Pros: Super responsive
Cons: Haven't found any
Heading out to the 2012 NASTAR Nationals at Winter Park this past March I found myself in a quandary. I was going to race on a gentler slope than years past. I needed a longer ski with less of a turning radius. At past Nationals I had competed on steep turny courses and found that I could get the best results from my Fischer Progressor 9s. But this year we discovered that we would be running gates on a more sedate track. Before heading out west I tested several different models. SuburbanSkiAndBike.com hosted a few demo nights at Ski Sundown's NASTAR course and I put a half dozen models to the test. The clear winner was the 2013 Atomic D2 Redster. Even on tight course sets, the ski responded beautifully in comparison tests. I then took it to Vermont and made several runs at Okemo's NASTAR course in comparison with Volkl's RaceTiger and the Dynastar Course TI. Frankly, they're all great recreational race skis but I consistently recorded the fastest times on the Redster.
I took the skis to the Nationals where I discovered that the vertical course offset was reduced to a minimum requiring a very quick turning ski. The Redster was up to the task. At the close of the competition I finished in 2nd place in my age group in the very competitive Platinum Division.
If you’re looking for a recreational race machine, give some serious thought to the Redster.
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