Well thanks to all your advice

http://pistehors.com/news/forums/viewthread/463/

I went up to ekosport in Albertville last week to pick up a pair of fat skis

http://www.ekosport.fr/

Ekosport was manic and there was a snowstorm blowing and 10cm on the autoroute and the nationals all but impassable so I didn’t want to hang around. Anways the choice was Sugar Daddy / Janak or ... Heaven ‘n’ Hell which is a bird’s ski. They all seem to be pretty much the same ski but the I wanted 173cm and only the H’n’H was still available in this length plus it was 50 euros less - 149 euros which isn’t bed for a ski that would have retailed at more like 400-500 euros last year. They must cost that to make. Ok I would have to suffer everyone saying “ah mais, c’est un ski de meuf!”.

The skis weigh 3280 grammes for the pair. I took them to Espace Montagne in Grenoble who fitted a pair of Dynafit TLTs there and then for 198 euros so had them ready for Sunday:

http://www.espacemontagne.com/

with the TLTs they weigh 3940 grammes, not bad for a ski with nearly 100mm underfoot. Here are the official dimensions:-

173 cm: 124-99-115 mm / 28 m turn radius.

I was told to go longer because once you get onto fat skis you will want to go really fast and the shorter skis won’t be stable enough. Also the twin tip design means the effective length is actually shorter.

The skis are only mildly twin tipped. In fact if you are buying skins you can get one skin attachment with an elastic loop for the shovel and a fixed loop for the tail. That way they won’t come off even if the glue has almost completely gone The shovel is large but took my Black Diamond attachments ok without slippage, something I’d been worried about.

The graphics are not nice, well my wife loves them, a heart with a dagger through it on the tail… it must be a chick thang. The so called “embossed leather” finish the reviews talk about is a crinkly purple finish, like someone has sprayed hammerite on the skis. Ho hum.

The Dynafit TLTs look ridiculous but keep the weight down. I keep thinking of all those expired Marker Baron users I see on the side of the trail.

So I’ve only toured them one day. They are surprisingly light and if the track is there no problem for touring. I didn’t suffer any problems with them touching. The snow on the summit was windlbown and naturally they float pretty well on this despite the lack of length. In powder you can ski both short and long radius turns. Our route went through a section of 300m of forest trail we call the “border cross”, it is a succession of switchbacks with the added fun of ski tourers climbing up. Skis manouvered well but you fell the extra width on harder snow. The lack of sidecut makes me think they could work quite well on steeper, harder snow. To be tested. Skiing on the road section I found interesting. The snow was very compact and I had trouble making a carved turns.

I’m surprised at the weight of these boards, I might not ski them all the time but we covered 1400m in about 3 hours of climbing and I would have been happy to tour further. I’m waiting to test them in problem snow like crust and crud.

BTW I get the impression that the H ‘n’ H is a bit lighter and maybe not as still as the Sugars - maybe some reinforcing has been removed for this ski.

davidof - 06 February 2010 10:11 PM

The Dynafit TLTs look ridiculous but keep the weight down. I keep thinking of all those expired Marker Baron users I see on the side of the trail.

I’ve actually never seen Dukes or Barons anywhere other than outside restaurants

Actually you are right, I was using that for literary effect… like the dead goldrusherer weighed down by their booty in a Jack London novel. Oh alright forget it!

Actually I did see a guy with Marker Dukes and an airbag on his back the other day. He was on the platform at Geneve station. I was soooo templated to pull the handle on his airbag, just a wicked thought that crossed my mind. The skis looked really heavy, his eyes bulged when he picked them up and he kind of let out a wheezy sound like a deflating bagpipe.

I do see people with Diamir Freeriders though which are almost as heavy as the Duke.

Actually talking about Markers we’ll probably have to use all that TeetonGravitySpeak to discuss them.

davidof - 06 February 2010 11:35 PM

Actually I did see a guy with Marker Dukes and an airbag on his back the other day. He was on the platform at Geneve station. I was soooo templated to pull the handle on his airbag, just a wicked thought that crossed my mind. The skis looked really heavy, his eyes bulged when he picked them up and he kind of let out a wheezy sound like a deflating bagpipe.

I went through Geneva station the other day with my skis, my superfat 55mm Fischer nordic skis wearing a pair of running shoes with a metal bar in the toe. No idea what they weight, about the same as a pair of flip-flops I’d guess.

davidof - 06 February 2010 11:35 PM

I do see people with Diamir Freeriders though which are almost as heavy as the Duke.

I tour with freerides

ise - 07 February 2010 08:53 AM

I tour with freerides

which now seem light, I’ve just been out with some 7tm power tour sti’s and they feel extremely heavy. In fact oddly heavy, I’ve a light boot and I wonder if a light boot really makes you aware of the weight in the bindings. They’re on some BD havocs which isn’t the lightest ski I have either

I am no ski techy but i think the duke/baron is for for shorter bursts of effort with a max of 2 hours for most ordinary folk like me, with emphasis on stability. They are perfect for the odd yomp for 40 mins to get a better line or get away from trouble etc.

And no I wasn’t at Geneva station!

prescoan - 08 February 2010 05:30 PM

I am no ski techy but i think the duke/baron is for for shorter bursts of effort with a max of 2 hours for most ordinary folk like me, with emphasis on stability. They are perfect for the odd yomp for 40 mins to get a better line or get away from trouble etc.

And no I wasn’t at Geneva station!

Certainly if you want to huck stuff don’t do it on Dynafiddles, use Barons.