Author Topic: Realskier Ski of the Year: The Chariot!!!  (Read 2976 times)

jbotti

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Realskier Ski of the Year: The Chariot!!!
« on: September 06, 2010, 06:37:46 pm »
Peter just posted his skis of the year. The Chariot won overall ski of the year!! I guess we should all buy them now before they run out!!

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Ron

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Re: Realskier Ski of the Year: The Chariot!!!
« Reply #1 on: September 07, 2010, 06:40:54 am »
have at it!? ?;D

I wish them much sucess and as always, I support the indies and small local business. Interesting reviews on FREESKIER mag. THey preferred the Howitzer  137-110-131


http://www.freeskier.com/buyersGuide/product.php?product_id=1278

I like those dims much better, A demo would be great just not thrilled with a 145-101 ski for variable off piste condition ski. I can see it for front side groomed or soft groomed but not sure of the "why" of the ski. Seems like a cool idea with limited range of application-- but I have been very wrong before and will be again!

« Last Edit: September 07, 2010, 06:48:48 am by Ron »

LivingProof

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Re: Realskier Ski of the Year: The Chariot!!!
« Reply #2 on: September 07, 2010, 08:11:51 am »
I have a very limited knowledge of Peter Kelty's reviews, and, am always somewhat cynical of "of the year" awards that make pronouncements in advance of distribution and real world experience.

What are some of his past "skis of the year" and your thoughts as to how his past predictions fared with the skiing public.




jbotti

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Re: Realskier Ski of the Year: The Chariot!!!
« Reply #3 on: September 07, 2010, 08:17:26 am »
I do think that we have to consider Peter's bias here some. The last wide ski (it was certainly wide for back then) that Peter named ski of the year was the Head IM 88. Peter specifically cited the fact that this ski was at home off piste and in powder and at the same time a good skier could run a GS course on the skis. He has said something similar about the Chariot again citing it's ability to carve GS turns. It is failrly obvious from watching over the years that Peter likes skis that perform well on hard snow. His reviews of big mountain skis have lacked any real specificity (usually he just says great for Squaw, Jackson Snowbird, you know who you are). Using the IM 88 as an example because I still own a pair, it was in may ways a great ski for certain things. It will carve nice GS turns and it was a great crud busting ski. It was never wide enough for a true powder ski but in its time it wsn't far from the standard (back then 90-100mm was a podwer ski). It was however not a very versatile ski. It was very stiff, reasonably unforgiving especially in bumps and on groomed terrain it would carve only one turn shape (19m). The tips are so stiff that if you try to bend the ski to tighten the turn it really won't budge.

We will have to demo the Chariot. I have it set up for my trip to Col in early November. I think we all need to realize that Peter is giving this rating because the Chariot is in his opinion as close as it gets to a one ski quiver. Sounds great, may not be what I am looking for as I don't need a powder ski to be able to run GS. Love the tight turn radius. We will have to see if it can be my go to fersh snow ski.

Ron

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Re: Realskier Ski of the Year: The Chariot!!!
« Reply #4 on: September 07, 2010, 08:38:59 am »
"all Mountain ski"=  good everywhere, great no where.... ;D

the old idea of a one quiver ski is pretty much a bad idea. 2 ski's is good, 3 would be awesome but not really pratical for the traveling skier for sure.

jbotti

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Re: Realskier Ski of the Year: The Chariot!!!
« Reply #5 on: September 07, 2010, 09:07:45 am »
We are on the same page!!

jim-ratliff

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Re: Realskier Ski of the Year: The Chariot!!!
« Reply #6 on: September 07, 2010, 09:54:02 am »
I have a very limited knowledge of Peter Kelty's reviews, and, am always somewhat cynical of "of the year" awards that make pronouncements in advance of distribution and real world experience.

What are some of his past "skis of the year" and your thoughts as to how his past predictions fared with the skiing public.


Prior skis of the year (first column) and other notable selections

2010: Dynastar Sultan 85 and Fischer KOA 84? (Free Ride = Kastle MX108)
2009: All mtn carvers as a group   ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? (All mountain cruising Dynastar Contact 4x4)
2008: Volkl Tigershark 10/12      (Skill Development = SuperShape Magnum)
2007: Head SuperShape
2006: Head iM88
2004 - Head iM75 (Gary owned? a pair).
2003 - Head iC160 (I owned a pair that I loved)(and Lynn did also). (and the K2 5500 was the value ski of the year)

Edited after Ron and John's responses.  I'm going to sit down tonight and copy more of Peter/s picks and we can see what we think.  I have been very rewarded a couple of times by selecting skis that he recommended as good for developing skills.  Never before considered an overall ski of the year for myself.
« Last Edit: September 07, 2010, 01:33:01 pm by jim-ratliff »
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Ron

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Re: Realskier Ski of the Year: The Chariot!!!
« Reply #7 on: September 07, 2010, 10:51:56 am »
interesting lineup.

Sultan 85 proved to be a very popular and strong ski for sure. 

Dynastar 4x4, hmm, all mountain carver?????    UBER heavy but I did like it. although I sold it after using one hour and bought the MX78's..

Tigershark,,,, flash- gone.....

venerable SS- great ski good choice.

108 for Freeride, I have to look at that one, I am hooked on kastle's for sure and I am looking forward to getting on the new 108 this season.

Still, from a very biased position, the Kastle 78 and 88 are still unbelievable ski's and I pretty much look at those two as the standards by which I judge other ski's.


jbotti

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Re: Realskier Ski of the Year: The Chariot!!!
« Reply #8 on: September 07, 2010, 12:10:31 pm »
He lost me with the Tigersharks. For me these were some of the worst skis ever made. Not only was the tip too stiff to bend but it was so stiff that it pushed you off of it and got you immediately in the back seat. The ones before that were all excellent skis and I actually owned every one of them. 

Will have to get on the Sultan 85's this year.

My guess is that will be the first here on the Chariots (even if Jim buys a pair before my Novemebr trip my guess is that he won't have it on snow before late November or early December). While I am at it, I think I will test drive the Howitzer as well. No tail rocker, early rise tip. Worth a shot.


Philpug

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Re: Realskier Ski of the Year: The Chariot!!!
« Reply #9 on: September 07, 2010, 01:30:59 pm »
Color me shocked. talk about a "Tin Cup" winner.

LivingProof

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Re: Realskier Ski of the Year: The Chariot!!!
« Reply #10 on: September 07, 2010, 03:24:25 pm »
I have a very limited knowledge of Peter Kelty's reviews, and, am always somewhat cynical of "of the year" awards that make pronouncements in advance of distribution and real world experience.

What are some of his past "skis of the year" and your thoughts as to how his past predictions fared with the skiing public.


Prior skis of the year (first column) and other notable selections

2010: Dynastar Sultan 85 and Fischer KOA 84? (Free Ride = Kastle MX108)
2009: All mtn carvers as a group   ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? (All mountain cruising Dynastar Contact 4x4)
2008: Volkl Tigershark 10/12      (Skill Development = SuperShape Magnum)
2007: Head SuperShape
2006: Head iM88
2004 - Head iM75 (Gary owned? a pair).
2003 - Head iC160 (I owned a pair that I loved)(and Lynn did also). (and the K2 5500 was the value ski of the year)

Edited after Ron and John's responses.? I'm going to sit down tonight and copy more of Peter/s picks and we can see what we think.? I have been very rewarded a couple of times by selecting skis that he recommended as good for developing skills.? Never before considered an overall ski of the year for myself.

Jim,
Thanks for the research. The list stuns me. The first 4 years all Head skis?? Hmmm, is he really independent as he's covered almost the entire line? I ski the Supershape and liked the Magnum on a demo. My sense is that many have bought Head skis, few remain as very loyal customers outside of the narrow carvers. For sure, this confirms JB's thinking of a front side carver basis. My demo of the Dynastar 4x4 told me that it just was not a ski that fits what I wanted as a cruiser.

But calling the vague "All Mountain Carvers" group as ski-of-the-year is just not credible. Hell, it's almost a contradiction, and, I don't know what skis fall into this group. My guess would be a waist somewhere around 85 to 88?

I remember the Sultan 85 from last year. Never skied it, but, at Epic the buzz was pretty low key and nothing like what happened with Kastle MX series.


jim-ratliff

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Re: Realskier Ski of the Year: The Chariot!!!
« Reply #11 on: September 07, 2010, 04:04:44 pm »
Mike:? Chill a bit.? Can you judge a book by reading the last pages?? I'm not trying to represent Peter (nor defend him).? You asked a question, I spent ten minutes looking up what was easy from the past few years.? On the pay site, he has ski reviews from as far back as 1999.? I assume that he didn't always have skis of the year.? Some years he just rated skis with gold stars or something to indicate the "better" skis.? I believe that he does come from a racing, coaching, and hard snow background (consistent with his age) and believes that narrower skis are better for learning edging skills.

Also, I didn't bother to include any of the write-ups about why he selected a particular ski. The Head iC160

Picking the "Ski of the Year" is no easy task. The overall quality of skis is high enough that almost any ski made today will outperform almost any ski made even as recently as four or five years ago, regardless of shape. The severe side cut found on even 74mm off-piste skis allows them to carve even better than old, narrow GS skis, a slalom with a tip of 110mm or more floats nearly as high as did early wide powder skis. In the end, such worthies as Volkl's T50 5-Star, Dynastar's Speed SX, the Rossi Bandit XX and Head's own iRace made way for the iC160 on the basis of versatility.

This ski can do it all; carve on the groomed, skid on the steeps, navigate reasonable bumps and even traverse deep stretches off the groomed. The iC160 may be the perfect "Swiss Army Knife" ski. It is a comfortable ride for everyone from high intermediate to less-than-demonic expert. It is quick, capable of rapid fire fall line turns, stable in arcs at speed and easy to maneuver at virtually any speed from almost stopped to 35mph.

Looking at this ski globally, and I must thank Harald for this point of view, the ic160 is beyond forgiving; it actually enhances technique and promotes carving skills, almost as though it were itself a kind of coaching machine. As Harald puts it, in his inimitable way, "The 160 pulls better skiing out of your body!"


His paragraph about the 2009 selection is below.? I assume the choice is his way of denoting a "watershed" chainge is ski sizes and abilities (and maybe a bit slow to admit that change).? As far as the Head skis, maybe that was a time when Head was "building" their reputation, because Peter is not very impressed with their current range of skis and decisions.? If anything, I believe that he may have a fondness for Dynastar.

In seasons past we have followed the traditional process of selecting one ski each per use category for unisex and female-specific Skis of the Year. Below, for example, is what could be the list this year?traditionally one would be overall Ski of the Year.

In a departure from tradition, however, this year's overall "ski" of the year is the All Mountain Carver. These are skis with waists between 74 and 80mm and turn radii between 12 and 17m. These are the most versatile skis made and we suggest that anyone who relies on a single pair of skis for all terrain and conditions consider one of these. For a more detailed discussion of this kind of ski, and why we chose it, please see About This Year's Ski of the Year, tab above.
« Last Edit: September 07, 2010, 05:07:42 pm by jim-ratliff »
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jim-ratliff

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Re: Realskier Ski of the Year: The Chariot!!!
« Reply #12 on: September 07, 2010, 04:18:21 pm »
Here is his disclaimer for the 2007 picks.? I bolded part of his paragraph, since its sort of pertinent to me and the UC.

For the record:

Harald (Harb), John (Clendenin) and I ski primarily on Head skis, although I do get to try dozens of skis from all brands during the course of a season. The point is that none of us is sponsored monetarily by Head. We ski Heads from preference, not because they compensate us. It's a matter of choice.

It should therefore be small surprise that 3 of our nine picks are Heads. Two are from Fischer and this short list also includes one model each from Elan, Nordica, Salomon and V?lkl. Where, we expect to be asked, are the Atomic's, K2's and Rossignol's?

The short answer is that because we depend on suppliers neither for ad revenue nor access to test skis, we have no need to "take care of everyone." We select Skis of the Year based on personal experience and real-life feedback from real skiers.

As with any review, this should be a guide and not the final word. Skiers who take anyone's word without trying before buying, do so at their own peril. That said, here are our choices for "best of the best" 2007.
« Last Edit: September 07, 2010, 05:13:57 pm by jim-ratliff »
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jim-ratliff

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Re: Realskier Ski of the Year: The Chariot!!!
« Reply #13 on: September 07, 2010, 04:25:46 pm »
So does the selection of Ullr's Chariot make it the best powder ski?? Absolutely not, and maybe not even as good as SkiLogik's Howitzer (as Ron said).
Does it make it the best carving ski?? No.
Does it make it the best ski for Mike or Ron or Jim or John?? No.

Does it mean that he was impressed by the amount of versatility they were able to design and build into a 100mm ski??? I think so.
« Last Edit: September 07, 2010, 05:09:27 pm by jim-ratliff »
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Philpug

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Re: Realskier Ski of the Year: The Chariot!!!
« Reply #14 on: September 07, 2010, 05:15:09 pm »
I played with the Chariot at SIA..while the graphics and top skis were beautiful, the ski is no where near the substance of some of the better skis in that category. It is not 4/1 is it?