Pow and Mid Winter Conditions Update — Sam Shaheen 2.18.18
Last spring when Jonathan and I skied the 17/18 Spur (which comes back unchanged for 18/19), we both felt that it would be the perfect ski for the deep snow, (occasionally) tight trees, and plentiful, playful, lower-angle terrain of Niseko, Japan.
And now, having just returned from two weeks in Niseko with the Spur and the 18/19 Atomic Bent Chetler 120, I can say that our initial conclusions were pretty spot-on.
Deep / Bottomless Light Pow
This is the snow that Niseko is famous for, and it seems like it’s the snow the Spur was designed for. The deeper and more consistent the snow, the easier and more intuitive the Spur feels. From a neutral stance, the Spur is surfy and pivots easily — willing to slash, hack, and pop its way through playful terrain. In really deep snow, I found the Spur to definitely prefer a neutral stance, and a neutral stance tends to work extremely well in the terrain of Niseko.
The Spur is a bit more eager to turn than the 18/19 Bent Chetler 120, and a bit less comfortable going straight in consistent conditions (likely because of its huge amount of tip and tail taper). But the Spur definitely edges out the Bent Chetler in float (the Spur is longer, wider, and has a much-farther-back mount point).
Deep, Soft Chop
After the snow gets a bit tracked, the Spur has just enough stiffness and size to bust through soft chop, but this is definitely not where the ski shines. The more variable the snow, the less comfortable the Spur feels. Granted, deep chop is not an easy condition for any ski, but the huge amount of taper and softer flex of the Spur (including its very soft torsional flex pattern) make this an inefficient tool in variable. Passable, but inefficient.
Packed Powder
After the snow is completely tracked and the conditions transition to packed powder, the Spur again becomes quite fun as you can drive through the front of the shovels, still pivot easily, and surf around with a low swing weight and a relatively solid platform — this is actually a really fun tree ski in firmer, packed conditions (so long as we’re still talking about fairly soft conditions, and not harsh, refrozen coral reef).
Consolidated Pow
I was able to get the Spur into plenty of untracked and denser snow around Niseko while touring. Conditions were about 12-18” of soft-but-consolidated snow that ranged from fist-firmness on top, to a bit softer than one-finger farther down. In this snow, the Spur still prefers a neutral stance, but the less deep the snow, the more of a forward stance the Spur prefers. When things are not as deep, skiing more centered / neutral could result in me getting kicked back onto the tails — the tails aren’t punishing, but they will protest a bit in firmer / more shallow snow.
Still, I’d say that the Spur does a good job of responding to a multitude of stances — everything from centered to forward — so these stance changes seemed to be pretty natural and intuitive. But I’d say that the Bent Chetler 120 is a bit more intuitive when it comes to transitioning between different conditions. I think this is due to the radical shape of the Spur; it’s unique, and while others might have a different experience, it took me a bit of time to adjust to. (Where it felt quite intuitive to Jonathan right off the bat.) By comparison, the Bent Chetler 120 has a pretty standard freestyle shape with minimal taper, and its design felt more immediately familiar to me than the Spur.
Touring / Compatibility with Climbing Skins
I had the Spur mounted with a Fritschi Tecton 12 and G3’s new Alpinist+ Glide skins (review coming soon). Even though the tips and tails are oddly shaped, the G3 skin clips did a good job of fixing the skins to the Spur. The tip connectors work well and centering the skin is not too difficult. The tail clip isn’t all that secure, but even on long tours, I didn’t have much issue with it. (But if you intend to tour a lot on the Spur, G3’s twin tip tail connector would improve tail clip security).
The Spur might not be the ideal shape for a touring ski, but it is a damn fun one.
Bottom Line
The 17/18 – 18/19 Spur may not be anything like the previous iteration of the Spur, but this new version is definitely a fun ski. It feels light, snappy, pivoty, and surfy. It excels in deep and consistent snow, but can also handle conditions that are less than ideal, too.
So if you’re looking for a directional yet playful powder surfer, the new Spur should definitely be on your short list.
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Those skis are damn sexy!
Mind blowing, I just want to stare LOL
Almost bought the current Spur, now waiting to hear about these beasts
When do you expect them on the market for sale? fall of 2017?
Is it just me, or is Jackie Paaso riding these on the FWT on the wrong feet?? Search Youtube “GoPro run Jackie Paaso – Chamonix-Mont-Blanc staged in Vallnord-Arcalís – FWT17”
It reaalllly seems like you’re right, Daniel. What the hell?
Can’t imagine you’d do that by accident, but also can’t think of why you’d want the longer edge on the outside. Get her on the podcast and let’s find out!
If anyone is still following this – I messaged Jackie on IG and she said she was rushed once and put them on the wrong feet by accident but then realized that if she had them on that way she had a tighter turn radius so she sometimes intentionally rides them like that
More effective edge for variable conditions…
These look like they could reduce the centerline roost and face shots that symmetrical skis do so well.
Ok, I gotta ask. How do these asymmetrical skis work? I think I understand the basic idea: longer effective edge on the inside, with a shorter edge on the outside, so it doesn’t catch when you turn…something like that? If all else were equal (of course this is almost never the case) how would the asymmetrical shape change the way skis feel? Thanks for the great work–I can’t wait for the year review.
Interesting, I added last year’s Spur to the quiver at the end of the season but haven’t skied them yet. Reading this review I think I’m glad I went with last year’s model as I think it covers the top range of my quiver better as a powder work-horse than this more pivoty model. Sounds like a fun ski though.
Looks like a really fun ski for the trees and deep pow. A comparison with the new K2 Catamaran could be in order. Was wondering if the shovels on the new Spur will hold up in deep chop or fold up like noodles like the old Rossi S7?
Do these skis have skin capabilities? would the asymmetrical tip and tail disable skins to be put on? Would the same problem occur on the K2 catamaran?
I have been skiing a pair of 2013 Cochise based almost exclusively on your review. I can’t overstate how great these skis are. As an old guy (55) and from the East coast, they make me a better skier than I have any right to be. That said, I don’t think they are great in really deep powder. I’m a little too old and too heavy to really float the Cochise in bottomless powder. So, I bought the new Spur. Again, based exclusively on your buyer’s guide and my experience with the Cochise. Wow, what a fun ski. It has that same old school Cochise ‘suspension.’ It’s flat, it pivots, rails, surfs and, most importantly, it floats. The same Blizzard ‘flipcore BS’ DNA is in there but it’s a much easier ski than the Cochise. I’m not prepared to say it’s my go to side country weapon, but for deep (really deep) Jackson headwall, side country, and back country powder, they rock.
Any comparisons to the K2 Catamaran?
Wholly smokes what a ski! I took a gamble and bought it to replace my Black Crows Nocta 190 cm. The spurs are so fast and stable, very damp, light, and so easy to turn. It’s almost scary how fast they turn as you’re thinking about it. Almost like the DPS Lotus 138 that could pivot on a dime. These do too, but in a manageable width and with camber (i.e. more functional). Couldn’t believe the straight line ability/stability and the ability to do Tokyo drift style “turns”. Just sliding sideways across the fall line as far as I liked. I encountered pow, dust on crust and wind scoured bullet proof. It transposition from one type of snow to the other without flinching. I was skeptical on the shape design vs functionality but it is apparent immediately and works perfectly. Doesn’t hook snow, releases easily, and keeps it planed up on the snow vs. going for a scuba dive like my Noctas.
Hi.
Am about to pull the trigger on the spurs. With a waist width of 124 how exactly did you mount the fritchi techton 12 which have a max brake width of 120mm? What am I missing.
Id like to mount the atk freeraider 14 binding which also has a max of 120mm.
This will be used for a sled assisted touring ski in valemont BC. Lots of tree skiing and mini-golf lines. Always deep snow. Id like to use a light binding to keep the weigh down as they are a bit heavy for a touring ski.
I finally mounted these up and took them out for a ski. Fantastic! I’ve had them sitting around for a few years. I was looking for a replacement for the G3 Empire 127s that I loved and these seemed interesting. 22designs Outlaws, mount shifted 4cm back for tele. Variable wind and sun affected conditions. It’s a big ski, but totally manageable on the up and fun and easy on the down.