- Joined
- Nov 12, 2015
- Posts
- 343
Hi Chip.Similarities/differences to the Origin 96?
Skiing out west for 4 weeks this year really made me love my Rustler 10, 188's. But at times the ski was a little too long and not as turny as I would have liked in some tighter moguls/trees. So I'm thinking I need something a little shorter and I'm missing a ski in the mid 90 range.
I have skied the pre-VMT Origin 96 in 176 for a couple years and still do. It is my 50/50 ski and soft snow travel ski. I just got the Ranger 96 in 180 and have one day (yesterday) on them.
For me, the Ranger is significantly stronger than the Origin both longitudinally and torsionally. The Ranger also has less rocker and less splay in both the tip and tail thus skis longer with more effective edge.
So as you can imagine, the Ranger was more damp and provided much more edge grip on the firmish spring groomers I skied yesterday. It allowed me to ride with more speed before feeling uncomfortable than the Origin would. I was still able to ski a variety of turn shapes with various radii just like the Origin, it just took a little more speed and technique at my weight (150). Ranger is stronger here for sure.
Off-piste, we had well formed and tight-ish spring bumps, a mix of firm and slush. @Unpiste mentioned that the bumps were tighter than his skis, which I think were 180 Bonafides. Here the Rangers were more work and required me to be more on my game, than the Origins because of the extra length and stiffness. The Origins are one of my favorite bump skis so this is not a surprise, they are just so easy. So for tight, single diamond bumps, I am holding judgement until I can get more time on the Rangers.
On spaced out bumps that formed on steep groomers throughout the day, they were super fun and handled the piles of soft along with the scraped-off firm with much less drama than the Origins would.
The Ranger in 180 for me, will be likely slot in as my daily driver until I find what I can‘t do on them, LOL. It is my longest and stiffest ski so it will take some getting used to.
Hope this helps.