The new Rossignol Experience 82 Basalt is the rare bird that can serve both initiates taking the next step along their journey and those who’ve already arrived at their destination. Skiers who have endured the indignities of rentals and/or tattered hand-me-downs will find salvation in the EXP 82 Basalt. In the lower speed range inhabited by the less talented, it’s mindlessly simple to steer. It’s a classic confidence-builder for someone climbing the ability ladder.
Rossi envisions another natural mate for the EXP 82 Basalt: the competent, occasional skier for whom skiing is just part of the resort experience. All he asks of his gear is that he not have to hassle with it or worry about it. The EXP 82 Basalt is comfortable in any condition its owner is likely to care for, and supremely forgiving on the soft groomers that are his bliss.
With a sidecut made for carving but a baseline inclined to drift, the EXP 82 Basalt tries to accentuate the positive and disarm the negatives. As a learning vehicle, it’s more into gentle encouragement than demanding strict adherence to carving principles. As a long-term companion, it will be reliable as long as you keep your ambitions in check. For someone who is skiing more for social reasons – say, to hang with the grand-kids – the EXP 82 Basalt is just what the ski doctor ordered.
The simplest way to characterize the new M-Free 99 from Dynastar is it’s a narrow Powder ski, a genre that’s otherwise populated by models over 113mm underfoot. In groomed conditions, its tip and tail have nothing to do except dangle above the snow surface, waiting to be called into action. Considering how loose its extremities are, it’s cool, calm and collected underfoot, moving edge to edge in medium-radius turns without drawing attention to the fact that the tip and tail are on sabbatical.
Size selection is always important; with the M-Free 99, it’s critical. The 178cm length isn’t just a scaled-down 186cm, as each length goes through its own development process. To support the strong, fall-line crud skier who is the M-Free 99’s most probable partner, the 186cm length is a must, as it provides a longer, more stable mid-section to distribute a big boy’s pressure and liberate his aggressive instincts. Listen to the testimony of two strong, attacking testers from Bobo’s, Sawyer and the aptly nicknamed Big John Hume.
Sawyer, who devours terrain in 50-meter swaths, says, “The amount of tip and tail rocker make this a forgiving ski that still holds an edge through king-size turns yet it’s easy to shut it down and stay controlled.” Big John also liked the M-Free 99’s supple flex pattern, admiring its “soft, round flex tip-to-tail, making this a perfect one-ski quiver for the park rider wannabe.” His perspective brings to light an aptitude for air that may come to define its core audience.
Skiers who don’t barrel straight down the fall line will appreciate the M-Pro 99’s mix of agility and stability. Its natural inclination is to make a medium to long radius turn; short turns will tend to involve a bit of drift at the top and bottom with a clean edge in the belly of the turn. Chargers who attack the hill like Footloose’s Larry Rhoads will want to step up to the 186cm length, which Rhoads describes as a “22m machine that eats up terrain.”
Many, if not all, models in the All-Mountain West genre bill themselves as “50/50” skis, meaning they are equally adept on hard, groomed snow and soft, irregular crud. But Dynastar knows that skiers don’t buy a 99mm-waisted ski to cruise groomers; they get one in hopes of never seeing a groomer again.
So, the M-Pro 99 is clearly more of a 70/30 stick, with the 70% falling on the off-trail side of the ledger. The shallow sidecut and square tail design signal a directional ski that will plane evenly through tracked-up pow. Note the mere 10mm difference between tip width and tail, and less than 30mm delta from tip to waist. One way to think of the M-Pro 99 is as Powder ski shrunk to everyday dimensions, with a more supportive tail that will make a crisper arc on hardpack.
To give you an idea of what a steal the Bent Chetler 100 was when it was introduced three years ago, Atomic understandably raised its retail price by $100 a year later, and it was still the best value in the category. But the Bent Chetler 100 is more than just a good deal; it’s a wonderfully versatile ski that’s as easy to ski in off-trail conditions as any AMW model at any price.
The key to the Bent Chetler 100’s charms is its Horizon Tech tip and tail which are rockered on both axes. By crowning its extremities, the littler Chetler feels like it can drift in any direction on a whim without losing control of trajectory. When in its element, it’s the epitome of ease, rolling over terrain like a spatula over icing.
The Bent Chetler 100 is all about freedom of expression rather than the tyranny of technical turns. So what if its liberty-loving tip doesn’t want to show up early in the turn? That’s not its shtick. It has talents Technical skis never imagined, like throwing it in reverse off a precipice. It’s light, it’s easy to pivot and it’s wide enough to float in two feet of fresh. If you evaluate the Bent Chetler 100 for what it does rather than what it isn’t meant to do, it’s an all-star in a league of its own.
The Maverick 100 Ti’s special sauce is the combined effect of its double-rockered baseline (25/60/15), tapered tip and unique HRZN Tech Tip that’s rockered on both axes. Atomic calls this combo the ski’s Flow Profile, a good term for how a ski meets the snow. In the case of the Maverick 100 Ti, the front rocker reveals a decided preference for off-trail skiing, sacrificing early connection at the top of the turn on firm snow for a better buffer when barging through cut-up crud.
The 100 Ti is the best of the new Mavericks at drifting, able to smudge over loose, sloppy snow whether meeting it head-on, sideways or somewhere in between. It also has a bit more metal than its bros by dint of its added surface area, so it surprisingly holds a better edge on sheer surfaces than its skinnier siblings. Because its front rocker shortens its effective contact length by 25%, the Maverick 100 Ti is one of the rare AMW models for which we suggest grown males consider a 188cm.
Even though they’re a great leap ahead of the Vantage Pro Lite series they replace, the Maverick models are still an exercise in minimalism. Atomic underscores how the Mavericks are built with “only the essential materials.” True enough, and the Maverick 100 Ti has enough of the essentials to earn a Recommended medallion in the hotly competitive AMW genre.
