demo day
Nathan and I demo-ed lots of tele skis on Saturday at the Santa Fe Ski Area. Sangre de Cristo Mountain Works, our favorite local outdoors shop and provider of fine tele gear, hosted the event. There were booths for Atomic, K2, G3, and Black Diamond skis as well.
It worked like this: fill out a little card with your name on it, give them a credit card to hold, and go find the ski you want to try out. They adjust the bindings to fit your boots, and off you go.
I also borrowed a pair of Scarpa T2 telemark boots as well, since my current pair has been giving me some problems. These boots fit like a glove - I had no ankle soreness at all afterwards. They are a full-size smaller than my current boots.
I tried out four pairs of skis that day:
Black Diamond Mystic, 160 cm These are black diamonds "female" ski - like the Ethic but more forgiving on the flex. This ski was great on the hard-packed snow conditions. The edges bit into the snow well and didn't chatter very much at all on the crud. I found it very responsive and a good carver. But it had a stiffness to it as well that I liked.
Black Diamond Havoc, 163 cm. This ski was fat and not quite right for the conditions or perhaps, for me. It was the most stable ski while going fast. Didn't turn quite as easily or something. Not sure. It has twin tips, which mean each end is rounded up, so you can ski "switch", as in backwards. Need to learn to do this! Nathan and I tried to do 360's but it was hard. I am constantly doing accidental 180s so we thought an extra 180 can't be that hard can it? Yes it can.
Atomic Femme Fatale, 163 cm ? I had fun with this ski. It was similar to the mystic, but perhaps flexed easier - it was easier to initiate turns, but it chattered more on the hard stuff. I found this ski easy to use, but it was probably also the ski most similar to the ski I own, the Atomic T9. The dimensions were very similar.
K2 Dawn Patrol, 153 cm This ski was fun and definitely the coolest looking ski of the day with big hibiscus flowers on a yellow and red background. I only got to take it out for one quick run at the end of the day, but it was a snappy turner and fast and stable. The ski was super-short and super-fat, which made it really easy to control. I felt like I skied faster and tighter with this one.
All in all, I really really want the Scarpa boots, which retail for almost 5 Benjamins. I liked all the skis except for the Havoc, but I think I would like that ski in powder quite a bit. It just wasn't quite right for the conditions on Saturday. I wouldn't mind owning the Femme Fatale or the Mystic. I would love to take out Dawn Patrol on a powder day and give it some more tries. The one run wasn't quite enough to get a real feel for it.
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