Yep.... keep dreaming, Bodhi.
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The Never-Ending Stöckli Discussion
Just bought a pair of AX's in a 159. I've owned them before but in longer lengths so wanted to go shorter in this model. Looking forward to doing some night skiing in our little corner of CT this week so the Laser SC's are coming out. Can't wait to play on those more.
Glad to see you're a hard core bump skier now.
Numbers are numbers. Often not truly representative of reality. Mixed with marketing and hype ---> smoke and mirrors. We live in a wonderful time. Don't we?
The WRT-ST is a fairly benign ski. Decent in low speed and short turns. Comes alive with speed.
If you are really looking for a short turn specialist. Why not get a pair of FIS SL. The FIS SL (any brand) is a lot more fun in short turns than the WRT-ST. No issues with longer turns and/or higher speeds. Take some skill though.
Both my son and I found our Atomic FIS SL to be lot more fun. The FIS SL is more versatile. Better in bumps. The WRT-ST feels smoother at speed. Mid-week skiing kind of speed.
Ski buying is very much a head game.
Thanks, everyone. I'm in Park City and I ski >100 days a year. Most of them mid-week, because I like to go fast and not worry about running someone over. As I mentioned, I have the Head e.Magnums (13 m radius) and also the Blizzard Firebird WRCs (18 m radius). But my daily driver is actually a custom Parlor ski that is based on a Volkl Race Tiger template. It has a 13 m radius but is 84 underfoot and 183 cm long. I like having the shorter radius with a bit more length and width for stability.
What appealed to me, at least on paper, about the WRT ST is that it might have the same "chameleon" characteristic of being able to rip short turns but have a bit more stability in medium and longer turns than a typical slalom ski. If so, I'd get rid of the e.Magnums and Firebirds and consolidate down to the WRT ST (much narrower ski for the 100% dedicated, mid-week groomer days) and the custom Parlor for those days when I want a bit more versatility.
I also have a Liberty Origin 101 and Line Vision 118 for fresh snow days. Yeah, lots of skis. Fun to have the different options.
So I skied my new SR95s yesterday for the first time and wanted to share my initial thoughts and impressions.
As I mentioned previously the obvious big difference is that the new skis has a much much firmer tip. I would almost describe last years model (which I also own) as having a soft tip. So while on paper the changes seem quite minor I did notice a difference on the snow.
We skied Crystal Mountain yesterday in Washington. Coverage was great as the PNW has had an epic series of snow storms and cold weather, that however has changed in the last two days with a warm front and even some rain. Yesterday was a bluebird day. There was no new snow and over the course of the day temperatures rose to 35F and the snow level rose for 7000 feet. In the morning the groomers has packed powder and these conditions continued into the afternoon on the north facing side of the mountain, while the south facing side became a little sloppy. The off piste skiing on the south side became quite heavy and sticky plus there was lots of avalanche debris, but the north side stayed quite nice with a couple small stashes of lightly packed and windblown Pow in the shadows.
So to start with compared to last years SR95, this years version has a higher top speed. The stiffened tip makes a big difference here. Without even trying to go fast I easily hit 45 MPH on my first run of the day on groomer as tracked by my slopes app. The stiffer tip also makes this ski feel a little more responsive and precise when turning similar to to the SR88 (which I also own). So compared to last year's ski the new SR95 definitely packs a little more oomph on the front side.
One of the things I really loved about last years SR95 was how the soft tip handled in bumps and moguls, which made it a super fun ski. Happy to report that the new SR95 holds it own in moguls and bumps similar to last years ski. That said it is definitely a little less forgiving which should not be an issue for advanced to expert skiers who are comfortable in bumps and moguls, but does require you to actively ski the ski.
Heading off piste, the new SR95 proved to be a great on the steeps and in some of the shoots on the shaded part of the mountain where the snow had stayed cold and was still powdering. It also performed well on the crusty windblown areas where the snow may have softened and hardened over the last 24 hours. The stiffer tip gives this ski great edge hold and easy turn initiation when applying forward pressure. On the South facing side of the mountain off chair 6 the snow was not good and I am not sure if I would enjoy skiing anything on that. There was a about a foot of heavy sticky snow that was pretty chopped up with some avi debris mixed in. In these conditions I did miss the soft tip of last years SR95 as the firmer tip kept sinking in and wanting to grab an edge.
While yesterday was not a pow day, based on how the ski performed I think POW performance will be on par with last year's SR95 and most will not notice a different in how the ski feels or performs in these conditions.
As @givethepigeye noted transitioning from one snow condition to another is very noticeable in the new SR95. This is likely driven by the new firmed tip, which gives the skier a lot of feedback, in other words when conditions change this ski lets you know. The old soft tip was very forgiving and would smooth over these transitions for a very smooth and accessible ski. With this ski you need to pay attention and actively ski these transitions, you cannot lay back and go into cruise control with this ski.
I skied my SR95 with the recommend Stockli factory tune 1.4 degree base bevel and 2 degree side. I think this tune works really well with this ski and would recommend that you try the factory tune before customizing. My ski has the Warden system binding that Stockli pairs with their skis. In general I am not a fan of system bindings, but this one worked well and was much better than system bindings I have skied in the past. Ski was mounted and set at the Stockli recommended mounting point, though in future with the system binding I may play around with mounting points to see how it changes the ski, but really enjoyed the recommended mount so would also recommend that you try that before playing around with mounting points.
Overall I really enjoyed skiing the new SR95. It did take me a couple runs to get used to it as it does ski differently than last year's ski. Once I had the new ski dialed in it was a lot of fun. Now that said it is not as accessible as last year's ski, it needs to be actively skied and is less forgiving but with that you get a faster more precise ski. For advanced skiers who like a precise ski that gives immediate feedback this is a great ski. This new ski clearly has a much higher top speed, but it also has a higher low speed and regardless of the speed needs an active pilot for the ski to really come alive. In future I am looking forward to skiing this ski in some fresh snow and will be sure to update on its performance in POW.
As I mentioned previously the obvious big difference is that the new skis has a much much firmer tip. I would almost describe last years model (which I also own) as having a soft tip. So while on paper the changes seem quite minor I did notice a difference on the snow.
We skied Crystal Mountain yesterday in Washington. Coverage was great as the PNW has had an epic series of snow storms and cold weather, that however has changed in the last two days with a warm front and even some rain. Yesterday was a bluebird day. There was no new snow and over the course of the day temperatures rose to 35F and the snow level rose for 7000 feet. In the morning the groomers has packed powder and these conditions continued into the afternoon on the north facing side of the mountain, while the south facing side became a little sloppy. The off piste skiing on the south side became quite heavy and sticky plus there was lots of avalanche debris, but the north side stayed quite nice with a couple small stashes of lightly packed and windblown Pow in the shadows.
So to start with compared to last years SR95, this years version has a higher top speed. The stiffened tip makes a big difference here. Without even trying to go fast I easily hit 45 MPH on my first run of the day on groomer as tracked by my slopes app. The stiffer tip also makes this ski feel a little more responsive and precise when turning similar to to the SR88 (which I also own). So compared to last year's ski the new SR95 definitely packs a little more oomph on the front side.
One of the things I really loved about last years SR95 was how the soft tip handled in bumps and moguls, which made it a super fun ski. Happy to report that the new SR95 holds it own in moguls and bumps similar to last years ski. That said it is definitely a little less forgiving which should not be an issue for advanced to expert skiers who are comfortable in bumps and moguls, but does require you to actively ski the ski.
Heading off piste, the new SR95 proved to be a great on the steeps and in some of the shoots on the shaded part of the mountain where the snow had stayed cold and was still powdering. It also performed well on the crusty windblown areas where the snow may have softened and hardened over the last 24 hours. The stiffer tip gives this ski great edge hold and easy turn initiation when applying forward pressure. On the South facing side of the mountain off chair 6 the snow was not good and I am not sure if I would enjoy skiing anything on that. There was a about a foot of heavy sticky snow that was pretty chopped up with some avi debris mixed in. In these conditions I did miss the soft tip of last years SR95 as the firmer tip kept sinking in and wanting to grab an edge.
While yesterday was not a pow day, based on how the ski performed I think POW performance will be on par with last year's SR95 and most will not notice a different in how the ski feels or performs in these conditions.
As @givethepigeye noted transitioning from one snow condition to another is very noticeable in the new SR95. This is likely driven by the new firmed tip, which gives the skier a lot of feedback, in other words when conditions change this ski lets you know. The old soft tip was very forgiving and would smooth over these transitions for a very smooth and accessible ski. With this ski you need to pay attention and actively ski these transitions, you cannot lay back and go into cruise control with this ski.
I skied my SR95 with the recommend Stockli factory tune 1.4 degree base bevel and 2 degree side. I think this tune works really well with this ski and would recommend that you try the factory tune before customizing. My ski has the Warden system binding that Stockli pairs with their skis. In general I am not a fan of system bindings, but this one worked well and was much better than system bindings I have skied in the past. Ski was mounted and set at the Stockli recommended mounting point, though in future with the system binding I may play around with mounting points to see how it changes the ski, but really enjoyed the recommended mount so would also recommend that you try that before playing around with mounting points.
Overall I really enjoyed skiing the new SR95. It did take me a couple runs to get used to it as it does ski differently than last year's ski. Once I had the new ski dialed in it was a lot of fun. Now that said it is not as accessible as last year's ski, it needs to be actively skied and is less forgiving but with that you get a faster more precise ski. For advanced skiers who like a precise ski that gives immediate feedback this is a great ski. This new ski clearly has a much higher top speed, but it also has a higher low speed and regardless of the speed needs an active pilot for the ski to really come alive. In future I am looking forward to skiing this ski in some fresh snow and will be sure to update on its performance in POW.
If you liked the Blue ones, you would have loved the plaid ones. Although the blue ones, I think are better on groomers with the wider tails
Plaid ones are almost impossible to find, so perhaps we should not talk about the paradise lost.
Bad assumption.
If there is anything more forgiving than the AX, his/her name won't be AR. It will be Mother Teresa. Or Mahatma Gandhi. Or The Buddha himself.
Truthfully most of my skiing is off piste and I had limited ability to test the blue ones off piste yesterday due to conditions, so have yet to see how they really perform. If I am going to ski groomers would prefer to use my AXs. I have a feeling that last year's SR95 may be slightly better off piste with its softer tip, especially when transitioning conditions and snow types. That said neither of my SR95s are for sale, keeping them both and skiing them lots. May even bring my SR88 back into rotation just for kicks
What is really funny about this years season is that we have had so much snow in the PNW this year, my first ski day of the year was on my POW skis in 3 feet of fresh snow. When then had the problem of too much snow which knocked our power in the mountains and closed every mountain pass for days on end. This week it is warming up so curious to see how conditions change come this weekend.
I think you just knocked the AX (only Stockli I've skied) out of the position of my dream 1 ski-quiver "out west" ski. I like a good groomer ski (which the AX clearly was) but my heart lies off piste. The AX is too fast anyway, I have to wait too long for my wife to catch up
Get her a pair.
get your wife/gf a pair of good skis that builds confidence and speed.letting her try a few different ones will help
I've done this (and working on it) much more fun for everyone, less waiting.
First time my GF got to test race version 155 SL on shit conditions I was worried she would hate it, instead she was FAST, in poles of wet snow with ice between on a steep run with perfect carves. I hated that day of skiiing and would get my tails/tips stuck... so yeah girls rip on skis, they just gotto find their jam. she was probably going 60kmh down the fallline zooming side to side.
I've done this (and working on it) much more fun for everyone, less waiting.
First time my GF got to test race version 155 SL on shit conditions I was worried she would hate it, instead she was FAST, in poles of wet snow with ice between on a steep run with perfect carves. I hated that day of skiiing and would get my tails/tips stuck... so yeah girls rip on skis, they just gotto find their jam. she was probably going 60kmh down the fallline zooming side to side.
I think the two of you are on to something here... She did make a big speed bump moving up to a pair of Volkl Yumi's, but insists that's plenty for her skill level. Maybe a more performance oriented ski would increase her comfort level, which it's all about for her.
I keep trying to get my husband to get me a pair of MX but so far no luck. Maybe I need to change my tactics...
Stöckli newbie question. I'm interested in the WRT ST, SX or SC. Haven't decided which one yet. But I can't find the SC anywhere in 170 cm. And the SX and WRT ST are really hard to find too. Am I just too late for this season? Is there any way to order a pair from Stöckli? Or can a local shop order them?
Yeah that would not go over well...but I have been known to do that on occasionDo what Mamie does. Go and get yourself a pair.
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