08 K2 Apache Coomba

X-post from TGR

info from a unnamed shop employee.

So K2 is making this bad ass ski next year in memory of Doug Coombs.

Stats

lengths 167,174,181,188
tip - rossi esque
waist width - 102
Wood core
Flex slight stiffer all around than the cheifs.
Tapered Tail and IMO they look Fing sick



only downer for me is cap and not sidewall constuction, but being I get K2s super cheap who knows....jsut got to chuck those marker binding right off and get some looks.

BTw right ski says "float" and left skis says "sting", seriousally if K2 sold skis on just graphics alone they won me with this ski. Now how does it skis? anyone out there have info?

Ya, my Lord.

If it's just slightly stiffer and slightly fatter than the chief, then it could possibly be the most perfect ski ever.

Got a chance to try a pair on Saturday. Conditions: about 8-10 new, snowing hard. Let me tell you, this skis rocks. For sure is the best POW and crud ski I've ever been on. It has a new tip shape allowing the ski to ride through the snow without getting bounced around. I would not say it is stiffer than the Chief, but has way more balanced flex. It's not a twin...and has new K2 progressive sidecut, which helps it come out the turn so sweet. Can't wait to get another chance to ski em' again.

Tapered tail... does that mean narrower than the waist?

No, Just way narrower than the tip

If I wasn't a poor student, I'd almost buy these on principle. Looks awesome.

Actually, it is exactly like the K2 Seth Vicious, except it has a flat tail. Doug hated the turned up tail (he used to cut it off)

Let's see here.... 102mm waist, zero camber, featherlight =/= Seth Vicious. Its the same basic principle (relatively soft + 100ish waist + middle of the road sidecut) but not "exactly the same." Nice try though.

agreed also the coomba is cap were as the seth sidewall. Nice try fastmanonskis

i skied the coomba today in conditions totally not what they were designed for....boiler plate under grainular crud and no new real snow in about a week. good news is that they performed very well - they held a great edge, awesome long arcs, great medium size turns, and even able to work shorter turns out of them with some convincing. much more versatile than i imagined they would be looking down at them the first ride up the lift. i was surprised by their performance given the conditions. i skied a 181cm, which was a little bigger than i would buy (im 5'11", 168 lbs...thinking 174 would be sweet). could definitely tell it was an awesome ski. would love to see what this ski could do in the pow!!!

Coomba is going to be one of the hottest AT Skis for 2008. Doug really did his research on this ski and hopefully a good portion will go to his family from the sale of the skis.

'08 K2 Coomba
http://www.untracked.com/p1961-08_k2...omba_skis.html

Damn. I bought Chiefs this year. Maybe I'll just have to land on a rock or something... Didn't he ski really long skis, longer than the 188 that www.untracked.com has?

Nope, Doug used to use 189 Seth Pistols with the tails cut off to allow them to be used as anchors.

And to allow them to fit in the La Grave gondola. (So I heard...)

Seems like the 181 is going to be the pick length for most people I have talked with the past couple of weeks. The new tip design is great and the ski is pretty light for how big it is.

'08 Coomba
http://www.untracked.com/p1961-08_k2...omba_skis.html

Considering the Coomba

I'm in the market for a powder/crud/bump ski. So far it sounds like the Coomba may be a great choice for Powder/Crud... but what about bumps? I'm 6'7" and 240lbs. Seems like the 181 length is the obvious choice for me.

Thoughts about this ski in bumps?

Thoughts about similar/competitor skis that would be good to look at for me? I'll be skiing Tahoe, and this ski is entirely for off-piste. I'm a level 7/8-ish skier looking to spend a lot more time on more challenging terrain this year.

-Adam

188...................Better for everything except bumps.

Other good but not necessarily better choices........Line P-100, Volkl Gotama, Atomic Pimp

SJ

What Jim said on the 188s. At your height and weight, for off-piste in Tahoe, I think you're going to want something in the high 180s or 190s -- longer for reverse camber skis.

Good Tahoe-area small company choices include the 195 Praxis Powder (full reverse camber and sidecut -- don't be scared by the length; I'll be skiing them and you have 6" and 25 pounds on me), 192 or 188 PM Gear Bro Model (probably the soft flex given your skill level), 196 Moment M1 (may be too stiff, but they may be able to soften), and 186 Moment Comi. Looking beyond the immediate geographical area and the small players suggests that the 192 Black Diamond Zealot, 190 Black Diamond Verdict, 190 Volkl Katana, 190 Volkl Gotama, 190 Volkl Sumo, 191 Volkl Mantra, 190 Atomic Big Daddy, and 190 Fischer Porohete (or are they calling it the Watea 106 this year?) all deserve a look, or at least a comparative flex.

AD:

you forgot the Moment Ruby.

that's the model that's the hot ticket over on TGR right now, both as a powder ripper and an AT set-up. 188cm, too and 112 at the waist. I think the M1 is more of a park ski, but what do i know...

Over on TGR the feeling seems to be that at my size I need more ski. They suggested the Volkl Mantra in 191cm. So many skis to choose from... I just know that I should get a more appropriate ski for this kind of terrain. My Metrons carve a pretty wicked line, but off-piste they tend to get me hung up.

I don't want to go in to gravitational warfare in Wade+Jim's camp without the proper tools!

-Adam

You're right, dookey -- I did leave off the Ruby.

I don't think the M1s are park skis, though. For one thing, my concern about suggesting them was that they might be too stiff, which does not suggest park use. For another, IIRC, 666 has been having a blast on his M1s.

also considering apache coombas

I like the idea of these skis a lot, but am trying to figure out how well they do tight trees. I have not skied them and need people's advice on how they turn. I get 100+ days in, mostly at Squaw Valley and in the Tahoe BC. The Coombas would essentially be my 1 ski quiver (I have Tigersharks for the groomers), doing the majority of my on and off-piste duty this year. Bottom line, I like to go fast and smear pow turns, so I don't mind a stiffer board, but I am sick of not being able to get into tight spots without working my ass off as I do currently on my Apache Chiefs. I'm 6'1", 205, would consider myself an advanced-expert skier, and still have to work those Chiefs to get them into tight spots. The Coombas seem soft and light enough to get the trees and mandatory turns done with more pleasure/less work and because they're ALL wood, have torsion box const., etc, wouldn't be too twitchy at higher speeds. Does anyone out there know if this is actually true, based on actual experience? Bottom line: I want something stable, capable of high speeds, but that isn't a freighter in tight spots (I'm guessing everyone else wants this too). Is the Coomba a good candidate? I'm considering the Gotamas too; not the same ski I know, but have narrowed it down to the Goat and the Coomba at this point, while still open to other possibilities.

Kapow:

First, the Coomba is not stiff at all. It is on the softer side of "medium" in the highly subjective world of ski flexes and it is very light. The Gotama is stiffer and quite a bit heavier. The pics below show a Coomba/181 and a Goat/183 with the aft contact points lined up. You can see that the Coomba runs quite a bit longer. The lightish weight and softish flex makes the Coomba very nimble but not as stable in bashing heavy crud. I own the Goat in a 183 and it is a very easy ski. For your weight, I think I'd suggest the Goat.




<A href="http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l25/sierrajim49/Coomgoat001x600.jpg" target=_blank>



SJ

And Jim goes above and beyond the call of duty yet again. He's too polite to say it, but he has the Coomba in stock for $649 shipped and the Goat for $699 shipped.

KApowSKI: I've never skied either, but I understand that the Goat has a rep for skiing short for its measured length -- not surprising for a twin. My height, weight, and ability match up almost exactly to yours, and like you, I ski the Sierra. For the past two years, for the types of terrain you mention, my everyday ski has been the 188 PM Gear Bro Soft, and I've never felt like it was too long, even in the trees. Given your affinity for speed, and the fact that these are going to be your soft snow ski, I'd seriously consider going longer.

^^^^^

I try not to be overly commercial but actually, a bit better than that for epic supporters...................

SJ

I'm 6'2" and 175lbs. However I prefer smooth, slower turns than bombing down the slopes at mach 1. I hope Whistler gets enough snow to demo the Coombas next month, really want to give them a blast

Good call........with your lighter weight and moderate speed preferences, the Coomba will be a great model to consider.

SJ

Heh.

More to the point, though -- should KApowSKI think about the 190 Goat? If not, why not? Discuss.

I'll relay an observation someone made to me a little while ago. I thought it made sense. The person I was chatting with felt the Coomba would make a great "mountaineering ski" - flat tails for pivoting or anchoring. Good shape, etc. for very varied conditions -- vs considering Gotamas, Hell Bents, whatever, etc (with or without AT capabilities on them) as more condition oriented fun skis. Their conclusion was that if you want a ski for general purpose touring/mountaineering, get the Coomba. If you want a ski with sidecountry or big inbounds capabilities - but with an emphasis on the pure downhill fun, go for something more specifically oriented towards the kinds of turns you love to make. I thought it was an interesting observation...