To bring out its best qualities, the Vantage X 83 CTi needs to run at a respectable speed. To help encourage acceleration, the ski cuts a relatively shallow arc when riding a low edge. To cut a tidier corner requires the skier to commit to a higher edge angle, which brings out the ski’s best behavior. If this sounds like the Vantage X 83 CTi is geared for the experienced skier who likes to have some wind in his sails, well, it is. With only a dab of tip rocker, its baseline is made to connect with hard snow and its Carbon Tank Mesh and Titanium Backbone ensures the integrity of this connection throughout the recreational speed range.
The speeds this ski is ready to assume demand precision; events come at you quickly once you exceed 50mph. The relationship between ski and skier was like that between maestro and musician; when we work together, the music we make would make angels lay down their lyres to listen. Which of us was in charge didn’t seem to matter in the moment, as long as the notes we strung together formed a lilting melody. If you’re a former racer, you won’t need any introduction to the Redster G9. It will feel like what you used to race on, only smoother, less perturbed by rutted terrain and quicker on and off the edge when faster reactions are called for. If you’ve always loved the feel of a GS race ski, you’ll be head-over-heels over the G9.
The key to the Legend X106’s unique snow feel is a feature Dynastar has dubbed Powerdrive. It consists of a 3-piece sidewall, which in the case of the Legend X series is made from vertical layers of TPU, Paulownia and ABS on the outside. Its principal purposes are to provide a dampening element and to liberate the laminates in the core from their bond with the outer sidewall. Free to shear in response to shocks delivered to the forebody, the ski is better able to stay on the snow. And the Legend X106 does it without using a drop of Titanal.
What Fischer retains from its racing heritage is how to optimize the union of wood, Titanal and fiberglass. This combo provides the power to keep the skis tracking cleanly in broken snow or etching grooves into hardpack. The influence of the Lighter is Better movement is apparent in the Air Tec Ti core, an intricate whittling-away of much of the ski’s center material, and the selective use of Titanal to deliver the optimal vibration dampening that is metal’s métier.
Powerdrive is Dynastar’s name for a 3-piece sidewall which functions as a unique damping system. Stacked on edge alongside the core, it consists of a soft inner layer, a hard center section and a dynamic outer wall. Any time a viscoelastic material, like that used in the inner piece of Powerdrive, is bonded to Titanal (center part), the resulting element will act as a natural shock absorber, so the forebody of the Intense 12, where the Powerdrive feature resides, should stay nice and quiet on hard snow.
