a harder underneath layer. HB122’s are kinda a great ski when vis is shit, because they don’t give a shit. Point em, ride fast and centered and you can skim, hop, fly, smash, smear over everything which helps when you're slamming down soft bumps in a whiteout. Also pretty effective ripping groomers that are getting covered with beautiful deep piles of soft chunder. Good day.

Sun: Super good vis and another 15cm? Some areas were deep but some were less so and kinda windblown with a slight crust. I skied my 184 4FRNT Renegades...mainly as I’ve been only on HL skis. We knew that Harmony and Peak chairs would crack but we had decided we didn't want to wait in lines (Harmony opened later morning and Peak in early afternoon). Lots of people I know waited hours but I wanted to ski. Got a Franz’s lap early. Then some runs on Insanity in Red Chair. Chunky's bumps were big, soft and the Renegades slithered their way through everything easily. But I think the FR110 is better? By the time we got onto an alpine lifts after lunch (got 2 Harmony laps, a T-Bar run then a Peak lap) it was either windblown pow or pretty skied out, but deep pow stashes. Rens were great (hadn't been on Rens for a long time).....but because Whistler is tracked out about 20 min after a lift cracks I was kinda wishing for the FR110's as they are quicker, nimbler, faster, more fun? than Rens if it's not untouched pow.

PS I was gonna bust out the R120's but honestly I don't think my wife could handle another new ski this month. Cause the AM100's just arrived today and she was like "WTF"

KC

[Rob Stokes]

So, I was over on Blackcomb the same day as KC above, and skiing the R120 st. Same same for conditions.

I've posted a little review in the main swallowtail thread.

Spoiler- awesome day, awesome skis.


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[CascadeLuke]

Memorable day on the R dimes.
Played hooky with my lil homie for a storm day. Type of day you look forward to as a father.
The skis served up whatever turn and action I wanted. Hold back some through exploratory terrain on my kids level or stand on em mid mountain to lift. Very enjoyable.
Sat my son in the lodge with some snacks that would make mom roll her eyes while I went to the car for a pair of my favorite baseline skis, to A/B.
Back on the mountain I was hit with the realization these just wert it. Linked some good arcs on the main runs and some fun smears in the trees but bounced around far too much in comparison. The suspension and truck-ability of the R one ten is its strength at this point for me in the PNW.

[SkiLyft]

Smurf mode engaged


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[2FUNKY]

Heck yeah bud! Lil smurf n surf!


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[shank]

R dimes, love it, that might stick. What was your reference ski?