Author Topic: Fischer Motive 84  (Read 1674 times)

jbotti

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Fischer Motive 84
« on: October 13, 2010, 12:42:24 pm »
I mentioned this ski on my demo list a while back. To me this looks like the sleeper ski of the year (a great ski that very few are focused on). i was able to look at and hand flex a bunch of this years skis at the Start Haus. I was flexing the Motive 84 and Phil walked up and made some positive comments about this ski. He may have demo'd these. They were probably the stiffest ski in the 82-88mm category that I flexed yesterday. I immediately had the sense that this was a ski that I am going to love. Much stiffer and more stable than the Watea 84 with an obvious hard snow carving advantage over that ski. Sierra Jim posted a bunch of reviews for 82-90mm wasited skis on Epic and he talks about the AC 50 as a giant carver, a hard snow focused ski that is very stiff with great edge hold. The problem with the AC50 as I have said many times, is that the tips have so much metal in them that uness you weigh 230lbs and have great technique it is impossible to bend the tips. Now Fischer (along with Head) have never made skis with what I call a ridiculous flex pattern. Hence, odds are very high that the Motive can be bent to tighten the arc, which will make it a great hard snow ski. When you consider that supposedly you can dial back the stiffness of this ski with the C-Line system, it makes for what coud be an unbeatable combo in a ski (awesome hard snow performance and a wonderful ski off piste as well with dialed down stiffness).

I have yet to ski on this , so all of this needs to be tested on snow. As well, IMO all the previous incarnations of dial a stiffness/dial a TR have been mediocre at best. Having said this, this ski is getting some very high grades from good skiers. I know I can test this in MT as they already have them in.

For all of you that own or are buying the MX 88 maybe this ski is of little interest. I have not been on the MX 88, but in general for me above 85mm underfoot skis start to feel sluggish on harder snow and they never seem to carve and arc the way I want them to usually because the TR starts to get to wide (which isn't to say that the MX 88 doesn't, i just haven't been on it yet).

I do think this is a ski to keep our eyes on.

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SnowHot

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Re: Fischer Motive 84
« Reply #1 on: October 13, 2010, 09:28:48 pm »
I haven't had any first hand experience with the Fischer Motive 84, but the guys at the shop have ranked it as one of the best in its class.
A good 'tween ski that does a lot of things really well
Sometimes you just need to let your Bad Self ski!!
~nolo

Philpug

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Re: Fischer Motive 84
« Reply #2 on: October 13, 2010, 10:12:30 pm »
The Motive is a very nice ski, probably the best all around Fischer I have skied in a long time. I was very impressed with the ski when we skied it last year. We weren't going to stock it at my old store for a couple reasons. 1. Fischer was a dead brand for us and didn't sell well and 2. it is right in the middle of the toughest segment in the market. I will say, if you must have a Fischer, it is a good way to go.

LivingProof

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Re: Fischer Motive 84
« Reply #3 on: October 14, 2010, 07:41:53 am »
JB et al

The below review of the Motive is from Rocky Mountain Trail Guide.

Fischer Motive 84 C-Line
Type    All-mountain
Length Tested    175cm
Test Conditions    Cold snow falling, soft groomed on piste, 30cm fresh off piste.

Motive is a new all-mountain line that replaces the Heat series of last year. They also feature the new Powerrail binding system that is wider and lower than previous systems to make the most of the ever-growing waists of modern skis. 80mm is the widest in the regular Motive series but this C-Line premium version is a bit wider. Test day conditions allowed real off-piste boot-top powder skiing as well as soft groomed cruising. The impression was of a wide, stable, easy-turning ski that would be perfect for anyone living in a region that gets lots of natural snow. Fischer stability felt great in cruising arcs at speed in light powder or groomed. Even short turns were easy and balanced but this felt like a ski that enjoys longer turns more.

The Bottom Line: C-Line is not available in all markets. That?s a shame because this premium ski delivers a premium ride for intermediate to advanced skiers.


C-Line is a reference to being manufactured in a "clean" room to accommodate certain fibers. Who would have thought!

Just reading the review, it seems that the ski would be more comparable to the Kastle FX84 as a soft snow performer. Your flexing analysis as suitable for harder conditions is not confirmed at least in this one review. Our Tahoe friends should be able to give us a validation in a few weeks.

And, damn it John, you need to get on a pair of MX88's this winter if for no other reason than to get that point of reference established. Get to Tahoe and take Phil's personal pair for a ride. We need the Botti unabridged analysis! As all know by now, I'm not into skis wider than my MX88's because eastern conditions are the preponderance of my skiing, but, I agree that carving above 84 to 88 mm waist skis becomes problematic, at least for my knees. If the Motives are available in Elk's demo this January, I'll be glad to take them for a spin.

Mike
« Last Edit: October 14, 2010, 07:44:04 am by LivingProof »

jbotti

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Re: Fischer Motive 84
« Reply #4 on: October 14, 2010, 08:21:18 am »
Mike, this year for sure I will get to demo an array of Kastle skis. Phil will set me up on a few different ones in Tahoe and I am in contact with the western US rep and I am working on a demo day at my home mountain in MT. I was readng something that someone said on Epic and it went something like this: "you can certainly still put wide skis on edge, but with wide skis getting them from one edge to the other is like watching paint dry". I really enjoyed that comment. Typically the 88 waisted skis I have been on have just been a little to slow edge to edge. The Head Peak 88 and the IM 88 both fit into that category, and they're both wonderful skis. I do think there are other skis in thhe Kastle lineup that will better fit into my quiver and better suit my needs and wants as a skier (MX78, MX98 and maybe the 108). Still there are so many rave reviews of the 88, it is very high on my list to demo. I'm sure it s a great ski, it may not be what I am looking for.

I obviouly have not skied the Motive. All my comments were based on the way they felt in the shop. I am reasonabl;y confident that it will have better hard snow performance than the Sultan 85 because it is quite a bit stiffer that the Sultan (there were side by side in the shop). I guess Fischer skis have not sold well, but I have always loved Fischer skis (along with Head). I always love the flex pattern. I know I will ski this ski over the Holiday in December. I will come back with my thoughts. Thanks for the review.

Philpug

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Re: Fischer Motive 84
« Reply #5 on: October 14, 2010, 09:31:31 am »
For a strong skier, the class in the 80-85 waisted range is the Salomon Enduro, yes Salomon. These are not your nephews powder blue Pocket Rockets.

jbotti

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Re: Fischer Motive 84
« Reply #6 on: October 14, 2010, 11:25:46 am »
Not that I doubt your comments but if so it will be their first good hard snow ski in 10 years. I skied on the several of the Xwing series and they wee dreadful skis with cap construction. IMO some of the worst skis I have been on in the past 5 years. I think Salomon is starting to relaize that when you make a poor cap ski, you still lose money on it even if your production costs are lower using cap. I assume the Enduro is Sandwich/race laminate? Peter gave it very good reviews and other have mentioned it. Looks like a nice ski. JB.

Philpug

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Re: Fischer Motive 84
« Reply #7 on: October 14, 2010, 08:10:42 pm »
Not that I doubt your comments but if so it will be their first good hard snow ski in 10 years. I skied on the several of the Xwing series and they wee dreadful skis with cap construction. IMO some of the worst skis I have been on in the past 5 years. I think Salomon is starting to relaize that when you make a poor cap ski, you still lose money on it even if your production costs are lower using cap. I assume the Enduro is Sandwich/race laminate? Peter gave it very good reviews and other have mentioned it. Looks like a nice ski. JB.

Not to doubt your comments but it is more like 15 years.  :o