Fischer has a long and laureled history in both race slaloms and their close relations, deep-sidecut carvers. In the heady early years of carving Fischer experimented with symmetrical sidecuts and even models with a tail wider than the tip. The Curv GT isn’t that off-the-wall, but it does demonstrate the same willingness to tinker with every aspect of holding an edge through a tight turn on hard snow.
Fischer commissioned three former World Cup stars – Mike Von Grünigen, Kristian Ghedina and Hans Knauss – to create its current collection of carving skis, The Curv. Their quest was to build the ideal race ski without the restraints of FIS regulations to limit its possibilities. Their answer was to apply race-room construction to a 3-section sidecut, with a tighter radius at the top and bottom of the turn for maximum acceleration.
Lending extra damping to a classic wood-and-Titanal sandwich is a sheet of Diagotex Torsion, carbon fiber in a diagonal weave for extra torsional rigidity. Lengthwise, the carbon laminate muffles rebound, so the sharp-turning tail remains in contact with a carved arc to the very end. Last season, Fischer replicated all these Curv characteristics in an 80mm-waisted Frontside version, The Curv GT. Nothing was lost in the translation.
The Curv GT remains a Technical ski that begs to be laid over at a 45o angle, a posture the average skier can’t even accidentally achieve. But for the carving cognoscenti who know how to commit to every turn, The Curv GT is a dream, with a particular talent for short turns with a slingshot finish. “Powerful, wonderfully lively, with great rebound,” writes one tester who gets what the Curv GT is all about. “Go all in and it goes all in with you.”
If you need additional motivation to acquire this impeccable carving machine, Fischer has carved $100 off the Curv GT’s MSRP, bringing it down to $999, with binding.