RC4 Podium GT 110 VFF
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[Neither the RC4 The Curv DTX nor its scores have changed since this review was posted last season.]
It’s not unusual for ex-racers to participate in product testing, but it’s rare for a major brand to toss the keys to the R&D department to three former World Cup stars with instructions to build the best ski they can, unconstrained by FIS regulations.
Built for high speed at high edge angles, The Curv DTX deploys a triple radius sidecut to accentuate turn entry and exit. This makes it exceptionally agile for such a strong, stable ski. While it’s unabashedly made for experts, The Curv DTX lacks the imposing Booster plate that adorns its stablemate and so is a bit easier to bend at subsonic speeds. The elimination of the Booster plate also opens up the versatility of the ski regarding turn shape and skier style. The Booster all but requires the skier to go all-in on every arc; without it, The Curv DTX feels more playful and willing to carve from a more upright stance.
Ranger 115 FR
The Fischer Ranger 115 FR is an interesting amalgam of suppressed carving tendencies and overt desires to drift around every corner. Like any decent Powder ski, it’s first duty is to drift, but its ultralight Air Tec Ti core is sheathed in a sliver of Titanal, generating the security underfoot necessary to stay on course in heavy, cut-up crud. Despite its inherent prejudice for smearing, it’s on its best behavior when mimicking giant slalom technique through an open snowfield.
The one move it can’t copy is a short-radius, carved turn, a virtual impossibility given its front and rear rocker. This limited liability is shared by all Powder models, and is readily overcome by simply swiveling one’s feet. The Ranger 115 FR’s facility as a power drifter is further assisted by its Carbon Nose, which lowers swingweight, and its domed, Aeroshape top surface that slips sideways with silken ease.