I'm looking for the perfect Teleski. Something that will keep on top of the crude but also float through the powder . Leaning towards Hippie Stixs, any word on the new Atomic?
i love my Atomic TMEXs. this year's is called TMX but it's the same ski. but i warn you... they are very stiff and not everyone likes a stiff ski. they are so far from anything K2 makes. two different wolds. i discribe K2s as noodles compared to the TM(E)Xs. i havent' skiied all the K2s, but i just don't think they make a ski like this. i've had friends tell me their knees hurt after skiing the TMEXs b/c of the stiffness, and one friend actually sold them b/c he couldn't get through the knee pain. and i admit i did have knee pains early season but worked through it to get to the glory.
i love them. it's like you can trust your life with these skis. i can throw them out there and carve on glass or rock and then they stay up on top in the powder. great in bumps, total control in crud and the death cookies are no match for these skis.
and everyone i've met on the hill has told me the same about their TM(E)Xs. they're just plain sic.
the way i look at the K2s is (and I'm sorry if this is going to piss someone off) there is a time and place for K2s. they are great skies for when you're learning how to ski or if you have bad knees. most everyone i know loves their K2s (as they should) but once they get to that certain aggresive spot in the learning curve, they try a stiffer ski, go to the next level and they sell the K2s for a faster more aggresive ski. just my two cents.
-trev
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I would also recommend the Rossi T4- great all-around ski, so smooth in variable conditions, even does reasonably well on ice. My friend in Steamboat just picked up a pair of this year's for $250, so the deals are out there.
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My friends, K2 is making the best ski in the industry right now. Atomic does make a great ski, but they are too light, and their construction leaves no side wall. You hit a rock...done, kiss those skis goodbye, because you cannot fix that type of construction. Laminate, vertical sidewalls are the only way to go, and K2 is one of the few right now producing a tough ski. I agree that K2 went through a flimsy stage, but more in the torsional flex area, and that is what causes a good portion of lack of edge control. And another thing, rating a ski on stiffness is plain old-school. It is NOT about stiffness anymore unless you are chasing gates. Super stiff skis do one of two things--hold an edge at extremely aggressive speeds, or snap you in and out of quick, gay-ass slalom turns. Head made a pow ski that was just about as stiff as something race stock--never took off, and ski testers even had a hard time saying good things about it because you had to be moving at 40 plus miles per hour to make it do something. I am not saying soft is the way to go, I am saying that stiff has down sides too. Do you ski powder? Go with a super stiffy and see how bad it performs. Skis can be stable at high speeds and still be a reasonable stiffness to take in powder, bumbs and etc. The wider the better too...You go wide enough, and you can straight line anything with comfort.....I am talking very high speeds.
I guess the moral of the story is, people ski differently and experience different things because of the variety of skiing styles. I fell in love with some K2's this year and next year they have a freeride fleet that in my opinion, are the best. Atomic makes great skis, but for me, I do not like the combination of stiff and light.
my atomic teledaddies are the best ski i've ever been on. my buddy says the same thing about his made'n. we ski the same stuff and we have similar styles. i just prefer one and he prefers the other. and dude above me: IMO your stiffness argument isnt completely accurate. i find that "pointing" stuff is much easier on stiffer skis. much less chatter and more stable at speed which translates into more useful edge. not to mention i like a stiff/light ski when it gets tight and steep(jump turns)it tends to stick better. but i give up two things , landings are tougher at the point of contact (but better control on the runout) and the park isnt as much fun. oh and K2 doesnt make the right ski for everyone. the pistol came in 179 and 189 as does the new vicious and the maden in 179. two short at 179 and only the pistol at 189 is managable as an everyday ski. Aand I do agree, WIDER IS BETTER (to a point).
It is NOT about stiffness anymore unless you are chasing gates. Super stiff skis do one of two things--hold an edge at extremely aggressive speeds, or snap you in and out of quick, gay-ass slalom turns.
Tell that to my Head M103s. They seem to ski powder pretty well for a stiff ski.
Anything will float with 103mm in the waist. If I lived in Jackson. I would pick stiffer skis to support the bigger lines and higher speeds I would encounter running out some shat. Same if I was at Snowbird. Here in Colorado, I like a happy medium to get through the weeks of no snow, and weeks of non-stop dumps, as I tend to pick more tecnical vs. high speed. I do not straight line as much like I used to when I was younger. But that is why I like the sandwich, laminate sidewalls with metal running through the ski...If I turn it up a notch, they perform, if I tone it down, I have a flex that will cooperate.
fair enough Howlie, I actually bought them last winter when I moved up to jackson. They were the ski for Cody. good times. I like them in CO too, and ski them tele, but they definitely like to run straight. The K2s are fun as well...whatever you're having fun on is best.
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