Long and heavy charger skis

[silverback]

Anyone have experience with his crash replacement program? Sounds like he really stands behind his skis.

He hasn’t delivered any skis yet so probably need to wait a year for this question.

 

[mishka]

No idea on a "better" mantra, but I'd page @Philpug and the Mad Russian Skis guy about skis with better construction.

Mad Russian know skis, but I'm a bit foggy on his handle at the moment. Maybe @Ivan?

lol I can understand. Going forward. I'm thinking to returned to logo with only MR in it
Titanal knowing to be difficult in adhesion and require special attention. That's exactly the reason MRskis highly unlikely will have titanal in them
IME same or better in stiffness and performance results can be achieved without using metal it all

@chris_the_wrench depends how far into the skis delamination you may or may not get epoxy also way in.
BTW not all epoxy is suitable/flexible for this application

 

[Wasatchman]

I just picked up a lightly used pair of 194 mx98s. 30m radius. I understand Kastle only pressed 50 pairs in this length for the 3-4 year run. I love the shorter ones of this vintage so I thought I’d give these a try just for fun. Here they are next to a 193/30 gs ski. Looks like they’ll ski a little shorter. The gs skis are stiffer too. Just need to find a pair of Pivot 15s H Harlaut edition.

View attachment 164738

Wow, those MX98's are certainly a big boy with big skills ski. Let us know how you like them. That's a prize find for you. Hard to think of a current ski on the market that would be that burly

 

[anders_nor]

Figured I put this here instead of starting a new thread. I picked up the Mantra 102 191cm last summer as my everyday ski. I've been really liking it as my everyday ski. It's very playful, can hold a line at speed, bust through decent crud, likes the bumps and trees.. This year family needs have caused some havoc on my skiing so instead of my normal 90-100 days, It'll be more like 70 something. That being said these Mantras have about 60 days on them and I'm getting some delam between the full length titanal and the layer beneath. My sidewalls get beat up from banging into each other. This is my second pair of mantras to have delam issues. My m5's had similar issue with the 'H' shaped titanal layer after about 90'ish days... I've got the 102's drying right now with some epoxy injected into the space, hopefully they can hold up for our last couple weeks of skiing this year.

Attached is a my attempt at getting a photo of the area of concern. My M5s looked like this a few days before they totally came apart under me.

Long backstory lead up for the question.. is there a ski in this class that has similar ski characteristics but perhaps more bulletproof construction? I'd take a heavier ski, and a stiffer ski, but not a lighter or softer ski.

View attachment 164722

hmmmm try warranty? at least grab spares while you can!

 

[chris_the_wrench]

That's exactly the reason MRskis highly unlikely will have titanal in them
IME same or better in stiffness and performance results can be achieved without using metal it al

using just wood? Or a carbon layer? Wont that make them lighter, which not everyone is into?

if you need someone to beat on a set of skis out in Montana for testing purposes, let me know!

 

[mishka]

using just wood? Or a carbon layer? Wont that make them lighter, which not everyone is into?

if you need someone to beat on a set of skis out in Montana for testing purposes, let me know!

lol MRskis pass tasting long time ago

every ski builder/custom ski building company have there own way to achieve specific results. usually, with out discussion on how it's done

 

[Tom K.]

Thanks for chiming in @mishka!

Chris is not exactly gentle with his skis. He gets after it!

 

[mishka]

Thanks for chiming in @mishka!

Chris is not exactly gentle with his skis. He gets after it!

no problem. My pleasure.

I totally understand Chris approach. Several people I built for, myself included, not that gentle ha ha. Infarct specific steps taken in MRskis construction, design exactly for not so gentle skiers lol

 

[chris_the_wrench]

I think my short list for looking this summer is:

Dynastar Pro Rider(or whatever they are calling it today)
Blizzard Cochise
Moment Commander 108
Mantra 102(at the right price knowing they may not last a season??)

 

[Rdputnam515]

The fire last year was in the Ukraine Fisher plant and I think 2021 Faction skis were made in the Austrian Fisher plant in Reid. The 2021 Factions were much heavier, stiffer and better constructed than ever before

For 2022, Faction moving production to the Amer plant(Atomic/Armada/Black Crows) and using lighter materials so back to being lighter, more playful skis again. That’s why I just bought a second pair of 2021 Candide 3.0 skis as I love this years “heavy” builds.

My 21s were labeled Made in Ukraine.

I assume in the plant that burnt. The construction seems top notch though.

 

[ARL67]

^^^ again check out the Heritage Lab offerings. Marshal is not going to build wimpy light skis as the "Bro's" over at TGR Forums will have his head if he doesn't deliver as such. There is a lengthy thread over there on his skis, though yet to be produced. The "Raceroom" series are being built at Blossom in Italy. They are essentially the Blossom Formula series of molds ( touring / backcountry , so not much shape ), but with their Numero Uno series front-side construction. They will be heavy, and longer radius, and available in up to 19x lengths. I believe the pre-orders are sold out anyway, but keep tabs on that thread over at TGR for feedback once guys' get on them early next season.

 

[GregK]

My 21s were labeled Made in Ukraine.

I assume in the plant that burnt. The construction seems top notch though.

Fisher used both the Ukraine and Austrian plants for the heavier build 21 Factions and they were the same builds and weights from either one thankfully.
I bet there is a bit of juggling between plants depending on demand of their own skis and all the other brands they produce.

 

[Tom K.]

^^^ again check out the Heritage Lab offerings. Marshal is not going to build wimpy light skis as the "Bro's" over at TGR Forums will have his head if he doesn't deliver as such.

Ya gotta love a guy who uses the phrase "go run over a tourist" in his marketing copy! Nothing against tourists here, I just think it's a hilarious line.

There is some chatter about these skis on a Ski Talk thread somewhere, but I couldn't find it.

 

[cantunamunch]

Ya gotta love a guy who uses the phrase "go run over a tourist" in his marketing copy! Nothing against tourists here, I just think it's a hilarious line.

There is some chatter about these skis on a Ski Talk thread somewhere, but I couldn't find it.

It's in the next cool ski thread.

 

[chris_the_wrench]

Ya gotta love a guy who uses the phrase "go run over a tourist" in his marketing copy!

Oh man, if he has that plus a line about 'spitting on children' then it would be a no brainer!

 

[Tom K.]

Oh man, if he has that plus a line about 'spitting on children' then it would be a no brainer!

R99

Everyday Excellence The right tool for more days than not. The intersection of legends and monsters. Proper GS flex and construction in a 99mm footprint. Offered in 188cm length 135-99-122 dimensions 24m radius @ 188cm Low Camber with micro-tip rocker Full metal laminate + Full VDS Rubber...

heritagelabskis.com

On sale at the moment.

Just saying.......

I also like his line "Fight Ikonification" but let's not let this thread dive down that rabbit hole.

 

[chris_the_wrench]

R99

Everyday Excellence The right tool for more days than not. The intersection of legends and monsters. Proper GS flex and construction in a 99mm footprint. Offered in 188cm length 135-99-122 dimensions 24m radius @ 188cm Low Camber with micro-tip rocker Full metal laminate + Full VDS Rubber...

heritagelabskis.com

On sale at the moment.

Just saying.......

I also like his line "Fight Ikonification" but let's not let this thread dive down that rabbit hole.

Cruising his site and happened to land on the FL113 which has a stated turn radius of 45.3 meters!

 

[silverback]

Wow, those MX98's are certainly a big boy with big skills ski. Let us know how you like them. That's a prize find for you. Hard to think of a current ski on the market that would be that burly

My friends got tired and left at about 3pm last week. I swapped out to try the 194s for several runs for three afternoons on tired legs. Obviously, it’s a lotta ski. It needs speed and/or steep slopes. Once you surpass its minimum it skis pretty easily. Rough, bumpy snow at high speeds…wow. Amazing suspension, must be all that camber. Pretty sure they will stay in the rotation.

 

[chris_the_wrench]

My friends got tired and left at about 3pm last week. I swapped out to try the 194s for several runs for three afternoons on tired legs. Obviously, it’s a lotta ski. It needs speed and/or steep slopes. Once you surpass its minimum it skis pretty easily. Rough, bumpy snow at high speeds…wow. Amazing suspension, must be all that camber. Pretty sure they will stay in the rotation.
View attachment 166609

Those look fun! Never skied a Kastle.

Volkl warrantied my m102s, but they nor the retailer had anymore of them in 191 so I ended up getting some bonafides 189 for next season. Looking forward to skiing those. Still would like to find some Cochises as a slightly wider option.

 

[GregK]

189cm Bonafide 97 should be great skis too! Similar weight to the 191 M102 but should be a lot quieter on the snow without the carbon tips. Find my 188cm CT 2.0 a similar “silent killer crud buster” like those Bonafides.