Another question on i.Supershapes

[Hobbit]

I ski i.sl in 160 and was considering getting into i.ss in the same length. Here is some interesting quote I found on epic regarding i.ss skis:

? the i-Supershape, which is optimized for lighter skiers/juniors in 160 and under, and men in 165 and up

I also recall HH mentioning that Diana tried i.ss in 160?s and they were no good at all, but he mentioned that this might be contributed to the particular ski which was a pilot production.

I wonder if anyone can confirm the info in the quote above or has additional info on the i.ss in this particular length.

If the quote above is correct I should consider i.ss in 165?s.

[Mac]

There was some talk on the forum here that the 160 Supershape had a softer tip than the longer models due to the reason being that the shorter lengths would be likely skied by lighter and less aggressive skiers, hence the different reviews for different lengths. I seem to remember hearing that they had since corrected that, but I don't know that for a fact. If you remember the day we skied at Abasin last April, I was skiing on the XRC 1100 Chip in a 177. However, I had demoed the Supershape pretty extensively back in the east, as I am thinking of grabbing a pair for myself. I demoed the 170 SS and felt that was all the ski I needed. I have never skied the i SL that you have, but if the 160 length that you have now feels right to you, I would hesitate to go any longer with the Supershape. Plus, I don't know if they have changed this years model from last years, so it might ski altogether differently. Probably better off to wait till the snow flies and demo first.

[Magyar]

I am looking for some 06 supershapes as well. I am a rapidly improving intermediate at 6'4" and 210 lb +/- (Hopefully more minus). Am spending time this summer on my new carvers. Any thoughts on length - 170, 175?

[Ron]

go long my friend! i am 6', 175 and the 170 is perfect. This is my all-time favorite ski. It absolutely rips on almost any terrain. Its my one-quiver ski unless its over 6" of powder or wet sloppy suff then my Im82's come out. The only warning I will give you is that if you don't have the skills or you're a timid skier, don't bother. Neither you nor the ski will be happy.

GO GIT EM'

PS- Dawgcatching, Scott has the best price and offers great service.

[jbotti]

I agree with Ron that the supershapes require any skier to be on his/her game. They also want to carve everything and they really don't like/want to skid at all. I am 6 3" and 190. I toyed with getting the 175's and I demoed them. I really thought that the character of the ski changed in the 175. These skis are made to carve the tighest turns at speed. I found that the 175's just started to feel like a different ski vs. the 165 and the 170. I also think it is plenty of ski (as far as beef/braun) for a 210 lb skier. When you add in that you are an improving/advanced intermediate, i would encourage you to ski them in a 170 or even a 165. I ski slalom skis in a 165 and so does everyone on the worldcup circuit and many of those guys weigh more than you (granted those skis are super burly).

IMO the Super Shapes were desigend to carve sickly tight arcs and the turn radius on all of them except the 175 is 12.1 or under. The 175 felt more like an RX 8 (another great ski) which is a great carver but not nearly as tight a turn radius.

Just my $.02. JB.

[Ron]

Great input! thanks. I did not ski the 175 and the SS is a ski that is very different at different lengths.

[Max_501]

I ski i.sl in 160 and was considering getting into i.ss in the same length.

I'm not sure about the soft tip...probably HH will be able to give you a definitive answer there. Here are some thoughts regarding lengths and the skis. For reference I'm 5'11" and 170lbs.

I have the iSL Chip in a 160cm. I love this ski. As you know on groomed runs it just rips and its surprisingly adept in up to 12" of snow. Its just a whole lot of fun.

I have the SuperShape in a 170cm. At 170cm it will handle 12" of snow and rips everywhere. I like it but not as much as the iSL Chip. I suspect I like the iSL Chip more because its shorter (and a bit more forgiving) and generally I use my SL boards for tight turns on groomed runs (especially when I know the snow will be firm). It would be interesting to see how the SS performed at 165cm.

At race camp I had the iSL Chip, the SuperShape, and the Atomic SL9 (I had tuned each before camp so I could just grab a fresh tune each morning). The iSL Chip was so much fun I used it every day.

For skiing off piste I grab my Atomic Metron B5s. They are great even when the snow is 24"+. I mention this so you'll know that I'm not skiing either of the Heads in deep snow/crud very often.

[Ron]

Great post. The story I heard on the 160's was that they tested a prototype and it was softer, they went back and changed the ski, making it much stiffer. The dims do change from length to length and I think this does effect the performance. The 170 has proven to be super versitile, adept at almost every condition up to 12" of pow. I personally skied in 8" and found it handled the snow with ease. It only got tossed around after the snow got piled up to 16" mounds across the fall line on a steep run. We were carving wide GS turns and it got bogged down a bit on the deeper heavier east coast powder. On ice and hard pack it truly excells and is just a pure thorough-bred that has no 'bottom". it took all I could give and just held and edge with my butt about 3" off the ground and my boot tipped over so far the buckles were getting popped open! try them, buy them, just git em'

[Max_501]

...it took all I could give and just held and edge with my butt about 3" off the ground...

3" !!!!!! Wowzer, you must be one heck of a carving machine!

[Ron]

lots of lessons! As my instructor says "dont be a pussy, just lay it over and let the ski do the work!

[Ron]

Couldn't edit

I am not skiing gates, you should know that big open runs are easy to lay over and play with the angulation.

[Max_501]

...you should know that big open runs are easy to lay over and play with the angulation.

No doubt, but 3" is elite status. I can't get anywhere near that low. You need to get someone to take a picture and put it up for your avatar!

[Ron]

thanks! I am not saying every run i am that low but I have been told this. i can't see it myself! I do boot-out often and have my buckles knocked open

[jbotti]

After just saying that I thought the SS's in a 175 changed character, I iwll say these that I have found on E Bay are a very good price. They are selling these for $559 with Tyrolia Free Flex 17 bindings. Thta's a very good deal for skis that never really went on sale last year.

Here is the link. Maybe they have some 170's or 165's?

http://cgi.ebay.com/06-Head-WC-i-Supers ... dZViewItem

[Ron]

Did you check with Scott (Dawgcatching) on his price?