I-Rock Review

I acquired the I-Rock to supplement my D-Senders on deep pow days, and for touring capability.

I’m 5’8’’ 150lbs

Ski aggressively and have competed in a big mountain competition

186cm Fat-ypus I-Rock

158-126-148

For rocker view, see previous post

Mounted with Marker Duke Touring Bindings ski center

My review of this incredible ski after three days at Aspen Snowmass and one day at Crystal:

Groomed- My first few runs on this were on groomed terrain, which the I-Rock handled admirably. This ski exudes stability and speed, at least with the segment that remains in contact with the snow. They key to groomers was remaining centered and foreword on the ski. With the correct stance, the ski rails. I only got in trouble if I tried backseat driver. Keep your form up and the ski will follow.

Ice- Unfortunately, Crystal had several aspects that resembled solid ice. The I-Rock remained solid and stable on the slope, with chattering tips and tails. Not the ski for these conditions, but I was able manage well.

Crust- Riding the northwest, I was fortunate to obtain plenty of chances to experiment on this snow type. While not as stable as the D-Sender, the I-Rock rides like a champ. The tips remain up above the snow, allowing me to decide whatever speed and turning style I preferred. The I-Rock made this snow type more enjoyable.

Heavy Powder- Let’s face the facts: the Pacific Northwest’s atmospheric patterns don’t predictably bless us with light snow. That’s why a fat ski like the I-Rock becomes a necessity, because even if the snow isn’t ideal, you can still ski like you’re riding Utah.

Crud- No complaints in this department. Similarly to groomers most especially, keep the balanced stable stance over the middle of the ski, and prepare for Mach 5.

Powder- That’s why I bought the ski, and no I don’t regret the decision in the slightest. Zoom zoom in the pow pow!

In the Ayer- My bindings are the legendary heavyweights Dukes, yet these skis still retain a very high level of pop, which keeps all of the little hits fun. I’ve only sent around 15feet on these thus far, and they’ve remained highly stable.

Speed- This ski performs well at all speeds, but truly comes alive in straight lines and fast turns. Just go for it on these skis: the I-Rocks will remain dependable.

Technical- Given the rocker shape, these skis handle technical sections with ease, and easily accomplish the small precise turns. Not their forte, but the I-Rock handles well.

Freestyle- Fun, fun switch ski. Their girth necessitates a rather wide stance for switch skiing, but the slightly different technique becomes well worth the trade off. These are a fun ride for backwards. Additionally butters are quite easy with the I-Rock, even with Dukes. Spread Eagles and 180s have never been more fun.

Here’s a short video on a few runs at Crystal with outlined conditions, while I was testing out the ski. Unfortunately the GoPro died a couple hours before lunch, but here are a few shots.

In short, the I-Rock is a turnier, slightly less stable, more powder oriented D-Sender. In otherwords kickass to the max. Such a enjoyable pair of boards. I recommend them entirely. If you have any questions, post them on up, and I’ll respond as soon as possible.

While corny, I rock with I-Rocks has become a proven fact!

With the forecasted upcoming NW storm, hopefully these babies will be of use. Pray for snow!

Skiing in the Sun

On june 4th I was able to make it to Alpental with photographer Michael Alvernaz, for some spring skiing shots. I also tested out some Cross Outerwear, and I am very impressed. Very breathable, functional, with a nice fit. It's light as well. Easily the best I've used, and its appearance speaks for itself.

More photos over the summer to come!

2010-2011 184cm Fat-ypus D-Sender Review

I bought the D-Sender this year as my 1-ski quiver, and after two days skiing a multitude of conditions, I feel it's time for a review. In short: I love them.

My Stats-

5'9''

145lbs

Ski Aggressively and will be entering in a big mountain comp this year

I ski Crystal Mountain

Was on the 168cm Volkl Gotama last few seasons

184cm Fat-ypus D-Sender

144-112-130

Mounted with Dynastar PXXXL 14 Bindings

Rocker Profile

Tip

Zoomed in Tip

Tail

Zoomed in Tail

Base

The Review

Groomed

The D-Sender held up very well on groomed runs, without tip or tail flap. It was very stable throughout, and I only felt somewhat of a speed limit on very icy slopes. It carves well, and gives the option of slarving as well.

Powder

I love the D-Sender in pow! There isn't really a speed limit, and it floats like a beast! Any type of turn is possible. Nuff said.

Heavy Powder

Yay I love Cascade Concrete! Not. However, in this tricky snow condition, the D-Sender powers through it well, better at higher speeds. With this ski, fast is the way to go.

Cliffs

The D-Sender descends cliffs like a boss. It's forgiving, so slight backseat (SLIGHT) landings don't kill you. But centered is better. So far I've stomped 20 feet without serious problems.

Crud

Again, the D-Sender does better faster, but can handle all of the beautiful crud Crystal Mountain has to offer with ease. This is where the D-Sender's rocker becomes very helpful, and I was really impressed.

Tricks

I wouldn't call this a freestyle ski by any means, but its a quite light ski, so 180s off little bumps is no problem. I've also experimented skiing switch, which the D-Sender does quite easily.

All in all this is an excellent charging ski, with a forgiving playful side. Compared to other skis i've tried, it's a blend of Blizzard's The Answer and Volkl's Katana, with a hint of the Atomic Blog's pop and playfulness. Quite the perfect combination. And the topsheet has a narwal. I really recommend it!

Crystal Mountain Demo Day 3-27

Crystal Mountain had its demo day today, and so I went out and tried lots of skis. Previously I'd only been on 5 different skis my whole life, and none with rocker, so I came to try lots of different ski types, and to determine what is best for me as a daily driver.

My Stats

5'9''

135lbs

I ski fast, aggressive, will be doing freeride competitions in the future, and stick to off-piste terrain.

I am currently on the 2008 168cm Volkl Gotama, which is far too short for me.

Conditions

4'' in the last 24

Between Sunny and Partially Cloudy all day, with Mostly Sunny being the majority of the day.

The Test

I got two runs per ski to determine if it could be a excellent daily driver so I did the following:

Came up REX, went skiers right dropping skiers left of Upper Ferks, then straightlining onto it. From there I skied fast and boosted all of the little rolls, unto dropping the 5 foot cornice onto Middle Ferks. From there it was just skiing fast, partially to the right, on back to Rex. There conditions here went from hard to soft to slushy.

For run number 2, I skied between Breakover and Memorial, which started off mostly untracked higher up, with crud lower down, which became the norm by the end of the day. Conditions ranged from sticky to nice powder to cut up to nice packed powder. In other words the perfect testing grounds.

From there I finished on Lower Ferk which had lots of little airs and an fun spine to play with. Conditions greatly improved, but the moguls grew, later in the day. The straightline out was the best.

The Skis (All 2011 models in order of testing)

Atomic Coax

183cm

Well today I started off with my least favorite ski. This was the only ski without rocker, it was 183cm, and the conditions weren't the best early in the morning, but I still didn't like the Coax. It was horrible at short turns if they were possible, not stable, very unforgiving and inspired a lack of confidence. I didn't want to push it on this ski. They did ok in larger turns. Also the ski doesn't float very well. For this ski, I skied my test runs in opposite order. Two thumbs down.

Atomic Bent Chetler

183cm

I understand now why this ski sold out in December: it's that good. This was the most playful ski, along with being the lightest. Coming from a 105mm ski, I was impressed on how it doesn't feel like a really fat ski on groomers. On my groomed run, it performed well, with some slight tip flap when I was going fast, but still felt stable. I was able to do any turn I wanted, its especially excellent in shorter turns. In the powder and crud the Bent Chetler held up extremely well, and was lots of fun to be on. High speed straighlines were the Bent Chetler's worst skiing, and it did ok. This ski is a playful skiers daily driver.

Line Prophet 115

186cm

I had never felt an ski HOLD onto the edge and stay there. That's what the Prophet 115 did, everywhere. That level of control was awesome. The minimal tip rocker in this ski allows any type of turn possible, at whatever speed. I was very impressed with this ski's stability in all conditions. Straightlining is redonkulusly easy. This is a heavy ski, but that went along with the stable feel. My only gripe is this ski drives so much that it's impossible to shut down in a hurry. The Prophet 115 just wants to keep going and going.

Dynastar Pro Rider 115

184cm

Don't buy this ski. I was very disappointed after my two runs. It's got very little sidecut, moderate flex, and a fair amount of rocker. This amounts to garbage. The flex isn't stiff enough for the rocker, and it doesn't have a stable feel off-piste. The rocker is excessive and simply flops around. My legs were very tired after skiing a little powder and lots of crud, because this ski is so ineffective. On the plus side you can make pretty much any type of turn at most speeds. Unfortunately, this ski is only good in pure powder.

Blizzard The Answer

184cm

I have never skied so fast not noticing it. That's what The Answer does, in a stable way. I was able to make all turn shapes, even at speed. It's easy to scrub speed in a hurry. I found The Answer could slarve turns, but preferred normal arcs. This wasn't very forgiving, and definitely required a strong, forward stance, but was very fun. It's pretty much an excellent big mountain ski. One of my favorites of the test.

Atomic Blog

177cm

Yes this is the 2010 topsheet, but the ski remains unchanged next year. I felt the Blog did exactly what I wanted to, but the softer, more forgiving flex along with rocker did cause some instability. However, some of that was due to the length. I demoed it later in a 183 and liked it much more. This ski is ridiculously poppy, and skis like a more versatile Bent Chetler. Overall I was quite impressed.

Rossignol S7

188cm

After going to the Rossignol booth about five times to try to get this ski, I was disappointed with what I found. The S7 is the Indiana Jones 4 of skis: very overrated and disappointing. The rocker and soft flex create a very forgiving ski, but not much else. I didn't feel stable on this ski at all, and had a very hard time skiing anything not powder. The S7 is awful in crud, with lots and lots of tail flap. Also the rocker makes it extremely easy to become skiing in the backseat in if you're not careful, and I almost had the crash of my lifetime because of it. Maybe I should've tried the Super 7, but the 188 was one of the worst skis of the day.

K2 Obsethed

179cm

I came to the demo wanting to try a variety of skis, with differing rocker and flex patterns, so I came to the Obsethed for the super soft ski. Honestly going in I had low expectations, and was blown away. First of all this ski is scary soft, especially in the tip, and almost the entire ski is rockered. However, it's stable and fun. The rocker did chatter on groomers, but in off-piste snow it was pretty good, as long as I stayed out of the backseat. All turn types were possible, and the Obsethed was excellent in softer snow. This is too soft for a daily driver, but it was a good ski, including the graphics (sorry my picture is bad). I think this is what the S7 intended to be.

Volkl Katana

183cm

This monster is full rockered, and I gave it a whirl to try that type of ski. The Katana is incredible! I found it was very stable, did any type of turn I wanted, and was great in all terrain. Quite a fun ski. Also the Katana promotes slarving over carving. One of my favorite skis of the test.

Atomic Blog

183cm

The 183 is much better than the 177 Blog. I found the longer length had all of the pop of the shorter ski (a ton), but felt much more stable. This is much more versatile, and fun. It's not really a big mountain ski, but a strong contender for my favorite ski of the test.

Atomic Atlas

182cm

I was able to get one long run on these at the end of the day, and they were ok. The Atlas has a moderate flex with some tip rocker. I felt these ended up skiing like a much improved Dynastar 115, but they were still had somewhat floppy tips. However they were pretty stable, and lots of fun in long turns.