Dynastar Exclusive Fluid Limited Skis

There are more and more women specific skis every year.  It’s about time too.  Women ski differently then men and the equipment they ride should reflect that.  Dynastar certainly believes this and has developed a pretty impressive advanced women specific ski in the Fluid Limited.  The lengths are more female appropriate, the flex is designed to allow for a lighter weight skier and the side-cut promotes easier turn initiation.  Another nice feature is the elevated heel piece that is being mounted on these skis to help women move forward onto the tip of the ski more easily.  This is a common skiing problem for women that is often the result of the anatomic differences of women from men.  Women tend to carry their center of gravity lower and more to the back then men.

This is definitely a ski that an advanced female skier should demo before making a ski decision.

Find new and used prices on the Dynastar Exclusive Fluid Limited Skis at the Alpine Ski Gear Store.

Atomic Urban Punx Review

The Atomic Urban Punx Ski is veryspecific in its design.  It was built for park and pipe riding.  If you are looking for a multipurpose park ski, look elswhere.  However, if you spend 90% of your time in the park or pipe you can’t do better than this twin tip.  It has an extra edge reinforcment that helps to keep it from snaping in half on those aggressive rail slides.  The twin tips make for omni-directional skiing and the light swing weight allow for that 720 you are working on.

Find new and used prices on the Atomic Urban Punx ski at the Alpine Ski Gear Store.

Rossignal ZenithZ11 Mutix Review

Wow!  This really is technology cutting edge stuff.  It is almost gadget overload.  Imagine being able to ski all conditions with one ski that actually is able to adapt to various snow conditions by changing a single piece on the top of the ski.  It also lets you adjust the radius of the turn.  These are pretty cool!  The question now will be: How hard is it to change the bar each time?

Shop for the Rossignal Zenith Z11 Mutix and other Rossignal Skis at our Alpine Ski Gear Store.

K2 Apache Raider

The K2 Apache Raider is an advanced/intermediate ski with braod versatility designed for the intermediate skier who really only wants one ski in their quiver that can do it all.  Weaknesses might be that it will not perform as some wider skis in powder and may be a little too forgiving for crud conditions or heavy snow.  Otherwise one of the best choices at this price point.

Get new and used prices from several dealers in our Alpine Ski Gear Store.

Salomon Pocket Rocket Review

This ski is not in production anymore, but was put out in the early 2000′s and is still available as used skis.  It was so popular that we felt obligated to add it to our review list.  It was replaced by the Salomon 1080 GUN and really was the same ski with the exception of a bit stiffer flex.

The Pocket Rocket was designed as a mid-fat ski that originally was built for the park and pipe, but had such good skiability that it became an all-mountain/powder ski.  It’s strength was primarily its easy turn and light swing weight.  This meant quick response and agility in uneven terrain and inconsistent snow conditions.  The twin tip added an element of cool when carving due to the rooster tail of snow that shoots off the tail.  The drawback was mainly that the ski was fairly soft in its flex and meant that skiers over 190 lbs were really too heavy for it.  The newer 1080 GUN solved this problem however.

The 85 mm waist meant that it really wasn’t a fatty for powder, but we found it to be quite good in powder conditions on an aggressive skier.  They had good floatation, but allowed you to actually be “in” the powder, rather than simply riding on top of it.  This is half the fun right?

Another great role for this ski was the back country.   Because it was so light the pocket rocket with a pair of randonee bindings was perfect for ascents and descents.

Find new and used prices on the Salomon Pocket Rocket and 1080 Gun at the Alpine Ski Gear Store.

K2 Recon Review

The K2 Recon is marketed as an all-mountain ski with the ability to lay trench on piste and blow through crud like whipped cream.  It is agressively designed with a fairly narrow wasted much like a GS race ski and has a significant torsional and flex stiffness to it.

We can tell you from my experience that this is a serious ski for serious skiers.  It gives back every inch of energy that you put into it and then some.  On groomed runs, it is lightening fast with razor precision edge control.  It seems to go faster with every turn made and even gets a little scarry on long runs.  We found it to be a little less of a off-piste ski than anticipated as the stiff ski is very unforgiving and makes you work to stay on top of them.  It deffinetely will blow through the crud, but be prepared for a heck of a ride.

All-in-all a great ski, but it makes you work pretty hard and is not for the lazy skier.

Shop for new and used K2 Recon skis at the Alpine Ski Gear Store.

K2 Skis

Born out of Washington on the Peuget Sound as America’s Ski Company 40 years ago, this US based ski manufacturer is still making great skis as K2 Sports.  They now have 16 brands recognized throughout the world and continue to be innovators in the realm of alpine skis.

The latest line of skis added to the arsenal is the apache line.  This includes averything from wide 100+ cm powder skis to aggressive all-mountain and park skis.  Many pros and amateurs alike agree that the apache line may be the most overall impressive line of skis out there.  Some of the more outstanding models are the Coomba, Recon, and Outlaw.

Dynastar Skis

Dynastar skis are born at the foot of legendary Mont-Blanc in Chamonix and have been since 1963. Having one of the most impressive testing grounds in the world has not hurt the company reputation and has resulted in some amazing skis. The dynastar team accomplishments speak for themselves over the years many Dynastar skis have graced the podium.

Over the past 40 years, what started out as a small manufacturing company has progressed from a production of less than 10,000 pairs of skis to over 500,000 pairs in 2003, rapidly ensuring its reputation as a leader.

The story is unusual: Dynastar started out by distributing skis, namely the Starflex skis manufactured by Les Plastiques Synthétiques, and was created after a collaborative effort between Les Plastiques Synthétiques and Dynamic to design a new type of high-performance and technically innovative ski, the Compound. After this experience, a foretaste of its vocation for innovation, Dynastar then took off as a manufacturer on its own, with a name created through the contraction of the Dynamic and Starflex names.

Its growth, legitimacy and longevity among the world’s leading ski manufacturers are due to its pursuit of a clear objective: to explore new avenues and constantly innovate, to offer each skier the performance and sensations they dream of.

The Dynastar company has developed around values that illustrate its commitment: the mountains, without which skiing would not exist, passion, bringing it closer to customers, and know-how, the in-house recipe to create skis that leave an indelible mark on history.