equipment

ISPO Report 2017 | Ski

No groundbreaking innovations but still a few interesting new models

by Tobias Huber • 02/05/2017

As was to be expected, there are hardly any innovations or groundbreaking new products in the ski sector for the 2017/18 season. Ultimately, almost all manufacturers are taking up the ideas from previous years and presenting them in the form of further expanded freetouring series. They try to differentiate themselves from one another through various lightweight construction methods and sometimes incorporate complex designs into the ski structure, or offer a cheaper price point or entry-level model. Flagship models are given an asymmetric sidecut with an asymmetric tip design, which is presumably a foretaste of the ski design in the coming years. As we saw last year, powder twin tips continue to die out for many major manufacturers. There are more and more directional, lightweight skis with center widths of 90-110mm or for "bad snow".

Head
Head has also arrived in the freetouring or light freeriding segment and presents the new KORE series. In trendy, simple black, three models cover the medium widths of 93mm, 105mm and 117mm. A moderate rocker lifts the shovel, which has a slight early taper. The tails are slightly upturned but no twintips.

Armada
Armada is also launching a new "freetouring" series with the Tracer series. The flagship model is the Tracer 118 CHX, which is designed to be both light and stable. For women, there is the counterpart of the "Trace" series, with similar shapes and constructions. The JJ is now part of the freestyle/all-mountain ARV series, has been fundamentally revised (smoother running, slightly longer sidecut) and, similar to the Atomic Bentchetler, has a rounded nose for supposedly more float. Unlike the Atomic, the edge doesn't go all the way through, but still all the way around the tip (see gallery).

K2
K2 presented the Marksman last year. To match this all-mountain model, the Catamaran is now also available as an asymmetrical powder ski with a 120mm waist width. The direct successor to the Shreditor 120, which is very similar to its predecessor in terms of flex behavior, is likely to pave the way for many asymmetric powder skis. It will be interesting to see whether the other manufacturers will soon follow suit. The Powabunga, which is very popular with some skiers, is no longer in the range, but the old Pon2oon has been relaunched. In the directional skis, the Pinnacle series, the 118 remains unchanged, but the rocker on the narrower models has been shortened slightly to enable a sportier ride together with a slightly more stable core.

Blizzard
Blizzard has also given its top freeride model Spur a clearly asymmetrical sidecut (30m, 26m) including beveled tip and tail designs. The aesthetics are pleasing (to some) and the ski is said to ride superbly. Another gimmick: sidewalls that are clearly raised towards the center of the ski are supposed to provide even more lift when edging up. It is said that the principle was copied from surfboards. The Bodacious uses even more titanal in the ski.

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Head's new freeride collection: KORE line (left)

Völkl
Völkl is renaming the Frestyle models (One, Two, Three) and making the Two (Revolt 125) a little harder in response to feedback from team skiers. Apart from the freestyle and pricepoint models, we were informed that all other touring and freeride skis will be produced in Straubing. This includes the two new VTA touring models, which replace the Nanuk and Nunatak and are now part of the BTM series. The Confession now has a slightly longer rocker. Here, customer feedback was taken into account so that the ski no longer rides so extremely "board"-like.

Rossignol
Rossignol has thinned out its 7 Series range a little and completely revised it. Among other things, the honeycomb construction in the tip and tail is now even lighter. There are now three models, from the super successful and seemingly very easy to ski Soul7, to the Sky7HD, which is not a TV channel but a freetouring model, to the first dedicated touring ski Seek7. The LEDs are not integrated into the ski but are part of the exhibition stand.

Dynastar
Following the departure of Aurélien Ducrox (now at Movement), the traditional French manufacturer has softened the Legend somewhat. The Legend name, under which Dynastar has been successfully offering freeride skis for over a decade, has been adopted for an entire series that replaces the Cham models. Similar to Rossignol, the focus is on a lightweight construction that can be seen through the ski. At the same time, the three-part sidewalls should also improve power transmission. The Legend Women Line is also explicitly aimed at women. The Mythic series is aimed at the freeski mountaineering target group and the Vertical series is aimed at ski tourers, from beginners to professionals.

Faction
Faction has developed the new Prime series for freeski mountaineering together with Sam Anthamatten and has also tidied up the names of the other series. The skis are now all numbered from 1.0 (narrow) to 4.0 (wide) and are divided into five series (Prime, Candide, Dictator, Prodigy and Women).

RMU
Rocky Mountain Underground (RMU) is offering all skis in different layups for the coming season. All shapes will be available in three different degrees of hardness, which will then cover the desired area of use (e.g. lighter for touring, softer for freestyle, harder for big mountain) or personal preferences. So if you've always wanted to try out different flex behavior like a prototype tester, you can now do so at RMU.

You can find more pictures of the current models in the gallery!

Photo gallery

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ISPO Report 2017 | Ski touring boots and bindings

Lorenzo Rieg • 02/05/2017

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Lea Hartl • 02/04/2017

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Tobias Huber • 01/23/2016

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