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Slalom Ski Review


legrandice

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For christmas my sister gave me a new ski with the plan that I would try out some in the spring and pick the best one...boy am I spoiled by her!!

I decided to wait until the middle of may to get the ski's so I would have some time ski a few times and get over the beginning of season issues. I am not a great skier, I run the course at 15'off around 34 mph as I only ski it a few times a year and don't have the timing down. I ski open water about 99% of the time. I also wanted to keep the price below $600 which ruled out a few of the skis I was drooling over (Monza, Goode). Here are the ones I tried a my impressions. They were all 67 with the exception of the mapple (66)

Obrien Mapple:

Out of the box this ski looks awesome, the binding is VERY comfortable and offers a great support for my foot. It is shaped similar to my current ski, an O'brien siege. It was the hardest one of the group to get up on. Once up this ski was slow in the turns and did not have much speed through the wake. The least favorite of the group.

D3 Custom 2:

This ski was the fastest across the wake and was very smooth in the turns. It did not turn as quickly as the CR-7 but was VERY easy to control. I could not get over how light this ski was.

KD Carbon 7000:

I was hoping that this ski would be the one for me...fair price and looked identical to the CR-7. It was MUCH slower across the wake and harder to control in the turns. I only skied this one for a short time.

KD CR-7:

This ski is the one I ended up with. It is fast through the wakes and is easy to turn. It is easy to get up with and holds its edge through the wakes like no other. I can push it over a large wake (boat full of 9 people) and i don't go over the front like I used to. It corners very smoothly with little work on my part and accelerates almost as fast as the D3.

HO ??

I can't remember what model of HO I skied...it was 2004..not the top model but one down I think. This ski turned the best of all of them..too fast for me. I almost ate some water on the turns. I had a hard time keeping this ski in control. It was not as fast through the wakes.

So all in all it was close between the CR-7 and the D3 but it ended up being the CR-7 as overall it was a better ski. I was quite disappointed with the O'brien as it was only marginally better than my 6 year old siege. I have been using it for about one week and I am already skiing about 20% better!!! Yahoo.gif

Let me know if you want more details on any of the ones I tried....this ski testing was quite fun and I was suprised at the differences in the brands.

James

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Nice review.

I would guess that the HO ski you were on was the Truth. Not a particularly loved ski from the masses.

I believe that the Mapple & the Siege are cast from the same mold, just that the Mapple is supposed to be stiffer for better acceleration.

Interesting your comments on the Carbon 7000, one of my ski partners came off a semi-wide body ski onto the C 7000 over the CR-7 at the urging of his ski shop -- and he is not progressing much farther -- looks like he got some bad advice.

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I just switched from an HO Phantom to a D3 X5. I love the switch. I'm already running at my previous pb's in practice and have only been in the course with this ski for 3 sets. I ran 3@32' off the other day in mediocre conditions and the ski performed flawlessly. I got the ski for $450 as a factory demo through D3. If you call the factory, you can get some really good deals there.

My dad tried a Truth for about 3 sets and hated it and traded it on a Phantom. He likes the Phantom a lot, he likes the speed. I skied the Truth for my first set of the season, ran 4@28' off on it, but it is really slow for my liking.

The X5 seemed to be the best ski out of the box that I have tried, and I have been on a lot of skis.

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My impressions of the X5 are super stable, huge sweet spot, fun to ski, awesome turns, very forgiving to all my many mistakes right into mid 32 but not quite as quick as my Monza. The Monza is less forgiving on the onside turn. The offside is a dream. The speed is killer and when she is set up right and I'm on she smokes. If I'm a little off on a particular day it really lets me know how bad I suck. I could ski bad days on the D3 and make it through OK. It is much more forgiving. When your on fire, the Monza kicks it all over the place, but it is definately harder to ride well. The D3 isn't as finicky about fin adjustments. The Monza seems to be a tad touchy and definately needs fine tuning.

Overall:

D3= steady and comfortable

M= fast and quirky

Edited by Rod S
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I have ridden the Monza. I rode my roommates last week when I was without a ski. I was alternating sets with the Truth that my dad was trying out. The Monza is quick but I was really unhappy with the turns. I am not a great turner, but have a pretty solid pull, so I was willing to give up some speed for a little safer, more forgiving turn. I don't get the 7 days of practice that I used to, so I needed a ski that could get me a solid tournament run on 2 days practice. I also like the D3's rough water ride a lot better, as I have to deal with a lot of wind chop in Kansas. I did go with the new HO Approach bindings, which I have fallen in love with so far. The natural bend in the boot puts my knees in a better place without me having to work so hard, and the response is the best I have seen from a non-hard boot.

Overall I would totally agree with Rod, his input on the 2 skis is right on.

I haven't been on a System 8 yet, and after riding the Truth and being a 36mph only skier, I really don't plan on getting on one. I need to get on some wide ride HOs though for the INT Tour this year. I want to run 38' this year and get midway down 39 1/2'. My PB right now is 4@38'. It's funny how much fun that wide ride division is. Gives you a little more competition as a little larger group is in the same competitive pool since the 34 and 36 guys all ski at 30.

My competitive side is still missing my college skiing days though! Cry.gif

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