Author Topic: Ski Logic Ullr's Chariot Mini Review  (Read 2694 times)

jim-ratliff

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Re: Ski Logic Ullr's Chariot Mini Review
« Reply #15 on: December 30, 2011, 10:22:11 am »
Gary:
My answers, interesting to hear what John says.
1. Skiing crud may be its' strongest point. Makes me a hero skier in crud, no deflection.
2. Ski is lively but still damp (whatever that combo means). So "whenever you're ready". Tail is a big twin tip, so not much kick on groomed slopes.
3. Very patient, probably due to waist width. In spite of 15m turn radius, ski isn't too twitchy when skied flat or in transitions. And good feedback from the ski, so transitions can be very deliberate if you want. I ski bumps better with these than my other skis.
« Last Edit: December 30, 2011, 10:23:48 am by jim-ratliff »
"If you're gonna play the game boy, ya gotta learn to play it right."

jbotti

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Re: Ski Logic Ullr's Chariot Mini Review
« Reply #16 on: December 30, 2011, 01:03:24 pm »
Yeah I would agree with Jim on all points. The tail is definitely not that that stiff but the ski never seems to lack for stiffness. We are supposed to get 10-12"tonight. I was skiing on the ridge today and I hit rocks on almost every run. If we get 10+ I will consider taking out the Chariots. I dinged my K2's pretty good today, but obviously worth it. The skiing was good (far from great!!).


jbotti

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Re: Ski Logic Ullr's Chariot Mini Review
« Reply #17 on: January 01, 2012, 10:12:24 am »
Well I had my Chariots out in some fresh snow yesterday. The snow was much more Tahoe like than Montana like. We had very high moisture content and some very high winds. The snow had quite a bit of wind buff on it but it was still reasonably soft and very skiable. The chariots skied the pow fine and they were fun and enjoyable. In the chop which was much heavier than normal for here, they did not hold up well. I would say it was the opposite of what Dawg had said on the RL Chariots. My tips felt too soft and actually flapped some. In general the ski lacked the kind of stability necessary to be in aggressive in this snow. I skied both My Shamans and my K2 Hardsides in the same snow and bot were vastly superior. Later in the day I switched to me IM 78's and these were also superior (I can't say it often enough how great these skis are in so many conditions).

There was also quite a bit of groomed terrain open yesterday and so there was a lot of cut up groomed terrain from the new snow. With this heavier snow the Chariots didn't do that well. On true groomed snow the skis felt twitchy and short. They wanted to make tight 15m turns all the time and felt very twitchy going straighter than that. And i don't like the tune. It's bad and it may be some good percentage of the problem. My guess is that he's got the base way flat and it needs to be at least 1* and maybe 1.5.

I will take these out a few more times to see how they ski. It may still turn out that these are great pow skis for most days in MT. If that's the case I will be a very happy customer. It is also clear to me that I would never want to ski these skis in Tahoe or any other place that gets dense heavy snow. I will also play with the tune and see where we end up.

Happy New year to all!!


Liam

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Re: Ski Logic Ullr's Chariot Mini Review
« Reply #18 on: January 02, 2012, 05:50:54 am »
The Shaman is a Crud BUSTER!!!! What we need is the IM78 bumped up to 105mm waist.

Max, it already exists, I think that ski is called the Dynastar Legend Pro Rider 105.

jbotti

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Re: Ski Logic Ullr's Chariot Mini Review
« Reply #19 on: January 27, 2012, 05:49:08 pm »
Skied these again the past two days. In soft blower pow they are very nice. My skis came with the worst base grind I have ever seen from a factory. Just horrible and after 40 passes through the base grinder they still didn't have the skis flat.

I also took them into some wind buffed chop and crud today. The skis just don't hold up in this. Too soft and not enough substance.

We will see how they ski on groomed once we get the bases right. Right now it is looking like a one trick pony for blower pow days. I would have trouble calling this anything close to ski of the year!!

HighAngles

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Re: Ski Logic Ullr's Chariot Mini Review
« Reply #20 on: January 27, 2012, 10:49:04 pm »
JB - Your experience is now running true to my own - we're on the same page on this ski.  I think you'll find that almost any wide ski is going to feel pretty good in blower pow.  The true test is how a ski handles variable conditions and that's where the Chariot really left me flat.

HighAngles

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Re: Ski Logic Ullr's Chariot Mini Review
« Reply #21 on: January 27, 2012, 11:00:37 pm »
BTW - I know how difficult it is to find fat skis that reward good PMTS technique.  Almost everything available has been adulterated with early rise or rocker.  The Chariot looks good on paper and is beautiful to look at, but failed to live up to my expectations on snow.  Two skis that haven't failed me though are the ZAG Heli Gold and the Scott Crusade.  Those give you options for 92mm, 95mm, and 98mm underfoot (the Heli Gold width varies with length).  Both are traditional cambered skis.  The ZAG is especially fun in deeper snow, but still rails groomers like a rocket ship.  The Crusade is a crud buster extraordinaire with a super tight 15m radius for the 179cm (but it's not hooky at all due to the advanced tip geometry).  Both skis are up on eBay quite often for cheap.  They're a steal at any price, but at sub $500 prices they're one heck of a good bang for the buck.

Sorry for the little thread drift there - now back to your regularly scheduled ski review...
« Last Edit: January 27, 2012, 11:02:16 pm by HighAngles »

jbotti

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Re: Ski Logic Ullr's Chariot Mini Review
« Reply #22 on: January 28, 2012, 08:13:17 am »
Haven't skied it but my guess is that the Movement Sluff 98mm underfoot is probably a nice skis as well.

HighAngles

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Re: Ski Logic Ullr's Chariot Mini Review
« Reply #23 on: January 28, 2012, 06:59:31 pm »
The Sluff feels very light and playful.  It transmits a bit too much slope feel through your feet than I like though.  Note that it has a different construction than the Jam.  It didn't have quite the edge hold of the Jam, but that's probably not what you're primarily looking for from a 98mm ski.

jbotti

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Re: Ski Logic Ullr's Chariot Mini Review
« Reply #24 on: January 28, 2012, 11:05:16 pm »
Cool that you got to ski it. They are hard to find!

On another note. My chariots required 210 passes through the base grinder to get them flat!! The guys in the shop had never seen anything like the way this ski came from the factory. Looking forward to skiing them now with a good tune.
« Last Edit: January 29, 2012, 01:04:58 pm by jbotti »

HighAngles

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Re: Ski Logic Ullr's Chariot Mini Review
« Reply #25 on: January 29, 2012, 04:53:03 pm »
JB - I hope you plan on contacting Dave Mazz about this if you haven't already.  Mazz prides himself on the quality of the skis (and their tunes) coming out of his factory.  I think he would be floored to hear this.  In fact, I'd be surprised if he doesn't consider that ski a defect and replaces them.  I've heard his customer support is top notch.

Skizoo

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Re: Ski Logic Ullr's Chariot Mini Review
« Reply #26 on: January 29, 2012, 06:28:26 pm »
HighAngles, didn't Scott change the construction of the Crusade this year? Making it lighter? Which year's model are you skiing? There's a pair of 2010's (the black ones) that I've been thinking of getting.
« Last Edit: January 29, 2012, 07:48:56 pm by Skizoo »

Liam

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Re: Ski Logic Ullr's Chariot Mini Review
« Reply #27 on: January 29, 2012, 08:25:22 pm »
BTW - I know how difficult it is to find fat skis that reward good PMTS technique.  Almost everything available has been adulterated with early rise or rocker.  The Chariot looks good on paper and is beautiful to look at, but failed to live up to my expectations on snow.  Two skis that haven't failed me though are the ZAG Heli Gold and the Scott Crusade.  Those give you options for 92mm, 95mm, and 98mm underfoot (the Heli Gold width varies with length).  Both are traditional cambered skis.  The ZAG is especially fun in deeper snow, but still rails groomers like a rocket ship.  The Crusade is a crud buster extraordinaire with a super tight 15m radius for the 179cm (but it's not hooky at all due to the advanced tip geometry).  Both skis are up on eBay quite often for cheap.  They're a steal at any price, but at sub $500 prices they're one heck of a good bang for the buck.

Sorry for the little thread drift there - now back to your regularly scheduled ski review...

Can I add the Icelantic Nomads to that list??..yes quite a bit fatter and probably not as good as either of these on the groomed but the Nomads in a 181cm have no rocker, good camber and respond wonderfully to tipping based movements (Honest).  I use the soft version, which works well in Eastern woods.  But for true big mountain crud busting I'd probably choose the regular version.   I know you guys know the Shaman well (a geat ski) these are and easier, floatier ski than the Shaman.

High Angles, have you ever skied the Movement Source??  I'm looking for a low 90's mm waisted ski...might get the Head Rock n Roll (as a long time Motorhead fan I'm almost sold on these) but the Source looks good too.   I might even get the Ski Logik Rave (I don't need a 100mm ski with the Icelantic). 

Liam

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Re: Ski Logic Ullr's Chariot Mini Review
« Reply #28 on: January 30, 2012, 07:41:35 am »
The Nomad is floatier than the Shaman?

The Nomad SFT in a 181 floats better than the 173cm Shaman in my experience (I never tried the 184 as that would be just too much ski, honestly, the 173 is a lot of ski.).  Also, by 'float', I mean it drifts and straight glides in deeper snow a little better than the Shaman. 

On the other hand, when cranking short turns in deep snow, nothing stays above the snow like the front end of the Shaman.  But that is only one aspect of float...the Nomad floats and maneuvers well even when you aren't cranking turns, so does the Shaman, but the Nomad SFT is, in my experience better.

I was really just throwing out another NON-ROCKERED and WELL-CAMBERED off piste option that does adequately on firmer (but not bullet-proof) surfaces and responds well to a carvier approach to skiing.   The Shaman fits the bill, too.  But I like the Nomad More in more conditions. YRMV.

jbotti

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Re: Ski Logic Ullr's Chariot Mini Review
« Reply #29 on: January 30, 2012, 08:14:49 am »
How does it hold up in crud and chop?