New addition to family quiver: iM78, women's version

[Svend]

For the past while I've been looking for a replacement for my wife's Progressor 8's, which have been filling the easy, light and agile part of her quiver for a couple of years, and giving stellar service in that role.  She loves those skis, but at 160cm, she finds them a bit short and get tossed about in crud and rough snow.  (They're not headed out the door, though, as our 13 year old daughter has been anxiously waiting to get her little hands on those Progressors  , ever since she stole the keys and took them for a test drive when Mom wasn't looking). 

With the ever-increasing time spent out west on bigger mountains, it was time for something in the 78mm size.  But the ski also had to have good hard snow performance for daily-driver use here in the east.  Versatility in crud, hard snow, light soft snow was what she was after.  That, and a damp, stable, smooth running ski, with good power for high speed carving, but not overly demanding for all-day skiing.

She's had her eye on the women's version of the Head iM78 for some time -- called the Great One.  Same sidecut as the unisex version, and same construction -- liquidmetal, intelligence, sandwich sidewall, etc. -- just a different topsheet (see pic below).  I picked up a great deal on a pair last week, and they arrived today.  165cm length, 13m radius. 

Should be a fantastic performer and fit her needs perfectly.  They will complement her other skis very well ('07 Supershape Speed; '08 Dynastar Excl. Legend Powder -- although the latter may be replaced by a 98mm ski next year).  Like the unisex iM78, this ski has been winning nothing but accolades and glowing reviews from owners and media test reports, both here and in Europe.

They were sold flat, and I am most likely going with a Railflex binding for these, as it was the stock binding for the iM78, so should be a good match.  Powerail is just not available in the shops here -- no one sells them separately, and no one has the drill template -- otherwise I would get one of those.  But if anyone has other binding recommendations or experience to pass on, it would be appreciated.  I'm looking to get a bit of stand height for edge-to-edge quickness, so a flat mount is not something I'm keen to do.

Knowing that there are several big fans of the iM78 here (Hi John!), I have a couple of questions:

-- What binding position works best on these? She skis her Supershapes 1cm forward on the plate, but Progressors and Dynastars are at factory mark.

-- What tune works best? I am thinking 1 deg. base, 3 deg. side, just like her Supershapes and Progressors.  Is this a good setup for this ski? Or too aggressive and hooky?

Thanks in advance....

I will post a review once she gets some snow time on these in a few weeks, after our March Banff trip.

Cheers,

Svend




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[jim-ratliff]

Very nice looking ski, and I hear it lives up to it's name, a great one.


I would be willing to bet that, since the ski is a woman's model, the factory recommended  boot mounting point will be farther forward that the iM78.

[LivingProof]

Svend,

Nice present, and, I just know that she will love them. Whenever I read that Gary and you are getting new skis for your wives, I think that both of you get a lot pleasure from doing the purchase and seeing them smile. Sure says something about the women you both married.

Tennis rackets for my wife are just so inexpensive when compared to skis! 

Don't know if time is of the essence in mounting them (I'm sure it is, as, it's still ski season), but, can Gary get and ship to you a set of Power Rails? They are just so functional should your daughters want to use sometime in the future.

Mike
PS - The Sultan's are tuned, waxed and in the travel box for my flight to California tonight. One ski quiver for the week.

[Svend]

Thanks Mike.  I haven't given them to her yet, so it will be a complete surprise.  I am hoping I can sneak them to Banff in my own ski bag without her knowing, and then do a swap in her ski bag.  She reaches in to get her Dynastars, and finds these.  Will let you know if I pull it off.

And, yes, I do enjoy buying skis for my wife.  She just loves this sport, and can't get enough of it.  Diamonds? Gold? They're so yesterday.... 

Besides, if you recall, 30 ski-quivers are the new normal.  Technically, with our daughter getting the Progressors, my wife will still have only 3 pairs.  A paltry sum.

Have a great time in California.  And do post a review of the Sultans when you get back and have had some time in proper western snow, where they belong.  Enjoy!

Jim -- You're probably right about boot mounting point.  You've reminded me of some correspondence I had with the Head Canada Racing Tech Rep about her Supershape Speeds.  Two years after her model year ('07), those same skis became the woman's Power One -- exact same ski, binding, plate, flex pattern -- just different graphics.  But to accommodate a woman's body type, they moved the default boot positioning mark 1cm forward.  Coincidentally, in playing with her binding position on the Supershape's plate, she settled on that same spot as being the best balanced -- 1 cm forward. 

[Gary]

We live through our wives happiness!  AND are very fortunate to have wives that can leave tracks most anywhere on the mountain.

Svend..my vote: Since it's a womans ski..it's already forward mounted....go with the standard mount positions

and my favorite phrase: 1 and 3 baby!

Terryl is going to be shocked, grateful and now if we can just figure how to keep that smile off her face when she's making turns!

Looking forward to Banff!

G

[Svend]

Yeah, you're right -- the bindings should be fine at the factory mark.  Any balance issues, we can always move fore or aft.

And the 1 and 3 tune should be fine too, unless some of the iM78 owners here suggest otherwise.  All her skis are at that tune, including her Dynastars.  No issues, and working great, even in soft snow.

[meput]

I am very happy with the 1 and 3 edge grind on both of my iM 78 pairs (163's and 171's) in active duty.

[Svend]

Excellent -- thanks Jim.  That's good to know.  1 and 3 it shall be!

[Svend]

A quick update on these new skis....

I managed to sneak these all the way to Banff in my huge double ski bag without my wife suspecting that there was a second pair in there, and that they weren't mine!    She actually picked up my ski bag at the Calgary airport, but was obviously too tired to notice the extra weight.  Whew! Close call.

While she was out of the room the morning of our first ski day, I swapped them for the skis that she had brought in her bag.  Imagine her surprise when she went to retrieve her Dynastars, but found a new pair of Heads instead.  She thought she had taken the wrong bag at the airport! When she saw all of us laughing and hooting, she twigged on to the deception.  Needless to say, she was more than thrilled and delighted.

As for how the skis performed, well, she absolutely loves them.  More than once did she exclaim, after a particularly fun run, that they were "awesome". "fantastic", "bleedin' brilliant"!  They were perfect for the conditions we had during our seven days of skiing in Banff.  She skied them four of those days -- the no fresh snow days -- and other than one run down a back bowl at Louise through 12 inches of soft crud and powder, where the Dynastars would have been better, the iM78's served exceedingly well.  Groomers, bumps, crud, steeps, trees, boot high fresh snow -- they did it all.  Extremely versatile, and a perfect addition to her quiver.  No need to post a review, as quite a few here own the men's iM78, so there's not much more I can add to what is already an extensive body of writing on this ski.  Except to say that they are an excellent ski -- stable, damp, smooth running, rock solid at speed and on steeps, great edge grip, tail has power but is still compliant in bumps, shovel floats well and transitions smoothly over crud and chop, agile, snappy, good for short or long radius.....just a well-rounded and fun ski.

A note on the binding position: bindings were set at factory mark, but were moved forward one set of holes on the CP13 plate (about 1cm) after 2 days of skiing.  Thanks to the ever-observant Gary for noticing that she was having a bit of trouble engaging the shovels, and consulting with her on that to verify.  A few minutes with a posi-drive to set them forward and she was rocking on these the next day.

[jim-ratliff]

Well done Sir Viking.
I can almost see everyone laughing as she wonders how she picked up the wrong bag at the airport.
Well done indeed.

[midwif]

Very Nicely Done!

And glad she was able to enjoy them on the mountain.

I demo'ed these last year and felt they were too much for me.
It may have been the demo bindings.
I had foot pain while on these skis to the point I just wanted them off.
I have since learned that if I stop, rest for 10 min and then start re-skiing, the sense of
pain/discomfort goes away.

Sounds like a great time was had at Banff.
L.

[Svend]

Yeah, Banff was fantastic.  Some fresh snow almost every day, and had a mini-dump at Louise one morning -- about 8 inches in 45 minutes (12" in the back bowls).  Otherwise no epic huge snowfalls, but conditions were generally excellent.  A wonderful change from the miserable snow we've had here in Ontario this year.

The great thing about Banff, other than the stunning scenery, is that you can ski four mountains within 15 minutes to an hour's drive from the village -- Lake Louise, Sunshine, Norquay, and Nakiska.  Great variety of terrain, and if one of them is having bad weather, you just pick another and are guaranteed to have a fun day.  A wonderful place. indeed, and my favourite ski area by far (Utah being 2nd on the list).

Lynn -- too bad you didn't like these skis, but you seem to have found a great fit with the Progressors.  Still loving those?

Jim -- the puzzlement on her face when she opened the bag was considerable.  She found her gloves, hat and poles in there, but not the skis she was expecting.  "What the....?!" Too funny!

[midwif]

I stand corrected by Jim.

I demo'ed the Power One, not the Great One.

And still loving the Progressor's!

The Isis got only 3 days total and I am finding them a workout.
They may have to be a dedicated powder ski only, for me.

 I skied them in 3-5 inches of fresh which quickly turned to piles.
They wore me out.

I am hoping to get them in deeper, softer stuff some season for another try.

[midwif]

Ok, Jim sent me pages of info correcting my ski assumption.

Great Ones on the demo list for next year!

L.

[jim-ratliff]

  Otherwise no epic  PEAK snowfalls,
"What the....?!" Too funny!

Svend:


We don't discuss EPIC snowfalls here, we discuss PEAK snowfalls.