by Vailsteve » Thu Apr 11, 2019 8:34 pm
Hi jbotti
I purchased the 174 length, which is just about perfect for me at 5’10”, 175 pounds. And yes I feeel like it skis true to size. There is no rocker that I can see...if there is, it is really small.
As to what I had to get used to, I will repeat what alluded to earlier—it is a stiff ski... to me. If I were Harald or Heluva or Geiffda, they would more than likely laugh at me and my sense of what a stiff ski really is. In fairness, I have been skiing my Hart Pulse ski the most this season— LOVE this ski as it goes anywhere. Today we had 4-6 inches of awesome powder and that ski just slices right through it. The Pulse is also a no metal version so it is softer with a great flex pattern.
My first day on the Speedzone was at A Basin. I could not get it to bend into an arc at all, Completely lost it once...sliding a dozen feet feet first. Not a good look!! And it is important to note that I truly am the proverbial non-athletic nerd engineer. I NEVER “get” anything athletic right on the first try— and learning to ski at 55 years of age, well... I have to go back to the very basics.
So stationary tipping drills. Edge hops. Stationary Foot pullback. Lift and tip. And lift and tip some more. Bunny slope for 4 hours one morning. Basically Book one Page one.
But after a week of skiing the Speedzone, things began to click. Or maybe another way to say this is I began to trust the PMTS movements and that the ski would respond the way I wanted it to. Like I said earlier, I think you have to ski this ski with very precise PMTS movements — and speed really helps this ski come alive.
I LOVE the feeling of arcing a turn...the power release drill is one of my all time favorites. The Speedzone hooks up and doesn’t let go until YOU release the ski. And it brushes a carve just as sweetly.
Bottomline, the Speedzone just rips the groomers—and not too shabby in the crud. The confidence I have in my movements and the ski’s edge hold lets me ski at “get your pass pulled speeds” when the light and snow (and traffic!) are good.
I did not like it as much in the steeper bumps....the Pulse is easier for me at my limited skill level.
In so many athletic endeavors, confidence is critically important...confidence/trust in your ability/movements and confidence/trust in your equipment. The Speedzone 14 gives me that.