Twice a year staff from Down Wind Sports attends Outdoor Retailer, which is a buying show located in Utah. All of the leading outdoor manufacturers gather to show off their latest gear and clothing at the Salt Palace in downtown Salt Lake City. There is also a unique opportunity to test AT, telemark skis, snowshoes, and cross country skis at the on snow demo located at the ski resort Solitude.
DAY ONE ON SNOW DEMO
Solitude Mountain Resort is located a short 40-minute drive from the Salt Lake. With over 1200 acres of skiable terrain, Solitude is one of Utah’s most intimate and inviting winter resorts. It is a unique opportunity because it allows us to test the gear so that we are able to select what we think would be the best equipment for our customers for the 2013/14 winter season.
The sun broke over the near by mountains and it was another blue bird day of skiing! No fresh snow but just enough to be able to get a good idea on how the skis might preform back on our local hills.
Out of all of the skis we tried one of our favorites was defiantly the Empire from G3.- it was new for 2013. and is G3’s widest ski to date. The combination of 127mm underfoot, full reverse camber, and the PowerRide construction take this ski to a whole new level, yielding a stiff, aggressive fat ski for smearing, straightlining or arcing big mountain lines. Even though we did not have much fresh snow, this ski held an edge at high speed and was very stable given the conditions.
The DPS Wailer 99 was by far the best of the 8 models that we tested today. Based on the award-winning Wailer 112RP platform, the Wailer 99 exhibits similar versatility in a narrower package. The Wailer 99 utilizes the Wailer 112’s 3-D PaddleTech Geometr—DPS’ original blend of rocker and variable sidecut. PaddleTech Geometry allows the skier to engage the Wailer 99’s slightly cambered 18m underfoot turn radius while charging g-loaded carves on harder snow. When the snow becomes mixed or soft, the skier draws on the gradually rockered paddle sections of the tip and tail to access longer, variable turn radii, slarves, and off-edge control. Just as advertized they were able to hold their edge in the wind blown, hard packed, midwest like conditions. Mark these skis down as a must try!
The Voile Buster was another winner of the day! Based on the innovative Drifter ski design, the Buster’s slimmed down dimensions, beefed up forebody, and larger radius (27m, 176cm) make it much more stable at high speeds. While the Buster is a more sidecountry friendly ski, it’s built with Voile’s legendary lightweight construction (7 lbs 12 oz, 176cm), and we found it to truely be one of the lightest skis we demoed.
One thing that we have noticed over the last few years is that there are a lot of AT skiers and equipment taking over the demo. Arni being a Ski Patroler at Mt. Ripley, had to try out the Dynafit AT gear. After several runs and playing around with the ease of getting in and out of the bindings this would be a great set up for the ski patrolling and backcountry tours that he spend so much time doing.
On snow fun is done but we have some really good ideas of what new skis we will be bringing back to the U.P. for the 2013/14 season….now off to soak these tired legs in the hot tub!
