Stockli Laser AX vs Blossom White Out

[jbotti]

First let me state that neither HH or Diana have skied either of these skis. With that said, I do think both these skis are worthy replacements to the old IM 78 which was the PMTS gold standard for a do everything all mountain ski.

I was able to ski both these skis over several days over this holiday season. First the Stockli. I continue to have trouble understanding their mount point on pretty much all their skis. I started with a mount 1 cm forward from their line. It skied OK but not great until I moved it to 2.5 cm forward where it skied beautifully. This ski unlike most Stocklis (at least from yesteryears) is not very stiff. It has a softer feel and it bends quite easily in carved arcs. The stated TR on the 175cm ski is 15.8m but it bends to a much tighter radius and it really rocks tight (call it 14ish m) arcs. Really fun. Having said that the lack of stiffness makes this the first Stocli that I have ever skied that does not have that glued to the snow feel. Edge hold is strong but not other worldly which we expect from Stockli. But off piste this ski is super nice and super friendly and real quick edge to edge. The time I spend on it with the mount 2.5cm forward it felt as fun as any 78 waisted ski I have been on and would do pretty everything I asked it to do. At times I wished for a little more glued to the snow feel but I probably would have gotten that at the expense of ease of use off piste. Its is substantially less stiff that the Kastle MX 78 and substantially more friendly off piste than that ski and in general more fun and just as much rebound as in tight arcs as this ski will pop you off the ground in arc after arc.

But then I started to ski the Blossom White Outs. As good as the Stockli is, the White Out pretty much dusts it in every way. This is the best 78 (its actually 77) waisted ski I have ever skied. This ski is only marginally stiffer than the Stockli yet it is totally glued to the snow with edge hold that is right there with every stockli or Kastle (mx series) that I have skied. Yet the flex is absolutely prefect for off piste skiing. The stated TR is 15 but it bends easily and nicely into more of a 14ish TR. This is one of the most fun skis to arc tight turns with. Felt a lot like my Head ISL with the snappiness of the short turns, the great rebound and how quick edge to edge they ski. Its a better on Piste ski than the old IM 78, better edge hold, easier to bend (although I am a better skier now than 7 years ago so some of it is me), tighter arcs and totally glued to the snow. Off piste this ski is fricking amazing. It went every where and did everything great. It has a pretty wide tip which floats amazing well and much better than the Stockli which has a reasonable amount of tip rocker to try and increase float. I felt like it had all the characteristics off piste that I get with me ISLs or TT80s (super quick, tight TR) but with a slightly wider a base which was just easier to ski off piste in mixed snow (mix of wind buff, crud, bumps and some left over pow). Not that I would ever own one ski, but I could easily only ski this ski 90% of the time which I did for the next several days (I own the 176cm length). I am totally in love with this ski and I ski it a good chunk of the time (do still love my ISLs as they are so much fun on good hard snow).

Next time i get Harald out to Montana I will get him on these. My guess is that I don't get them back the rest of the visit. He really liked my Kastle MX 78 and thought it was only slightly stiff but certainly suitable for him as on off piste ski. Harald has skied another Blossom ski that he absolutely hated as I understand its a much stiffer ski than the White Out and evidently the tune was also railed. You would not want a lot more stiffness in a ski made this way.

I think the White Outs are the nicest made skis I have veer been on. Hand made in Italy and you can feel it the minute you arc your first turn.

Both of these skis are worthy replacements to the Im 78 (at least in my opinion). White Outs definitely the better of the two.

We will have Max 501 on a pair fairly soon. Heluva has been skiing the White Out for several years (and he is the one that turned me onto these skis). I am sure that they will chime in with commentary at some point.

One last thing. The White Outs came with almost a spring structure on the base. It would have grabbed our grippy snow and not let go. I got a new base grind and put on a mild winter structure and they skied great.

[jbotti]

Here is a link to Heluva's original review.
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3632

[chris719]

Do you remember what kind of bindings / plate were on both? I know Stockli can be sold flat or with I guess a Salomon system binding.

[jbotti]

The Stockli's had an adjustable Salomon system binding. My Blossoms are mounted with Head PRX,s.

[B.Mulligan]

Are the white outs the ones that are exactly the same as the old Hart Pulse? A local shop still has some older Hart pulses mounts with Vist speedlock plates and bindings...price is good so I'm curious how close this ski is to whiteout?

[jbotti]

I am not sure but Heluva knows. He can respond.

[CO_Steve]

Interesting you were able to make the AX work for you. I demoed a pair at SIA a couple years ago. Didn't try playing with mounting position but was pretty unimpressed with the ski.

From some research a while ago I thought the word on the Pulse was too stiff.

YMMV

[chris719]

The AX, CX, and SX were updated for 2017, just FYI. Others might be too, but those in particular.

[Vailsteve]

Concur with CO Steve-- Re the Stockli AX. Demoed it for two days last season. it does not compare to my older SC's or even the CX's I own. Felt a little like the old AR's. Did not like that ski either.

I am a BIG Stocki fan...I <foolishly> have 4 pair. My now three-year-old Y77's (77 underfoot) have become my back bowl ski of choice with its wide shovel. But for front side carving, the Lasee SC just rocks...and yes, I too had to adjust the mounting point forward.

Might have to try the blossoms as a replacement for my Head Rev 80 Pros...

Vailsteve

[jbotti]

If you ski any Stockli mounted on their line most will not love the ski. At 2.5 to 3mm forward from their line its a different ski. IMO its not worth demoing them unless you move the mount way forward.

[jbotti]

Concur with CO Steve-- Re the Stockli AX. Demoed it for two days last season. it does not compare to my older SC's or even the CX's I own. Felt a little like the old AR's. Did not like that ski either.

I am a BIG Stocki fan...I <foolishly> have 4 pair. My now three-year-old Y77's (77 underfoot) have become my back bowl ski of choice with its wide shovel. But for front side carving, the Lasee SC just rocks...and yes, I too had to adjust the mounting point forward.

Might have to try the blossoms as a replacement for my Head Rev 80 Pros...

Vailsteve

The AX is a different ski. Its not a slalom carver (like the SC). Its a 78mm waisted all mountain ski. That being said, the Blossom is a better ski.

[HeluvaSkier]

Are the white outs the ones that are exactly the same as the old Hart Pulse? A local shop still has some older Hart pulses mounts with Vist speedlock plates and bindings...price is good so I'm curious how close this ski is to whiteout?

No. The Pulse is the same ski as a now-discontinued ski called the Snoras. It is a no-metal version of the Wind Shear (but the same shape). The White Out is the same ski as the now-discontinued Hart Striker.

I own a pair of each of the Blossom "all-mountain" skis (Wind Shear, White Out, Snoras) and they all ski a bit differently, but with the same glued to the snow characteristics that JB described above. I think the most versatile is the Snoras/Pulse. It may not be the most ideal PMTS ski however, as it requires very strong tipping ability.

This was skied on the Snoras if you want an idea of the ski's top-end:

[jbotti]

From the best that I can tell (looking at both the Italian and US website) It doesn't appear that they make the Snoras any longer.

[HeluvaSkier]

From the best that I can tell (looking at both the Italian and US website) It doesn't appear that they make the Snoras any longer.

That is correct. I bought the last pair that Blossom had at the factory back in 2014.

[jbotti]

And now you tell us its a great ski?