Just tested the new Supersport S5!!!

Thanks to all for the advice on which skis to try for Vermont conditions.

I had a chance to demo a set of new Supersport S5s from Northern Ski Works of Ludlow, VT and took them up to Killington yesterday. All I can say is what a huge difference vs. my >10yr old 195 Fischer SL Supers!!!

Based on Northern's advice (I am 6'1, 195lbs and probably a level 7 skier) I went with a set of 168s. It took a few runs to acclimate myself to the new skis, but once I did the difference was night and day.

I found the S5 to be a fantastic ski for making both quick slalom style turns and also wider GS turns. The grip on ice is simply unbelievable and encouraged me to push the skis harder and harder. They are solid on moguls too but that's not really the kind of skiing I do anyway. Definitely an awesome ski but I still want to compare them against the Metrons and the Fischer RX8.

I went back to Northern to demo a set of Atomic Metron 11 B5s but unfortunately the weather turned bad this morning (freezing rain) so I decided to bag the skiing for today and Northern was nice enough to take the skis back and give me a voucher for another day. I guess I'll have to wait until this weekend.....

I'll be curious to hear how they compare to the RX8. They seem to be pretty competitive to the SS5 as hard snow carvers. Anybody else skied those two on hard snow? LewBob

I just got back from Vermont again this weekend and had a chance to demo both the Fischer RX8 in 170 and the Atomic Metron B5 in 162.

Fischer RX8: I took these out at Killington on Saturday in conditions that were a combination of hard pack and ice on both groomers and moguls. As expected from the posts I have read here, the Fischers were noticably quicker turning than the Volkl Supersport S5 168. The had a lively feel to them and I can say that they are great on fast hardpack trails for aggressive carving. Where they fell short in my opinion was in edge grip - nowhere near as good as the Supersport in that department. In less than perfect conditions, I did not have the confidence that the Supersports instilled. It was an ok mogul ski, but again I found that better edges would have helped more there. Maybe the Fischers worked well for others, but on my part I was quite happy to hand them back at the end of the day

Metron B5: I had these out today at Okemo and the difference between these and the RX8s was night and day. Northern Ski Works set me up on 162s, which I was thinking might be too short for me (6'1, 195lbs) but proved not to be. The Metron is just a phenomenal ski. The 162 length seemed perfect - plenty of speed. Quick turning and absolutely awesome in crud and ice. Edge grip was as good as the Supersport S5, maybe even better, and they were the perfect tool for both quick turns and longer GS racer style turns. They excelled in morning conditions on freshly groomed squares and blacks and didnt let off one bit as conditions turned icy later today. For real world Vermont skiing I think the Metron B5s are top notch!!!!!!!!!!!