Freeride Ski Test for Season 2020

It's been a while since my last ski test in 2015, but in March 2019 I had two possibilities to test a number of freeride skis.

First one was in Kühtai where I had time to test skis from Line and second large one was the Freeride Testival 2019 tour stop in Kaunertal where most brands were available but I had to pick and choose due to time constraints.

On this page I list my notes of the different skis. In the end I will list my top three choises and will reveal my new skis for season 2020. I took a short POV video of all tested skis so that I can remember how they feel and these videos are linked next to reviews. My girlfriend helped by testing some womens skis and letting me take down the notes.

Me as skier: I'm a 40-something ex-mogul skier now doing ski tours, freeriding in resorts and a bit of carving on the pistes and jumps and rails in the park. For all of those I use one pair of skis which ends being a compromize for some of the activities. I'm 182 cm tall and weight is under 70 kg, and my backpack adds quite often 6-10 kg when in full daytrip mode.

I like 18 meter carving turns and if needed I will go much faster. I don't mind wide or even heavy skis if they carve well, handle moguls and tough snow conditions, kickers and rails too. Light skis are nice on the way up but I enjoy the way down much more than the way up, so skiing performance wins over feather weights.

Kühtai test

Line Mordecai 2019

Lenght 186 cm, center width 114 mm, radius 17 meters, weight 2100 g per ski.

Ski feels light and wobbly. Tail and tip are quite high off the ground and wobble around. Floats nicely in powder. Handles rugged snow ok'ish. Doesn't feel so nice when carving on the slopes. Wobbles too much. Skis backwards quite well. A bit slow when switching from edge to edge. Not as good as the old Line Opus. Doesn't feel nice in higher speeds and variable snow.

Line Sakana 2019

Lenght 181 cm, center width 105 mm, radius 15 meters, weight 1770 g per ski.

Light and carves well in low speeds. A bit too flexible but damping vibrations really well. Feels a bit unstable when straight lining. Skis bumps really well and has good pop when I want a bit of air inbetween bumps. Good in powder and soft snow. Not symmetric but can ski backwards though funky tail can bite hard into bumps. Playful for enjoying a small hill or mountain on and off piste?

Line Sick Day 104 2019

Length 179 cm, center width 104 mm, radius 19.3 meters, weight 1790 g per ski.

Hard ski. Not flexible. Feels like it does not carve at all. Radius feels even longer than the reported one. Can float on powder but doesn't like to turn. Hard to keep tips up in deeper snow. Can go fast and straight line but turns are not fun. Not a ski for me.

Reference: Line Sick Day 110 2014

As reference in the same Kühtai spring conditions my current ski Line Sick Day 110 from 2014.

Lenght 179 cm, center width 110 mm, radius 18 meters, weight 2007 g per ski.

Carves ok at low speed. With higher speeds the grip falls of and ski goes straight. Not a stiff nor a flexible ski but handles rough snow decently. A bit too short for me in powder so need to keep the tips above snow. Also a bit heavy when touring. Allows me to charge with ok confidence. Can ski backwards but not a twintip. For a wide ski, fast when from edge to edge.

Kaunertal Freeride Testival

Atomic Vantage 107 2019

Lenght 182 cm, center width 107 mm, radius 18.4 meters, weight 1980 g per ski.

Stiff and damp ski. Likes to go straight but can't get it to carve a turn. Ski goes straight or slides in a turn. Turns begin slowly. Feels really slow when doing faster turns and edge to edge. Can see the rocker on tip but tail is pretty straight. Ski has no pop so jumping from bumps feels odd. Heavy ski as well. Don't like this ski at all.

Armada Zero ARV 116 JJ 2020

Lenght 185 cm, center width 116 mm, radius 18 meters, weight 1700 g per ski.

Very light ski. Shape and easy rocker on tip and tail are to my liking. Unfortunately ski feels too soft. Feels like whole ski bends when charging bumpy snow. A bit too much wobble from the tip and tail so ski is not dampened well. On hard piste can't make the ski carve really well. I guess the ski flexes just too much in all directions. Ski is fast from edge to edge but just can't keep it carving under load. Ski feels stable when straight lining fast. There is not much pop in the ski but boy it's light in the air for twisters and things. On paper this is a perfect ski for me, but in reality it is too light and bendy.

Blizzard Rustler 11 2020

Lenght 180 cm, center width 112 mm, radius 19 meters, weight 2000 g per ski.

A light ski. Length a few cm short for me maybe. Skis really well on difficult snow. I can charge and push and ski holds the edge and flaps along. Light rocker tip is not wobling too much and ski is not really a twintip so tail does not bounce around. Damping feels well balanced. Ski can do really fast turns. The pop on bumps feels good so airtime is easy to get. Carves on piste well. Holds the edge also when going faster and feels stable at high speeds. Flexible but stable ski. Goes backwards too and feels nice, though only slight tail rocker and no twintip. A really good ski!

DPS Foundation Wailer 112RP

Lenght 184 cm, center width 112 mm, radius 15 meters, weight 2110 g per ski.

DPS bananas are wide but feel a bit heavy. Tail and tip rocker is nice but way too high and thus bounce around when skiing tough snow, bumps and also when carving. Too much wobble. The radius feels much longer than 15 meters. Ski is quite stiff from middle but feels quite loose from the tip and tail. Feels a bit unstable at higher speeds and when straight lining. These are forgiving in deep snow but not anywhere else.

Volkl Revolt 121 2020

Lenght 184 cm, center width 121 mm, radius 19 meters, weight 2440 g per ski.

Stiff, heavy and wide twintip ski. Stiffer than the old K2 HellBent but feeling is similar. Can't make it carve on piste. It's either straight line or sliding turns. Feels similar on chopped off piste. Really stable at high speeds but really difficult to do fast turns from edge to edge. High tip and tail are wobbling around a bit though ski is really stiff. Radius feels much longer. Ski is from the Freeride World Tour winner Markus Eder so it can handle high speeds, big jumps and big tricks. But it isn't for me doing medium speeds, small jumps and small tricks.

OGSO Spencer 110 SR ML 2020

Lenght 187 cm, center width 112 mm, radius 21 meters, weight 2250 g per ski.

The OGSO banana looks and feels like the old Armada JJ. More directional ski with long tip. Large tip and tail are forgiving in deep snow but wobble too much on choppy harder snow and icy piste. Ski carves ok in medium speeds but gives up when going faster. Can ski backwards but ski is clearly directional. Not too stiff. A bit heavy. Would like more dampening in the ski. Very similar to DPS Wailer. Slightly unstable when straight lining. There are better skis out there..

Line Vision 108 MFG 2020

Lenght 183 cm, center width 108 mm, radius 19.5 meters, weight 1605 g per ski.

Super light ski with delicate tip and tail rocker. Nice flexible ski but holds edge really well when carving. Feels just as good on choppy off piste snow. Slightly unstable when straight lining. Not a twintip but fun ski to go backwards. Has some pop to catch airs easily and lightness helps with all tricks. Tail is a bit soft but predictable. A really good ski!

Reference: Line Sick Day 110 2014

As reference in the same Kaunertal conditions my current ski Line Sick Day 110 from 2014.

Lenght 179 cm, center width 110 mm, radius 18 meters, weight 2007 g per ski.

Medium weight and carves ok in medium speeds. Grip reduces at high speeds as the ski twists. Can straightline and feels stable at it. Skis ok in choppy snow. A bit too short ski for me but light rocker in tip and tail help to keep tips above snow.

Womens Blizzard Sheeva 10 2020

Lenght 164 cm, center width 102 mm, radius 14.5 meters, weight 1550 g per ski.

The ladies version Blizzard Sheeva 10 2020 gets similar remarks to the mens Rustler 11 above. Light, easy carving and stable ski also in variable conditions.

Womens Icelandic Maiden 111 2020

Lenght 162 cm, center width 111 mm, radius 14.5 meters, weight 1606 g per ski.

Ski feels heavy and tip is long. Radius feels a lot longer. Ski goes straight and doesn't turn easily. Ski is stable at higher speeds but really slow turning from edge to edge. There are better skis.

Womens DPS Yvette A112 RP 2020

Lenght 158 cm, center width 112 mm, radius 15 meters, weight 1505 g per ski.

Light and wide ski with low rocker on tip and tail. Nice profile but ski feels a bit too wide. Stable in medium speed. Does longer turns too. Radius feels longer than 15 meters. Difficult to carve on hard piste due to wide shape, but does fast turns too. Nice stable ski but maybe a bit too wide.

Best freeride skis for 2020 season

Blizzard Rustler 11 2020: Clearly best in my tests. Light, carves well, handles difficult snow. A fun ski!
Line Vision 108 MFG 2020: Follows Rustler close to a second place. Again light, playful ski which carves well on piste and handles variable snow off piste.
Womens Blizzard Sheeva 10 2020: Light, carves well, handles difficult snow and overall fun ski for on and off piste.

My new skis are...

I didn't really need new skis as the Line Sick Day 110's are not completely done yet but edges and base have taken a number of hits over the past years. But when a local sport shop had some older gear on sale, I decided to pick the 2016 Armada JJ 2.0's for a bargain price. I don't think the newer models have changed much more than the paint job.

Armada JJ 2.0 2016

Length 185 cm, center width 117 mm, radius 17 meters, weight 2120 g per ski.

Ski carves well at medium speeds, radius increases at higher speeds and tail feels straighter. Ski feels lighter than the reported weight indicates. Rocker is a bit too high and tail and tip wobble around a bit but ski is fun and fast edge to edge on short turns and handles fast speeds really well. Followers of this blog will see more of the ski in action soon

Cheers,

-Mikko