Individual Review Laser AX - Impressions from a new user

[Jean-Benoit]

After reading everything I could on Stockli Laser AXs from many of the enlightened skiers on these forums, I finally bought them (in 175).

I had seriously considered Head Rallys, but when I was offered a decent price on the Lasers, I couldn't pass 'em up.

I thought I'd throw in a few brief early impressions of my first time on them, yesterday on machine groomed/hardpack/ice.

This is my first time skiing on a "premium" ski, after getting back into skiing a few years ago and briefly owning: Salomon X-Drives 8.0 (175), Volkl Codes (174), Blizzard Brahmas (180), Blossom White Outs (182). I'm an East Coast skier, mostly skiing Quebec and Vermont, 15-20 days a year. Advanced skier, 6'6", 200lbs.

My first impressions of this ski came as two words : "wow", shortly followed by "woah".
Wow, as in: wow, this is sooo much fun. There's life and flow to those skis.
Woah, as in: woah, they are powerful, too! I can push as much as I want, they hold and respond. To echo what @dawgcatching wrote, they are very, very stable (how much more stable than the previous iteration I wouldn't know). Actually more stable than the 2018 Brahmas I owned right before them (and god knows the Brahmas are not exactly unstable). I haven't tried Super G speeds, but I'm a fast skier, and these things GO. Even at my height/weight, I never once felt that I was even close to overpowering them. And yet, as I said, they manage to combine that stability with *life*. Great stuff.

Big bonus for me is how quiet they are: as I'd mentioned in a previous thread, noisy, hollow-sounding skis detract from my skiing pleasure.

I usually have difficulty justifying to myself purchasing luxury items, but boy am I glad I made an exception with those. If anything, if skiing is a passion (like it is for many folks around here), they could even be considered a sensible purchase, given how well they're built (and how long I've been told their camber will likely last, compared to lesser skis). Yes, I'm keeping those - for as long as they will last.

One final note: to echo what @Lorenzzo wrote, I don't know how friendly those would feel to a tentative intermediate skier. They do feel on the stiff end of the spectrum, both torsionally and longitudinally. And, as I understand, they have quite a bit less tip rocker than the outgoing version.

I get to ski them again next week, perhaps with @surfsnowgirl and her SO, who is also now on a pair of Laser AXs. We'll compare notes

Will possibly report back with more impressions later this season.

 

[flbufl]

How do you compare AX to Whiteout?

 

[Jean-Benoit]

How do you compare AX to Whiteout?

Not exactly apples to apples, since I had the White Out in 182 and the AX I have is 175, but I would say they have in common a secure, damp feeling with a nice touch of life. Definitely a planted, precise, sport sedan feel to both of them. To push the car analogy, I would say the AX corners even more strongly, and has an even damper and more precise feel to it, while the W-O is slightly more vague but with a bit more life.

The AX, though marketed as an all-mountain ski, actually feels closer to a true carver, albeit one with strong all-mountain chops in a few inches of fresh; the W-O, from memory, felt a bit more like a true all-mountain ski with strong carving skills.

But again, one would have to compare both in the same length for what I say here to be conclusive.

One thing's for sure, though: the AX is also a LOT more yellow ;-)

 

[flbufl]

Thanks for the comparison! I also recently bought a pair of "yellow" AX of this year in 168cm, and have a Vist version of the Whiteout in 164cm. The lengths are comparable, but because of the different bindings/plates setups (factory Salomon freeride bindings on AX, 15mm race plates+bindings on Whiteout), I cannot compare them directly either.

Not exactly apples to apples, since I had the White Out in 182 and the AX I have is 175, but I would say they have in common a secure, damp feeling with a nice touch of life. Definitely a planted, precise, sport sedan feel to both of them. To push the car analogy, I would say the AX corners even more strongly, and has an even damper and more precise feel to it, while the W-O is slightly more vague but with a bit more life.

The AX, though marketed as an all-mountain ski, actually feels closer to a true carver, albeit one with strong all-mountain chops in a few inches of fresh; the W-O, from memory, felt a bit more like a true all-mountain ski with strong carving skills.

But again, one would have to compare both in the same length for what I say here to be conclusive.

One thing's for sure, though: the AX is also a LOT more yellow ;-)

 

[Michael Kane]

So, last night (W.N.I.T.S.) was the first time that I have gotten on my Laser AX's and I now feel that these maybe the best skis that I have ever been on. My turns were as clean as I have ever made them. Long, medium and short turns were just spot on. I think this is because the forebody of the AX's seem to be a little more pliable than those of the Fischer Curv GT's that I have been using the last year and half. However, that is good, it was allowing me to bend the ski and let it pull me into the turn. Then they just railed thru nice and quiet and stable. I do have these mounted about 1.5 cm ahead of the line as well.

 

[MarkEss]

How do you compare AX to Whiteout?

I was looking for a ski that was great on the groomers, but could handle the bumps and trees when needed. I may head out with the intention of skiing groomers all day, but I always get distracted and seemed to take a run or two through the bumps or jump into the trees.

I had the Whiteout in the 176 and it was super stable and a great carver at speed. It was a little less friendly in bumps and trees and you could get punished if you found yourself in the back seat.

I moved on to the 17/18 Rally's in 170cm. While they were super fun to make lots of short turns, I always seemed to bang those wide tips together in the bumps and so I was not totally smitten by them.

I now have a pair of the previous generation Laser AX's, the black ones. Out of the 3, the AX is my favorite. It competes with the Whiteout in the high speed carving, is close to the Rally in the short turns, but is super friendly in the bumps. It is now making me wonder if I really need that 90mm under foot ski I bought as it is so versatile.

 

[Scrundy]

How can you not love them? My harder snow go to. After going through many brands of skis I feel in love with the Stormrider series first, damp and powerful. Grab the AX before last season and got maybe 30 days on them. Much more of a carving ski than the Stormrider series, but also a powerful ski.

These Stöcklis really seem to really shin to me with some speed. The harder you push them the better they get. Stöcklis are all I ski now, can’t wait till we get snow this weekend so I can break out the 95s for the first time this season.

 

[flbufl]

Thank. I feel the AX works better in bumps, too. Though I need more bump skiing time on both skis, and my Whiteout has race plates that supposedly stiffen it up a bit.

I was looking for a ski that was great on the groomers, but could handle the bumps and trees when needed. I may head out with the intention of skiing groomers all day, but I always get distracted and seemed to take a run or two through the bumps or jump into the trees.

I had the Whiteout in the 176 and it was super stable and a great carver at speed. It was a little less friendly in bumps and trees and you could get punished if you found yourself in the back seat.
I moved on to the 17/18 Rally's in 170cm. While they were super fun to make lots of short turns, I always seemed to bang those wide tips together in the bumps and so I was not totally smitten by them.
I now have a pair of the previous generation Laser AX's, the black ones. Out of the 3, the AX is my favorite. It competes with the Whiteout in the high speed carving, is close to the Rally in the short turns, but is super friendly in the bumps. It is now making me wonder if I really need that 90mm under foot ski I bought as it is so versatile.

 

[Jean-Benoit]

So, last night (W.N.I.T.S.) was the first time that I have gotten on my Laser AX's and I now feel that these maybe the best skis that I have ever been on. My turns were as clean as I have ever made them. Long, medium and short turns were just spot on. I think this is because the forebody of the AX's seem to be a little more pliable than those of the Fischer Curv GT's that I have been using the last year and half. However, that is good, it was allowing me to bend the ski and let it pull me into the turn. Then they just railed thru nice and quiet and stable. I do have these mounted about 1.5 cm ahead of the line as well.

Good stuff. Best skis I've been on too, by far. Are you also on the 2018/19 model?
Haven't been on Fischers since the early 80s, when RC4s ruled. Short, medium, long turns: yeah, the Lasers really do it all majestically don't they... From using them only once, I find that medium turns at high speeds and high edge angles is how I got the biggest thrills from them, but like you say, their forebody is definitely compliant enough to pump out short turns at will. Towards the end of the day I did experiment with moving the bindings (Wardens) forward a couple of clicks, or about 1cm, and I could feel I was on to something, as many others here have stated. I'll try another couple of clicks forward next time. I found that - for my posture and BSL (330mm) anyway - they need just a bit more boot tongue/ski tip engagement when skied on center line. Very early impressions though - I haven't yet learned to work them over their full range of skills. Definitely a ski that makes you want to keep improving, so sweet are the rewards.

 

[Michael Kane]

Yes, I am on the 18/19 model. The other aspect about them that struck me was the wide range of speed that these could be skied at. Had absolutly no issues go full mach, or when I was piddling along while sweeping/closing the hill. My only issue is that when I took them off to close the lift, I almost could not find them in the snow because of the color (I jest, I jest). They are a whole lot of yellow.

 

[Jean-Benoit]

How can you not love them? My harder snow go to. After going through many brands of skis I feel in love with the Stormrider series first, damp and powerful. Grab the AX before last season and got maybe 30 days on them. Much more of a carving ski than the Stormrider series, but also a powerful ski.

These Stöcklis really seem to really shin to me with some speed. The harder you push them the better they get. Stöcklis are all I ski now, can’t wait till we get snow this weekend so I can break out the 95s for the first time this season.

Yes, speed on the Lasers is really intoxicating... I took me by surprise at first - I had some wide slopes to myself and wasn't sure I could open them up quite as much as I did; few second later I knew I needn't have worried: I was high up on edge, then getting some air, and cursing out loud. The quads really felt it the next morning, but the skis never broke a sweat.
Stormriders : I demoed the latest SR88 at the end of last season, and never gelled with them. Felt so much more planky, way too much for my taste and skiing style. Oddly, I got along with the Brahmas way more. Go figure.

 

[Jean-Benoit]

Yes, I am on the 18/19 model. The other aspect about them that struck me was the wide range of speed that these could be skied at. Had absolutly no issues go full mach, or when I was piddling along while sweeping/closing the hill. My only issue is that when I took them off to close the lift, I almost could not find them in the snow because of the color (I jest, I jest). They are a whole lot of yellow.

Ha ha... I know! If only they could make them more visible... Kidding aside, that yellow does make them easy to find when returning from lunch... As for range of speeds, see my reply to @Scrundy.

 

[Jean-Benoit]

I was looking for a ski that was great on the groomers, but could handle the bumps and trees when needed. I may head out with the intention of skiing groomers all day, but I always get distracted and seemed to take a run or two through the bumps or jump into the trees.

I had the Whiteout in the 176 and it was super stable and a great carver at speed. It was a little less friendly in bumps and trees and you could get punished if you found yourself in the back seat.

I moved on to the 17/18 Rally's in 170cm. While they were super fun to make lots of short turns, I always seemed to bang those wide tips together in the bumps and so I was not totally smitten by them.

I now have a pair of the previous generation Laser AX's, the black ones. Out of the 3, the AX is my favorite. It competes with the Whiteout in the high speed carving, is close to the Rally in the short turns, but is super friendly in the bumps. It is now making me wonder if I really need that 90mm under foot ski I bought as it is so versatile.

Agree to all that. I don't do much bump skiing, but I can imagine how the Rallys' goofy-wide tips might interfere with fluid skiing there. Really loved them for the snappy, secure short turns though. AXs aren't far behind. I might still look at going for a 2-ski quiver by adding a playful 90-something ski (like that Liberty V92) for the snowiest Eastern days, but there's no real itch for now, with everything the AX is proving capable of.

 

[Pierre]

One of our local instructors bought a pair of Laser AX's in 161 length and mounted the high end carbon Knee bindings on them. He skied them once and hated them. He asked me to work a bit with him to see if I could make them work for him. I took them in and put a slightly higher edge bevel on the tails. There was some improvement but in the end he said the ski was not for him. His age is 60. Well, I tried the skis before and after the changes and liked them. He said he would sell them to me for nearly half the price he paid for them and I agreed to buy them.
I have now skied them quite a bit. They ski bigger than they actually are. Very stable and powerful. I have enough skill to drive them beyond my physical abilities so buying this ski was probably not the smartest thing that I have done but certainly one of the funniest. I can carve these skis well under their turn radius but any mistakes in technique and they want to explode out from underneath me. I have come close but haven't had that happen yet. I get off of them when I feel fatigued.
My age is 64 and weight is 195 lb
Now my RAMP Brewskis feel very squirrely.

 

[slowrider]

Just picked these up on a pro deal. Such a quiet stable ride.

 

[Paul Lutes]

Ha! I'll presume a little credit for that, although I know you were already a Stockli fan. After skiing with you on Monday I ended up using my AXs every day for the rest of the week, including Thursday with some fresh, even though I brought 3 other pairs (84, 90, and 95 wasted, respectively) - the AXs versatility is amazing.

 

[slowrider]

Thanks Paul for the turns and hope to ski our Stocklis again sometime.

 

[ARL67]

I was on the current all-yellow AX 175 yesterday on a very hard snow day, impressed with the grip & feel, and echo all the other comments above. I was never on the previous yellow-green AX, but was on the next previous gen black-yellow AX a couple times. If my memory is correct, compared to the black-yellow version, the newest AX is a bit stiffer and just a little bit less rocker/rise. I'll take any of them !

 

[Michael Kane]

I am three days in on them in a variety of conditions and they were flawless all three days. Very impressed by these skis.

 

[James]

Big bonus for me is how quiet they are: as I'd mentioned in a previous thread, noisy, hollow-sounding skis detract from my skiing pleasure.

Yeah I disliked that aspect of the Kastle fx95hp in icy wet snow. Too loud.

Did you mount your ax's on the line?