Skippress - Index

Skippress - US_2007_2008 - Index

TOP 3 HIGHEST SCORES
68 BUYER’S GUIDE 2008
SKI PRESS SKI TEST '08 08
HEAD • Olson Pro
PRICE: $710 • LENGTHS AVAILABLE: 160, 169, 178
On the eighth day, God must have
found time to create the Olson Pro.
It’s a ski that all others should be
modeled after, a heavenly blend of
park ski and all-mountain board.
Light enough to be nimble for trick
skiing, it’s still stable enough to ride
the whole mountain hard and fast.
It’s not just that it can do everything;
it does everything fl awlessly. “A real
crazy ski — you can do whatever you
want on them,” wrote one tester.
Oh, heavenly Head!
BEST BUY
STABILITY 9.56
EZ TO INITIATE 9.11
EDGE GRIP 9.33
FORGIVENESS 8.67
ENERGY 9.44
SHORT RADIUS 9.00
LONG RADIUS 9.00
VERSATILITY 9.33
RATING
FISCHER • Addict Pro
PRICE: $970 WITH X14 • LENGTHS AVAILABLE: 172, 181
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93.03
AS CLOSE AS IT GETS TO SMOOTH-RIDING PERFECTION.
WEIGHT medium • FLEX medium to stiff
TESTED LENGTH 178 • DIMENSIONS 113-77-102 • RADIUS 20.1
ROSSIGNOL • Scratch Ghetto
PRICE: $629.99 • LENGTHS AVAILABLE: 167, 174, 181
Like a booming bass in a muscle car,
this ski thrums with rhythmic power.
Fast, long turns in wide-open spaces
— boom boom! — not a problem.
Precise handling for rails and solid
park landings — boom boom! — you
got it. When it comes to quick edgeto-edge
action, not bad, but this is
a ski that prefers speed and space
to really shake your world. “Ideal
fl ex for the jib, ideal ski for speed,”
wrote one tester. That’s a great, onetwo
punch. Boom boom!
BEST BUY
STABILITY 9.30
EZ TO INITIATE 9.00
EDGE GRIP 9.40
FORGIVENESS 9.00
ENERGY 9.10
SHORT RADIUS 8.50
LONG RADIUS 9.40
VERSATILITY 9.10
RATING
92.12
BEST RESULTS COME WITH AGGRESSIVE SKIING STYLE.
WEIGHT light to medium • FLEX medium
TESTED LENGTH 174 • DIMENSIONS 116-84-109 • RADIUS 21.4 (181)
VÖLKL • Wall
PRICE: $600 • LENGTHS AVAILABLE: 161, 169, 177, 185
Perfection? That’s what one tester
thought of the Wall, giving it 10s
across the board and confessing, “I
fell in love. They were perfect everywhere.”
Or almost perfect. The Wall
is a bit better in linking long turns
than it is when the radius tightens
up. And just a little more energy to
pop in and out of turns and tricks
might be nice. As one tester put
it, it’s “missing a boost of energy.”
But those are quibbles. Perfection?
Pretty darn close.
BEST BUY
STABILITY 8.91
EZ TO INITIATE 8.64
EDGE GRIP 8.45
FORGIVENESS 8.36
ENERGY 8.27
SHORT RADIUS 8.18
LONG RADIUS 9.09
VERSATILITY 8.45
RATING
86.43
THIS SKI AT THIS PRICE? A STEAL.
WEIGHT medium • FLEX medium
TESTED LENGTH 177 • DIMENSIONS 119-87-111 • RADIUS 20.2
TOP 5 ALSO BEST BUYS
Top Top 88
Freestyle TWINTIP (MSA)
BEST BUY FISCHER ELAN ATOMIC NORDICA DYNASTAR
STABILITY 8.55 8.78 9.00 8.60 8.91
EZ TO INITIATE 8.36 8.33 8.00 8.00 8.45
EDGE GRIP 8.64 8.78 8.55 8.50 8.18
FORGIVENESS 8.27 8.33 8.09 8.10 8.45
ENERGY 8.27 8.22 8.27 8.50 8.09
SHORT RADIUS 8.00 8.11 7.91 8.10 8.18
LONG RADIUS 9.00 8.78 8.36 8.80 8.55
VERSATILITY 8.73 8.67 8.64 8.10 8.36
RATING 85.59 85.57 85.38 84.96 84.60
Is bigger better? At 181 cm, the Addict Pro was the longest ski in the category.
The result: a great board in big turns that was less nimble in quick,
edge-to-edge action. It impressed testers with its predictable behavior in
the air or on the rails. “Well balanced either in the park or in a giant-slalom
course,” wrote one tester. Balanced defi nitely is better.
AT THIS LENGTH, A LITTLE MORE BODY WEIGHT HELPS.
WEIGHT medium • FLEX medium to stiff
TESTED LENGTH 181 • DIMENSIONS 114-84-114 • RADIUS 22
ELAN • The Revert
PRICE: $700 WITH ELD 14.0 • LENGTHS AVAILABLE: 155, 165, 175, 185
Your mama always told you: Finish what you start. A beefi er bubba than some
other park skis, The Revert can be a bit cumbersome in getting tricks started.
But oh, how it fi nishes — with solid, stable, smooth landings. Straight or
switch, makes no diff — this ski delivers a comforting feeling of equilibrium and
stability. “Heavy but balanced — delicious!” wrote one tester. Oooh, mama.
HEAVIER AND STIFFER THAN MOST, THE REVERT LIKES A POWER PLAYER AT THE CONTROLS.
WEIGHT medium to heavy • FLEX medium to stiff
TESTED LENGTH 175 • DIMENSIONS 118-78-106 • RADIUS 16
ATOMIC • Urban Punx
PRICE: $575 • LENGTHS AVAILABLE: 158,166,176,184
Never has 84 millimeters felt so wide. The Urban Punx delivers such a
dependable feeling of stability and balance that you might think you were
on a dining room table rather than an 84 mm-waisted ski. Testers preferred
this as a pure park ski, a good match for the most demanding aeronautic
performances. “A competition ski for my best days,” wrote one tester.
“Power and strong qualities are required.”
COOL LOOK, COOL NAME, COOL TOOL.
WEIGHT medium • FLEX medium to stiff
TESTED LENGTH 175 • DIMENSIONS 107-84-107 • RADIUS 25
NORDICA • Ignition
PRICE: $535 • LENGTHS AVAILABLE: 156, 163, 170, 177
Turn, baby, turn. With more sidecut than any boards in this category, the
Ignition is built to turn. But that doesn’t make it a non-starter in the park.
With a fl ex pattern that’s stiff underfoot but soft in the tip and tail, the Ignition
can stay stable on rails yet maneuverable in the trick ditch. “Amazing
in the park,” wrote on tester. “On landing, they are like a cat.”
BIG, SOFT TIP MEANS BIG, EASY TURNS.
WEIGHT medium • FLEX soft to medium
TESTED LENGTH 177 • DIMENSIONS 122-84-112 • RADIUS 18
DYNASTAR • Troublemaker
PRICE: $599 • LENGTHS AVAILABLE: 160, 168, 175, 181
Sometimes skiing is just so smooth it’s like spreading warm butter on toast.
That’s why Troublemaker is really a misnomer; this ski is a problem solver.
“This ski rides smoothly, just like the sweet lips in its design,” wrote one
tester. The one question testers raised: Was this smooth operator tough
enough for hardcore, aggro skiing?
SMOOTH AS SILK, IN THE PARK AND ON THE MOUNTAIN.
WEIGHT light to medium • FLEX medium
TESTED LENGTH 175 • DIMENSIONS 116-81-106 • RADIUS 20