A few 2010 second-hand reviews....Head, Elan, Fischer, Blizzard

Not from me until next month when I ski them.  The Atlas 94 is a much more nimble version of the Argos, and a better  jack-of-all-trades ski.  It will probably be more damp and powerful than the Watea, which tends to be lighter and more playful, but not as stout at bigger speeds. 

I just snapped up a pair of the Monster 88s from dawg for a steal; have demoed them a couple times over the last couple years and the excellent price was the final motivation I needed.  I will be interested to demo the Peak 88 when I get a chance, to see what it's all about.

I have found that testing and demoing Heads is 1) highly dependent on what ski you were on immediately before, and 2) how much time you spend on the ski.  

Regarding #1, Heads generally can feel a bit lifeless and dead at first, especially compared to something like a Fischer that has character and communicates a lot of feedback from the snow.  I definitely notice that when I switch to Heads mid-day (on the flip side, the Heads always feel smoother and more comfortable than my Fischers, which is why they make a great afternoon ski).  Unfortunately, I believe this dramatic difference in feel could potentially hamper a demo/review if you're really trying to understand the subtle nuances and characteristics of the ski. 

Regarding #2, it took me a couple days of back to back testing to appreciate some features on the Monster 77 a few years back, and I have seen the same characteristics, more or less, in all the Monster series.  Namely, the skis tend to blur into the background and almost become invisible to the skiing experience, creating a more direct emphasis on my actual skiing.  It sounds nuts, but the skis sort of get out of the way and give me a feeling that I am skiing directly on the snow.  I originally disliked that, but eventually came to appreciate the fact that the skis are doing their job extremely well, perhaps better than other skis that "poke" at you every now and then.  I think a ski needs to be pretty competent to do everything you ask of it without carrying a lot of it's own baggage along.

I skied my Watea 94s out east today for the very first time -- previously they had only been skied out west -- and damn if they didn't knock my socks off in a new way.  Yesterday they were rocking 6-12" powder and crud, today they were a delight on 2-4" of powder over groomed.  They even did OK on hardpack (far better than the narrower Watea 84).  This has got to rank as one of my all-time favorite skis.  I want to demo the new hull-tip version and see what that's like.  Not sure the ski needs that for crud, as it's already fantastic there, but if it adds some tip float/rise in powder, that would definitely be a plus for me.

I would add that skiing the Heads (and maybe any ski) depends on the binding - I hate Tyrolia demo bindings they make a good ski (78, 82 and 88) feel pretty average. Ski them with a Mojo 15 (ie borrow a friends skis if the bindings can be moved to fit) or demo a ski fitted with Railflex II and it is a completely different story.

Are you serious? I just bought a pair of skis that have Tyrolia (or Fischer x13) demo bindings.  They didn't seem that high off the ski and it appeared to allow the ski to flex properly.  It was such a good buy I couldn't pass it up thinking the bindings would be no big issue???

I would add that skiing the Heads (and maybe any ski) depends on the binding - I hate Tyrolia demo bindings they make a good ski (78, 82 and 88) feel pretty average. Ski them with a Mojo 15 (ie borrow a friends skis if the bindings can be moved to fit) or demo a ski fitted with Railflex II and it is a completely different story.

You guys make it sound like it was impossible to ski on straight skis. Bring on the bigger turn radius skis.

then maybe the right option would be to change my order to a Peak 78 in 183....????

I just snapped up a pair of the Monster 88s from dawg for a steal; have demoed them a couple times over the last couple years and the excellent price was the final motivation I needed.  I will be interested to demo the Peak 88 when I get a chance, to see what it's all about.

I have found that testing and demoing Heads is 1) highly dependent on what ski you were on immediately before, and 2) how much time you spend on the ski.  

Regarding #1, Heads generally can feel a bit lifeless and dead at first, especially compared to something like a Fischer that has character and communicates a lot of feedback from the snow.  I definitely notice that when I switch to Heads mid-day (on the flip side, the Heads always feel smoother and more comfortable than my Fischers, which is why they make a great afternoon ski).  Unfortunately, I believe this dramatic difference in feel could potentially hamper a demo/review if you're really trying to understand the subtle nuances and characteristics of the ski. 

Regarding #2, it took me a couple days of back to back testing to appreciate some features on the Monster 77 a few years back, and I have seen the same characteristics, more or less, in all the Monster series.  Namely, the skis tend to blur into the background and almost become invisible to the skiing experience, creating a more direct emphasis on my actual skiing.  It sounds nuts, but the skis sort of get out of the way and give me a feeling that I am skiing directly on the snow.  I originally disliked that, but eventually came to appreciate the fact that the skis are doing their job extremely well, perhaps better than other skis that "poke" at you every now and then.  I think a ski needs to be pretty competent to do everything you ask of it without carrying a lot of it's own baggage along.

I skied my Watea 94s out east today for the very first time -- previously they had only been skied out west -- and damn if they didn't knock my socks off in a new way.  Yesterday they were rocking 6-12" powder and crud, today they were a delight on 2-4" of powder over groomed.  They even did OK on hardpack (far better than the narrower Watea 84).  This has got to rank as one of my all-time favorite skis.  I want to demo the new hull-tip version and see what that's like.  Not sure the ski needs that for crud, as it's already fantastic there, but if it adds some tip float/rise in powder, that would definitely be a plus for me.