Whew. Here goes. (You could not make this stuff up.)
"Montero" - Whatever did Stockli mean by this name? It can't be just a city in Bolivia, can it? Is that place near to a ski resort or something?
Is there a ski area/ski town in Europe with that same name?
Not some medieval "hunter's cap," surely. (What full on dictionaries go to as one of the definitions.)
And it can't be a reference to that rapper song and stuff, either. It's unfortunate what that "Montero" now means in street slang English - for Stockli, and also unfortunate for Stockli what one gets googling that word online. What a mess.
What matters to me about the ski's change is the adding of 2 mm to get an 80 mm waist now on the AX (and AR, I guess) from 78. This is no big deal, but it is a return to the past. The AX 78 is the name change for the previous Stormrider XXL 80, that had pretty much the exact same shape/mold but to me better behavior (and a bit more weight and stability) - though not as quick a rebound. (If one traces around the outline of the recent AX 78, one gets the old SR XXL 80 shape, as the resulting new line shape would be slightly larger and wider - about 1 mm all around it, or 2 mm total width, that would be added to the width and length that way - a width of 80. Just an odd observation, I guess.) Any how, the 80 SR XXL was maybe a better ski, in some respects, probably, near as I can tell. Pros and cons.
(I happen to have four of them still, acquired dirt cheap over time, in two different lengths, most picked up for well under $150 each including bindings usually.) This XXL ski does not wear out, as long as its base is kept flat, at least up to 700 days on the snow and counting.* (And it did/does not have its successor's (the AX's) odd extra zip rebound that throws off its rebound flex a tad except in an inch or two of fresh, just to give it a boost, maybe, for transitioning skiers[?].)
Said another way, if the new 80 AX Montero has close to the more accurate rebound of the older XXL 80 ski it came from, it will, to me, be no problem, maybe even an improvement.
And they now maybe need to change that name yesterday.
* A former Stockli regional rep here for many years (call him Mr. B) still skis the SR XXL also as a mainstay ski after more than 700 full days on the slopes and counting. (He still uses it regularly, he told me, as he was base flattening a pair of Stocklis, I think, in a ski shop I'm in often.)
The top sheet on his was identical to mine - red with a mt. ram's skull with long horns. (It had different top sheets over the years it was current.)
. I found the demeanor of both skis very similar.Strong and loves to drive but also cruise along I found the Bold glides easily into the turn as does the K2 and the hard snow grip was spot on for both skis. The tails were a difference that stood out. The tail of the K2 was definitely easier to release and not as firm as the Bold. The Bold's tail to me felt more firm and would hold onto the turn and really shoot you out of a turn when driving it hard. A great wide carver. I will admit I do not have the experience testing skis that you do, I am just happy I found a replacement ski for one that I have enjoyed for years..
