When reading reviews i always come across the "charger or playfull" characteristic, and when i get on a ski with one of these characteristic, i have always been a little confused about what that actually means - So as a service to everybody, i will try to explain what i found when setting two different ski head to head. Remember that this is my findings and opinions, and yours can be different!
Little about my stats: in my early 40's, little taller than 6,2 feet, and weighs in at 207 pounds approx - Been skiing since i was 6 years old, and do about 5-6 full weeks a year skiing.
Background: Had a 3 day trip to the opening weekend in Val D'isere France, where tons of snow kept falling, but it is still early season and i didn't know what to expect. I knew i was going to bring an all mountain ski, but since i have two, i had a decision to make. I decided on bringing both them, så the head to head is between the 16/17 Atomic Vantage 90 CTi and the 18/19 Blizzard Brahma
The playful
The Atomic Vantage 90 CTI (16/17): Often referred to as a "playful" ski, that works well in most conditions. Construction wise it has a pretty wide tip, tons of rocker in both ends, and camper in the middle. Full metal under foot, and partial metal a along the edges of the tip and tails with a traditional wood core. Atomic have also put something called Carbon Tank Mesh, which is another name for something that looks like a mesh of carbon - So i can see where they got the name from This have been one of my favourites for"do it all" for a long time. Fun is the word i think of when i hear Vantage 90 CTI. Mine is 184 in length.
The Charger
Blizzard Brahma 88: Fairly traditional wood layup, with something called "Flipcore" which i still haven't found out what is (if somebody can explain it, i would be happy to hear about it). More abrupt tip than the Atomic, and less rocker too. Carbon in the tip, and plenty of metal. Actually there is two full sheets of metal, and i have read somewhere that the metal is thicker than normal, but haven't been able to confirm this. I got these because i got a good deal on the last set in the store in 180 cm... And i never pass on a good deal, but have been instructed by my wife to buy whatever i want, as long as i am happy - I really have the best wife, but that is really not relevant for this little head to head.
Both skis hand-tuned and waxed by me, and both with 3/1 angles. Both mounted on the line with Salomon/Atomic Warden 13's.
If you are looking for a playful ski, the Atomic be what you are looking for, and if you are you could be looking for something that like going "over" stuff and not through stuff. Especially in the small bumps forming after lunch, the playful ski almost makes you jump over the small moguls and bumps forming, and to me that is fun! Also it is very easy to bend the ski in different forms even at low speed, which makes it very easy to manipulate into almost any turn shape. The tail is fairly stiff so when you get it up on edge, i really can "kick" you into the next turn, if the grip is there. That is fun to me, and the nicest feeling of ending a turn... but this also wears me out a little, because i have to spend a lot of energy bending it to the maximum. The tips are pretty soft, so being "over" the tips makes it possible to make very short turns for a ski this with. All this comes at a price, and the price is that it loses composure at high speeds, and tip-chatter is something you will have to deal with. If do have a top speed, so if anybody going at full speed all the time, you will have to looks elsewhere. When in +3000 meter and the wind is blowing, you will meet "ice" sometimes, and here you don't really get the to dig in, and offer you 100% stability, on the other hand, in these conditions you will also meet "pillows" of snow the wind have put together, and this ski will offer enough float to just go over it.
If you are looking for af chargy ski, you would probably look for something like the Brahma. When I was on it the first couple of runs, i doubted that this was a sane purchase (low visibility so didn't "let it go"), and felt that this was looked into one specific turnshape, and was a hassle to deal with. It also used up all my energy, and it felt like i had to be positioned in one specific way, og it would try to kick me out of the bindings (Blizzard did name it after a famous bull). After lunch the weather improved, and suddenly i could let it go. Such a big difference getting the speed up, and i could now manipulate into any turnshape i wanted, and it didn't feel tiring anymore. On the same small bumps the Atomic went over, the Brahma just blasted through them, and the edge was always as much in contact with the snow as possible. The metal made it super stable with no chatter at all, and even at really fast speeds it felt secure. I did read somewhere that this is a good bump ski, but i find this true until a certain size of bumps. I actually prefer the Atomic in bigger bumps, but this can be because i hate bigger bumps, and then slow everything a bit down. When meeting the same ice as above, the Brahma just bites the ice, and stay in the turn. I am really impressed with it here (It is 88 mm and not 68!). I grew to like it very much, but for speed which is a different kind of fun. When letting it go, i don't think it has a small sweet spot, but is far smaller than the Atomic, and you need to be positioned correctly on it, and if you have some bad habits, this ski will amplify it. After three days, i can say that i love it for most thing i do, but there will still be days where i prefer the Atomic (It has much more float!).
So was the object of this post? It was to show the difference between two different kind of skis, that belong in the same group (All mountain ca. 90 mm), and how I found them to be very different. When i read reviews I use it to "zoom" in on the candidates, but often different reviews speak a lot about construction and that kind of stuff - Here i try to speak about experience of the skis (not unlike Pugski), and try to differentiate between charger and playful.
Maybe i have put this in the wrong place here in the forum - Puggies feel free to move it
Little about my stats: in my early 40's, little taller than 6,2 feet, and weighs in at 207 pounds approx - Been skiing since i was 6 years old, and do about 5-6 full weeks a year skiing.
Background: Had a 3 day trip to the opening weekend in Val D'isere France, where tons of snow kept falling, but it is still early season and i didn't know what to expect. I knew i was going to bring an all mountain ski, but since i have two, i had a decision to make. I decided on bringing both them, så the head to head is between the 16/17 Atomic Vantage 90 CTi and the 18/19 Blizzard Brahma
The playful
The Atomic Vantage 90 CTI (16/17): Often referred to as a "playful" ski, that works well in most conditions. Construction wise it has a pretty wide tip, tons of rocker in both ends, and camper in the middle. Full metal under foot, and partial metal a along the edges of the tip and tails with a traditional wood core. Atomic have also put something called Carbon Tank Mesh, which is another name for something that looks like a mesh of carbon - So i can see where they got the name from This have been one of my favourites for"do it all" for a long time. Fun is the word i think of when i hear Vantage 90 CTI. Mine is 184 in length.
The Charger
Blizzard Brahma 88: Fairly traditional wood layup, with something called "Flipcore" which i still haven't found out what is (if somebody can explain it, i would be happy to hear about it). More abrupt tip than the Atomic, and less rocker too. Carbon in the tip, and plenty of metal. Actually there is two full sheets of metal, and i have read somewhere that the metal is thicker than normal, but haven't been able to confirm this. I got these because i got a good deal on the last set in the store in 180 cm... And i never pass on a good deal, but have been instructed by my wife to buy whatever i want, as long as i am happy - I really have the best wife, but that is really not relevant for this little head to head.
Both skis hand-tuned and waxed by me, and both with 3/1 angles. Both mounted on the line with Salomon/Atomic Warden 13's.
If you are looking for a playful ski, the Atomic be what you are looking for, and if you are you could be looking for something that like going "over" stuff and not through stuff. Especially in the small bumps forming after lunch, the playful ski almost makes you jump over the small moguls and bumps forming, and to me that is fun! Also it is very easy to bend the ski in different forms even at low speed, which makes it very easy to manipulate into almost any turn shape. The tail is fairly stiff so when you get it up on edge, i really can "kick" you into the next turn, if the grip is there. That is fun to me, and the nicest feeling of ending a turn... but this also wears me out a little, because i have to spend a lot of energy bending it to the maximum. The tips are pretty soft, so being "over" the tips makes it possible to make very short turns for a ski this with. All this comes at a price, and the price is that it loses composure at high speeds, and tip-chatter is something you will have to deal with. If do have a top speed, so if anybody going at full speed all the time, you will have to looks elsewhere. When in +3000 meter and the wind is blowing, you will meet "ice" sometimes, and here you don't really get the to dig in, and offer you 100% stability, on the other hand, in these conditions you will also meet "pillows" of snow the wind have put together, and this ski will offer enough float to just go over it.
If you are looking for af chargy ski, you would probably look for something like the Brahma. When I was on it the first couple of runs, i doubted that this was a sane purchase (low visibility so didn't "let it go"), and felt that this was looked into one specific turnshape, and was a hassle to deal with. It also used up all my energy, and it felt like i had to be positioned in one specific way, og it would try to kick me out of the bindings (Blizzard did name it after a famous bull). After lunch the weather improved, and suddenly i could let it go. Such a big difference getting the speed up, and i could now manipulate into any turnshape i wanted, and it didn't feel tiring anymore. On the same small bumps the Atomic went over, the Brahma just blasted through them, and the edge was always as much in contact with the snow as possible. The metal made it super stable with no chatter at all, and even at really fast speeds it felt secure. I did read somewhere that this is a good bump ski, but i find this true until a certain size of bumps. I actually prefer the Atomic in bigger bumps, but this can be because i hate bigger bumps, and then slow everything a bit down. When meeting the same ice as above, the Brahma just bites the ice, and stay in the turn. I am really impressed with it here (It is 88 mm and not 68!). I grew to like it very much, but for speed which is a different kind of fun. When letting it go, i don't think it has a small sweet spot, but is far smaller than the Atomic, and you need to be positioned correctly on it, and if you have some bad habits, this ski will amplify it. After three days, i can say that i love it for most thing i do, but there will still be days where i prefer the Atomic (It has much more float!).
So was the object of this post? It was to show the difference between two different kind of skis, that belong in the same group (All mountain ca. 90 mm), and how I found them to be very different. When i read reviews I use it to "zoom" in on the candidates, but often different reviews speak a lot about construction and that kind of stuff - Here i try to speak about experience of the skis (not unlike Pugski), and try to differentiate between charger and playful.
Maybe i have put this in the wrong place here in the forum - Puggies feel free to move it