The Daily - January 28, 2022 - 44

Ideas
S K I T A L K
Völkl's Mantra has
been blowing testers'
minds for even longer
than a decade
not, it's hard to argue with its
infl uence during the past decade.
It was the powder ski that opened
up the mountain to thousands of
weekend warriors who had only
dreamed of skiing the deep stuff
like their ski movie heroes. The
Soul 7 was billed as a one-ski
quiver, and intermediate skiers
and up took the bait, hook, line,
and sinker. The Soul 7 was indeed
a turning point in the resurrection
of the Rossignol brand.
(along with the " Back in Black " Enforcer
Proto) brought well-deserved
attention to the collection when
it was relaunched. For more than
one season, Nordica sold out of the
Enforcers early in the buying cycle
and redefi ned " early release " when
the following season's off ering was on
the racks as early as February. While
the Santa Ana didn't experience the
sales success of the Enforcer, better
women skiers fl ocked to it-and for
good reason, because it ripped.
ROSSIGNOL SOUL 7
Whether you liked the Soul 7 or
44
STÖCKLI LASER AX
If you would ask skitalk.com's test
team and readers, " What is the most
searched, researched, and discussed
ski on the site? " the answer would
be the Laser AX. This consumer
following can be traced to the ski's
versatility. Intermediate skiers with
a solid skill set can get on the Laser,
and it will not overwhelm them; as
they progress, the ski will meld with
them, and the performance will be
there as they improve. Yet it is also
up to the task of being a top-level ski
for experts, just as the comma in its
price tag suggests.
RENOUN Z-90
We were one of the fi rst to shout
/ OUTDOOR RETAILER SNOW SHOW 2022
from the rooftops that the Renoun
Z-90 was one of the Skis of
the Decade. Was it lightning in a
bottle? Sheer beginner's luck? Or
was it the fortitude and gumption
of a millennial college dropout? I
think it was a combination of all
the above. From the fi rst turn we
made on the Renoun Z-90, we
knew that young Cyrus Schenk
had something special in his
HDT-infused wide carver. Renoun's
two-time ISPO Gold-winning
Hyper Damping Technology
(now known as VibeStop) is
indeed the real thing and can be
felt on snow because the Z-90 is
quiet and supple on the most inconsistent
snow. Where the Z-90
also shines is in the wide-body
charger shape, a design that was
unique in the 90mm segment.
OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
Other notable considerations
include some skis that continued
from the previous
decade:
DPS Wailer 112/112RP
The banana yellow powder
ski was the one that all others
were compared to. The Wailer
112 made DPS a (ski-) household
name.
K2 SuperCharger
This is the fi rst hard-snow
American ski that really went
head to head with Head and
the other Euro brands.
Kästle MX Series
The MX Series made even the
most frugal skiers reach deep
into their wallets.
Völkl Mantra/Aura
These skis defi ned a generation.
They were the King and
Queen, Mother and Father,
Adam and Eve of an entire
generation of skis, and no
Best of list is complete without
them.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Blizzard Brahma, Head Monster
88, Moment Bibby/Wildcat
Along with his wife, Tricia, Phil
Pugliese owns and manages
skitalk.com, one of the most respected
ski-review sites. Its test
team reviews over 200 pairs of
skis every year.
COURTESY HEAD, COURTESY VÖLKL
http://www.skitalk.com
The Daily - January 28, 2022

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