Redster X9 WB
Atomic’s entries in the Frontside genre come from the two different categories that abut it: the new Vantage 79 Ti and 82 Ti import their Prolite chassis from the wider world of All-Mountain models, while the latest Redster, the X9 WB, is a direct descendant of the Redster X9, a tight-radius Technical ski. Like brothers that don’t get along, they’re both from the same family but they could not be more different.
The “WB” in this Redster’s name stands for Wide Body, but by today’s standards its 75mm waist looks painfully corseted. Its sidecut radius is only 13.5m in a 168cm, roughly the dimensions of a World Cup slalom. If the pilot tilts it to a high edge angle, it will tuck into a short-radius turn with the eagerness of a cutting horse cornering a calf. (Note that it earns a 9.0 for short-radius turns, one of the best scores in the category for this bellwether feature.) As long as it isn’t subjected to FIS-level speeds, its fully cambered baseline stays plastered to the snow. If the pilot gives it a little poke in the tail just for grins, it responds with a jolt of energy that carries you weightlessly into the next turn.
Experience 84 AI W
When Rossi pushed the reset button on its cornerstone Experience series last season, it flipped from what was essentially a Frontside collection to a more off-trail orientation. The change is most noticeable in the tip, in part because Rossi’s Air Tip design catches the eye and because its pulled-back contact point and amply rockered forebody (30% of the total ski length) loosen up the tip.
Because of the Experience 84 AI W’s soft and compliant forebody, it rolls into the top of a turn as long as the pilot keeps pressure on it. Like its ideal pilot, it prefers its snow soft and its speed held in check. Its tidy, 12m radius sidecut is a short-turn specialist. Skiers whose carving skills are still in utero will find that its relatively short contact area will allow them to swivel their turns with impunity.
Deacon 84
Last year Völkl resurrected its beloved Mantra by concocting a new technology called Titanal Frame; this season, Völkl applies the Titanal Frame touch to its Frontside family. The new pater familias is the Deacon 84 and like the M5 Mantra, it represents a return to traditional Völkl values.
Compared to the RTM 84 it replaces, the Deacon 84 has more edge-gripping power, more energy out of the turn and an overall bigger performance envelope. It’s not just better than its predecessor; it out-scored the entire Frontside field in the primordial technical criteria of early turn entry and short-radius turns, as well as earning the top Finesse score in category, not bad for what is inherently a Power ski.
What is it about the Deacon 84 that allows it be all skis to all (Frontside) skiers? It’s the alluring combination of a fiberglass torsion box and tactically placed Titanal parts that nullify shock without stifling the glass structure’s naturally springy nature. It’s exceptional rebound – it will lift you right off the snow if you punch it – derives from the Deacon 84’s 3D Glass, top and bottom glass laminates that come together above the sidewall to create a torsion box. The 3-part Titanal Frame anchors the forebody and tail while allowing the center to react to pressure, so the glass can compress and load up energy for the turn transition.
Deacon 80
There’s a trail of clues that would lead a ski behavioral therapist to believe that the new Völkl Deacon 80 is the inferior in the relationship with its bigger brother, the Deacon 84. For starters, there’s its price, which works out to $100 less at retail. Price is usually an indicator of the cost of goods, and sure enough the Deacon 80 uses glass for its 3-piece top laminate instead of the Titanal in the 84. And the Deacon 80 is, of course, narrower, which among carving skis can sometime indicate that it’s geared slightly lower.
While these indicators are all true enough, the reality on snow is that the Deacon 80 is definitely in its brother’s league but it offers a different bundle of sensations. It’s more of a step laterally than down the product quality ladder. It uses the same structure as the 84’s Titanal Frame, with glass in lieu of metal. The 80 copies the 3D.Ridge and 3D.Glass construction of the 84, it has exactly the same size splits (ranging from 162cm to 182cm) and while it’s slimmer, it’s thinner by the same 4mm everywhere, so its sidecut radius is also identical to the 84’s.