Author Topic: 178cm Dynastar Contact 11 Review  (Read 1068 times)

Barrettscv

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178cm Dynastar Contact 11 Review
« on: December 14, 2006, 09:27:52 am »
178cm Dynastar Contact 11


Where: Skied the set at Beaver Creek on 12/14/06.

Conditions at Beaver Creek: 6 to 12" of new natural snow fell on 12/12/06. 60% of the mountain was groomed into a soft corduroy and 40% was left natural with soft moguls and boot top deep crud conditions. Blue sky, 18F at dawn, 28F at 3PM.

My specs: 5? 11", 225lbs. male, 40th season skiing, former USSA & High School 7-day-a-week competitor in New Hampshire, GS & DH specialist.

Skis used in the last 2 years: Fischer RX8 & WC RC, Volkl AC4 & Mantra, Head Monster 77 & 88, Dynastar Intuitive 74 & Inspired by Nobis, several others?

Boots: 2003 Salomon Course (red, 130 flex).

Comments: This is a superb ski. I had planned to demo 3 skis, including the AC4 (for the second time) and the Dynastar Legend Pro. However, I did not want to take these off and stayed on them all day.

The ski was comparable to my Fischer WC RC on the groomed corduroy, with massive edge-grip and very quick reflexes. A ski with very large sweet spot. Turn shape is very versatile. I could bend the front of the ski and produce rapid slalom turns or stay slightly back at higher speeds with no punishment. I could rub my elbows on the snow at the apex of the turns and produce large edge angles on the soft groomed surface. The ski will generate so much power out of the turn that I could project off the snow and transition into the next turn immediately. The Contact 11 is a true race-carver with 122-72-102mm dimensions.

The soft snow performance of the ski was even more impressive. Dynastar autodrive skis are always smooth performers with cap construction at the tip and vertical sidewalls underfoot. This construction shines in crud & bumps. I could exit the groomed areas and enter soft mogul fields with total stability and smoothness. The ski could be used two ways in loose snow. I could ski big lines and ignore the choppy conditions or I could ski down the fall lines and dance with quick edge changes. The only other ski I have used that was this good in soft crud is the AC4.

This ski can ski crud with the best all-mountain skis but can also carve the hard pack like a race ski.

A few niggles. The ski is not perfectly stable at very fast, Super G speeds. The ski does not misbehave at race-tuck speeds, it?s just not inspiring to use. I would also be interested to see how they perform on Vermont ice. My guess is that very good edge-hold on polished ice is available, but a little below the level of a pure laminate construction race-carver ski.

I?m going to Demo a few more boards this year, but I?ll be surprised if I find a better do-it-all ski.

Michael
« Last Edit: December 14, 2006, 07:19:36 pm by Barrettscv »

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nevils

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Re: 178cm Dynastar Contact 11 Review
« Reply #1 on: December 15, 2006, 11:53:15 am »
Michael - great review of the Contact 11. Thank you. I will add it to my demo list for this season which is RX8, RC4 WC RC, XRC 1400 Chip, Speedwave 12, Speedmachine 14.2, Equipe GC Race +Z12 all in about 170 cm. Most likely I won't be able to demo all of them, but maybe two or three.
Nevils

Barrettscv

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Re: 178cm Dynastar Contact 11 Review
« Reply #2 on: January 28, 2007, 12:13:52 pm »
I provided an enthusiastic review of the Dynastar Contact 11 in December after a full day demo at Beaver Creek Colorado, see above.

I worried that the one day with perfect packed-powder conditions does not really test a ski the same way that man-made snow and boilerplate ice does. Is the ski as good as I reported? A day in Vermont would provide the answer.

178cm Dynastar Contact 11

Where: Skied at Stratton on 1/28/06.

Conditions at Stratton: 6" of new natural snow fell during the prior week; the very cold weather also allowed 24 hours a day snowmaking. The mountain was machine tilled into a firm corduroy and some boilerplate ice and some moguls were found on a few runs. Blue sky, 5F at dawn, 25F at 3PM.

My specs: 5? 11", 225lbs. male, 40th season skiing, former USSA & High School 7-day-a-week competitor in New Hampshire, GS & DH specialist.

Skis used in the last 2 years: Fischer RX8 & WC RC, Volkl AC4 & Mantra, Head Monster 77 & 88, Dynastar Intuitive 74 & Inspired by Nobis, several others?

Boots: 2003 Salomon Course (red, 130 flex).

Comments:I skied my 175cm Fischer WC RC (112-66-97mm) in the morning and my Contact 11's in the afternoon. The Contact 11 was capable of the same high-edge-angle carving heroics and provided the same edge-grip as the laminate construction with race plate WC RC. However, the real world versatility of the Contact 11 is apparent even on firm snow. The ski is simply superior in every way to the much more specialized cheater GS ski.

The ski was comparable to my Fischer WC RC on the firm groomed corduroy, with massive edge-grip. Very easy turn initiation. A ski with very large sweet spot. Turn shape is very versatile, however SL turns require extra effort. I could bend the front of the ski and produce rapid slalom turns or stay slightly back at higher speeds with no punishment. I could rub my elbows on the snow at the apex of the turns and produce large edge angles on the hard groomed surface. The Contact 11 is a true race-carver with 122-72-102mm dimensions.

A few niggles. The ski normally produces GS turns and rewards speed. This was sometimes a handicap on the narrow Vermont trails. The ski was a little tricky in traffic. But when I avoided the crowds it was "yeah baby"!

Vermont skiing confirmed a few points from my Colorado review and revised others.

Confirmed: Cheater GS ski performance in a more versatile and user friendly package.

Revised: More GS than SL ski, tight turns are work in a 178cm size. Stability is no problem. Grip is superb, even in Vermont.

Cheers,

Michael

rspacher

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Re: 178cm Dynastar Contact 11 Review
« Reply #3 on: November 29, 2007, 09:46:15 pm »
Going to try these out in Vail early next year