Ski Reviews 2003/2004

Tele skis continue to move forward, more and more they are catching up to their alpine cousins in technology, innovation and --as many have already noted-- in price! Although there are still some reletive bargains to be had out there as compared to similar (or even the same) alpine model equivalent skis. On this page you will find our reviews of both new telemark specific boards, as well as alpine skis commonly used for tele skiing, in this the 2003/2004 ski season. Current models that remain unchanged can be found on previous year's pages linked from the Dr. Telemark main page. Although we have been busy testing a large number of skis this past winter and spring, we will not try to test and report on every ski available. Too many ski reviews we have read in the past are the result of extremely limited testing. One or two runs on a pair of skis at a single resort, or even one or two days, is a very poor way to run a test. All of our reviewed skis get weeks, more often even months, of hard riding in a variety of conditions. Nearly all of our test skis have been taken along on road trips to various locations across the country. And we have collected impressions and input from some of the top freeheel skiers on the scene today, as well as from regular folks....just like us!

Rossignol T4

A Big Line Ski With A Fat Powder Heart Dimensions:122/94/112. Sizes: 168,178,185,195. Weight: 9lbs 4oz (185 test pair). May, 2004--Rossignol produces skis in two year cycles and we received their T-4 back in January, part way though this model's first season. Thus we have had several months to get to know the T4 very well. We have put it through its paces in a variety of conditions and terrain, from Colorado powder to California corn, in big open bowls and tight trees, steep bowls coated with sweet, carvy windpack and a even a few rock solid groomers. Our test pair has been skied hard and often this year. The T4 is a metal laminate topsheet, foam core ski in the 185 and 195 lengths. The metal is left out of shorter versions. Rossignol has taken a number of steps to ramp up the durability of their latest skis, including moving to a full laminate lay-up construction, as well as wrap-around metal edges that are said to be double the thickness of edges used in past Rossignol skis. Our test pair has held up very well this year and has maintained its liveliness, something that was a serious area of weakness in our old Bandit XXXs. A quick note: if you mount a pair of T4s yourself beware, use a light touch when drilling. There is no bottom metal sheet, once you get past the topsheet and into the core it's easy to keep on going, right past the core and on through the p-tex base. Take it from me, I managed to do this twice while installing a pair of HammerHeads on our test pair...a first. As compared to its alpine sibling, Rossi's B3, the T4 is slightly softer flexing but appears to have lost none of its torsional rigidity. To save weight the T4 loses the B3s Free Absorber riser plate, making this tele version more backcountry friendly. Having skied both, BT and I noticed no difference in performance between the two. Unlike its predecessor the MegaBang, the T4 retains all of the B3 (and old Triple X) power and skiing characteristics while gaining from a rounder tele flex. Rossignol designed the T4 with noticeably less sidecut than has become the norm for fat skis in its class. This makes the T4 less likely to hook in powder. It's also easier to release out of the turn on the steeps. High speed straightlines also tend to be more stable. All of this comes at some cost however, simply put the T4 is not an "easy turning" ski. This takes some getting used to at first but doing a little more steering rather than just rolling your knees and pointing 'em would seem to be a familiar feeling for the target "advanced to expert" user Rossignol appears to be aiming at with the T4. For those willing to put a little more work into their turns the T4 will reward the driver with a solid and confidence inducing ride, especially in challenging the situations mentioned as well as in crud and mush. Though the reduced sidecut makes the T4 less turny than some other skis of its type, the swing weight seems lower and feels well distributed. If you are a skier who likes to aggressively unweight between turns this is an important feature. Conclusion: Rossignol says the T4 is designed for use 90% off-piste, and that seems like an accurate assessment to us---maybe a little low even. Make no mistake, this is a big line, steeps, and powder specific design in every way. Stable at speed, the T4 is a perfect tool for those who want to reach for a pair of skis that can keep up on those "chasing the alpiners around," big terrain days at the resort. Whether straight lining into a backcountry powder bowl, porpoise-ing through the freshies, or working the cut up crud in the afternoon, the T4 is there for you. Not for beginners or those looking for an easy ride...expect to bring your A-game when riding T4s... they will reward you in spades.

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Karhu Jak BC

Dimensions: 127/97/117, Lengths: 170, 180, 190, Tested weight : (180s) 7 lbs 14 ozs (3572g)   January, 2004-- How do you improve on a ground-breakingly fat tele ski that established itself as one of the most versatile wide-bodies in tele ski history? Simple: you make it lighter and a little stiffer, keeping all of its best qualities while making it even more versatile in all conditions. That's what Karhu has done to its Jak in evolving this new model, the Jak BC. The Jak BC loses the straight Jaks Titanal layers and replaces them with a carbon fiber Powerband. It also utilizes a lighter aspen & maple core as well as special "micro-edges" to reduce weight even further. Karhu officially claims to have shaved 12 ounces off the Jak but our pair of 180cm Jak BCs come in at under 8 pounds and we never got a pair of 180 Jaks that weighed less than nine pounds. The dimensions remain the same. The result is a ski that is significantly quicker edge to edge, and of course less work in the backcountry on the uphill. Jaks have always been a blast to ski, especially in the shorter lengths where they are easily maneuvered and simple to get hooked up into a carve. The Jak BC is no exception. The added stiffness of the BC model retains the Jaks excellent stability and crud busting ability even though it's lighter. The stiffer Jak BC also holds an edge on firm snow better than the straight Jak did, which was quite well in the shorter lengths, not as great in the 190cm model...perhaps due to reduced linear pressure per inch along the edge. We haven't tried a longer model Jak BC yet but would expect similar, or maybe even more dramatic, improvement in edge hold performance. The 180cm Jak BC we tested was also noticeably more stable at much higher speeds, rivaling the older 190 Jak in this area. Conclusion: Once again Karhu ski designer Francois Sylvain has accomplished something unique with the Jak BC. He has provided us with a really fat ski that gives up nothing in performance (actually moving ahead in every performance area!) while losing significant weight. Enough to make you think twice before grabbing a skinnier pair of boards to save energy on a backcountry day. It's like being able to have your cake and eat it too: a really fat, floaty, turny, strong edge-holding pair of skis with lower swing-weight and a vastly reduced weight penalty! If you like big fat skis both in and out of the area and are looking for a versatile pair of boards that handle a wide variety of snow conditions and terrain with aplomb, you owe it to yourself to give the Jak BCs a spin, that is if you can find a pair, reports are they were selling out fast this season. The Jak BCs are indeed a very unique pair of super-fats, and a whole lot of fun to ski.

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.K2 Hippy Stinx

Editor's note: The following guest review is based on a single day quick-trial by our friends at Backcountry Magazine. Although it falls outside of the normal parameters of the telemarktips review process, we decided to include their analysis for informational purposes, trusting our readers to put it into the proper context.   Dimensions: 125/95/118 . Lengths: 169, 179, 189 ..Weight (179cm): 9 lbs 5 ozs (4230g) Reviewed by Adam Howard November, 2003-- K2's late release, the Hippy Stinx, arrived on our doorstep yesterday—one of only two pairs in North America. We drooled, talked about how huge they looked, mounted them with a pair of Targa T-9s and were on the first chair with them under foot this morning. Out of the plastic K2's late arrival is intimidating to say the least. Daunting graphics depict a bomb being dropped on a skeletal hippie. They're an affront to the double camber old school of telemark. But that's the desired effect. This is after all a new-schooler's ski. We concur. With the same footprint and substantial torsion box construction as K2's Seth Pistol, this ski is designed for open-terrain riding and stomping big airs. But this ski is more. Considerable side-cut makes the Hippy surprisingly nimble edge to edge. We knew it would be super damp and stable at speed, like the Pistol, but it was down right solid on early season man-made sure-pack. Stints off the groomed revealed what we expected—a ski born for crud busting and powder wrangling. "I can't wait to get these things in powder. It'll dominate," Backcountry Assistant Editor Jonah Cantor said. "I can't believe it's not butter," I replied. Seriously though. I've skied some big sticks and I was concerned by the looks and size of this ski. "Do we have the terrain to make this ski viable?" I asked myself as we mounted them up. "Is this enough binding. Do we have the power?" The answer—Yes. I could not believe how quick and agile the Hippy was. We had the 179 and I'd ski it all the time in the tight east. I'd most definitely run it regularly in bigger terrain. As far as long touring is concerned—that's a judgment call. Getting regular skin bails on the tips ain't gonna happen. But if I were simply lapping something out, I'd heft the hippy in a heartbeat. This might be the first time in history that both eastern rednecks and western cowboys can get along with Hippies. Final Verdict: This is not just a big mountain pony (though it is at home on the range). And if you have the boots and the burl, but only the means to stable one horse this is a versatile beast whether you run in eastern trees or the western wide-open. Very impressive. We understand why K2 couldn't keep this stick under wraps for another season. Expect it to hit the shelves before Christmas.

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Fischer Bigstix FX 10.6

Dimensions: 135/106/123 . Lengths: 170,180,190 ..Weight (190): 10 lbs/pr (4500gr) October, 2003--The FX 10.6 is Fischer's newest incarnation of the Austrian company's widest in the waist skis. Last year this model was known as the "106." These are vertically laminated wood core skis wrapped in carbon fiber on three sides--from edge to edge. Like most Fischer skis we've been on through the years, the FX 10.6 appears to be built very strong with durability being a priority. The fat Big Stix skis excel for straight running alpine skiers, and they have proven to be a favorite among the Alaska heli crowd. Unfortunately these qualities do not always translate real well when applied to the world of telemark and backcountry skiing. Like other fatties in the Big Stix series, the FX 10.6 is a demanding ski to keep turning, requiring a lot of operator input for what they give back. High speed looooong GS turns are its thing, and in this mode the FX 10.6 is very stable. But it's not easy getting these boards to perform in more variable conditions where one might want to throttle back a bit and get some help from the ski. If you are totally on your game you'll be smiling. Slip up a bit though and you'll be bumming: the Fischer FX 10.6 is among the most unforgiving skis we have ever been out on. There are many alpine skis used for telemark that we have enjoyed through the years, but one thing we have noticed is that all of them have had in common is a more round flex, as opposed to the hinged flex pattern of some the less tele-friendly models. We would put the FX 10.6 in the latter category, though there are many strong freeheelers who like that hingy feel. Just be aware, the 10.6 is very alpine-like with none of that sweet round flex found in phats like the Jak, Volkl's Explosiv and even the late Tua Bubba. On the other hand, if you liked the Volkl G41 you might like these Fishers. Conclusion: Honestly, we were a little disappointed. As longtime fans of big fat skis such as these, we were psyched to get out on the FX 10.6s. It didn't take long, though, to decide that these skis, while really stable and impressive in many ways, were just too much work. Others may find the high energy level these boards demand to be something worth trading for all that high speed stability and dampness, but we still prefer a little more rebound than the Fischer FX 10.6 was designed to provide. There are just too many way-more versatile super-phats out there to bother with what is essentially a one-trick pony kind of ski.

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Black Diamond Havoc Dimensions: 120/88/113. . Lengths: 163, 173, 183. ..Weight (183): 8 lbs (3.63 kg) May 20, 2003--Black Diamond's Havoc continues an evolutionary process at BD, begun last year with the Crossbow, in which the traditionally backcountry-oriented ski maker moved beyond that narrower niche and began to offer skis that are well suited to an emerging, wider range, of modern big-mountain, on and off-piste skiing styles. The Havoc's twin tips, burly dimensions, C-Matrix cap and dual torsion bow construction take BD into the rarefied world of today's most aggressive, high energy, all mountain telemark skiers. In this ski BD now has a tool capable of keeping up with the big players who are pushing the sport to new levels...and for those who are determined to join them. Construction The Havoc has a symmetrical raised and reinforced topsheet designed to distribute the skier's weight out into the sweet flex zones in the tail and along the forebody of the ski. The C-Matrix material consists of a layer of woven glass/alloy, impregnated with vaporized aluminum, that serves to add to the Havoc's torsional rigidity and contribute to increased dampness. It is wrapped around BD's familiar Densolite foam core, which is formed into the Havoc's unique 3 dimensional shape. Sidecut is 26mm and turn radius is 22.7m, nearly identical to the Atomic 10ex/Rex skis to which the Havoc is often compared. On Snow The Havoc's are very versatile fat skis. They are extremely rigid torsionally making them surprisingly solid performers on hardpack for such a fat ski, and their relatively much lower swing weight (as compared to other skis in this category) makes them quick edge-to-edge on the steeps. The moderately shaped sidecut combines with the aforementioned torsional stiffness to make the Havoc excellent on the groomers. And as one would expect, the fat waist and broad tip contribute to good float and excellent stability in powder and cut up crud. But wait, there's more good news. As if this important 3 category homerun were not enough, the Havoc has a moderate amount of lateral flex that our testers generally felt was round and sweet, making this new phat ski not only capable in the soft stuff but a hell of a lot of fun too. The Havocs give a lot back for the amount of input required, and that sweet flex has a lot to do with making them ride lively and nimble. Feedback from testers who take to the air indicates that the Havoc's broad base provides a very stable landing platform. The test pair have been both durable and strong, absorbing more than a fair amount of punishingly hard landings in the park, and off rocks and cliffs, both in and out of bounds. Thus far the Havocs have proven to be tough boards. On the negative side, very big skiers and maching high-speed rippers have told us they would prefer a longer version than the largest size Havoc, which is just 183cm. These same skiers have also said that they would like the Havoc to be heavier and more damp as well, to punch through crud, mank and cut up snow with more authority at very high speeds. We suppose that this is not much of a surprise in a critique of a big-mountain ski with a backcountry soul, which is what one would expect BD to deliver anyway. They are comments worth noting but involve certain design change trade-offs. Others tend to think that BD's Havoc fills a lighter, true phat ski niche very well, as is. Conclusion BD has accomplished something special here, producing a remarkably versatile fat ski that builds on their experience with the sweet flexing Mira of two years ago and the innovative Crossbow from last season. This Havoc is a very high tech ski. From its "dual crossbow" reinforced topsheet to its electra sintered graphite base, and from one turned up tip to another, the Havoc is a great example of modern, state of the art ski design brought to life in a freeheel ski. It does so many things so well that it's hard to imagine these boards being anything but a big hit for Black Diamond. Imagine a fatter but still slightly lighter10ex/Rex with even more torsional rigidity and a telemark specific flex, and you've got a handle on the Havoc. A true big mountain crossover ski, it's as easy to imagine skiers setting up the Havocs with lighter weight bindings and mid-weight boots for a performance tour for turns rig as it is to see the Havocs being run with big boots underneath the most aggressive tele skiers in the most challenging venues. Major props to Black Diamond for ramping it up with what will surely be, in our book, a strong contender for freeheel ski of the year.

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ScottyBob's Production Model BobTails Dimensions: 122/76/98/50, Length: 178, Weight: 6 lbs 12 ozs (3060 gr) May 14, 2003--ScottyBob finally got close to totally caught up on orders this last March, after many trials and tribulations. You see it's just not that easy making skis, especially tele boards as bold and innovative as the BobTails. And they set the bar pretty high for themselves by turning out a few prototypes early on (more than a year ago) that were amazingly sweet (see our prototype review). When the plucky little Denver ski company fulfilled its obligations they were finally able to break loose a pair of production model BobTails so that we could test them, and update our review from mid-winter 2002. It's been a long wait, but oh so worth it. The Skis The BobTails are wood core skis and the cores are made of Sugar Maple, a very hard wood that gave the production crew fits in getting the milling process worked out. There is a very thorough explanation of what ScottyBob feels are the benefits of this core material in the "construction" section of the company website, so there is no need to go into all the details here, but one design element that should be pointed out is the unique 3 dimensional shape across the top of the ski. The BobTails have an asymmetrical flex as well as sidecut shape, and this special flex is obtained not by adding materials on top of of a simply cut symmetrical foam or wood core, but by precisely shaping the wood core itself, in right and left matched core pairs, to the special dimensions designed into these very unique tele skis. These asymmetrical raised sections of the core, seen in the photos at right, are intended to distribute more of the skiers weight in the form of pressure to the edges, especially the inside edges where the sections are thickest. There are many other unique design elements incorporated into the BobTails, not the least of which is the asymmetrical and offset sidecuts that give the BobTail its name and main claim to fame. The theory behind the startlingly unusual shape of the ski is also covered in detail both in our prototype review and on the ScottyBob site. If you are new to the concept please take the time to become familiar with the details, ideas and execution of this highly innovative, perhaps even revolutionary (only time will tell) tele specific design that is intended to address the special needs of the telemark turning skier. It's fascinating reading and necessary background for understanding much of this follow-up review. What's New Our production BobTails are a little different than the prototypes we have been skiing for the past 16 or 17 months. They are approximately 20% stiffer than the earlier model and the production pair weigh about 5 ounces more per ski. The weight is virtually unnoticeable but the extra stiffness is very apparent, more on that later. Our pair of production skis also have the colorful graphic topsheet instead of the plain white tops of the protos. Frankly we were turned off by the graphics as seen on the ScottyBob website. The photo makes the skis look a little more garish than they do in person and we have never been big fans of the "keep on truckin'" style of "freak art," and that is how the photos of the skis looked to us. We were therefore very surprised when we opened the box and instead found a pair of skis with what were actually very beautiful topsheet graphics, with colors that, in person, are far more muted than we expected. Unfortunately it is difficult to capture in a photograph, for some reason. We spent hours working on the image above to try to give our readers a better idea of just what the BobTails look like and we feel like we got pretty close. They really are very pleasant looking graphics and combined with the interesting 3 dimensional shape the effect is, well, a beautiful ski. There's no other word for it. On Snow As mentioned, our BobTail protos are very sweet sticks. They have also been extremely durable, no other skis in the Telemarktips.com collection have been skied even half as many days as our BobTails. As one can imagine, nearly everyone has wanted to try them and somebody has been on them darn near 100% of the time that the skis have been anywhere near snow. These prototype BobTails have been skied and skied hard, and they have been in the ski bag, the back of BT's truck or in the space case on top of the Tt.com van for every trip we've been on since December, 2002. They've got a ton of miles beneath their bases and they still ski very much like they did the day we got them. And we know our BobTails very, very well. We absolutely love them. So obviously this production pair had a lot to live up to. Our expectations were very high and the production model has not let us down, in fact they are a solid improvement in several key areas. Chief among these is that the added stiffness has made them even livelier than the prototypes, which is no small accomplishment given the fact that the protos we always considered to be live wires. The BobTails have a ton of camber but even the stiffer model skis are still much softer than nearly every ski we've ridden, so we don't get any of that "skiing on the tips and tails" feeling so common back in the days of double cambered tele skis. Even very light skiers have no trouble bending the BobTails into the snow. All that camber built into the super-springy sugar maple core makes these skis almost leap off the snow from turn-to-turn during the unweighting phase. But even as lively as the BobTails are they also manage to be surprisingly damp, without that "nervous" feel sometimes associated with high energy boards. Another characteristic derived from the added stiffness is improved performance in variable snow. Many testers have commented that in several ways the BobTails ride like much longer skis, and this pair only improves on that stability and solid feel. Recently we had them out for off-piste testing on a day with six to eight inches of blown in fluff over a punchy, soft and variably smooth base. In other words the invisible base was not firm and it was kind of chunky. Everyone commented on how well the BobTails handled these challenging conditions. The consensus was that if you get them and keep them on edge (and it's not hard) they will rail through that kind of stuff much like a bigger, heavier ski.   Always a solid hard snow performer, the new BobTails have significantly improved in this area. They bite into the firm stuff with a determination usually reserved for dedicated hardpack carving skis. A handy trait to be able to dial up when needed. Powder? Well, BT and I are big guys so we spent a lot of time over the past two winters gathering feedback from lighter tele skiers as to how the BobTails perform in deeper snow for the more svelte among us. For our part we have found that when the snow gets deeper than 10 to 12 inches, depending on density, we miss the wider waist and the true tail of our fat boards. Frankly there are times when skiing fast on big mountains in deep snow when you want to do a little heel steering and when we try that with the BobTails the lack of tail width is noticeable. And lighter skiers, even down to a buck and half (150 lbs) have said the same thing, although some have said that for them they can go into a little deeper snow before wishing for more rear-end power and float. Until that point one can definitely have a whole lot of fun in powder on the BobTails, we certainly have. And who knows? there may even be skiers out there who won't notice the lack of tail in the deep stuff at all. We just haven't met anyone like that yet. Looking for a big mountain ride to ski flat while straightlining down? These are probably not your boards. They are made for railing on edge through a wide variety of tele style turns, and they do this very, very well. Aching-facial-muscles-from-grinning-like-a-fool well. Backcountry We have had the BobTail's out extensively in the backcountry, touring for turns, boot packing chutes, car shuttle aided big-vertical days, long pokes beyond the area boundaries and everything else this side of major technical climbs and descents. They have been a blast. Their quick turnability and lightweight make them a killer tool for all of this. In difficult backcountry snow, as with any lighter weight ski, the trick is to get and keep the skis on edge. Since this is where the BobTails want to be anyway, they work quite well. Rigging the BobTails for skins was a piece of cake. We simply used a Dremel tool to notch the ski tails to accept Black Diamond's Assencion Clip-Fix skin tail attachment system and trimmed the skins to fit, using the supplied trimmer tool. The end result was a clean ski and skin combo that holds the skins in place securely and performs very well on the climb.     Conclusion: With so much emphasis on the radical and complicated ski design it's easy to forget what it is about the BobTails that make them so cool: they are quite simply a blast to ski. And the production version succeeds in making what was a very good thing (our white prototypes) even better. Comments such as "best ski for tele turning I've ever tried" have been common among testers. Everything we wrote about them first time around holds true...and more. More stable and more positive than ever, more quick and smooth in turn transitions, excellent edge hold on hard snow, these production model BobTails assure that there will continue to always be a spot in our ski bag or space-case for ScottyBob's Handcrafted Skis. They are just way too much fun to ever leave behind. www.scottybob.com

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A Rockin' Hard Snow Ski: Karhu's Rox Dimensions: 110-73-98. Lengths: 165, 175, and 185. Weight: 7lbs 10oz/185cm (3,459gr) Karhu's new Rox, a tele ski for the 2003/04 season, features an Aspen Macroblock core with a Titanium Powerband on the top and the bottom that is CNC cut to the exact dimensions of its wood core. These wall to wall sheets of metal combine with Karhu's quadaxial woven fiberglass and cap construction to make the Rox a torsionally rigid yet smooth flexing firm snow performer. After months of testing in all kinds of conditions across the country, from Colorado powder and steep, bumpy chutes, to Vermont hardpack, from local resort nightskiing-catbox-snow to the first of this year's Sierra spring corn, in the backcountry and at the area, we've come to know the Rox well. We have ridden the Rox extensively ourselves and receded input from a number of others who's opinion we value as well. Simply put, the Rox rock on firm off-piste snow and kill on groomers. On one windpack snow day at Mammoth last February, one in which the off-piste was a little punchy but the groomers were a kind of carver's Nirvana, Scott Schield put it succinctly, telling Ryan Boyer, this is the kind of ski that you could go run the groomers all day and have the carving day of your life." While lacking the soft snow float of fat skis like it's big brother, the Jak, and other popular wide rides like Saloman's Pocket Rocket or the Rossi's TripleX, the Rox, with it's 73mm waist, is a lot more versatile than some of the more svelte skis it is designed to compete against for the hard snow carving skier's dollars. The Rox gives narrower quiver skis like Atomic's TM-18 a run for the money on the firm, yet the Rox gives the wandering off-piste tele skier more float than Atomic's TM-22, thanks to a slightly wider waist and significantly broader tip. In more challenging bump conditions, such as medium to firm bumps, the Rox has proven to be a lively performer. Big Tim and others have reported that they found the Rox to be quick edge to edge, with a solid platform and plenty of rebound. While Karhu will almost undoubtedly market the Rox as an "all mountain" ski, we would classify this new stiffy as an all mountain performer only in specific parts of the world, those places where firm snow is more the rule than the exception. The Rox would not be our first choice for all mountain use in the Sierra, the Wasatch, etc. But in the Northeastern U.S and other places in the world with similar prevailing snow conditions, we could easily see the Rox being a great choice, even approaching that mythical...dare we say it?...one tele-ski-quiver kind of versatility. Conclusion: Karhu's new Rox hits it's true target market with a bull's-eye. The Burlington, Vermont-based ski maker already has a versatile, monster, softer snow ski in the Jak, a fun park ski that is also a great performer for lighter weight tele skiers in the Ruckit, and now they have a killer hard snow carver that manages to squeeze much more all-around performance out of this kind of ski than we would normally expect. The Rox brings Karhu another solid two tips up from the Telemarktips.com crew.

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Tua's Tsunami Dimensions: 121/83/104 Lengths: 165,175,185,192 Weight: 8lbs 10oz (3910gr) Tua's new Tsunami is a wood core, dual torsion box ski that utilizes the Italian ski maker's unique "Cross Cap" construction. This new approach seeks to marry the high-performance, solid feel of traditional sandwich construction with the edge-holding torsional rigidity of the newer cap designs. We skied two version of the Tsunami. The first prototype boards we tested were quite stiff, nearly 10% stiffer than the production skis will be. We also tested another pair that more accurately reflect the final version that will be in stores this fall. And while we enjoyed skiing the stiffer pair and heard universal praise from others who tried them as well, with comments such as "would never let you down," being the main theme, it was the slightly softer pair that brought out the big grins. It's The Flex! The Tsunamis ski unlike any Tua that has come before. It is a full-blown alpine-for-tele like ski. Stable, burly and rugged, these new tele boards will handle a wider variety of tough conditions and steep terrain than even the best of its forbearers, while retaining the sweet round flex that Tua is famous for. This is a versatile ski that is at home pounding crud, navigating through tough snow in the trees or short swinging down steep chutes. The Tsunami allows the skier to take full advantage of it's heft to confidently arc turns in the most difficult snow, while still managing to keep the smile factor high in the sweet stuff. How does a ski this burly manage to be so lively and fun? It's in that distinct Tua flex, and the Tsunami has a full portion designed in. The Cross Cap construction has only made it better. Resort Only? Nope We heard a shop owner say the other day that he thought the Tsunami is a resort-only ski. We don't think so. Let's face it, backcountry snow is often the most challenging snow around. This is another new fat ski that will allow more skiers to have a better, more fun time on the descent in variable snow. For a lot us, that's the major reason we came. The Tsunamis will be right there with you, and as we heard so often during our testing, it's a ski that just won't let you down. Precise and Stable These are the Tsunami keywords. Strong in the bumps (don't go too long) and reliable on harder snow, the Tsumani's alpine-like tail gives it a precision feel that doesn't require the ski edges to be feathered so much on the firm, unlike a lot of other skis in this class. It's wide waist and large surface area give it plenty of float in the fluff while also providing a very stable platform on or off-piste. Conclusion: It's great to see Tua rocket forward with a ski as strong as the Tsunami. With at least a dozen different boards in the Tua line for 2003/2004, Tua's got the needs of just about all telemark and backcountry skiers covered, and now with the Tsunami (and big-brother Bubba) even the hardest of chargers have a good reason to test drive a Tua. Don't let the name fool you, these are not your father's Tua skis. The Tsunamis should rock hard next year on the feet of many an agro tele skier. Two Tips up.

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Karhu's Ryder Dimensions: 107/74/99 (185cm) Lengths: 195, 182, 177 Weight: 6lb/6oz (185) The Ryder is an aspen wood core cap ski that we recently heard Karhu was keeping in it's line for next season. We have no idea why except that maybe they have a ton of them sitting in a warehouse somewhere, that is if they aren't already on a truck heading at high speed for Gart's SniaGrab ("Bargains" spelled backwards) sale rack. When the Ryder came out a couple of years ago it represented Karhu's first attempt at getting back into the tele ski game, after warming the bench for most of the late 90s. As such it sent a message. Today the Ryder's only message is as an example of just how far the Vermont ski maker has come in just a couple of years. Skiddy on firm snow and not very floaty in the soft stuff, the Ryder completes a tele nightmare hat trick by tossing the hapless skier around on anything but the fluffiest snow with the smoothest base, just like a rodeo cowboy trying to stay aboard Bullmania's legendary "Dogface." We spent a bit of time on these skis again this year, using them to test various NTN mockups that we have constructed. The Ryder was a lot worse then we remembered it being. This old dog should have been put out of its misery a long time ago. Conclusion: The Ryder is a great example of just how much can go terribly wrong when a fat tip is combined with reletive lightweight. Very few tele skis have ever been able to pull it off and the Ryder is defintely not one of them. If you ski nothing but perfect snow and you see them at Garts or Sport Chalet, or something, at a huge discount you might want to pick up a pair. Otherwise just say no.

 

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