Report from the Snow: 2021 Waterville Valley Demo

[Philpug]

Day 1

Here is a brief overview from the only organized industry demo that was held at Waterville Valley, NH. @Tricia and I felt it was very important for SkiTalk.com to travel over 2900 mi and attend this event not only to get on some of next year's gear but also to show our support for the industry. Even growing up and skiing in the east for over 40 years, I never skied in New Hampshire; it took moving West and a pandemic to get me back to the East to ski New Hampshire.

We saw some cool stuff coming this season: Kästle ZX100 and PX81, two value-priced skis for the mainstream. Kästle also updated the construction of the FX collection with more metal in the 86 and 96, which both add "Ti" to their names. The return of the Fischer's Curv GT, a 76mm frontside scalpel along with the RC4 RT, the very good RC4 CT's little black brother. Rossignol is updating its successful EXP series with new 82 and 86 offerings. Völkl's has introduced the Mantra and Secret 96, which we previewed a week ago. Dynastar is expanding its M-Free series with a 99 offering.

Atomic Redsters with Revo

Stöckli Stormrider 102​

Tomorrow we plan to spend some time at Salomon to get on the new QST 98, and at Rossignol for more EXPs like the 82Ti. DPS has added the Koala 103, which looks like a ton of fun. Nordica is bringing in a higher-performance Hands Free model in the HF 120 Pro -- I know, a high-performance rear entry boot is an oxymoron. Elan has some new Black offerings including the Wildcat 86, which @Tricia will try to get on tomorrow. Atomic's new Redsters look interesting with the new Revo dampening. I was able to get on the new Maverick 88Ti, which I will report back on later.

Hotronics Heated Sock (review upcoming)

Fischer RC4 RC and Curv GT

Kästle ZX100 and FX106 Ti
​

I will let @AaronFM and @Tricia share their experiences. @Erik Timmerman and @elemmac will be joining us for Day 2.

 

[Tony S]

Elan has some new Black offerings including Wildcat 86 which @Tricia will try to get on tomorrow.

 

[Roundturns]

Being able to ski after 40 some hrs in a car I would call an accomplishment!
Maybe I’m a fountain of miss information, but I want to say Wayne Wong hitched hiked there from Western Canada and won an early freestyle contest.
Need a fact checker.

 

[Philpug]

Being able to ski after 40 some hrs in a car I would call an accomplishment!
Maybe I’m a fountain of miss information, but I want to say Wayne Wong hitched hiked there from Western Canada and won an early freestyle contest.
Need a fact checker.

We flew. But either way, we have been running at redline for the past week plus.

 

[Tom K.]

Maybe I’m a fountain of miss information...

Hey, my high school librarian was named Miss Information!

Auto correct for yet another win, I suspect, but entertaining nonetheless.

 

[GregK]

Loved your Facebook video and VERY INTRIGUED by the MFree 99. Would love a pic of it’s underfoot specs on the ski you handled in the video and available lengths it’s going to be offered in. Tips look fantastic for flying over crud which was the weak link on the Menace 98.

Keep up the great intel work!

 

[chris_the_wrench]

M6’s???

 

[François Pugh]

M6’s???

You'ld think they would be able to stick an i in there somehow.

 

[tazdevl]

Like @Tony S interested to hear impressions of RS Black.

 

[Jeronimo]

Ski demos aside, how was it skiing in the whites? Was it a closed demo? I would have loved to sneak out of work and drive over there yesterday to hit the slopes.

 

[Tony S]

Elan has some new Black offerings including Wildcat 86 which @Tricia will try to get on tomorrow.

Like @Tony S interested to hear impressions of RS Black.

I interpreted Phil's comment to mean there was a black version of one of the Wildcat/Wingman skis waiting in the, um, wings (vs. the Ripstick, which we already know is coming out).
In any case I want to hear what Tricia and Lauren have to say.

 

[Magoo]

So with the wingman 86 Green is the new Black? Where does that leave Orange?

 

[DanoT]

So with the wingman 86 Green is the new Black? Where does that leave Orange?

Nothing rhymes with orange.

 

[James]

You’re at Waterville?? Wow.

I’ve heard the Salomon Stance 90 is well liked and doing very well with sales here.

 

[Tony S]

You’re at Waterville?? Wow.

I’ve heard the Salomon Stance 90 is well liked and doing very well with sales here.

Not a 2022 ski, but I would like to try that.

 

[crgildart]

The East Coast Freestyle History runs deep there. I'd love to check that place out someday.

 

[Dougb]

Not a 2022 ski, but I would like to try that.

Me too, and even more so the Stance 96.

 

[In2h2o]

I interpreted Phil's comment to mean there was a black version of one of the Wildcat/Wingman skis waiting in the, um, wings.
In any case I want to hear what Tricia and Lauren have to say.

me too....

 

[Philpug]

Day 2​

I'd really like to give a shout-out to Stacey and her team at 360 Adventure for pulling this off in these crazy times. It was a big accomplishment.

Day 2 added a new element to the test for us, in the form of new testers. @Erik Timmerman and @elemmac joined us to get on some skis, and they will be sharing their thought is upcoming reviews along with some of their experiences from the second day of the show. It worked well in that Elemmac and Tricia were boot sole buddies (BSBs) as were Aaron and I. Having a BSB is a time-saving method when testing; having a co-tester in the same size boot enables us to swap skis between runs, eliminating the need to go back to the tent between runs or even have to adjust bindings: just click out, click in, and go.

In the morning, I was finally able to get on some Black Crows that had a good tune, so that was refreshing. Blizzard's new Thunderbird and Phoenix skis turned some heads. I got on the updated Stormrider 88; stay tuned for that. The new Rossi EXPs were also a big step up from the outgoing models; we will be expanding on those thoughts.

It started snowing pretty heavily in the afternoon, and Völkl lifer Barkley Rappaport joined us to spend some time on Völkl's new offerings. The new piston-plated Deacon Pros in 72 and 76mm underfoot made Erik and me smile. The value-priced Blaze 86 was a pleasant surprise for me and even Barkley, as it was her first time getting on the ski. I will let @elemmac share her thoughts on the Blaze 106 W. @AaronFM took a few pics and will be posting them here.

SkiTalk getting Völkled​

With Waterville Valley being pretty much the only game in town (I hear the Boyne demo will be happening next month), we felt it was important to attend this event and get on some product that isn't always available locally. Having good snow was just the icing on the cake.









The team enjoying some buckle-deep powder:

@Tricia

@Erik Timmerman

@AaronFM

@elemmac

Barkley (Völkl rep)

 

[Tony Storaro]

Please @Philpug and team, do make sure you test the WRT ST. Your opinion is SUPER important.

P.S. The new SR 88 look WAY better, well done!