Harald Harb's 2012 Ski Reviews

[LivingProof]

The below link is from the PMTS forum and lists those skis HH considers as the best for 2012. It has not generated much discussion in that forum, understandable as technique discussions rule.

Anybody know what the new site "Skimember" is about and who is behind it?

http://skimember.com/ski-gear/best-skis-20112012

Of interest to we narrow ski carving types, is that the classic Supershape, now with KERS, will not be imported by Head in the USA. Just guessing, but, in terms of ski life, the SS is old news, therefore a tough to hype or sell. I intend to ski my non-Kers classic SS's (non magnum or speed) until they wear out. They did have to be repaired for edge delamination last year, so the life may not be that long. Harald indicates he will be skiing the new KERS SS this and that his shop may be the only place to buy it via a special import form Europe. Hmmmm...business decision driven selection?

The Head TT800 flies under the radar and is among the least discussed of carving skis, outside of PMTS. Head is introducing a new X-Shape model carver which appears to be the SS replacement at a lower cost, again just guessing. New name and graphics in an effort to get back in the game for carvers.

Also of interest is the HH is endorsing 2 slightly wider, certainly not fat, skis for those interested in an off piste powder ski. The Movement Jam, 85 waist, and the Movement Pirah, 93 waist. Both have a shorter turning radius akin to the Urrl's Chariots. Big step for Harald to move above the 78 waist. Is he caving to the trend of modern skiing and/or a business decision as he wants to have something to sell in a wider ski?

As expected from an HH review, a lot of good information. Our selection choices keep growing. Personally, if there is a new ski for me this year, it will be soft snow specific, so, there's much to think about, including the new Blizzard's which are the rave on Epic. Just guessing, but, upon return from the Epic Gathering, in Tahoe this year,  such a ski may be in my possession.

[Liam]

I liked HH's new ski reviews...though somewhat limited in number and intent.  But still, good info.

FWIW-the new Blizzard flipcore series (I've demo-ed 2 of them) are not just hype.  Though it took a while, the new experiments in early rising tips and tails, and all sorts of 'rocker' have yielded some very broad appealing results.  The Blizzard's are a good sign of this.

I also liked the two Rossi Experience skis I tried.  the 98 and the 88 are exactly (in my experience) as Peter keelty described them. Both surprisingly great firm snow carvers.  In fact, I think, for the hard core PMTS crowd (which I'm not part of)-the Experience 88 is a dead on great wider ski.  Very nice, even slightly softer flex, short turning radius for an 88mm waisted ski, and a fairly modest early rise tip and tail (almost imperceptible to the eye) that give it a little extra ease of use in nastier soft snow in tighter spaces.   I wonder if it skis similarly to the Movement Jam (which I haven't skied, but I admit the raves of the PMTS crew have me interested, and I always like something different)?

[jbotti]

When Harald first demo'd the Peak 84 and the Movement Jam, both times he called me from the slopes and raved for ten minutes about each ski. I think if he had to choose one today he would pick the Jam. I don't however find it surprising that he is recommending some slightly wider skis. He has always loved the IM 78 and he (as do I) feels this is one of the great skis ever made. The Peak 84 and the Jam appear to be very similar except slightly wider. It is getting nearly impossible to find a good all mountain versatile ski with traditional camber in the 78-88mm range. Most have some sort of early rise or both tip and tail rocker. So today if you wnat to find a solid trad all mountain ski you are looking at 85 under foot. There is the MX 78, the Peak 78, The Peak 84, the Peak 90, the Jam and not much else (Blizzard 8.1 and maybe the 8.7 but I think it now has some rocker). Pretty much everything else has rocker.

I am skeptical on the tip and tail rocker flipcore skis from Blizzard. I don't like tip and tail rocker at all and I will need to demo these to see if they have improved on this enough. I have yet to see a tip and tail rocker ski that actually carves when we define carving as being able to bend the tip and tighten the turn radius. Riding the sidecut does not count in my book and no tip and tail rocker ski I have been on comes anywhere close.

[jim-ratliff]

Anybody know what the new site "Skimember" is about and who is behind it?
http://skimember.com/ski-gear/best-skis-20112012

From the site itself.

The blog is a labor of love.   It is about performance skiing. period!
And, yes, it's highly opinionated.  After all, it's my site!
That means you won't be reading about snowboarding, cliff jumping, extreme skiing or any of the "glamorous" fringe skiing.

This site is dedicated to a skiing pioneer in his own right.  He also introduced me to the sport.  My Dad:  Roxy Rothafel.

[Liam]

Is the head flowride technology on the Peak 84 the same what these used on the Peak Flowride 88 of last season?  If so, it's not exactly a traditional camber ski.  Is the Peak 84 just a narrower version of last year's flow ride 88-sure sounds like it: Flowride tip, sandwich laminate construction with metal layers.

Jbotti-if you are looking for carving performance from the Flipcores---I think they'll let you down..at least if the are being compared with im or Kastle 78's (or something narrower) especially on hard snow.  However, the Bonafides I demoed responded wonderfully to tipping movements at turn initiation, they arced in softer snow as well as they drifted and smeared and they don't get kicked around like so many other early ride designs (except, for the Experience 98-which carve medium/ longer radius turns as well as any ski 85 mm waisted or bigger).  I think even the 'CARVE NOT SLARVE' crowd might appreciate these in deeper snow and crud...especially when those conditions are encountered in fairly tight spaces.

Liam

[jbotti]

I am looking forwrad to demoing the Blizzard freerise line and I will try the Bonafide first.

Head got a lot of crticism for the Flowride tips they had on their skis last year. I have not demo'd this years skis, but everyone is saying that they fixed that issue and that the tips are vastly improved. Minimal tip early rise is OK in a ski and in some instnaces it is hard to tell the difference between minimal early rise and one without it. The dynastar Sultan 85's have no eerly rise (at east the first two years, may be different this year) but they said they did because that is what sells. I haven't seen these skis yet (Head Peak series) but Harald says the tips are solid and vastly improved. Have to see and try them.

[Liam]

I guess it's also pretty easy because he only recommends 6 skis to choose from (and only one choice for deeper snow!)  and only two companies...now that's the kind  of 'easy choice' the command economists of the old Soviet Union would have loved.

Getting HH to express an opinion isn't exactly like mining for rare gems ya know. 

[midwif]

Liam
That is true, but I have noticed that when anyone tries to get HH involved in ski talk particulars, he rarely will go there.
And I don't blame him. I am sure many would love to pick his brain to death over the minutiae of this or that ski.

And we all know it's really all about the BOOT!

Lynn

[jim-ratliff]

Getting HH to express an opinion isn't exactly like mining for rare gems ya know. 

LOL.

[ToddW]

I guess it's also pretty easy because he only recommends 6 skis to choose from (and only one choice for deeper snow!)  and only two companies...now that's the kind  of 'easy choice' the command economists of the old Soviet Union would have loved.

Getting HH to express an opinion isn't exactly like mining for rare gems ya know. 

True about the opinions.  But amazingly many of his opinions are as valuable as rare gems.  As for the rest, we're all entitled to make mistakes

Back to ski choice:

It's even more what current supply chain executives would admire than what the Soviet planners would have admired. 

He and his crew test boots and skis extensively each year.  They find the smallest supplier bundle that can provide the best overall skiing experience.  Each new vendor relationship and export/import agreement adds significant cost and bureaucratic headache for a shop his size.  I know ... I have discussed this at length with the individual(s) who execute his supply plan.

He's not locked into any one vendor.  Witness his on and off and on again relationship with Dalbello boots as their quality changed.  Or his support for Elan around the time the expert 2 video was filmed only to be replaced by Head when Elan started adding too much camber to their skis.  Or this year's addition of Movement skis.

Of course since he only reviewed two product lines, that leaves a gaping hole for reviewers like you to fill.  I look forward to your opinions as you get out on the 2012 skis.

[Liam]

Is is relationship with D-bello on or off right now?  I liked the fit of the Scorpions (SF 110-130..I need the vibram soles) and hear they are putting out a 100mm lasted version with good flex this season.  I suspect he didn't like the Kryptons (which seems to be a love hate boot for just about everyone-I hated them, but my wife loves them-ain't that typical). I'll pull the trigger on the Scorpion Sf's or a Lange RX130 within the next month for this season.

As far as HH's business model...you know i was just poking fun--I work quite a bit in a good friend's bike and ski shop as needed in the busy seasons and I've always thought that going deeper and wider with fewer companies was the key to really getting the best product at the best price to your loyal consumers.  Sounds like Harald is heading in the right direction (or has always been in that direction).

[LivingProof]

Back to ski choice:

It's even more what current supply chain executives would admire than what the Soviet planners would have admired. 

He and his crew test boots and skis extensively each year.  They find the smallest supplier bundle that can provide the best overall skiing experience.  Each new vendor relationship and export/import agreement adds significant cost and bureaucratic headache for a shop his size.  I know ... I have discussed this at length with the individual(s) who execute his supply plan.

Todd's analysis is spot on! Never loose sight of the fact that Harald is a small business owner selling skis in an uber competitive market. He's dumb like a fox! Ski on models you sell, tout only those models, be quiet about everything else. By aligning with Head, he gets the mega-ski company with more models across the board than anyone. That relationship may have started with the original Supershape many seasons ago, and, as Head grew over the years, it's harder to leave. He's criticized several Head skis and I doubt they can be found in his shop. It's funny that in last year's World Cup championships, all Head podium finishers were photographed carrying i-speeds, but, you will not hear HH tout them.

From a supply standpoint, it would be easy to add 2 skis from a small vendor looking for the publicity, so adding Movement, a very limited distribution ski, should be an excellent fit. I still believe HH always wanted to find a wider ski to add to the fleet as that where today's market is. Carrying 6 skis just makes financial sense.

I still get a chuckle out of his announcement that he will ski on a ski that is not imported by Head USA. So, if you want to ski what HH skis, then you have to get it from him. On his last DVD, the Icon, now TT80, was the star, and now the love affair is over.

Anybody think the rest of the results of the ski testing results, detailing those less capable, will be published?

I'm not knocking what he does. As Max states, he gives away for free a lot of great information, and, listening to one trusted expert can save us all money and time. As Lynn states, he's really much more about skill development that finding the perfect ski. For sure, my quiver is much more competent than I.

But, then again, demoing is fun! I hope Head returns to the world famous Elk Mountain demo day - first Friday in January!

[jim-ratliff]

In one of the early books, Harald referenced the Head iC160 as a great ski for "skill development" so at least that far back he appreciated some Head skis. 

It was also about this time that Peter named the iC-160 his overall ski of the year, not because it was the best ski, but citing it for its versatility as well as the fact that "it almost draws better turns out of you."  And I seem to remember that Peter credited Harald with the quote.  I doubt that either Peter or Harald skied the iC-160 personally, but it was a great ski for me.

And I'm pretty sure that others on the forum have also owned the iC160, back in the dim distant past.  In fact, pretty sure Lynn owned a pair long before we met and I think Jbotti mentioned owning a pair.


PS. At the time, I wasn't even able to appreciate how good the ski was, but I bought my SuperShape Magnums because Peter said similar things about them contributing to skill development.

[jbotti]

I agree with Max on many of my issues being me rather than the skis!!

Just a couple of follow on points. First I still own a pair of the IC 160's and Harald did actually ski them for a seaosn and loved those skis. As Head produced some great skis that were stiffer and had more high end performance, Harald gravitated to them, starting with the the ISL, ISL Chip and then the Head SS when it first came out.

On the SS versus the Icon TT 80 there are a few reasons why Harald was higher on the TT 80 versus the old supershape. I own all three skis, the TT80, the old SS and the new SS with Kers. The big issue that I had with the old SS is that the tails did not like to release and this cut down on their quickness in fast slalom turns. It was also a bit of an issue in bumps. The TT 80 has less sidecut in the tails and it releases much better and vs the old SS it is a beter ski in bumps and it is faster in full on slalom turns (even with a wider TR). The new SS with Kers seems to have eliminated the hookyness of the tails and the ski releses much faster. For pure high speed slalom carving it is vastly superior to the old one and to the TT 80. Having said that, the TT 80 may be the best bump ski around. It is quick as can be, no hookiness to the tails and it doesn't have the tail pop that the SS with Kers has (wich is great on groomed but a handful in bumps).

Sure HH wants to sell his skis in inventory each year, but this has become more and more a service he is providing to his customers. The business has gotten so competitive that he is only buying a small number of skis each year and it is hardly a profit center for them. Having been with Harald when he is demoing skis, I can tell you that he will not ski on or sell a ski that he doesn't think is excellent or at least very good.

I hope to demo the movement Jams whenn I am out skiing iwth Harald in early December. From what I can tell talking to HH and Diana it sure seems like a great ski.

[ToddW]

Is is relationship with D-bello on or off right now?  I liked the fit of the Scorpions (SF 110-130..I need the vibram soles) and hear they are putting out a 100mm lasted version with good flex this season.  I suspect he didn't like the Kryptons (which seems to be a love hate boot for just about everyone-I hated them, but my wife loves them-ain't that typical). I'll pull the trigger on the Scorpion Sf's or a Lange RX130 within the next month for this season.
<snip>

Last season, Harb's shop sold the scorpion sr 110 and the scorpion sf 100.  They haven't posted this season's boot inventory yet.  Here's their blurb on the sr 110

New for 10-11 is Dalbello's Scorpion performance line. The SR 110 provides softer race-boot performance for lightweight men. Best for racing, carving, and all-mountain skiing. Low volume, low instep. Adjustable ramp and moderate cuff forward lean angles.