Ski: 2012-2013 Coreupt Slasher, 187cm
Dimensions (mm): 131-112-128
Sidecut Radius: 20 meters
Boot / Bindings: Rossignol Experience Sensor 130 / Rossignol FKS 140 XXL’s (DIN at 9)
Mount Location: -1cm from recommended
Test Location: Taos Ski Valley, San Juan and Sangre De Christo backcountry
Days skied: 5
[Editor’s Note: Smaller ski companies get to enjoy lots of indie cred, but they also have to figure out how to make a go of it financially in an already crowded market place. This past week, Coreupt announced that it was going to be going through a financial restructuring, which is simply the latest example of just how difficult the path is for smaller, new companies.
We don’t know what this will ultimately mean for Coreupt, but we do know this: we’ve been reviewing the Coreupt Slasher, these skis can now be found at a discounted price, and we want to let you know whether the Slasher now represents a deal that you should jump on. Garrett Altmann reports.]
Founded in 2008, Coreupt is a relatively new company that was started by French freeskiing champion Guerlain Chicherit. With a line of freestyle & freeride skis, fresh outerwear, Coreupt definitely has a progressive lineup of freeskiing goods. For the 2012-13 season, the progression has continued with the introduction of the Slasher, a remarkably fun and playful ski for soft conditions and big drops.
The Slasher is the second-generation Richard Permin pro-model, intended for backcountry jibbing, hucking, and, of course, slashing. The design comes from Permin’s former pro-model, Born to Drop, which features traditional camber with a powder-friendly backcountry rocker.
My first runs on the Slasher were on the groomer, Powderhorn, at Taos. As I usually do with any new skis, I only waxed them and didn’t detune the edges. Conditions were firm and a bit icy due to sustained high winds, but the Slasher was able to perform large, relatively stable carves. The sharp edges became an issue only when initiating and transferring my weight between turns. Otherwise, the factory recommended mount point felt appropriate for initiating short-swing slalom turns, as well as driving longer-radius carves.
After a couple of test runs, I detuned the tips and tails to a point about 2-3” before the start of the rockered sections. The skis felt less catchy following this standard adjustment, but still didn’t feel completely comfortable on hardpack. Perhaps this was because the ski is relatively large at 112mm underfoot, but I also think this was the result of the hybrid construction, which appeared to be a fiberglass cap atop a vertically laminated wood core. The Slasher didn’t dampen vibrations all that well, but it did maintain a beefy, traditional-camber flex.
The next day, an advancing storm blanketed Taos with 17” of fresh (see our Taos trip report). For a mid-March squall, the snow was deep and surprisingly blower. As our crew headed down a groomer toward lift 2, I noticed that the Slasher felt a better than it had yesterday, now that there was some forgiving snow on top of the hardpack.
I saw some untracked on the shoulder of the run, carried my speed, and was able to crank a surf-like slash in the perfect pow. The Slashers now felt very much at home, and I headed up Lift 2 to access the Ridge.
For their size, the carrying weight of the Slasher felt very light during the hike up to the ridge, though I was also using my relatively light Rossignol FKS 140 bindings. (I think the Slashers mounted with FKS’s on a pair of next years Green Mountain Freeride Cast or MFD plates would make for a pretty ideal setup for shorter tours.)
Upon cresting the ridge atop Juarez, we could see that Kachina Peak was socked in, so opted to descend the Kitchen Wall and head toward North Chute. Conditions looked pristine. As a window of light illuminated a steep pocket in the trees, I dropped in to find more than 20 inches of blower had accumulated. These first turns were absolute heaven.
Throughout the day, the Slasher’s tip rocker allowed for surf-like floatation, and the camber underfoot allowed for immediate response and directional control. The narrower waist of the Slasher (112mm compared with 125 on the Born to Drop) also helped with this. When transitioning from high-speed slarves into speed-controlling slashes, the ski’s weight and BC rocker profile worked harmoniously. This proved especially useful for negotiating trees, as well as initiating speed checks for cliff drops, which is where I found the Slasher to shine brightest.
So this is Good or a Bad Review ?
Seems very ambivalent ….
Hi Dave,
The Slashers crushed it in soft snow, but didn’t hold as well as well as I would have liked on hardpack. Since, however, Coreupt markets this ski as more of a backcountry freeride ski, this shouldn’t be terribly surprising. It’s an outstanding soft snow ski that’s good in the air and stomps landings. But for me, at least, it isn’t a one-ski quiver.
any chance you can give a short comparison to a Bibby Pro or the RMU apostle ?
I have yet to ski the Bibby Pro but I can weigh in on a comparison with the RMU Apostle. They both incorporate traditional wood camber underfoot, have a strong flex, and are quick edge to edge. The Apostle tends to be quicker edge to edge since it’s narrower and a has a slightly smaller turning radius (17.3 vs. 20m). The Apostle is more playful and tends to ski much shorter than the Slasher due to the incorporation of the five-point design and a longer rocker section in the tail. While the Slasher has some rocker in the tail, it’s minimal and I did not experience any washing out in the tails of the ski, which I experienced on the Apostle.
The other significant difference between the two is that you have to ski the Apostle rather centered or forward, whereas your weight can be shifted over a much broader range on the Slasher. The Slasher allows for leaning back in heavy snow; a centered stance for landings or more solid snow; and leaning forward when charging steep, high speed lines. It also has more girth, which yields better flotation on deep days. I’d choose the Apostle as an all-mountain ski since it tends to be more nimble and playful in variable conditions; and the Slasher for days when it snows more than a few inches.
Hi Garrett,
interesting review. I have already posted first thoughts on the slasher in Will’s review of the steep ride jacket. I had demoed the 187 a couple of days in diferent stages of the season and finally end of April I have received an email form a retailer that they sell all coreupt skis for EUR 99 (approx. USD 140) – we now know why, namely because the brand has filed for insolvency.
Although I was hesitant as regards the durability – I am in line with you impression that the base is thin and quite soft – at that price I immediately ordered a pair, which is now in my garage, yet unmounted.
I would like to add some comments on the specs: Coreupt has obviously measured at the contact points. The shovel is a bit more than 140mm at the widest point. Moreover, you will find information in the internet that the slasher weighs 3,800 kg for the pair in the 187. This is not correct: I have weighed them and they are more like 4,500 kg for the pair in that length.
Actual length is about 185 cm (184,8). Tip Rocker is about 40 cm, Tail Rocker about 20 cm and the camberline is about 125 cm, so it is about 35% Rocker and 65% Camber. Anyone who is not interested in these figures can just have a look at your amazing profile shots to get an impression of the rocker proifle (what device do you use in order to squeeze the skis together?).
I find it very stiff underfoot, so stiff that it is quite tough to squeeze the bases together with one hand – at least it takes a bit of effort.
The recommended mounting point is about 98 to 99 cm from the shovel, so about 6 cm back from the core center. Unfortunately I have not paid attention as to where the demo pair was mounted (I assume it was mounted at the recommende mounting point). Yet, what I have done is that I have laid the bindings I want to mount on the ski and put a mounted pair of my 185 scott mega dozers next to the ski. then I have balanced the ski and I have stood on it with socks to try to get an impression how much ski there is in front of me. From the impression I got I would tend to mount it at – 1 to – 1,5 cm. There has been some discussion on TGR and in German speaking forums and the majority says that the ski best perfoms for them in this range. So, although a ski review is always subjective, the ski seems to be balanced in a way that about 1 to 1,5 cm back from the recommended mounting point is the sweet spot for most skiers.
As for the skiing: I like the ski a lot from the few demo days and conditions where from windblown to 40cm fresh to slush. I found that due to the stiffnes under the foot it carved very well and due to the semi rocker tail it did not really tend to wash out that much. I found it ok even on hard groomers – I have not skied them on boilerplate. I found that due to the low rocker profile and the wide shovel it floatet as well as my mega dozers that have a 119mm waist. I found that the slasher planes and floats best with shins forward. Even if the tip may sometimes dive slightly, the ski pops up again immdediately, like a porpoising effect. I finally found the ski quite good in slushy bumps despite the stiffness; yet harder bumps are some work. Trees: I only took one tree run and I find my 2012 line SFBs in the 184 length the better tree ski from that first impression as they are amazingly quick edge to edge and have even less swing weight than the slashers.
Would I take this as a one ski quiver? I cannot answer this yet. I have bought the slasher, because I could not resist the deal and had a good first impression from demoing. I will have to spend more time on the ski.
It will be interesting to read your further thoughts once you have skied them in Argentina this summer. For me, the season is likely over now that it is finally getting warm even on the glaciers that offer 365 day skiing. Norway is sometimes an option till mid/end June, but if you are unlucky, it may rain for two weeks straight.
Thanks for the input, Hannes! I agree that the sweet spot for this ski is attained by mounting 1-2cm behind the line.
Hi Garret,
First of all let me say it was a pleasure to read your extensive review of the Slasher!
I ended up on this post following an ebay chase for a pair of slashers but since I am here now,
I would kindly want to ask if I can shoot you some questions in “private”, as I wouldn’t want to overturn the discussions and the comments on this post.
It is of course about skis :)
Thank you in advance for you time reading this and trully hope we can exchange a few lines.
All the way from …get ready…Romania (you know where that is?!) :)
Sincerely,
Puiu D.
Hi Garret,
The review was great and helps a lot. I have been looking at Rossignol S7’s Nordica Patrons and the Slashers and was wondering what to buy. I am mainly looking for a ski to bring on ski trips (being from the east) that will kill pow if there is but also will be enjoyable to ride in normal conditions if there is no fresh snow. If it can be an alternative to my park skis (with no edges) back in the east on the groomers than great, but that isn’t necessarily the priority. I was wondering what you recommend and how the ski stacks up to its more expensive counter parts.
Thanks a lot
Olivier
Olivier,
If you’re looking for something more comfortable in all types of conditions, I would suggest the Nordica Patron over the Slasher or S7. The Slasher is great when conditions are soft but lacks the quality construction of a traditional laminate ski, resulting in more chatter and less predictable edge hold on hard pack. In terms of quality ski construction and stability in variable conditions, you’ll be better off spending a few more bucks on another type of ski.
A surprise I recently stumbled upon in this category is the Scott Punisher. Stay tuned in the coming days for my review of this ski. The Punisher may be the answer to your query…
Cheers,
Garrett
Hi,
i have a fresh pair of the Slashers and a new Marker Duke EPF here and im thinking about where to mount.
Did you come to new conclusions on the Mountingpoint so far? Most Guys talk about setting it about 1cm more to the tail.
I’m a little late to party on the Slashers, but I picked up a pair and mounted a set of Blue Salomon STH 14’s on the bad boys. This is my first powder ski and I couldn’t wait to get on em. I’m not an Expert but Advanced skier, Weight 225, and am 5’11, Athletic build. I took these to Durango 1st rattle out of the box and headed straight to lift 8 skiing numerous blue groomers on the way with about 2″ of crusty powder. Awesome!!! Just flew making big GS turns all the way down. They were perfect for these conditions to play in. Arriving at lift 8 came the blacks same thing Moguls dominated. These arent exactly the idea mogul ski but every once in a while I would find a side stash untouched and rip it. I have never been on a ski that truly floats my big butt. They did it and it was so fun. Definately NOT a one ski quiver, but isnt that the fun of having a quiver. So for my 1st set of of over 100mm waist skis, I loved them. On icy days Ive got something for that. Now on pow days Ive got something also.
Thanks for you guys having great reviews. Mine is a little amateurish (Sorry), I just hope you can get what a new POW skier is trying to get across. They are fun skis and I hope to have a lot more on em.
Bo