Demo, then Love

By Kurt Ranked #35 - Big Mountain Freeride Skis January 29, 2009

I was at Alta this past week with all kinds of conditions, and Demo-ed the Bent Chetler (and 5 other skis) over 5 days.

In summary I loved them.

DEEP:
I'm a big guy 6'5" and 240# yet they gave me lots of float and we're a joy in the deep. The more I skied them them more confident and capable I grew, especially in the trees. Even with a small gap I knew I could rely on turning exactly where i wanted to and thread the trees.

GROOMERS:
They were surprisingly good in hard pack groomers. I could make turns quite easily, unlike some others ( See below). They initiated well and without a lot of effort. It took me about 2 runs to figure out the balance point. Rather than carve with lots of forward pressure, they seemed to turn easiest by pushing my weight through the mid-point of my foot and flexing the ski a bit. I would have no hesitancy in skiing them on a day with only groomers, although I did not try them on any icy patches.

OTHERS:
I went looking to demo a Rossignol S7, but they were not available.
The other similar powder boards I demo-ed were Volkl Katana -- good in pow, but hard to turn and unexciting on anything groomed.
Atomic Thug -- Good float in the pow, but they were hard to turn even in deep stuff. I didn't feel confident that I could make the turn before the tree. On groomers, they were so hard to turn that my legs got exhausted.

View Details: Atomic Bent Chetler Ski

Helpful Votes: 2 Yes | 0 No