# Frontside ski recommendation?



## soulseller (Sep 12, 2014)

I switched to skiing a couple seasons ago and have been running 184 Rossi S3's ever since. This year I am considering a more groomer / hard pack friendly ski as that is what i ski 70% of the time.

Reading best of lists from the past couple years, I'm thinking Blizzard Magnum 8.0 or Volkl RTM?

Any real world EC recommendations? 

Thanks!


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## neonleonbst (Sep 12, 2014)

Mag 8 is my beer league ski. That and the firearrow 84 pro from nordica are stiff and will lay trenches all day long but nothing else. The Mag 8 and 8.5 are discontinued so snap them up if you're looking for those. If you're leaning rtm go the 81 it's made of softer steel instead of the titanium 84 which just plods around. The 81 has an awesome sweet spot but it takes a few turns to find it and it's more conditions versatile than the mag or the firearrow (it can do bumps not trees). The blizzard Brahma is wider than all at 88mm but it is a true east coast ski literally made for cannon their rep lives around there. It has 2.5 sheet of metal in it so it can dice boilerplate and be fun if you get a little adventurous in some trees or bumps. I would go with the Brahma 100% man if you like those rossis. It'd slot well in your lineup.


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## soulseller (Sep 13, 2014)

neonleonbst said:


> Mag 8 is my beer league ski. That and the firearrow 84 pro from nordica are stiff and will lay trenches all day long but nothing else. The Mag 8 and 8.5 are discontinued so snap them up if you're looking for those. If you're leaning rtm go the 81 it's made of softer steel instead of the titanium 84 which just plods around. The 81 has an awesome sweet spot but it takes a few turns to find it and it's more conditions versatile than the mag or the firearrow (it can do bumps not trees). The blizzard Brahma is wider than all at 88mm but it is a true east coast ski literally made for cannon their rep lives around there. It has 2.5 sheet of metal in it so it can dice boilerplate and be fun if you get a little adventurous in some trees or bumps. I would go with the Brahma 100% man if you like those rossis. It'd slot well in your lineup.



Thanks for the tip, i'm not looking for super stiff, bumps and trees are more interesting to me then speed. I'll take a look at the Brahma's.

Any other suggestions?


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## Puck it (Sep 13, 2014)

soulseller said:


> Thanks for the tip, i'm not looking for super stiff, bumps and trees are more interesting to me then speed. I'll take a look at the Brahma's.
> 
> Any other suggestions?


Then go with a mid fat with no metal.


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## neonleonbst (Sep 13, 2014)

Well metal is going to give you that hold on hard pack if you're looking for those kind of skis. Brahma is still fun all over the mountain but there's the Nordica NRGY  and k2 amp rictor 90 that are very similar skis. The nrgy has a torsion bridge of metal that is widest tip and tail and tapers closer to the binding while k2 perforates the metal they put in the ski. Both achieve the same result: putting metal in only where you need it and making the ski lighter and more playful in the softer snow they will carve everything but won't be as stiff as the brahma. The brahma will make more aggressive carves on the front side. If you go without metal you might as well be on your s3s.


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## Savemeasammy (Sep 13, 2014)

.02  I demoed a pair of K2 impacts in Jan 2013.  They do not have metal in them.  I thought they were great on the ice.  I'm a lighter guy though, so they may behave differently for someone heavier...


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## mishka (Sep 14, 2014)

what's wrong with S3? They're not particularly wide skis.
metal in skis give certain feel you may or may not like it. Another option skis with carbon fiber. imo CF give all the same performance as a metal plus some without weight of the metal. I believe ski width is irrelevant when it comes to performance on the groomer.....I had a lot of fun last season on the groomer with most unlikely candidate 110 under foot skis with decent amount of tip/tale rocker


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## neonleonbst (Sep 14, 2014)

Metal does help weight the ski to keep you hugging the mountain and cutting into your turns better. That's why they have skis with varying amounts of metal. The Brahma which is a hard charging stiff ski has 2.5 sheets of it and then you have the NRGY and the k2 have one which will still keep the ski damp and stable but not sacrifice in lighter snow conditions. The advantage of metal is that it makes the ski torsionally rigid keeping the ski from getting wobbly or skidding. They make some great skis that don't have metal that can carve well like the now discontinued Nordica steadfast or Icelantic pilgrim or shaman skny that are made of stiffer wood. It's all about preference at that point but if you want something different than your s3 get something with metal or at least a flat or pintail that will push you in and out of turns and transfer your energy better on the groomers. Pintails like on the Nordica NRGY and k2 amp rictor 90 and Icelantic shaman skny offer the best balance of energy transfer on groomers and being able to open them up more in the bumps and trees.


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## tree_skier (Sep 14, 2014)

I agree with puckit  if you into bumps and trees go with the mid fat without metal.  Had a pair of the magnum 8.7 non titianium awesome all around ski.  great in trees very good everywhere else except boilerplate but that is what the FIS race skis are for.


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## Savemeasammy (Sep 14, 2014)

bigbog said:


> On one of the few days I got out last season I wanted to demo some K2s, but as they were taken the fellow grabbed, from behind many skis, some HEAD 13/14 Rev 85s.
> There were a couple inches of fresh snow over several inches of cut-up crud in places = just drove right through without hesitation.
> A little wide for a frontside ski(@Sugarloaf) but it's an easy handling ski...was comfortable at slow to pretty fast speeds and went from larger turns to short-radius stuff easily.  Had no trouble with cut-up and crusty areas.  Good edgehold and I had no problems in releasing edges.
> Not an aggressive Volkl or Blizzard but more of a medium-weight ski but medium-firm feel if I remember accurately...y/n?;-)
> ...



New keyboard?!  


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## Edd (Sep 14, 2014)

Savemeasammy said:


> New keyboard?!
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk



Always been his style, as far as I remember.


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## Savemeasammy (Sep 15, 2014)

Edd said:


> Always been his style, as far as I remember.



He...had...been...using..periods...in...place...of...spaces...because...his...space bar...wasn't...working...!

But it looks like that is resolved


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## WWF-VT (Sep 17, 2014)

FWIW - I plan to get the Volkl RTM 81 as my groomer/hard pack ski this season.   I did an all day demo last year at Sugarbush and was amazed at how they hold an edge and make you want to ski fast.  I have retired an old pair of Fischer RX-8's that were my usual hard pack ski.  My daily driver is the Volkl Bridge that I skied over 40 days last year in all kinds of conditions and terrain.


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## Savemeasammy (Sep 17, 2014)

WWF-VT said:


> FWIW - I plan to get the Volkl RTM 81 as my groomer/hard pack ski this season.   I did an all day demo last year at Sugarbush and was amazed at how they hold an edge and make you want to ski fast.  I have retired an old pair of Fischer RX-8's that were my usual hard pack ski.  My daily driver is the Volkl Bridge that I skied over 40 days last year in all kinds of conditions and terrain.



Just curious - since these are fully rockered, did you find them to be wobbly at speed when you were going straight (i.e. when the ski was not on edge?)


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## WWF-VT (Sep 17, 2014)

Savemeasammy said:


> Just curious - since these are fully rockered, did you find them to be wobbly at speed when you were going straight (i.e. when the ski was not on edge?)
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad using AlpineZone mobile app



That was not an issue or anything that I noticed.


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## Edd (Sep 19, 2014)

Savemeasammy said:


> Just curious - since these are fully rockered, did you find them to be wobbly at speed when you were going straight (i.e. when the ski was not on edge?)
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad using AlpineZone mobile app




I noticed the wander-y feel while straightlining on a demo set of 170 RTM 84s.  I got used to it though.  Pretty good ski.

The next season I tried the same ski in a 177 and noticed it much less.  I found it less fun in that length, though.  The same day I tried the 177 K2 Rictor 82s and enjoyed them more.  They felt planted and playful.

If I get a chance to demo the 81s cheap I definitely will.


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## Savemeasammy (Sep 19, 2014)

The reason I wondered is because I demoed some atomic Blackeye's, which have tip and tail rocker. I noticed they were squirrelly at speed when going straight (this was in skied-off soft powder which still allowed the skis to float a bit).  They were also in the low 160's, so they were definitely on the short side. 


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