Do Unkind Reviews of Skis Still Exist in the General Media?

[Tony S]

At gigiski.com, we have some not-very-positive reviews online:

Review: Review: Fischer The Curv DTX

Model year: 2021-2022Sidecut: 117-70-100Size: 171 cmRadius: 15,5 mTechnology: wood core, full sidewall, 0.5 mm titanal, carbon, tip-rocker About this ski Fischer has revamped their entire Curv seri…

gigiski.com

Review: Head World Cup Rebels e.GSR

Model year: 2022-2023Sidecut: 120-68-101Size: 177 cmRadius: 15.7 mTechnology: wood core, full sidewall, metal, EMC F About this ski Just like the rest of the World Cup Rebels skis, the e.GSR has …

gigiski.com

Review: Stöckli Montero AR

Model year: 2022-2023Sidecut: 128-84-114Size: 175 cmRadius: 16.3 mTechnology: wood core, metal, tip and tail rocker About this ski The Montero AR used to be the Laser AR. All in all, not much has c…

gigiski.com

Review: Head Supershape e-Speed

Model year: 2022-2023Sidecut: 121-68-104Size: 170Radius: 14 mTechnology: wood core, sidewall, graphene, metal, tip rocker, camber underfoot, EMC About this ski Head’s Supershape series has been aro…

gigiski.com

Review: Atomic Maverick 95 TI

Model year: 2022-2023Sidecut: 129-94.5-113Size: 180 cmRadius: 19.3 mTechnology: wood core, metal, full sidewall, tip and tail rocker, HRZN tech tip About this ski This Maverick line is Atomic’s ‘Am…

gigiski.com

Review: Line Blade

Model year: 2021-2022Sidecut: 154-95-124Size: 181 cmRadius: ‘tight’Technology: wood core, full sidewall, some metal and TPU reinforcements, tip and tail rocker, camber underfoot About this ski Line…

gigiski.com

LOL, that Maverick review is so spot on I can't imagine nailing it better.

You can argue that every ski has an audience, but if the audience for a ski is "the skier with the head of an eagle and the body of a lion," then that argument starts to look a little silly.

This attitude of not offending manufacturers will lead to consumers, like me, not trusting any ski reviews, which btw, was one factor in the demise of ski magazines.

Exactly. Beautifully put.

Just saying everything is great doesn't help with picking one over the other. Nor is it very credible, IMO.

Right.

 

[dan ross]

Yes, this really seems to be true for me also - including disliking the carbon-y feel and sound; and skis that get "bucked"/tossed around that like happy feet, and tire me out.

I, also, tend to like (often) heavier, "quiet, damp, intuitive" and strong on edge skis, and some that are "playful" in addition.

Lots of people here have been saying skis are just getting better and better - no bad skis anymore, for the most part.

There are to me lots of complicating things in skis and ski reviews these days, in all that diversity of skis, including this year.
Are they really getting better?

Some of the very best still, in my experience, are some pretty old classics - damper, heavier skis that are "quiet, damp and intuitive" -
and strong on edge. In their place are the lighter weight and "lighter swing weight" skis
(many of them "carbon-y" and relatively "bucked" about).

One could argue that any ski you like is a great/good ski.
What I see in some reviews is certain terms that aren’t necessarily descriptive but tend towards lazy buzzwords.
That’s why I like the reviews here, they are more in depth and considered generally. Laziness isn’t exclusive to ski reviews in Hollywood, we use it all the time- especially when pitching an idea -“ it’s like Something About Mary meets Seven “.I made that up but you get the idea .

 

[geepers]

You mean besides Stockli.

Somewhere here posted that their Stocklii skis had closely matching weights for left/right skis whereas their other brands of ski often have large weight variation. They claimed this was an indication of better manufacturing quality at Stocklii.

Unfortunately...

HE FINDS THE PERFECT PAIR AMONG SO MANY | Stöckli

Stöckli – Swiss Made & Passion – Seit über 80 Jahren

www.stoeckli.ch

 

[James]

Somewhere here posted that their Stocklii skis had closely matching weights for left/right skis whereas their other brands of ski often have large weight variation. They claimed this was an indication of better manufacturing quality at Stocklii.

Unfortunately...

HE FINDS THE PERFECT PAIR AMONG SO MANY | Stöckli

Stöckli – Swiss Made & Passion – Seit über 80 Jahren

www.stoeckli.ch

I don’t get what you’re saying.
As Tony would say, it’s like sounding a concert piano. All hand work with varnish into the felt, and listening.

Here he’s bending the skis apparently.

 

[cantunamunch]

I don’t get what you’re saying.

The article doesn't confirm higher quality at any given manufacturing process step, just a high level of attention at the matching step.

 

[pchewn]

I often wonder why the ski reviews are not done blind. That is: mask the skis so the reviewer does not know what ski they are on, get the comments and then assign them to the ski.

Would the ski review be more honest if the reviewer had no idea at all what brand or model ski they were on?

 

[Erik Timmerman]

Somewhere here posted that their Stocklii skis had closely matching weights for left/right skis whereas their other brands of ski often have large weight variation. They claimed this was an indication of better manufacturing quality at Stocklii.

Unfortunately...

HE FINDS THE PERFECT PAIR AMONG SO MANY | Stöckli

Stöckli – Swiss Made & Passion – Seit über 80 Jahren

www.stoeckli.ch

I was once watching an episode of How it's Made and they were at the Dynastar factory where a worker was making skis. He or she was pretty much just throwing the different layers into the mold. This one layer of cloth goes in and has a huge wrinkle/fold in it, the person just closes the mold and keeps going. I'm like what is quality like when there isn't a camera guy standing behind you!

 

[dan ross]

Somewhere here posted that their Stocklii skis had closely matching weights for left/right skis whereas their other brands of ski often have large weight variation. They claimed this was an indication of better manufacturing quality at Stocklii.

Unfortunately...

HE FINDS THE PERFECT PAIR AMONG SO MANY | Stöckli

Stöckli – Swiss Made & Passion – Seit über 80 Jahren

www.stoeckli.ch

Any time you are using resin - whether it’s an infusion or pre-preg or hand lay-up there will be variations in weight of the material in that particular size- it’s like molasses, you can measure it but once pressure is applied it has a mind of its own. Variations should be slight but expected . I suspect @James is right , carefully matching skis as pairs is the difference.

 

[Philpug]

which btw, was one factor in the demise of ski magazines.

Not even in the top 10.

 

[cantunamunch]

carefully matching skis as pairs is the difference.

So... anyone else read that little Stockli snippet and wonder ...if flexing them by hand in specific ways can make a pair of skis match, how much will the flex change over 20-30-40 days of skiing?

 

[James]

So... anyone else read that little Stockli snippet and wonder ...if flexing them by hand in specific ways can make a pair of skis match, how much will the flex change over 20-30-40 days of skiing?

I think he’s using a big ole something to bend them

 

[geepers]

I don’t get what you’re saying.

Principle of Total Quality Management. Reduce variability of production so the widgets made are identical. Every time.

It sure isn't inspect quality in at the final step.

Yeah, appreciate that can be very difficult depending on the materials.

So... anyone else read that little Stockli snippet and wonder ...if flexing them by hand in specific ways can make a pair of skis match, how much will the flex change over 20-30-40 days of skiing?

Well, is it really an issue? See, bend here, bend 'em back there. Just a visit to the chiropractor.

 

[dan ross]

So... anyone else read that little Stockli snippet and wonder ...if flexing them by hand in specific ways can make a pair of skis match, how much will the flex change over 20-30-40 days of skiing?

Measurably , I’d guess. back in the day (70’s)my favorite mogul skis were Dynastar Omeglas . Not new ones -too stiff but my brothers that had a season or two on them. The foam core broke down enough to soften them so you didn’t get thrown around.
I suspect that any wood core ski will break down once the lingin gives way or is stressed enough to lose its elasticity.
I know that Olin used to test flexural breakdown on a machine that simulated thousands of cycles.

 

[David Chaus]

I often wonder why the ski reviews are not done blind. That is: mask the skis so the reviewer does not know what ski they are on, get the comments and then assign them to the ski.

Would the ski review be more honest if the reviewer had no idea at all what brand or model ski they were on?

Ski Canada magazine used to do just that. Don’t know if they still do.

 

[KingGrump]

Measurably , I’d guess. back in the day (70’s)my favorite mogul skis were Dynastar Omeglas . Not new ones -too stiff but my brothers that had a season or two on them. The foam core broke down enough to soften them so you didn’t get thrown around.
I suspect that any wood core ski will break down once the lingin gives way or is stressed enough to lose its elasticity.
I know that Olin used to test flexural breakdown on a machine that simulated thousands of cycles.

Skis do wear out. Ski a new pair back to back with a older pair with 80/100 days on them and you will notice the glaring difference.
There is a thread floating around on the topic of skis wearing out.

 

[Tony Storaro]

You mean besides Stockli.

Nice try but alas no. I have to pay the same obscene prices as everybody else, which however makes me free to join the Candide 2021 church or chose Deacon VWerks instead of AR etc.

 

[François Pugh]

At gigiski.com, we have some not-very-positive reviews online:

Review: Review: Fischer The Curv DTX

Model year: 2021-2022Sidecut: 117-70-100Size: 171 cmRadius: 15,5 mTechnology: wood core, full sidewall, 0.5 mm titanal, carbon, tip-rocker About this ski Fischer has revamped their entire Curv seri…

gigiski.com

Review: Head World Cup Rebels e.GSR

Model year: 2022-2023Sidecut: 120-68-101Size: 177 cmRadius: 15.7 mTechnology: wood core, full sidewall, metal, EMC F About this ski Just like the rest of the World Cup Rebels skis, the e.GSR has …

gigiski.com

Review: Stöckli Montero AR

Model year: 2022-2023Sidecut: 128-84-114Size: 175 cmRadius: 16.3 mTechnology: wood core, metal, tip and tail rocker About this ski The Montero AR used to be the Laser AR. All in all, not much has c…

gigiski.com

Review: Head Supershape e-Speed

Model year: 2022-2023Sidecut: 121-68-104Size: 170Radius: 14 mTechnology: wood core, sidewall, graphene, metal, tip rocker, camber underfoot, EMC About this ski Head’s Supershape series has been aro…

gigiski.com

Review: Atomic Maverick 95 TI

Model year: 2022-2023Sidecut: 129-94.5-113Size: 180 cmRadius: 19.3 mTechnology: wood core, metal, full sidewall, tip and tail rocker, HRZN tech tip About this ski This Maverick line is Atomic’s ‘Am…

gigiski.com

Review: Line Blade

Model year: 2021-2022Sidecut: 154-95-124Size: 181 cmRadius: ‘tight’Technology: wood core, full sidewall, some metal and TPU reinforcements, tip and tail rocker, camber underfoot About this ski Line…

gigiski.com

Great reviews. I'm bookmarking the website.
You should have a search function that let's viewers like me (who don't speak Dutch or German or.... ) look up reviews for skis of interest that are in their languages of choice. Maybe you have it, and I just didn't have enough time to find it.

A good honest review is hard to find. I remember a couple of years ago I was looking for a wider ski for use on Vancouver Island and storm days. All the reviews I found on line were saying the new Bonafide was a great high speed ski despite the new model's shorter radius. I tried it. I found it was a great ski, but not for high speeds. It lacked precision at carved long radius turns suited for high speeds; if you tipped it up enough to hold the line at that g-force and speed it would dial up too short a turn and skid. Eventually enough other folk who actually did ski fast (not only thought they skied fast) also tried it, and the reviewers had to eat their words.

 

[Tom K.]

The gigi sit is interesting, and the editorial on American/Euro ski reviews is pretty spot on. My take:

1. The US and Canada are pretty young countries, so we're still optimistic, and buy skis for the conditions we hope to ski -- POWDER!

2. Europe is old, and knows better, so buys for what they actually ski the vast majority of the time. Groomers.

I like to own skis for both, so that I can confuse myself in the morning, and choose the wrong pair.

 

[ski otter 2]

I keep records of how many powder days I get, and how many "old snow days" also:
with averages of around 100 days a season if I'm uninjured,
consistently about a third of my days are soft snow powder/chop/crud days each season.

About a third of my skis are soft snow skis, of one sort or another.

(I didn't plan this out, it just happened over time.)

I think maybe a lot of folks really into skiing have something similar happen,
which means a lot of wider, soft snow skis make people's quivers appropriately.

 

[cantunamunch]

I think maybe a lot of folks really into skiing have something similar happen,
which means a lot of wider, soft snow skis make people's quivers appropriately.

Sure. But, also, in the East the wider, soft snow skis don't get used as often and so they linger longer in people's stashes.