How many turns can you make in a run, in a day, in a season? It doesn’t matter what the answers are, for the Atomic Redster S9 has a bottomless well of SL arcs packed into its short and shapely frame. To the S9, every run must look like a racecourse. Its instinct for high-speed turning is so engrained it practically issues instructions to its pilot rather than takes them. If the S9’s desires were audible, the first prod to its pilot would be, “Go faster.” The types of whiplash turns it relishes need energy, so poking down the hill isn’t an option.
How is it possible to make a better Technical ski than Atomic’s Redster X9? It has the stability of a sumo wrestler and the reflexes of a fencer. If there’s a speed at which the edge breaks loose, chances are you’ll never touch it. Its imperturbable hold is amplified by a feature called Servotec, a long, thin rod embedded in an elastomer under the binding at one end and attached on the other end at a point just behind the shovel. The interaction of the rod and the elastomer during flexion both absorbs shock and actively restores ski/snow contact.
Only available in a 189cm length, the Proto Factory performs like a Technical ski in a fat suit. Despite its bulbous girth, it readily responds to its pilot’s carving intentions, getting into the turn as soon as its rockered and tapered tip permits. The midsection of its 5-point sidecut is powerful, energetic and totally trustworthy. Ready to break into a smear or cut into a carve on a moment’s notice, the Proto Factory is a decathlete of off-trail skiing.
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.
