astrotech
07-06-2006, 11:56 AM
On my recent trip I finally managed to get some use out of my newest addition to the quiver. It is a K2 Chogori ski, mounted with Dynafit Classic (aka Speed in Europe) bindings using G3 skins for the ascent. This turned out to be a really good setup. The are fairly light on the climb up, which makes the suffering a bit less. The Chogoris are wide enough underfoot where you can get a good amount of traction out of them. The Dynafit bindings, of course, performed well in climb mode. I had the brakes mounted on my bindings which didn’t interfere with anything. The crampons worked well too, and provided some additional grip on steeper, icier parts. There is a mod to have a strap attached to the boot for the crampons, this helps lift them up when striding. I didn’t do this little hack, which meant I had to lift the skis a bit more, but it wasn’t too bad actually. The G3 skins performed well, I like the G3s over the BDs as they seem to be a bit stickier as well as easier to rip off, the tip/tail attachment system works just fine.
I have been skiing Atomic skis till now (the BD Havocs are made by Atomic), so the switch over to K2 did bring about a bit of trepidation, but when I finally pointed the tips down the fall line I was pleasantly surprised. These skis handled very well. The lighter weight meant less energy to swing them around, which made the skiing that much more enjoyable. They also turned very nicely, entering and exiting the arc quite nicely with a minimal amount of effort needed to get them to go where I want them to go, there is even a bit of the sensation of the skis doing the skiing for you. The Chogoris held their edges on the icier parts of Shasta well, while they didn’t sink too much in the mush at lower elevations. They turned through the windblown powder slabs just fine as well, without me noticing the transition between surface conditions too much. I haven’t had a chance to try them in deep powder or the chunky, choppy, icy stuff the East Coast is known for, but I think they will handle those conditions fairly well too.
Overall these are a fine addition to a quiver, and will make for a great pair of general backcountry skis. They are light enough where I feel I could do some serious touring on them if I had to, but yet heavy enough where they are not zinging off of every bump in the snow surface. I am not quite ready to call them a ski for a quiver of one, but they are certainly going to be my main BC workhorse.
Specs: I am 5’ 8” at 155 lbs and I was skiing on the 168cm model (112/70/97). The skis weigh in at 1360g for the 174cm model. I was driving the skis with a pair of Scarpa Lasers.
I have been skiing Atomic skis till now (the BD Havocs are made by Atomic), so the switch over to K2 did bring about a bit of trepidation, but when I finally pointed the tips down the fall line I was pleasantly surprised. These skis handled very well. The lighter weight meant less energy to swing them around, which made the skiing that much more enjoyable. They also turned very nicely, entering and exiting the arc quite nicely with a minimal amount of effort needed to get them to go where I want them to go, there is even a bit of the sensation of the skis doing the skiing for you. The Chogoris held their edges on the icier parts of Shasta well, while they didn’t sink too much in the mush at lower elevations. They turned through the windblown powder slabs just fine as well, without me noticing the transition between surface conditions too much. I haven’t had a chance to try them in deep powder or the chunky, choppy, icy stuff the East Coast is known for, but I think they will handle those conditions fairly well too.
Overall these are a fine addition to a quiver, and will make for a great pair of general backcountry skis. They are light enough where I feel I could do some serious touring on them if I had to, but yet heavy enough where they are not zinging off of every bump in the snow surface. I am not quite ready to call them a ski for a quiver of one, but they are certainly going to be my main BC workhorse.
Specs: I am 5’ 8” at 155 lbs and I was skiing on the 168cm model (112/70/97). The skis weigh in at 1360g for the 174cm model. I was driving the skis with a pair of Scarpa Lasers.