This past weekend Gary and I skied at Sunshine and Lake Louise in Banff National Park, and I had a chance to do a full day demo of the Dynastars. The Atomics are owned by a friend that we skied with who wanted to try my Mythic Riders, so we swapped for a single longish run.
Here are some quick specs and impressions:
Dynastar Outland 87- new ski this year in their all mountain series
- early rise tip and tail (very slight in the tail)
- sandwich laminate, full sidewall construction
- no metal, but has the basalt layer that Rossi (their sister company) is also using in some of their boards
- I demoed the 178 length, which is too short for me, but was the longest available at the Louise shop
- dimensions 132-87-114; radius 19m (I think) at 178
- medium-stiff flex
- conditions: ~2cm fresh snow over hard pack and crust in the AM; scraped off icy patches in the PM; skied them all over the mountain, hard groomers, soft and crusty crud, bumps, chop, but no deeper fresh snow to be found
Impressions, Pro+ supple, moderately powerful flex underfoot
+ very smooth, predictable release from turns; enough energy to make them fun; not so much to make them demanding
+ surprisingly solid edge hold for an 87mm ski, even on scraped off icy sections; they do not have an "always-on" type edge hold, which I dislike in a ski, but it's there when you need it and is good by any standard
+ very predictable handling and maneuvering; typical Dynastar...they go where pointed
+ fast! these babies want to move....high fun factor
+ very smooth and stable at high speeds
+ more lively and not quite as damp as, say, the Peak 84, but definitely more damp than a typical Fischer; felt kinda like my Nordica Mach 3's in that they had a silky-smooth snow feel, even on hard snow, which was most pleasant
+ moderately light feel underfoot - a pleasant change from my heavy Mythics
+ very good in crud and chop; smoothed out the rough stuff and didn't toss me around
Impressions, Con- the wide tips announced their presence in crud and especially in the bumps, where they kept catching their edges and banging into each other; this is probably just me not being used to a ski with such wide tips and sidecut, and I'm sure that this annoyance would disappear after a few more days of getting dialed in to these
OverallAn excellent ski! I really enjoyed them (almost) everywhere I took them (see comment, above, re. bumps). I could imagine them being very capable off-piste in up to shin-high snow and deep crud. Compared to a Peak 84, they do not have quite the BMW 7-series smooth luxury car feel of the Peak at high speed, but very respectable nevertheless, and definitely not a limiting factor for most people I would guess (certainly not for me, anyway). More lively, fun and maneuverable at slower speeds and in crud and bumps than the Peak, but then I demoed the Outland in 178 vs. the Peak in a 184 (these were demoed in April), so not really a fair comparison. Another great all-rounder from Dynastar, and would be a very capable and versatile ski to take almost anywhere on the mountain, save deep powder. Highly recommended.
Atomic Nomad Blackeye TiI skied these for only a single run of about 2000' vertical, mixed soft crud and scraped off and wind-blown icy patches above the treeline, and a smooth soft groomer lower down.
- early rise tip only
- sandwich laminate, not sure if it has full-length sidewall construction
- 2 layers metal
- I skied the 174 length, which is too short for me, but they weren't my skis
- dimensions 126-82-111; radius 16m at 174
- medium-stiff flex
Impressions, Pro+ supple, moderately powerful flex underfoot
+ very smooth release from turns; lots of energy but not kick-butt harsh
+ very aggressive edge hold, very torsionally rigid, but not so much that it locked me into a single turn shape
+ predictable handling and maneuvering on smooth groomers
+ very smooth and stable feel at high speeds
+ quite a light feel underfoot, but is no wimp
+ decent in crud and chop; smoothed out the rough stuff and didn't toss me around
Impressions, Con- that aggressive edge hold that I mentioned is always there, which is fine on groomers, but not so great in crud, where the edge hold just got in the way of maneuvering through it all (but this could just be me not being used to the skis, or possibly the tune)
- some tip flap at high speed
OverallThis would be a great ski if you primarily skied groomers and wanted a wider ski to wander into softer snow at times. The edge hold on icy patches and groomers was excellent. Very stable, smooth and fun at high speed on smooth snow. I could probably tune them to make them more compliant in crud, which would amp up their versatility greatly. I wouldn't want to take them into the bumps unless I re-tuned them. This was the first Atomic I have ever skied, and I was impressed. Lots of potential here.
About me:- 6'2", 220 lbs
- not sure what level I am....Gary says 6 or 7, or something like that...
- ski the whole mountain, but not much off-piste experience, being an Eastern skier