Ik heb afgelopen week nog 2 plaatjes gezien van 2 nieuwe salomon ski's.. Ski's bedoeld om de pisteurs weer aan zich te binden. Ski's die de fameuze scream weer moeten doen herleven. Serieuze ski's voor serieuze gasten die altijd en overal skien. Breed, flat (en square) tail.. zagen er lekker uit..
Nieuw 3 antenne beacon met veel tech maar simpel gebruik (denk S1 onder de motorkap, DSP erboven) en uitermate goed geprijsd. Als het de verwachtingen kan inlossen iig.
El Dictator Size: 194 (wussies need not read further because this is the only size offered) Dimensions: 134 x 114 x 124 Characteristics: 300mm Tip Rocker, Flat Square Tail, Full Woodcore
The story:
So the inspiration for the ski came from the head freeride ski designer Lionel Favret. He said to Kaj Zackrisson and I one day, "We will build a ski for you. We wouldn't want to send you two into a Formula 1 race with a Citroen, so the ski is as you wish. Build your Formula 1 ski". The excitement to build a ski one-hundred percent from scratch, as I wanted to build the ski was nearly over-whelming. But once I settled down the conception process was an easy one. It's something I've been dreaming of for years upon years.
I wanted something that withstand the rigor of hard-charging, variable conditions while still combining some of the pleasurable elements of recent ski design with regards to effortless pow skiing. And I wanted it to stomp cliffs, biiiggg cliffs.
So the design you see above is what we came up with. Now let me tell you why we picked the design we did.
Size: 194 cm. We wanted something that had the long turning, hard charging capabilities of the 202 XW Lab but with a bit shorter length for more versatility and tighter turning proficiency. Hence a pretty damn big ski but not overwhelming length by any means.
Dimensions: 134 x 114 x 124. We stayed with a similar radius to the Rocker because that radius is a great radius for long super-G turns, a non-hooky feeling in pow and butterability in the deep. We wanted 114 underfoot because we estimated that 114 is a great width to still sink the skis when landing big airs but still staying afloat while ripping turns. When you get past the 120 underfoot range landings become a bit harder and more jolting because the skis don't sink into the snow and utilize the cushion of the snow to soften your landing.
300mm Tip Rocker. Because rocker rules. It's the only way to achieve effortless flotation in pow. We stuck with a minimal amount of rocker to allow the ski to still be easily manageable in super variable conditions. I'm sure most have felt what a lot of rocker feels like on crud and windboard, and I'm sure none of you like that tip slapping and chattering feeling that a lot of rocker supplies in those conditions.
Flat Tail. Because even though some say there is no reason to not have a twin tip on all skis, I feel like I've found a reason. And that is that twin tips tend to wheelie and squirrel out on big air landings. Square, flat tails sink so well into landings that stomping becomes a breeze. I've definitely found that flat tails are essential for those huge hucks.
Woodcore. Because we wanted it stiffff. And stiff this ski is. The tail is adamn 2 x 4 and punches through nearly all conditions. The tip still has some nice poppy characteristics and isn't a brick, but the tail, g'damn it's like a teenager at a strip-club stiff.
Die binding lijkt heel veel op de Marker Duke die ik nu op mijn skis heb zitten, zal wel de nieuwe versie zijn. Dat komt doordat er een zwart vlak zit waar de voorkant van je schoen op rust bij is dat wit. Het mechanisme om de binding achter los te maken is zwart in plaats van het rode metalic. Het is in ieder geval een loopbinding van Marker en zal dan wel de nieuwe Duke zijn.
Het is de nieuwe 'tour' binding. Max DIN 10, en hetzelfde gewicht als een Freeride +-.
Op zich gewoon een lichte Duke met blijkbaar (heb ik een marker rep zien zeggen op TGR) een nieuwe hiel/teen. Ben er persoonlijk een beetje door teleurgesteld, ik had gehoopt op een binding die Dynafit kon aanvallen, het is eerder een Fritschi counter geworden.
edit: en hier is de DIN 12 versie met een betere foto: