Conditions
Snowbasin. 3" new snow on a frozen base up high. It rained low down and this quickly turned to slush. Conditions got better throughout the day.
Me: 5' 9" 220lbs. Level 9.
All these are the 2023 skis.
Volkl mantra m6. 184cm
Stupid easy to ski. Light feel. Stiff enough and stable. Muted feel, not really damp. Tails release easily in truly horrible snow. Superb am ski that provides great confidence in weird snow. Quiet energy. Carves really well for an am ski. Change speed from moguls to fast cruising and back very well. Could replace all the 9x skis in my quiver. Wax was great on these. Felt slick and fast.
Stockli sr88 184
These had no wax which held them back in the sharp crystal fresh snow and slush. Took a while to get the balance point on these skis. They like a very centered stance. Once I got that these rocket ships locked in and took off. It's alot of ski. Good stability. Tips are a bit softer feeling than other skis. Mid and tails are strong. Smooth feel.
Fischer rc one gt 82 180
Strong front side carving ski. Requires good balance and agression, likes lots of bof and cuff pressure. Just a tiny bit of heel pad prior to transition. Pay off is endless grip and full locked in carving. Damp version of carbony Fischer feel. No negative feedback on variable hard to soft snow. They just shrug at scraped off mogul backsides and insonsitent icy refrozen groomer tracks. Very predictable. Amazing tune. Looked beautiful.
Note, Madeline tried these in a 166. I saw her ski 4 turns and said, "I have never seen you ski better". Needless to say we got a pair ordered for her.
Fischer Ranger 96 180
Very easy fr ski. Good performance. But a bit looser feeling than m6. More damp than mantras. Softer flexing than mantra. Very nice ski.
Salomon stance 90 182
Smooth. Carve great. Damp feel like the old head monster series. Ski like a head monster 88 with rocker but just better. Wondering how a 96 would compare with the m6 and ranger. Sadly these were not available in 18x. The 90s like the m6 transitioned seamlessly from moguls to fast carving. Then shut down easily when needed.
Snowbasin. 3" new snow on a frozen base up high. It rained low down and this quickly turned to slush. Conditions got better throughout the day.
Me: 5' 9" 220lbs. Level 9.
All these are the 2023 skis.
Volkl mantra m6. 184cm
Stupid easy to ski. Light feel. Stiff enough and stable. Muted feel, not really damp. Tails release easily in truly horrible snow. Superb am ski that provides great confidence in weird snow. Quiet energy. Carves really well for an am ski. Change speed from moguls to fast cruising and back very well. Could replace all the 9x skis in my quiver. Wax was great on these. Felt slick and fast.
Stockli sr88 184
These had no wax which held them back in the sharp crystal fresh snow and slush. Took a while to get the balance point on these skis. They like a very centered stance. Once I got that these rocket ships locked in and took off. It's alot of ski. Good stability. Tips are a bit softer feeling than other skis. Mid and tails are strong. Smooth feel.
Fischer rc one gt 82 180
Strong front side carving ski. Requires good balance and agression, likes lots of bof and cuff pressure. Just a tiny bit of heel pad prior to transition. Pay off is endless grip and full locked in carving. Damp version of carbony Fischer feel. No negative feedback on variable hard to soft snow. They just shrug at scraped off mogul backsides and insonsitent icy refrozen groomer tracks. Very predictable. Amazing tune. Looked beautiful.
Note, Madeline tried these in a 166. I saw her ski 4 turns and said, "I have never seen you ski better". Needless to say we got a pair ordered for her.
Fischer Ranger 96 180
Very easy fr ski. Good performance. But a bit looser feeling than m6. More damp than mantras. Softer flexing than mantra. Very nice ski.
Salomon stance 90 182
Smooth. Carve great. Damp feel like the old head monster series. Ski like a head monster 88 with rocker but just better. Wondering how a 96 would compare with the m6 and ranger. Sadly these were not available in 18x. The 90s like the m6 transitioned seamlessly from moguls to fast carving. Then shut down easily when needed.
