by Jackson Hogen | Aug 16, 2019
Like every model in the Big Mountain category, Elan’s Ripstick 106 has lighter weight near the top of its design criteria. The Ripstick 106 is also in step with its competition in its use of carbon to replace heavier components, but the Slovenian ski maker deploys it in a unique fashion that takes full advantage of carbon’s capacity for shock damping and elasticity. Two 5mm-diameter tubes reside in CNC-machined grooves that follow the sidewall along the base of its all-wood core. Positioned as they are near the snow and the edge, the carbon cylinders can keep the Ripstick 106 on a calm edge when navigating rough terrain.
If you’re familiar with Elan, you’d be correct to surmise that the Ripstick 106 uses its signature, asymmetric sidecut, dubbed Amphibio. Given the Ripstick 106’s inherently looser tip and built-to-drift girth, the Amphibio effect isn’t enough to keep its tips cool, calm and collected on brittle hardpack.
But crispy corduroy isn’t where the Ripstick 106 longs to roam. It would like nothing better than to find a soft berm to sink into or bank off of. In its happy place in soft snow, it’s “super smooth and buttery,” according to an anonymous tester who tried in wind-affected crud.
by Jackson Hogen | Aug 31, 2018
The Enforcer 110 has taken possession of the top spot in the Big Mountain class, and not just based on its metal-charged power. Its edge is so stable that even at low edge angles the skier never has to fight to hold on, a common woe on hard snow with double-rockered, super-wide skis. Its performance envelope is as big as your imagination. It has the strength to batter through the stiffest crud, edge grip that can cope with hard snow and a shape that moves with ease through the deep stuff. “True to the Enforcer line, the 110 has an uncanny blend of big-ski float and directional fortitude, with a quickness and rebound that will have you tap dancing in the tight spots,” notes Boot Doctors’ indefatigable Bob Gleason.
by Jackson Hogen | Aug 31, 2018
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by Jackson Hogen | Aug 31, 2018
Dynastar’s Legend X 106 bears a family resemblance to the Cham 2.0 107 that preceded it. Its tip and tail rocker, 5-point sidecut and relatively skinny tail are all traits of the Cham clan, but it’s the new addition to the gene pool, Powerdrive, that elevates the Legend X 106 above its ancestors. Powerdrive is a 3-piece sidewall that extends into the core in the forebody. The TPU section closest to the core isn’t bonded to it, allowing the laminates in the Legend X 106’s sandwich construction to shear, or move relative to one another. The easy-bowing action of the forebody allows the Legend X 106 to follow terrain instead of fight it.
by Jackson Hogen | Aug 31, 2018
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