2020 Augment All Mountain 88

[Erik Timmerman]

Hey Augment, if you ever feel like sending pair out to Stowe for "testing" I'm game. Sounds like a pretty sweet ride.

 

[markojp]

Skied the '8' flex 88 at Mission Ridge, 187. First thought: smooth. Second thought: really smooth. Third thought: this isn't a ski for someone not familiar with the front of their boot. 4th thought: this is really good. Now who's going to by it? With the death of the Head Monsters, a new 'lighter' MX 88, and the 20-21 Storm Rider 88 emerging as the new 'strong-sorta very good 88' (though this is all relative), as much as I really love a ski like this, the market tells me no one likes an 88, yet alone a big boy pants version (are there really enough ski coaches out there to support a brand?), but everyone and their mother's uncle will ski and M5 or Enforcer 100.

Make no mistake, the Augment 88 is an excellent, strong ski. I guess my critique is simply that the skiing public won't want them enough to buy or learn to ski one. IMHO, for the west, an 88 is a swiss army knife that's always ready to go and get it done while the market wants a block of high end knives for every possible use while they eat top ramen and frozen pizza. Head saw the sales numbers writing on the wall and retired one of the single best all around skis on the market. The rest keep making them, but none sell until sale season.... forgive the small 'r' rant and digression.

 

[Philpug]

@markojp hits some points in his review, this ski is not for everyone, it is not even for most people and I don't think that Augment is looking to be the ski for everyone, but just for the discerning skier...that is also a very good skier. The Am88 is not a ski to be seen on, it is not an ego stroker, especially as the ski gets into the lower stiffer numbers.

 

[Mothertucker]

death of the Head Monsters

 

[Aquila]

I had the opportunity to demo some Augment skis during the 2019 NZ winter season. I'm a lightweight low intermediate skier and surprisingly, was still able to have a good time on these skis. I didn't try anything as wide as the 88 but did try the AM 77 (not the carbon version) and two lengths of this ski - https://augmentskisna.com/products/sport-carving-on-piste-70

I actually had a great time on the carver - onpiste 70. I am 160cm/115lb and first tried this ski in the 156 length. My daily driver is the Black Pearl 88 in 159 length, so a 156 carver is probably on the long side for me. In this length I started having fun on the ski during my second run, once I'd got a bit used to it. I then tried it in 148 length and had a TON of fun. Despite being so skinny and turny it also handled the slush/softer snow just off the sides of the groomed trails nicely as well. They feel very damp and planted. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this ski. In the 148 length I didn't find them to be overly tiring either.

I ran into someone on the lift who owned that same ski and she loves them, has taken them all over the mountain, on and off piste (not powder ). I'd be interested to hear if others have been on this particular one?

 

[Andy Mink]

I had the opportunity to demo some Augment skis during the 2019 NZ winter season. I'm a lightweight low intermediate skier and surprisingly, was still able to have a good time on these skis. I didn't try anything as wide as the 88 but did try the AM 77 (not the carbon version) and two lengths of this ski - https://augmentskisna.com/products/sport-carving-on-piste-70

I actually had a great time on the carver - onpiste 70. I am 160cm/115lb and first tried this ski in the 156 length. My daily driver is the Black Pearl 88 in 159 length, so a 156 carver is probably on the long side for me. In this length I started having fun on the ski during my second run, once I'd got a bit used to it. I then tried it in 148 length and had a TON of fun. Despite being so skinny and turny it also handled the slush/softer snow just off the sides of the groomed trails nicely as well. They feel very damp and planted. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this ski. In the 148 length I didn't find them to be overly tiring either.

I ran into someone on the lift who owned that same ski and she loves them, has taken them all over the mountain, on and off piste (not powder ). I'd be interested to hear if others have been on this particular one?

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I was able to get a ride on the SC (Sport Carve) though at the 164 r13 size. Absolute blast on the firm groomers at Mammoth. I did not get into the bumps with them though I think they'd be totally comfortable in there. As with the AM77 and AM88, they are super smooth and just beg you to go a bit faster and turn a bit tighter. Another fine ski from Augment.

 

[Andy Mink]

I demo'd the 88 at Mammoth on a hard surface day. As @markojp said, smooth. Eerily smooth, even on the hard, unforgiving stuff just under some scraped off sugar. There was no buzz, no vibration, just an urge to go faster. I felt more comfortable at speed on this ski than any other that I can recall. My speed may not be your speed, but it was pretty zoomy to me!

 

[bud heishman]

Happy to announce, Snowind Sports will be the first to carry the Augment ski line in the Tahoe area, with demos arriving in the next few days! WE LIKE'M!

Note: The softer flex all mountain skis I tested at Mammoth were amazingly stable and solid even in the softer flex which permitted a deep decamber, hip dragging situation yet the ski never gave up the hunt! While the race skis offer flex ratings of 1 through 10, (stiffer to softer), the all mountain skis, to lessen confusion, will be offered in three flexes per model (soft, medium, stiff)!

What other ski manufacturer does this?.... None that I can think of! This opens up a great opportunity to match a particular side cut with the skill level, weight, and aggressiveness of a particular customer. It brings back memories of the Salomon PR or power rating system of sizing skis. If you remember with the introduction of the Salomon ski, Salomon offered a unique sizing methodology that asked three questions and made total sense in matching the correct ski size to the consumer. The most important question was weight, the second skill level, and the third level of aggressiveness. These three values were then added together to create a PR rating 3,4,5,6,7,8. The ski being like a shackle spring, distributes the skier's mass along the length of the ski. The ski doesn't know how tall you are but it knows how much weight you are putting on it, how much energy you put into it to decamber it, and how aggressive you are. Matching this power rating to the proper stiffness is key to optimizing the skis performance for a particular skier.

Augment takes a different approach allowing the skier to choose a model and length then match the flex to their profile needs or,
perhaps choose a particular model in a longer length but softer flex or a shorter length and stiffer flex based on personal preference (ie radius) and salesman input. It's an exciting new twist to consider!

 

[ted]

So do Augments have the same super damp feel that Stocklis have?

Is this a high camber ski or low like modern Volkls?

 

[Philpug]

So do Augments have the same super damp feel that Stocklis have?

Is this a high camber ski or low like modern Volkls?

As far as the Stockli feel, I would say even more solid and damp, a bit more teutonic than say a comparable Stormrider 88, more like the original Kastle MX88. Camber is very traditional.

 

[ted]

Thanks Phil.

Had me at damp feel, lost me at trad camber.

I've grown to love the current Volkl Rocker lines- low camber and low long rocker.

 

[Philpug]

Thanks Phil.

Had me at damp feel, lost me at trad camber.

I've grown to love the current Volkl Rocker lines- low camber and low long rocker.

Knowing what you don't want is as important as knowing what you do.

 

[Dudeabides]

These are all the rage in ski nerd circles down south (NZ). Sadly I didn't make the time to get on a pair which I greatly regret. Every bit of feedback I've heard tells me I would love the ride. +1 for the Stowe, VT demo day!

 

[Stephen]

Today was my twelfth day of the season and happily I have been on powder skis and test skis the majority of that. Today was the first day on very firm conditions. Decided to take my Augment 88s out and “wow” I forgot how good they are. Immediately remembered why I bought a pair.

 

[Matt Merritt]

Just got back from four days at Deer Valley using the bonus spring days from my new 2024-25 Ikon pass. They good a foot of snow the prior day and the groomers were done as only Deer Valley (and Sun Valley and...) can do it.

This time the weather report dictated I bring my standard groomer machines - my Head e-Race Pros from last season (L180cm/R16.3). This time I brought along my new/used demo 2019 Augment AM88s that I bought last fall in a bourbon-infused Internet surfing expedition from Powder7 for under $300 shipped. The Augments are L187cm/R23 and I don't know which flex. The flex numbers might be under the Look demo bindings or maybe they weren't put on their demo skis.

With the Heads and Augments in my two-pair Sporttube case the airline's scale showed less than a pound under Southwest's limit... Wish I didn't love having multiple pairs of skis so much.

I took one run on the Augments at the mini-Gathering at Taos but was dead tired at the end of the day. This time, with my cancer surgery far in the rear-view mirror and a fresh set of legs, I felt like I could really give them a try. The best part about having them at Taos was the tune I got from Alain Veth at Le Ski Mastery.

First, as @markojp mentioned above, staying in the fronts of my boots throughout the turn was key and, without requiring much more focus than that, wow. If my Heads were Porsche Caymans the Augs were BMW M5s. Absolutely the ultimate Deer Valley carving machine and I even took a couple of blue bump runs just to see what they'd feel like in that environment. The Taos mogul method was no problem whatsoever for them so long as I didn't expect them to flow right over the wrong part of a steep bump.

I don't know where a guy would ever find a used pair (not from me!) and it looks like Van Deer isn't building an AM88 these days. Wonder if there's a stash of these in some corner of the old Augment factory?

 

[DebbieSue]

Just got back from four days at Deer Valley using the bonus spring days from my new 2024-25 Ikon pass. They good a foot of snow the prior day and the groomers were done as only Deer Valley (and Sun Valley and...) can do it.

This time the weather report dictated I bring my standard groomer machines - my Head e-Race Pros from last season (L180cm/R16.3). This time I brought along my new/used demo 2019 Augment AM88s that I bought last fall in a bourbon-infused Internet surfing expedition from Powder7 for under $300 shipped. The Augments are L187cm/R23 and I don't know which flex. The flex numbers might be under the Look demo bindings or maybe they weren't put on their demo skis.

With the Heads and Augments in my two-pair Sporttube case the airline's scale showed less than a pound under Southwest's limit... Wish I didn't love having multiple pairs of skis so much.

I took one run on the Augments at the mini-Gathering at Taos but was dead tired at the end of the day. This time, with my cancer surgery far in the rear-view mirror and a fresh set of legs, I felt like I could really give them a try. The best part about having them at Taos was the tune I got from Alain Veth at Le Ski Mastery.

First, as @markojp mentioned above, staying in the fronts of my boots throughout the turn was key and, without requiring much more focus than that, wow. If my Heads were Porsche Caymans the Augs were BMW M5s. Absolutely the ultimate Deer Valley carving machine and I even took a couple of blue bump runs just to see what they'd feel like in that environment. The Taos mogul method was no problem whatsoever for them so long as I didn't expect them to flow right over the wrong part of a steep bump.

I don't know where a guy would ever find a used pair (not from me!) and it looks like Van Deer isn't building an AM88 these days. Wonder if there's a stash of these in some corner of the old Augment factory?

So glad to hear you had 4 good days and your legs held up! Even though your Taos trip was short, sounds like it was part of the build up for this trip. Bravo!