I tried them one run in firm snow and agree they were very capable but quirky. One thing that stood out to me is how noisy they were… they really sounded chattery like lighter carbon skis (more sound than feeling).
w.r.t. the instability at low edge angles, I think it’s helpful to think in terms of “running length” (the distance between where the tip and tail rocker starts) and “effective edge length” (the distance between where the tip and tail tapers start). As a side-note, In a reverse-sidecut ski running length is usually specified in terms of the constant-reverse-camber portion of the ski (i.e. the “rocker” is considered to start where the radius of the reverse-camber tightens at each end).
For most current all mountain skis “effective edge length” is longer than “running length”, i.e. the taper starts closer to the tip and tail than does the rocker. This means that more of the ski’s length acts on the snow when tipped on edge than when running flat.
There is a catch, though: On hard snow you have to be up on edge by a certain amount to bring the portions of the sidecut in the tip and tail rocker zones into contact with the snow. Below that critical edge angle you’re only riding on the running length. Note also that if one end has more subtle rocker than the other end then it will engage at a lower edge angle. The net effect is that the perceived stability of the ski can vary quite a lot at low edge angles.
In the Raven the difference between effective and running length is pretty small: 116 cm running length and 129 cm effective edge in the 184 cm ski. Also, the tail rocker and taper start at the same point, so all of the added edge length comes in the tip.
From eyeing the side-on and top shots of the Prime 2.0, it appears to have a larger difference between running and effective lengths overall, and a lot of that added edge is in the tail. I would expect it to ski like a very short-tailed ski at low edge angles, and then like a longer-tailed one as you bring it up higher. I’ve ridden skis like that before, and they can be a bit unsteady IMO.
I tried them one run in firm snow and agree they were very capable but quirky. One thing that stood out to me is how noisy they were… they really sounded chattery like lighter carbon skis (more sound than feeling).
w.r.t. the instability at low edge angles, I think it’s helpful to think in terms of “running length” (the distance between where the tip and tail rocker starts) and “effective edge length” (the distance between where the tip and tail tapers start). As a side-note, In a reverse-sidecut ski running length is usually specified in terms of the constant-reverse-camber portion of the ski (i.e. the “rocker” is considered to start where the radius of the reverse-camber tightens at each end).
For most current all mountain skis “effective edge length” is longer than “running length”, i.e. the taper starts closer to the tip and tail than does the rocker. This means that more of the ski’s length acts on the snow when tipped on edge than when running flat.
There is a catch, though: On hard snow you have to be up on edge by a certain amount to bring the portions of the sidecut in the tip and tail rocker zones into contact with the snow. Below that critical edge angle you’re only riding on the running length. Note also that if one end has more subtle rocker than the other end then it will engage at a lower edge angle. The net effect is that the perceived stability of the ski can vary quite a lot at low edge angles.
In the Raven the difference between effective and running length is pretty small: 116 cm running length and 129 cm effective edge in the 184 cm ski. Also, the tail rocker and taper start at the same point, so all of the added edge length comes in the tip.
From eyeing the side-on and top shots of the Prime 2.0, it appears to have a larger difference between running and effective lengths overall, and a lot of that added edge is in the tail. I would expect it to ski like a very short-tailed ski at low edge angles, and then like a longer-tailed one as you bring it up higher. I’ve ridden skis like that before, and they can be a bit unsteady IMO.
My $0.02 FWIW.