Salomon Czar Ski Review
soulrider
is a Powder Hound
Stoke Earnt: 3208
Salomon Czar Ski Review
Posted Tue, 02/22/2011 - 15:36Hi Guys,
Just wondering what you all think about the Salomon Czar - I've got some Sentinels at the moment which are OK but a bit too narrow underfoot for the deeper days and seem pretty stiff. I'm finding the sentinels slightly tricky to get the tips turning sometimes - maybe the 184s are just slightly too long for me. I've got a feeling the Czars will be great on the deep powder days but might not be all that versatile when it comes to skiing tight trees / bumps / pistes / short turns in couloirs... what do you think?
Re: Salomon Czar Ski Review
Posted Wed, 02/23/2011 - 02:22Hey Kenny, oh sorry, Soulrider!!! (guffaw!)
Yes, the Czars are sweet skis and surprisingly good in tight spots. I was a bit apprehensive about getting the 182's, (wanted the 190's but they were sold out) but was really surprised at how floaty they are. They have a huge rocker at the tip, no rocker on the tail, and have hardly any shovel. They almost look like one width from tip to tail. I thought they were fat at 116 underfoot, but really they were the narrowest skis on my recent cat trip to Vallhalla. The ski of choice here in BC at the moment is definately the Rossi S7. Its a massive, wide, rockered ski that is apparently so easy to ski its unbelievable.
Anyway, back to the Czars. I have mine mounted +1 of centre, so it feels like i have hardly any ski ahead of me. Once you get used to that feeling, and realise the tips don't want to sink, you can really get over the ski and see how good it is. In tight spots i find it amazing, mainly because im used to 191's, but also because of the rocker you can dump speed by smearing without hooking an edge like on traditional skis. Its also pretty fast edge to edge, and can hold up good turns on decent groomers. On ice, not so good. They are a bit chattery and have a mind of there own, but who skis ice anyway? Heres how i rate them in various conditions
1. Powder- So much fun, especially in chutes and trees. Make landing off any drops feel really stable. For wide open bowls and low angle powder terrian i would want something longer and wider
2. Chop/Crud-Good as long as its still softish. They are crap in moguls. Pretty solid and heavy for a Salomon ski
3. Groomers - Really good fun and hold and edge surprisingly well.
4. Ice-shit
Thats it Kenny. They are good, but remember Salomon are coming out with the new "Rocker" ski next year. They will be the new benchmark.
Re: Salomon Czar Ski Review
Posted Fri, 02/25/2011 - 14:29Ah, Captain Clawfoot! Might have known you'd come up with the goods - nice review... very informative!
I'm having a ski choice nightmare - I've pretty much decided the sentinels aren't for me - they'd be perfect if all I wanted to do was powered up GS turns on hardpack, but I need a load of versatility plus some float for when it dumps. I've got the Sentinels mounted on the midline and it just feels like the tips are way out in front, so maybe I should try changing that for starters.
The Czar sounds like it is awsome but I'd probably have to save it for the powder days 'cos I suspect skiing it all the time would be hard work when its scraped and bumped.
Hmmmm.... need to buy up a load of skis, mount them all with proper bindings, try them all out over a few weeks then sell the ones I don't like! Maybe they could become prizes on SkiMountain!