At Blister Summit 2023, we sat down with Icelantic’s John Douthit to discuss their 2023-2024 ski collection. We cover the resurrected & revised Shaman 2.0 collection; their new high-performance Pioneer X; athlete-driven Saba Pro & Nia Pro series; and more.
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Learn more about the Blister Summit here
TOPICS & TIMES
- Icelantic Shaman 2.0 00:00
- Icelantic Pioneer X 7:28
- Icelantic Nomad Series 12:47
- Icelantic Maiden Series 16:21
- Icelantic Saba Pro & Nia Pro 19:49
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You mentioned the Nomad’s poplar core, are you saying it’s again all poplar vs the recent paulownia combination? That Pioneer X sounds fun, any measured weights yet?
Interesting, that’s the first time I’ve heard somebody acknowledge the inherent bonding issues with DuraSurf sidewalls. P-Tex isn’t as bad for bonding as aluminum, mostly because you can easily flame-treat UHMWPE to increase the surface energy, but it’s not as easy as ABS either.
One other remark: I’m not surprised by how the “athlete-debeloped” skis (Saba and Nia) turned out. My preferences have been headed that way for a while. A fully reverse-cambered ski provides very progressive and predictable engagement from tip to tail as the ski is brought on edge, whereas with pronounced tip and tail rocker the engagement is more on/off. Also a reverse-camber ski can be made stiffer for any given skier since it doesn’t need to deflect as much (or at all) to make any given turn. This stiffness vs camber tradeoff was a point that Jonathan and Pete Wagner touched on in their GEAR:30 discussion in the context of the Lotus 138, and that I really resonated with. I wish more makers would take the approach embodied by the Saba and Nia, as the tradeoffs on harder patches of snow really aren’t that bad as long as you keep the ski up on edge a bit.
Speaking as somebody who sometimes rides Volkl V-Werks Katanas both on-mountain and backcountry, and who is eagerly awaiting a pair of stiff+SRC Raptures.
I also think that Volkl’s “subtle rocker” as in the Mantras and Katana is a nice intermediate solution for a more hard-snow oriented ski. I think that Jonathan is really onto something when he remarks that “a little rocker goes a long way”.
Clarifying: When I said that a reverse-cambered ski provides “very progressive and predictable engagement” I’m assuming the snow is at least a little soft (chalk, firm groomer, or softer), such that you can sink sink the edges at least a couple centimeters in. On boilerplate ice the engagement with a reverse-cambered ski is more binary (unless you have World Cup strength and skills): Either you’re far enough up on edge to engage the full-length of the ski on a flat surface, or you’re snowlerblading. But 100+ mm skis aren’t what you should be choosing for those conditions anyway, and IMO reverse-cambered skis are perfectly fine for navigating patches of ice once you learn to keep them up on edge.
Thanks Patrick, found those insights useful for my own reverse camber experiences