A tale of two 188cm GS skis

[JTurner]

To add a data point, the plate on my Rossi 188/30 is mounted well forward of the plate on Rossi 185/27, and using good calipers the 188 is thinner (not width) underfoot by about 2mm, so is very likely softer. Seems what you noticed might be common.

 

[Petrus]

The thickness of the ski has a great influence on the stiffness.
I heard in a podcast that a 20% difference in thickness can result in a ~50% difference in stiffness.
Not a direct relation, obviously, there are other parameters that come to play.

 

[Betaracer]

A 188cm Jr ski is probably being used by a large 16 year old boy, 80-90kg. The women the other ski is intended for will typically be smaller and lighter. Also, a softer ski will initiate and carve easier through flex.

 

[Betaracer]

The thickness of the ski has a great influence on the stiffness.
I heard in a podcast that a 20% difference in thickness can result in a ~50% difference in stiffness.
Not a direct relation, obviously, there are other parameters that come to play.

An extra layer of fiberglass or metal can have a drastic effect of flex.

 

[slow-line-fast]

A 188cm Jr ski is probably being used by a large 16 year old boy, 80-90kg. The women the other ski is intended for will typically be smaller and lighter. Also, a softer ski will initiate and carve easier through flex.

Would be great to hear your thoughts on a good GS ski for masters racers who have that mass but less skill and conditioning than either the junior male racer or adult female racer.

 

[bbbradley]

Would be great to hear your thoughts on a good GS ski for masters racers who have that mass but less skill and conditioning than either the junior male racer or adult female racer.

A GS ski optimized for an old, out of shape, overweight, hack of a racer is what you need? There is an alarmingly large market for that widget.

 

[Betaracer]

Would be great to hear your thoughts on a good GS ski for masters racers who have that mass but less skill and conditioning than either the junior male racer or adult female racer.

So what I use? I have a few. G9R Servotec 183 (19.6m), G9RS Revoshock 183 (24m), G9RS Servotec 183 (24m), XT-DD 182 (16.1m), X9RS Revoshock 183 (16.6m). All with X19 bindings, Mod on the 24m, the rest VAR. Still to try the X9RS as I just got it last week and not enough coverage to risk taking them out yet.

 

[Petrus]

Hi @DocGKR did you get the chance to test the two skis?

 

[DocGKR]

Not yet--too much fresh snow right now!

 

[Petrus]

This side of the pond we have the opposite problem.
After a cycle of snow, rain, heat and cold we had some tracks that were in World Cup conditions.

Now the temperatures are crazy high again and today I went skiing on snow that was looking more April 25th than Jan 1st.

 

[DocGKR]

Experiment is complete--I have had the opportunity to use both skis in gates and free skiing.

The 188/25 Nordica (and identical Blizzard) is one of the most powerful and strong sub-30m GS skis I've used, with spectacular edge hold and phenomenal stability at high speed. It is the stiffest flexing Junior GS ski I have felt and they definitely demand good technique to work well. The 188/25 strongly prefers to be going quite fast before dynamically coming alive and is more challenging when trying to initiate turns at lower speeds. Much like with the Blizz/Nordica FIS SL skis I've tried (https://www.skitalk.com/threads/any-input-on-blizzard-fis-sl-skis.23696/page-2#post-716668), the Nordica/Blizz 188/25 is not as fun to free ski as my sub-30m 185/27 Dynastar/Rossi, nor as forgiving in the course, but the Nordica is proving a bit faster and more stable through gates for me.

The 188/30 Nordica was more confusing, especially given that the 188/30 Blizzard FIS RD's GS skis I've previously used have been my second favorite GS skis, right behind the 188/30 Atomic Revo's. However, the Blizz RD's were the "Soft Flex" version, while these 188/30 Nordica's are the "Stiff Flex" model and offered surprisingly different performance for otherwise purportedly identical skis. Like all the Nordica/Blizzard FIS skis I've used, these 188/30's are deadly serious, wanting higher speed before working well. Unfortunately, I really had to work the stiff 188/30 Nordica's to have decent turn initiation and get them moving where I wanted them to go. The rail road like tracking was somewhat reminiscent of the Head GS FIS skis I've used, but the stiff 188/30 Nordica's were even less fun loving.

 

[Tony Storaro]

Experiment is complete--I have had the opportunity to use both skis in gates and free skiing.

The 188/25 Nordica (and identical Blizzard) is one of the most powerful and strong sub-30m GS skis I've used, with spectacular edge hold and phenomenal stability at high speed. It is the stiffest flexing Junior GS ski I have felt and they definitely demand good technique to work well. The 188/25 strongly prefers to be going quite fast before dynamically coming alive and is more challenging when trying to initiate turns at lower speeds. Much like with the Blizz/Nordica FIS SL skis I've tried (https://www.skitalk.com/threads/any-input-on-blizzard-fis-sl-skis.23696/page-2#post-716668), the Nordica/Blizz 188/25 is not as fun to free ski as my sub-30m 185/27 Dynastar/Rossi, nor as forgiving in the course, but the Nordica is proving a bit faster and more stable through gates for me.

The 188/30 Nordica was more confusing, especially given that the 188/30 Blizzard FIS RD's GS skis I've previously used have been my second favorite GS skis, right behind the 188/30 Atomic Revo's. However, the Blizz RD's were the "Soft Flex" version, while these 188/30 Nordica's are the "Stiff Flex" model and offered surprisingly different performance for otherwise purportedly identical skis. Like all the Nordica/Blizzard FIS skis I've used, these 188/30's are deadly serious, wanting higher speed before working well. Unfortunately, I really had to work the stiff 188/30 Nordica's to have decent turn initiation and get them moving where I wanted them to go. The rail road like tracking was somewhat reminiscent of the Head GS FIS skis I've used, but the stiff 188/30 Nordica's were even less fun loving.

I want to hear more about the Hero 185/27. These look very inteesting.

Is this the ski in question:

Rossignol Hero Athlete FIS GS U16 R22 (2023/24)

The HERO ATHLETE GS is Rossignol's proven giant slalom ski for the U16 age groups. Construction is derived from the latest developments and testing with World Cup athletes. Softer flexes than FIS models, make it an optimal choice for...

www.xspo.com

 

[DocGKR]

Yes, the description sounds correct, but the photo in that link is incorrect, as it depicts a 30m ski.

The Dynastar/Rossi 185/27 has been my favorite sub-30m GS ski for several years, as discussed here: https://www.skitalk.com/threads/mas...-tweener-masters-etc.22461/page-6#post-832884.

Fun, lively, energetic, with a large sweet spot--hard to go wrong with the Dynastar/Rossi 185/27 or the 182/25 version for folks who are a bit lighter weight.

 

[wnyskier]

Shameless plug:

Sold - Rossignol Hero GS 185 cm R27 2022

Rossignol Hero GS with PX18 RockerFlex Binding 185 cm 27m radius R22 plate 2022 model Full race prep: Sidewalls pull and blended Bases soaked 0.5 base / 3.0 side bevel Flawless base grind and prep Ski is mint condition with less than 10 days of use Can swap out PX18...

www.skitalk.com

 

[wolcoma]

For those of us who live in the East, this has been the season of "Freeze/Thaw/Freeze" and some of the junior races have either had huge ruts or were bullet proof tracks. As a life long Eastern skier/coach/masters racer I enjoy skiing on hard snow. However, even this year there were times my 165 SL skis which are not only great in the gates but also awesome for free skiing/coaching, but even those skis were sometimes washing out on the super hard snow we have seen this season. So this March I have been skiing mostly on my 188 cm 27M GS skis as those carved up the hard pack better than any ski in my quiver. Even my GS cheater ski I use when coaching the younger kids (max 22 meter GS courses) were not holding on the icy conditions. So I have been skiing those 188 GS skis nearly the entire month of March and they have been a lot more fun than I ever remember. I am on the smaller side for the 193 cm 30 M GS ski though, although they may be worth a try.

 

[Tony Storaro]

Yes, the description sounds correct, but the photo in that link is incorrect, as it depicts a 30m ski.

Same thing on other web-sites, they just slap a pic of a GS Rossi ski…any GS ski and call it good. What it says on the tails doesn't matter to them
I was mostly concerned with that U16 thingy but then I read again your reviews and seems these are burly skis, no joke.
Very interesting.

 

[Atomicman]

So what I use? I have a few. G9R Servotec 183 (19.6m), G9RS Revoshock 183 (24m), G9RS Servotec 183 (24m), XT-DD 182 (16.1m), X9RS Revoshock 183 (16.6m). All with X19 bindings, Mod on the 24m, the rest VAR. Still to try the X9RS as I just got it last week and not enough coverage to risk taking them out yet.

G9RS Revoshock 183 (24m), This is what I am skiing on! Fantastic ski! Can't say enough positive about it. A little wider shovel draws you into the turn beautifully, and effortlessly. Ultra smooth quiest and powerful without being overbearing!

 

[Tony Storaro]

G9RS Revoshock 183 (24m), This is what I am skiing on! Fantastic ski! Can't say enough positive about it. A little wider shovel draws you into the turn beautifully, and effortlessly. Ultra smooth quiest and powerful without being overbearing!

On the web-stores I frequent these were all sold out in like 2 days. Guess there must be a reason for that.

 

[James]

G9RS Revoshock 183 (24m), This is what I am skiing on! Fantastic ski! Can't say enough positive about it. A little wider shovel draws you into the turn beautifully, and effortlessly. Ultra smooth quiest and powerful without being overbearing!

I think that’s what Mikaela gave Jimmy Fallon on his show.

 

[Atomicman]

I think that’s what Mikaela gave Jimmy Fallon on his show.

Might be a bit much for Fallon!