Author Topic: Quick reviews: Dynastar Sultan 85 & 94; Nordica Tempest & Mach 3  (Read 1463 times)

Svend

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Waking up this old thread.  I just received delivery of Living Proof's former Legend Sultan 94's, and skied them for the first time yesterday at Blue Mountain north (Ontario). 

What a great ski!

LP had them flat-mounted with Griffons, and they just needed a heel piece remount to accommodate my shorter BSL.  This put me about 1.5 cm forward of factory mark, which is right where I wanted to be.

What a difference a flat-mounted binding makes! I was amazed at how it transformed this ski.  From my original half-day demo on skis that had the Look Fluid (rail) PX12 system, these skis with the Griffons were way lighter (naturally), softer flexing, easier to arc, much more agile handling.  They now feel more like a wider, slightly heavier, more stable version of the Sultan/Legend 85.  Whereas with the Look Fluid bindings, they felt just like a Mythic Rider (which is not a bad thing at all).

Most of the changes are for the better, but gone is the rock solid crudbusting feel of the Look Fluid setup (which is what the Mythics are so good at).  With the Griffons, they seem to be somewhat less stable at speed (although I wasn't really paying attention to that aspect), and deflect easier in broken snow and crud.  But by no means are they wimpy lightweights; they are still very stable and solid in this kind of snow, still have that big sweet spot, very smooth and quiet at speed.  Just not as bulldozer solid as with the Look. 

OTOH, the lighter feel and easier flexing should really improve things off-piste in powder and soft snow.  I am looking forward to taking them out west in a couple of weeks.

Snow conditions yesterday were a few inches of soft snow (some fresh, some granular) over ice, with some scraped off icy patches here and there for amusement.  I was delighted at the ice hold of these skis - set the edges in and they held.  Very nice, and impressive for a wider ski.  This is where my Mythics basically suck -- their hard snow grip is far from stellar.

Dynastar no longer makes the Legend line, but there are still deals available on ebay, etc., on these and last year's Legend 94 (same ski, different topsheet). 

Highly recommended.  I haven't had that much fun on a ski for a while now, which is really saying something considering that eastern snow conditions are not what this ski was made for.