Elan Magfire 82Ti

After hunting around for a low-mid 80s ski to use in mixed conditions all over the hill (out west when no recent significant snow; east after typical modest snowfall), settled on the Mag 82Ti without a chance to demo...read very positive reviews here from Dawg and elsewhere on the net. I skied last year's Crimson and liked it but found it kind of wimpy on hard snow at speed, so thought about the new Ti version but haven't skied it. Have been on Furies, MR, im88 (but not 82)...thought about Movement Spark and Jet Fuel too. Basically I wanted something in the 50-50 category that had a bit more carving characteristics than things like Mythic but that were not as groomer oriented as AC50 and the like. And I wanted s-thing that would cooperate pretty well in the bumps. So the Mag 82Ti appealed to me "on paper" because of its geometry, vertical sidewalls, moderate longitudinal flex but with a lot of torsional rigidity, and while not very many people seem to have skied them, everyone who did loved them and talked about them as just what I was looking for -- energetic, race ski feel on hard snow, but softer flexing and so versatile in mixed snow and varied turn shapes. Decided to just take the leap and buy them from Scott w/out a demo.

Got out to UT this week on biz and managed to squeeze in a day and a half skiing (half day on 12/3 at Snowbird and all day yesterday at Alta). There was more fresh snow than they reported...Tues and Tues night, they got about 6" and then 3-5" more wed night and Thurs. So I got lucky cause as we all know it's pretty much been a drought there for 3 weeks prior, and I got to get the Magfires out in a lot of different snow ranging from 6" untracked to groomed to piles of tracked up crud, some soft bumps (although no real zipperline bump fields), some deeper stashes in leeward areas etc.

Me: 42 next month, 5'9" 165# former racer in the 80s, prolly high level 8, low 9 or some such.

I really loved these skis. They skied exactly as advertised...the words that came to mind again and again while skiing them were "smooth but with energy." On groomed, they are just silky smooth in and out of turns at various speeds, but you can get some real rebound out of them easily....on packed snow, they do feel like detuned race skis. There are certainly beefier boards out there with way bigger shoulders, but the 82Ti is plenty of ski...I ran them fast on some groomed stuff to test them laid out on edge at speed on relatively steep pitches and I never found myself feeling like there wasn't enough of a platform under me. I'm sure on icier surfaces, they would reach their limit, but on groomed packed powder, plenty of ski...and easily driven into slalomy or GS-y turns. I can't overstate how smoothly they initiate and exit turns...really impressive.

But I spent most of my time in the trees and in West Rustler and Ballroom in 6-ish inches fresh and crud once tracked out. The Mags did great. Just easy to ski and dependable and very little deflection in crud. I could tell that in deeper pow of 10+" they wouldn't be ideal, and I could tell that in real heavy crud with big piles, they wouldn't steamroll it the way a true heavy duty crudbuster would, but in the kind of mixed conditions I was mostly in, and that I bought these skies for, really really good with a VERY broad performance envelope. A New England based skier could certainly use these as a very nice OSQ and have something to use out west on leaner snow days.

Thanks, Dawg/Scott, for the great recommendation!

--Josh

what length did you get?

176. Felt just right.

I can only imagine it's a LOT like my Magfire 14. Great ski - BOMBER as hell. Not a powder ski, but it'll kill anything else it comes across. Best turn is a med-long radius turn. You have to stay on them though, or they'll take you for a ride.

Yeah, everything I read about these skis said that Elan realized the 2008 Mag 14s (and 12s) were just too burly for avg weight skiers and the construction was changed significantly.

I usually like stiff skis and I almost went with the xti, but I'm only 162 lbs and I wanted these skis to be good mixed conditions performers, especially for spring mashed potatoes, corn etc and wanted them as bump friendly as possible, so when Dawg said the Ti was plenty of ski (and the X with its two sheets of metal at least as burly as a Jet fuel), I went with the Ti. Glad I did...definitely plenty of ski for my purposes. Maybe if I wanted a pure frontside charger/carver, I'd go X, but then I wouldn't buy Magfires for that anyway. I ski Tigershark 10 ps w/ switch on for ice coast carving. Love those.

There may really be something to this waveflex construction...on the 82Ti, you really can feel how deeply it can be flexed and yet they have the torsional rigidity to be really solid when you open it up on hardpack at speed. I was very very impressed with their range.

--Josh

--Josh

I weigh about 180-185 in the winter, and fully decked, I probably am over 190, so I guess that's why I do ok with the Mag 14. Had the Mag 12 been available at the time, I would have gotten those.

Waveflex is impressive though - and "real" IMHO.

I bought a pair of the Mag14's last year from Dog and have loved everyday on them. Axe is right about staying on them but once you get them humming they run like they're on rails. I'm a bigger guy @ 225lbs so its easier for me to get them to flex in turns. If you like a beefy ski these are some bad mamma jammas.

I can't say enough good things about the Elan lineup this year. I was on a bucnh of them yesterday and was blown away. The killer thing about them is the price, the Mag 82ti retails for $699, there is not another ski out there that can compete at that price. I look at all these skis with $1200+ prices and laugh, Elan has them beat.

JDoyal, which models did you ski and what were your impressions? I'm sure everyone would be interested in a few mini-reviews.

--Josh

Where to start, I have been on the whole line pretty much. The Mag 82Ti was pretty much as you described. I also really liked the 78Ti, it would be my everyday ski if I lived back east still. I would probably have it out west as well, as I am not a huge fan of wide waists..even in deep snow, unless it's 2 feet I am on a high 70's low 80's waist.
Then I was on all the race skis, including the WC stuff, which I REALLY loved, I wish the snow was a bit firmer for those skis, but I still had fun with them. The 777's were another fav. very easy ski to cruise around on and with the soft shovel very easy to swing into a turn.

I had my Mag 14's out this weekend for the first time since last year. Snow conditions were soft - it was about 35. After the first run, I remembered why I love these skis so much. As mentioned before, they can't be deflected. With that said, they are fairly damp, and the flex wasn't as stiff as I remember. They aren't a super-energetic ski, but they'l get you back into the turn - not a 'pop', but more a 'push'.

One thing I will say that is something to be aware of - they have one turn shape/radius. They do it VERY well, but it's about all they do. It would be an AWESOME cruiser, and be perfect for cut up crud.

See, I felt the Mag 78 and Mag 82 could do a bunch of turn shapes and do them well.

Let me clarify --

You can do whatever turn you like, but I think that it has one turn it does best (the magical "best" turn) and if you want a turn besides that, you have to horse them a bit.

No horsing for me on the Mag 82s...didn't even feel they wanted to pull me into any particular shape...was one of he things I really enjoyed about them.

By contrast, I skied the Mythic Riders last year for a couple days and really felt those wanted to go into one shape when on hardpack...something I didn't particularly like about them. I thought they were great in crud and chop, but on hardpack I felt I had to really force them out of their "natural" turn shape. I would say the Mag 82s were about as different from that as could be.

Hmmm... Sounds like I bought my skis a year too early.

Re-Skier,

We are about the same height/weight and I wondered what your impression was in comparison to the 78ti and the Mag 10ti. I have tried the Mag 10 ti, but found them a bit damp and a little too soft. I am looking at the 78ti in a 168 length for the east. Did the waveflex on the 82ti make the ski feel softer in carved turns or just in bumps.

Thanks

BTW - consider the Magfire 14 to be a slightly heavier version of the Magfir 82 XTi. We need to talk apples to apples. If you're talking Magfire 82Ti, that's probably similar to the Magfire 12 from last year, which is certainly a much more workable ski.

On the Elan Magfire 82s and 78s, I need some advice. I skied the Magfire 14 last season in Jackson in powdery conditions and loved them. They were heavy, but I was able to handle them and found them to be extremely stable but fun. In addition go going out West, I ski up in icy VT regularly and I was told by a dealer up there that I should get the 82xti because of the double titanium. My confusion is that I am the same size as Re-Skier -- weigh 160-65lbs (probably around 170 all-geared up); 5'9", 38 and athletic; Re-Skier found the 82ti to be perfect flex and suggested that the 82xtis would be too burly. Any suggestions?

I should be skiing my nearly purchased 184 82XTis on Saturday. I'm 6'5"/185 lbs and not a huge bumps guy, so wagering that I'll appreciate the additional stability over the give-up of some mogul flexibility. All of my previously owned ski's were race skis, so I'm attracted to the stiffness

I'll return with a report in Gear Review once I've tried them.

If I had been buying the Mags for mostly VT use and didn't care about bump performance, I probably would have gone xti too just out of habit of tending towards the stiffest ski in the line, but I'm really glad I had more versatility in mind and didn't go that way. I'm a former racer who likes stiff boards, but it was the fact that I wanted better mixed snow and bump performance (and Dawg's reassurance) that inclined me towards the ti. I'm really glad I went ti b/c it's plenty powerful and grippy and presumably adds significant versatility over the X. Neither ski is going to be like a 70mm dedicated frontside carver with big shoulders anyway (and I have one of those in the quiver for hard/icy small mountain days). If you have a carver, then why not go a little softer for this ski? And if the Mags will be a OSQ, then you probably want to maximize versatility out of it, so either way, I'd go ti. If you're looking to have just one ski and you just want to carve groomed hardpack and ice all the time, then Mag 82 is probably not the right ski anyway.

My first review of 82XTi - thought it deserved a separate thread but with a link-through.


http://forums.epicski.com/showthread.php?t=78748

Is the 82 Ti more or less versatile than the 78 Ti?

I'm looking for a OSQ and have read good things about both models. I go out West 1 week every year but live in the East where there is a good deal of hard pack. I consider myself an advanced intermediate w/ expert aspirations. I'm 5'10" and weigh 165. I want a ski that is suitable for both East and West conditions. I was recommended to the 82 Ti but don't want to overlook the 78 Ti if it is considered a more versatile ski. Does the 82 Ti give up any appreciable versatility or maneuverability to gain the performance that a slightly wider and stiffer platform gives it.? This could be my last pair of skis for the forseeable future and want to be able to grow into them. I would appreciate any suggestions.

I'm curious how the 82ti compares to the Nordica Afterburner?

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Magfire 82 Ti Fusion 168's $595
Magfire 82 XTi Fusion 168's $625
Magfire 78 Ti Fusion 168's $499
888 177cm $449 flat
777 176cm $399 flat

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There is no shame in helping a fellow skier feed his hunger for new skis. I'm still trying to decide between the Elan Magfire 78 Ti vs the 82Ti. 

 

I'm on the 82 XTi (184). Have skied it on eastern hardpack/ice (NY, where I live) and western groomers and up to 6-12 inches of powder. Very versatile ski. The 82 holds quite well on the hard stuff. My recommendation would be the 82.

 

 

Thanks for the input. Have you ever skied the 78 Ti?

I skied the 82ti 176cm in Aspen and it was perfect on the bumps and in light powder.  I also skied it up at Stratton and it handled extremely well.  It really is an all-mountain ski.  I am 5'9" and 165lbs.  If you are heavier, then you should probably take the 82xti as it has the double titanium layer.  Dawg suggested that I would have trouble flexing the xti and I was really happy that I took his advice and went with the ti.  On the 78ti, I've seen a few up in VT.  Everyone I speak with likes the Mags.