Which ski brand(s) do you feel most interested in for this coming season? - Page 3

.
I did meet him today. Nice guy, and he was doing lay-ups and pressing skis.

The rumor is he's here till mid November?

I think a pair of 192's or some other monster BRO? Made in Reno by Tom would be a very special ski to have.

As would any of the BRO's that suit your taste.

It is moving forward. There was a bit of delay (but this was an expected one) due to the traditional Euro holiday season that is August but a few test skis are about to be pressed and then sent down to Argentina to ensure they're to spec, then still a few more will be pressed and tested to ensure the reproducibility of the process is on par, and they're good to go. All of this is about to happen...very soon, now actually.

I'm not sure what the expected delivery of our bulk shipment of skis is scheduled assuming everything goes on schedule. I believe i heard Oct/November (probably November most likely), but would need to double check on that as I'm not intimately involved in this process.

As of now, the 188 and 179 Bro Models will be made in Yurp. Whereas the 192 Fat (and the 179 Fat) will be made in Reno. The Reno location will also produce new prototypes and shapes throughout the year. And currently, the Reno location is churning out warranty replacement skis mainly as well as the 192's....these are probably the skis that MTT is referring to above I'd assume.

hope that helps a little.

Honestly, i don't even know. i'd have to ask Pat. (or Tom...I haven't even had the chance to chat with him since he arrived).

Thanks for the update.

Good luck with the 2008 line!

I really like my Legend Pro for my BIG mountain ski, but they wont last forever.

I think I am going to have to buy some 192's this fall if for no other reason than to have a ski with FKNA on the top sheet.

Great ski, but any company that has the balls to put FKNA on the top sheet of a ski gets more of my $$

I saw all the new top sheets for this year. They look very good in real life. They are a little more playfull than the previous years but still reserved and COOL in an artsy sorta way.

I LIKE

I don't think it does. Not even close.

Yes. I want to try the corvus.
Other than that, Dynastar Mythic and the new Fury. The Mythic mostly, something look just right with it.
The Moment Tahoe and Ruby are interesting but unavalaible in France. I'm tempted by an online purchase (given the Euro / $ rate, I could have someone flying back to france with them) but I hate buying without demoing first and I'm concerned by the warranty issues.

And I would love to buy an Aluflex Passe Montagne, but at 1000E a pair that's unlikely...

And the 192 Bros looks FKNA !

And...

I listed Fischer, Dynastar and Nordica. I skied all of them at demoes, and was impressed. I liked the Cold heat from Fischer, and the Contact 11 from Dynastar. Unfortunately I cannot remember which Nordica impressed me most, but I think it was the Top Fuel. The truth is that all ski companies are really delivering good products, with some flavor differences among them. The most different feeling is on Salomons, and I think were I on them all the time I would be much fonder of them. Just anote, if you demo skis, check the tune. It may well be that you like a particular tune more than you like the ski you were trying.

Because Fischer has a marketing team consisting of PR folks too inept to work on either Janet Reno's or Alberto Gonzalez's teams.

I am interested in just about any ski you did not list.. In the last few years, I have really enjoyed skiing on the smaller manufactures skis. Some of the brands are out of this world. I think I like the list that Exoticskis posted.. I have skied a couple of the skis listed. Maybe I should make tick list this year and see how many skis I can test?

Hmmm.

I ski on:

AK King Salmon
AK No Ka Oi
Blizzard Titan 9
Volant Spatula
and have a pair of Lib Tech NAS waiting for mounting.

So I'm basically riding "smaller" company skis (after 20+ years on Rossi and a season on Volkl).

I demoed a grip of skis between 2004 and 2007 before buying my first round of near rides in over 15 years (Karma and Mantra). I continued to demo, because having been out of the new equipment loop for so long, I had the jones to continually scope out new skis. That's how I stumbled upon Blizzard and the AKs.

I won't say that they're better than some of the "mass" produced planks out there, but they are more to my liking. I, for example, found the King Salmon to be superior to the Mantra. I don't know why, but I like how it handles and feels better than the Mantra. Is that because it's handmade by some small company in Switzerland? I have no idea.

I demoed a pair of Blizzard Titan 8's and the T9's (twice, no less) and loved how they felt. Responsive, stable, just stiff enough, but not too stiff. I pitted the T9's up against the Stockli Scot Schmidt. The T9's won me over. Again, i wouldn't say it's better than any other ski, but for my taste it's a dandy.

All of that said, I would be lying if I didn't point out that there's a certain feeling you get from owning a pair of smaller company skis. There's less of them out there, so you belong to an "elite" club. Folks are always asking "hey, those are sweet looking, what are they?" Let's face it, folks like to stand out from the crowd. If you can stand out from the crowd and have a pair of planks that fit your skiing style, then that's a win-win situation.

The reason that the small companies exist is that some skier somewhere decided that the major companies weren't making a ski to their liking. So they build a few pairs, shared 'em with friends and lo and behold, folks liked 'em and urge them to share these skis with more people.

I think the "rise" of the small, warehouse/garage ski maker in North America is cool and I will continue to sponsor such endeavors by at least giving them a try and if I like what they're doing, perhaps even plunk down on some.

But again, I will never go around saying "These are better..." that's purely subjective and a matter of personal opinion.

That is a real good question and I would have to say some of both. dookey67 hit on some of the reasons. I do like boutique ski and I am tired of the same ol, same ol from the big guys. My reasons are the same reasons I buy would calfee road bike over a schwinn road bike or a porsche over a ford. I think in the next few days, I will start a post about mass-produced skis and boutique ski where I will fully outline the way I see the market. Bottom-line there is nothing wrong with the big guys but I see a lot of advantages to some of the little guys..

After many years of being hungry for the early season equipment issues and making new gear lust a major part of my pre-season stoke I have gotten to the point where I don't really pay much attention anymore. Anyone who buys new gear before February is pretty much getting screwed, so as usual I have purchased all my stuff for this year at the end of last season.

At this point you only get the industry rap on how the stuff works. It is always much more interesting for me to see how skiers review the stuff once the season gets under way and it gets tested under fire in all kinds of gaud awful conditions. As we all know from this forum, many times the most hyped end up being the most dissapointing. I figure it'll take until at least January to figure out which brands are blowing smoke and which ones are smoke'n.

IMO the best thing about this forum is the comparison tests of different brands and models against each other on the same day by good skiers. Let the games begin!

Hey, from the company that gave us the "Sceneo" series a few seasons back, the "Heat" and "Fire" series is definitely a step up. Not to mention that they are still marketing the RC4 WC SC, RC4 WC SL, RC4 WC GS, RC4 WC RC and RC4 WC SC Race models...Despite their lack of North American marketing sense, they make some great skis.

oops......
but i have a couple cds by them

the skis would have to be REALLY GOOD

Hmm, actualy, they mostly lack sex appeal rather than real qualities. Ugly or boring top sheets but good skis.
I've just picked up a '06 187 sandstorm I've demoed last year, and it's a very good ski. The new Fury, according to SJ, is a blast (the former one beefed up : should ski great indeed). The XWing Lab looks badass. I agree the xwing and the park line are quite confusing.
But it's a marketing issue IMO. I blame Atomic !

I an very interested in the K2 Crossfire, even though I'm old, fat and can hardly get out of my own way. Still I'm very excited to try them.

I hadn't heard of these until very recently.
Love the simplicity of their graphix.
http://global.skipass.com/gearguide/...ws/CORVUS.html

My other is Black Diamond's Zealot or their Verdict. I can't wait to try both!

Since the thread is about "brands", I voted for Elan, Nordica, Head, and Volkl. I voted for Elan, Head, and Nordica because the 3 pairs of skis that I ski most of the time are made by those manufacturers, and I enjoy all of them.

Last year I skied 3 different models of Nordica skis and was pleased with all of them. Recent years I've demoed numerous Volkls (724 Pro, Allstars, 5-Stars, Gotamas, Mantras, & AC40's) and was never disappointed, so I voted for Volkl, too.

None of the K2's or Salomon skis I've demoed recently have really thrilled me.

Kudos to those who try the small brands like Line, Black Diamond, Fat-ypus, etc. Tried a pair of Armanda's last season and didn't like them. Will continue, however, to look for skis from the smaller companies.

If I were buying a new pair of skis for off-piste skiing (my main interest, but not a powder specialty ski), I'd be looking at the new Elan 888's, Nordica Hellcats, Atomic Crimson, and Head iM 88. The 85mm - 95mm skis seem to be today's midfats.

....it's now Sept and....

...let's see:
Moment Tahoes
Liberty Helixes/Hazmats
Nordica Enforcers/Blowers
Fischer Watea94s
Blizzard Titan ???
Elan 999s
Rossi Scratch Brigades
Head Monster95s
Volkl Gotamas

...yeah, I guess that's about it. ;-)...:

Would you rather they called them Ben-Gay?

What about putting some time into highlighting equipment from the smaller shops?  And what about Movement skis?  Thank you!

Kopar, the post before yours is from 2007. Might be interesting to start a new thread, same model, new poll. 

Be sure "Scott/The Ski" is an option on that poll.

The OP is Orwell.  Whatever happened to him?  He was entertaining.