What does it take for a small brand to stand out in market awash with small-batch producers? It certainly helps to have distinctive new technology that not only works as advertised but exceeds performance expectations. By converting what are normally horizontal strips of Titanal into vertical alu struts, Liberty created a shock-damping system that constantly seeks snow contact while retaining the subtle snow feel that Ti tends to muffle. The result is remarkably consistent performance in all snow conditions. Given its wide range of application, it would be a shame to shackle the evolv90 to groomers. Not that it can’t handle corduroy; it’s nearly full cambered, with only a smidgeon of early rise in the tip, so connection on hardpack is a given.
But groomers are only one note in the melody the evolv90 has memorized. It’s specialty is having no specialty. Crud is a kick, pow is a blast (duh), it has energy off the edge on hard snow and maintains clean connection with anything soft.
When Nordica was finding its feet as a ski brand, it earned its first critical acclaim and commercial foothold with its collection of carving skis. In the current market, the runaway success of Nordica’s Enforcer series has pushed its Frontside Spitfire models into the shadows, an unfortunate byproduct of Nordica’s ascendance into the first rank of ski makers. No one ski can change skiers’ infatuation with wide, off-trail models, but the Dobermann Spitfire 80 RB would gladly volunteer for the job. Powerful and playful in nearly equal measures, it’s such a confidence-inspiring platform that you’ll want to take it with you everywhere you go.
“Easy turning and forgiving,” notes Bobo’s Theron Lee. “Very user friendly, drifts well but holds an edge at higher edge angles. Feels like a western Frontside ski, able to handle soft snow as well as hard. Good energy feedback but not overly damp. Better at speed, low response at slower speeds. Suitable for intermediates up to and including Frontside speed addicts.”
It’s fitting that Line’s new Vision 98 should top our rankings for All-Mountain West Finesse skis, as it’s commitment to skis that are surfy and playful is ironclad. The brand that began to make twin-tip skiboards 25 years ago this season is the only mainstream brand without even a toe-hold in the Technical or Frontside categories. If you’re looking for wide ski that mimics a carving ski’s accuracy, you’re in the wrong room.
That said, the Vision 98 can hold its own in firm conditions because its moderately rockered tip and tail blend into the rest of its cambered baseline when it’s flexed, creating a long effective edge. Its flex distribution – geared towards a centered stance – shock dampening and liveliness are dictated by three high tech fibers, aramid, carbon and fiberglass, all working in concert to create an instantly responsive ski.
Line calls this amalgam of materials THC™ Construction, a term it shrewdly trademarked. About the only way the brand could have sent a louder signal to its constituents is if it had made the core out of hemp (close: it’s actually Paulownia and maple) and sold each pair with papers and a lighter. By keeping metal out of the Vision 98’s guts, Line is able to make it much lighter than the norm.
If you don’t know how to engage a ski at the top of the turn, and don’t care to know, you might as well stop reading about the Nordica Dobermann Spitfire 76 RB right now. It has the cleanest, highest, earliest connection to the next turn in a category in which this particular trait is prized. But if you’re still lingering on the downhill edge when you should already be tilting in the other direction, you’ll miss the moment. Don’t worry if you do, for the Spitfire 76 will find the edge as soon as you give it a chance. But part of what makes this review an unblushing rave will pass you by.
If you’re hooked on the G’s generated in a short turn, you’ll feel right at home on this cobra-quick stick. It has the reflexes of a fencer, moving unerringly into the center of the arc where it ignites and, as it says in its name, fires the skier across the fall line. The Dobermann Spitfire 76 RB has all the qualities a strong skier expects in a race ski, just de-tuned a red hair so it’s more fun for freeskiing. Jim Schaffner from Start Haus, a big man with an engrained race technique for which the term “powerful” seems inadequate, wrote of the Spitfire 76, “I felt like I could do anything on this ski. It’s fun, lively, snappy, with a dash of the Dobermann race heritage feel.”
