We have tried skis for 2018 !
DAY 1 : MERIBEL
On this sunny Tuesday, we went to Meribel ski-test in the heart of the 3 valleys, the worldwide biggest ski area. Pretty much every ski brand was there to introduce their new collections. A changing snow during the day was actually perfect to try many skis in different conditions. From piste, to all-mountain, to freeride and freestyle... We were not disappointed !
Dynastar will bring back old memories
Dynastar is about to get itself talked about with the signature of Freeride superstar Richard Permin and the come-back of the legendary range ... Legend ! Freeride and All-Mountain are now gathered for more pleasure. Say goodbye to both Powertrack and Cham series, they were getting old and it was a little complex to understand their positioning. It is now way more obvious. 13 skis, from 75mm underfoot to 117m for the promodel. For men, 8 skis simply named Legend X, and 5 for women with Legend W. This seems very solid and very well made by the French brand.
Speedzone series for piste skiing stays the same and that is a good news, we love it !
Nordica, finally some real expert skis for ladies !
At the instigation of Silvia Moser, young Freeride world champion, Nordica launches next year its "Belles" series, and frankly it will do some good ! The idea : powerful skis for strong female skiers. A high level of performance that we would only find in male categories. 12 skis, six Sentra meant for piste skiing, 3 Astral more All-Mountain orientated and 3 Santa Ana for Freeride. Some of these models integrate two Titanium layers which is probably a first on commercialized ladies skis. Congrats to the Nordica development team for leading this project. The ski indsutry needed this so much !
Rossignol worked well !
The 7 series sees its design completely changed, way more futuristic, after many years of seeing the classic but almost unchanged Soul 7 or Sky 7... Every model is renewed with a lighter and stronger air tip thanks to Carbon. There is also a novelty : the Seek 7 ! Finally Rossignol built a Free-touring ski : 84mm underfoot and a featherweight of 1,270kg per ski, thanks to its Paulownia core..
Head, a big push on Free Ski-touring
Head, on its side, has chosen to keep its Piste range, still awesome with the use of Graphene in most of the skis, for example with the i.Supershape Magnum. The American brand focused on a completely new free ski-touring series. More info to come !
DAY 2 : COURCHEVEL
After this nice day in Meribel, we went a little further in the 3 valleys to reach Courchevel, with another blue bird day, to discover what Amer Sports group (Salomon, Atomic) had to offer. Again, some really nice surprises.
Atomic will strike hard with its new Redster series
Huge refurbishment in the piste range of Atomic with the new Redster skis.
It is having a tear in our eye that we had to say goodbye to the famous "Double Deck", but that was before we discovered the new Servotech technology, a piston system built to offer a progressive flex, making it easier for the skis to initiate turns at low speed and stabilizing them at high speed. With astonishing performances, it is a real success. We lost our legs there...
The top sheets have all changed, with a unique Atomic identity now, all red, way more modern than the previous versions of the Redsters that was getting old. Beautiful !
In the Freestyle section, you do not change a winning formula
On the jib side, not much is changing, but why not sticking with a winning team ? A stiff ski with the Punx, with a huge pop but only for advanced skiers. Same for the Infamous although it is way more flexible.
On the touring side, Backland series are lightened without losing performances on the way down. We had a very nice visual impression.
An alpine touring boot which might be a pure bomb
For boots, Atomic added a touring version of the Hawx Ultra, called XTD, available in 100, 120 and 130 for the flex. Basically, you take the fit and the construction of a Hawx Ultra and you add the Backland touring technology. We bit this little jewel could be a hit despite its pretty high prices. You can go on Alpine or touring bindings, it does both ! Success story to come...
New Memory Fit helmet
A new memory fit helmet sees the day in Atomic, in a pure Marcel Hirscher style. Comfort is exceptionnal with a 360° adjustment.
Salomon announces the new XDR series
Salomon ended the Xdrive series with the new all-mountain XDR ! We have tried the XDR 88 Ti and frankly, it is a must ! The ski does it all with a disconserting ease. It is a real carving ski, but also very comfortable when you leave the slopes. A pretty big tip rocker makes everything easy for you, but it does not shake as we could have expected. It is very playful but also very stable when you are on edges. For pretty much everyone, from intermediate to expert skiers.
