Reverse camber skis, by their very nature, are a quantum leap in design that has revolutionary implications for both technique and snow grooming. My comments are based on research and I look forward to writing a review of the Spatula soon.
First of all, we need to think in terms of un-groomed snow conditions that can only be found above 6000ft. If the groomer has been there, it's better to be on a conventional ski. If the slopes are firm & icy due to being groomed, skied, thawed and refrozen, it's probably unskiable in a reverse camber ski. But if the skier has multiple skis, the reverse camber ski can be used on those days when the snow is soft and never icy.
East Coast conditions make a reverse camber ski useless. I'd rather be on a Race Carver or Mid-fat during a New England snow event than on any wide ski regardless of camber or sidecut. Why? Within a few hours there will be enough ice and moguls to defeat the benefits of a ski that was meant to float in 3D conditions.
One of the myths about reverse camber skis is that the snow must be DEEP. The surface must be soft, but not necessarily deep. The turn shape in soft snow is an outcome of camber & flex, not sidecut. This is the case regardless of conventional or reverse sidecut design when skiing in soft snow.
In soft snow, side cut is not a benefit, and skis with wide tips tend to promote tip crossing. Tip crossing is common to beginner deep snow skiers on conventional skis. It occurs when the downhill ski is excessively weighted. The highly flexed conventional ski in 3D conditions turns rapidly, crossing the tips, and causing a face plant. The more the skier uses carving technique the more difficult powder becomes.
The owners of Spatulas that I have spoken with explained to me than only a thin-soft layer on the surface is required for use. Every turn is a smeared turn. The sliding ski on a soft surface will accumulate a wedge of snow and the skier will surf in control on this wedge. In Utah & Colorado and other deep snow regions, I expect that even groomed slopes are soft enough for this thin-soft layer to exist.
Attempting to use carving technique with a reverse camber ski is not only useless, it?s dangerous. I plan on starting with diagonal sideslips to master the ski on steeper runs. I also plan to hockey-stop every turn on firm snow. Carving a turn? Maybe at speed in deep snow it will feel like carving, I?m not sure. I will be able to pressure the tips and not be required to compensate against tip dive and tip crossing. Turn initiation will be easier and speed will be my friend!
When the merge areas turn to concrete and the crud has been trampled, I will grab my Monsters or even my Worldcup skis and play on hardpack. My planned usage will go like this;
Fischer WC RC: 90% hard snow with 10% boot-top deep snow in places.
Volant Spatula: 90% deep snow with 10% "packed powder" while in transit to the deep stuff.
Head Monster 88: everything else, this will usually be some soft, some firm & some deep.
The three ski quiver will allow me to travel with two (not three) pairs. If the weather reports indicate no new snow, the Volant stays home. If the weather indicates a good chance of deep snow, the Fischers will stay home.
But for those precious days of deep snow I will have the right tool and the right technique.
Cheers,
Michael