ski show

[Icanski]

It's that time of year again, and last night I was working at the Head booth at the Toronto Intl ski show. Tod Brooker was with us. It was a pleasure meeting him and talking with him. A very nice fellow.

I got a good look at the skis and boots for the season. The Xenons, and the Magnum. And they had the supershape slalom ski. There were lots of people who wanted it but they are in extremely limited quantities.

It looks like the "dream" line of women's boots will be popular. The rep said they were doing very well with them last season. The women who tried them on at the show, loved the fit.

I wish I had had some cards for harbcarvers. I bet I could have sold a lot! I spoke with a guy from Skiers Edge who's an inline skater and ski racing coach, when I told him about the carvers he was immediately interested, so I gave him the address. He stopped talking about the edge and asked about those. Several people who asked what I'd been doing in the summer for training were very intrigued by them and will check out the website.

I was telling a woman about PMTS, since she asked if she'd have to ski differently with her new shaped skis. She's off to Chapters to buy the PMTS books, and may call me for a lesson. One of the CSIA guys, a level 4, overheard me and asked what I was talking about. I told him I was also certified in PMTS. He asked what the difference was and I said in a nutshell, we don't use a wedge, steering, or pivoting; and we don't teach them skills they need to unlearn. That the beginner learns the same essentials as the expert, at which point he told me the CSIA does the same thing. "if i've got a kid who is a hockey skater, I can get him doing parallel in an hour, and he's doing hockey stops all over the place; but if you get an older woman, she's going to want the wedge, she's not ready for parallel. If they want to give me their money and I take them out and they have fun, that's what it's all about. That's what the resort wants." I said I thought it was about teaching people to ski. I thought if they actually learned that, they'd come back for more lessons because they weren't stuck. He just didn't get it. Though I didn't expect him to. He was a level 4. He has training sessions on getting people ready for thier various levels. He also said that if they held people to a higher standard for the level 1, the resorts wouldn't have enough people to teach all the people coming for lessons. they won't stick around for a four day course for their level 1. It's like the Pennsylvania Railroad, which was very good at running lots of trains but not very good at serving their passengers, which is one reason that the railway didn't survive.

Other than that, I had a fun time. There were freestylers doing tricks off a ramp right next to us which was kind of fun.

Head also has some neat clothing this season. There's a nifty short and vest with padding and a spine protector in it, and a really nice fleece jacket with gel pads at the shoulders and elbows which racers like. It's a really stylish, and you can take the back protector out.

The line up generated lots of interest from the public. Though there were some comments about the graphics on some of the head skis. I must say some of the colors are quite bizarre: neon greens and oranges. The rep said the Austrian marketing guys are a bit out of it. Lots of questions about Bode, Herman, and Didier. There were two pictures of Bode and Herman up that made them look like cave men: vacant stares with two day old beards. How about a smile guys!
There were also some comments from people about the buttons being handed out "I heart Head" with a little heart on them. The guys thought they were great and asked for a couple. Several women turned away from the reps wearing them after they saw them.
I enjoyed myself, and learned about the new line. It looks like Head is moving up, and becoming very popular again. There is still a move towards wide skis, though even in the XRC line and Xenon, they aren't that wide: 68-75. The reps thought the monster78 and 82 were among their most popular skis and two of their best all around models. they also were pushing the Magnum as a great all around ski.
I'll stick with my SS. The new bindings have the ability to go forward or back 15 which some people will like on some models.
They even make a straight mogul ski. very narrow and straight as a rail. the rep didn't really tell us what was best for moguls. He said if you used SS or the skis with metal in them in the bumps, "hucking off them and landing hard, they would eventually bend most likely. Have any of you heard of people bending their skis?
It was a good evening.

Now we just need some snow.
Icanski

[stikki987]

Have any of you heard of people bending their skis?

Yes, I've seen many a bent ski. Most of the time it's just a slight reversal of camber but it's still enough to warrant the skis totaled, I've also seen bends of 20 degree in front of the binding.

Volants were terrible in this aspect due to the steel cap construction.

[Ken]

Sounds like you had fun at the show.

Too bad the XRCs weren't promoted more. I don't know if there is a better intermediate ski than the XRC800 (maybe the new Xenon 5.0?), and I don't even know where to find one to send a ski student that asks. I bought a used pair of demo XRC800 for the Mrs. from a shop across the country, and they look like they'd never been used.

[Icanski]

the 800 is still in the line (though the Xenons seem to be what they're pushing more because they are designed to compete with the Metron). there were lots of people who came by and raved about the xrc. The top version is black with a chip, it's called the Doctor/Lawyer ski by the rep. $$$.
John

[Thomas]

ditto on the xrc's they seem to be a great ski. I put several days on a pair 1200's from a couple years ago. Man those skis ripped; maybe it is all the time that I'm putting on wider skis these days, but when I was on those it felt like all you had to do was slightly tip the skis on edge and off they went. It was amazing, carving had never felt so fun nor easy.

hmmm I may have to pick up a pair this season. Does anybody know if they've changed them at all? I noticed the eliminated the 18x length but I wasn't going to get that one anyway (too long), but is the ski otherwise the same?

[BigE]

so, what do you do when the raptor 120 feels too soft, and you need a size 30 boot?

[SLAVA]

xrc1200 is great ski but i own 5 pairs of Head skis..

anyone interested get a good deal on xrc1200 in great condition? let me know Tyrolia race bindings installed. been used 3-4 times.

Portland ski show coming in 2-4 November i am counting days

[Thomas]

yes I would be. how much are you thinking. I could probably do a local pickup to avoid shipping.