Laser AR
Laser AX
Hero Elite Plus Ti
You can tell a lot about a ski by its immediate family. Rossi’s Hero Elite Plus Ti is closely related to the Hero Elite LT Ti and ST Ti, both legit non-FIS Race models, even though the Plus Ti’s plus-sized shape (78mm) is many mm’s more ample than the 71mm waist of the LT Ti and 68mm midriff on the SL Ti. The Hero Elite Plus Ti not only uses the same construction as its gate-bashing sibs, its sidecut radius is the same as the ST’s in the167cm size preferred by slalom specialists.
Two years ago, Rossi converted all of the Hero Elite clan to a new damping system, Line Control Technology. (LCT). Instead of using horizontal sheets of Titanal, as has been the case for decades among race models, LCT uses a vertical Ti laminate down the center of the ski so the forebody is more resistant to deflection. Torsional rigidity is softened a tad to allow the deep sidecut to engage gradually and progressively as the ski is tipped and pressured. “Stable and forgiving into the turn,” assures Scott Sahr from Aspen Ski and Board, “without compromising edge contact.”
Kanjo 84
The new Kanjo 84’s 3D Radius Sidecut is like an onboard coaching tool: the better the skier’s technique, the more often he’ll activate the Kanjo 84’s tighter turning center section. The more the skier can load the ski at the turn’s apex, the greater the rebound off the edge and across the fall line.
This level of performance “would not disappoint an advanced skier,” observes ski coach and tuning technician extraordinaire Theron Lee. “Smooth and easy turning, it’s able to carve with technique but just as happy to slarve into turns. Its fairly big sweet spot allows for a wide range of abilities, from solid intermediate level on up.”
Almost any model priced at the Kanjo 84’s $700 MSRP will satisfy the low-bar demands of intermediates. The beauty of the Kanjo 84 is it won’t overwhelm the first-time ski buyer yet has the performance ceiling of a much more expensive model. For a skier who can only get out a few times a year and is likely to spend that time on groomers, the Kanjo 84 is an outstanding value.