Head c270i

[violao]

Same sidecut and radius as ic160/c260i (112/64/95). Color scheme white/read instead of grey/blue. "carbon titanium jacket" and "superframe" written on a tail. Does anyone knows anything about this model?
Thanks!

[Harald]

Head does not bring that ski to the USA. I know the ski, but I don't like the construction. The carbon makes the ski feel unglued. It does not feel like an Austrian ski, too light, bouncy. I like the same ski with two medal layers, no carbon and fiberglass.

[violao]

Thanks Harald. Well, "carbon jacket" is used in c260i, that is believed to be a successor to ic160, and last year's ic160 model had "fiber jacket" (I've seen them in shop few days ago). Is it what you're saying that "metal" jacket of XRC series is superior to that of Cxxxi models?

If that is the case perhaps you might consider removing those ic160 from your site (replace them with XRC or whatever)?

I just took a closer look to Head site and it appears that c270i is a combination of 260 and 280 - same sidecut as 260, same technology as 280.

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EDIT: I picked up Intersport catalogue for 05/06 and there is a whole bunch of Head skis that don't appear on Head site:

C215, C250i, C270i, XRC400, XRC600

Interesting to note that Intersport offers none of the "regular" models from these 2 categories (C & XRC), but they DO have Supershapes and i.SL.

Does anyone know where these models stand in relation to other better known models and why is Head not marketing them?

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UPDATE: That's the one! It appears to be sold in Italy and Dennmark. Some links on German ebay too. Price is around 350 ? ($410).

[violao]

Well I finally gave in and got these. I decided against secondhand since all that were offered to me were seriously damaged and not much cheaper after all. Initially I leaned towards c260, but I got better deal for this one. I got them in 170cm (which I believe fits my 189cm/85kg nicely) and with SLD11 RF II bindings which I mounted in central position. I just took them out for a half day and we had 4 inches of fresh snow on top of previously groomed terrain so the conditions were less than ideal for testing the skis that are supposed to be made for groomed piste. Nevertheless I think I got some impressions, so here they are:

At first the skis feel stiffer and heavier then I expected. Much stiffer then my old x20, not as stiff as expert models but still more than enough for me. Overall quality of the skis and bindings appears to be very good. Everything fits perfectly and the outside appearance is very nice. The sidecut is the same as ic160/C260i and materials are the same as in c280i. I believe this makes them somewhat stiffer than C260i.

Now for the initial results. At first I've chosen a moderate slope and initially I felt it much easier to start a turn and also to make tighter turn as well as to stop. It seems that regardless of the greater stiffnes this sidecut (14.7m radius as opposed to 18m from x20 skis) works much better, even at slow speeds. Secondly, after turning awhile I stopped, looked behind and saw something that draw a big smile on my face - the two tracks - I saw for the first time. Apparently with my old skis I couldn't do better than skid, but this is going to be completely different experience. These skis made me able to go much more uphill at the finish of my turn and I believe this is due to much less proportion of skidding in my turns. Previously when the skies would come across the hill and started uphill while skidding, that would slow me down so quickly that I would stop almost immediately. Now I'm able to go uphill and leave the gravitation slow me down rather than the friction. Also I was finally able to perform some drills from book #2, for example release from the uphill LTE, so I guess that might finally lead to kissing the wedge goodbye.

As for fresh snow, as this was definitely not a deep powder, I can only say that I have never had the tips go down under or the edge catch uncontrollably in a mogul or elsewhere. I believe that's why everyone talks about 'forgiveness' of these (in fact ic160/260) skis. I don't believe that with 64mm waist they would survive the real powder.

I wasn't able to test the hardpack and ice edge grip, but hitting some icy patches I never lost the reaction from the ground (uncontrollably slipping - that would happen with my old skis even after they were sharpened). So I expect this to be also positive. Also performance in higher speed remains to be tested but that'll wait a while.

All in all I'm very satisfied. I am sure I didn't do anything different than on my old skis, but felt much more control and performed significantly better. Also keep in mind that this is completely intermediate review as I have no expert's abilities to be able to judge the expert performance of the skis.

EDIT: Forgot to say that base/side angle was factory set to 1 degree base, 2 degrees side, tips and tails detuned. It feels good so far and I intend to stick with it for a while.