Ski: 2019-2020 Amplid Time Machine 90, 182 cm
Available Lengths: 176, 182 cm
Blister’s Measured Tip-to-Tail Length: 179.7 cm
Blister’s Measured Weight per Ski: 1690 & 1707 grams
Stated Dimensions: 127-90-117 mm
Blister’s Measured Dimensions: 127.8-91.5-117.6 mm
Stated Sidecut Radius (182 cm): 19.4 meters
Measured Tip & Tail Splay (ski decambered): 58.5 mm / 7 mm
Measured Traditional Camber Underfoot: ~4 mm
Core: Poplar + “Antiphase” + fiberglass laminate
Base: Sintered “7 HD”
Factory Recommended Mount Point: -10.65 cm from center; 79.2 cm from tail
Intro
A couple of years ago, Amplid released “Antiphase,” a proprietary damping construction technique that they say dramatically reduces unwanted vibrations on snowboards and skis. It’s used on a few of Amplid’s current boards and skis, and for the 19/20 and 20/21 seasons, the Amplid Time Machine 90 will be the sole Amplid ski that features Antiphase.
So what is Antiphase, and what kind of ski is the Time Machine 90?
What Amplid says about the Time Machine 90
“Trap yourself, intentionally, in a hedonistic Groundhog Day where you experience the best frontside turns of your life, day-in-day-out. Precise and deliberate, this understated pair of slend black beauties grips harder than a Crocodile’s jaw. Antiphase, this ski’s secret weapon, irons-out the bumps and whispers “Go faster!” in your ear. Shove em around with total disregard, or pilot them with calculated inputs and pin-point accuracy. At these G-Forces, technique is irrelevant, and self-belief is everything!”
I think the first thing to note here is that Amplid talks about using the Time Machine 90 for the “best frontside turns of your life,” and I think “frontside” is the key word here. We’ll talk about shape below, but the quick summary is that the Time Machine 90 looks very much like a “frontside” ski.
Second, Amplid talks about being able to just “shove” the Face Lift 90 around, or ski them with precision. That’s not something we typically highlight with skis that look like the Face Lift 90, but we’ll see if that changes with this ski.
Lastly, Amplid talks about their Antiphase technology, and that’s worth a bit of a closer look:
Amplid’s Antiphase Technology
Here’s the quick summary Amplid gives for Antiphase:
“Antiphase™ is a brand-new technology, developed in-house by Amplid, which reduces vibrations, improving board and ski stability. Unlike conventional damping, which relies on rubber elastomers to reduce vibrations, Antiphase™ is a multidirectional composite layer bonded to a non-Newtonian material, which is placed between the tip and binding. It disrupts the natural frequency of an oscillating ski/snowboard, stopping vibrations which otherwise amplify and end-up as tip chatter.”
No one likes a ski or board that chatters like crazy. Or at least, I don’t think anyone likes that.
Manufacturers have been working for years to combat this, and most brands have turned to heavy layups, rubber elastomer composites, and / or titanal metal to decrease that dreaded chatter.
But Amplid is going a different route with the Time Machine 90. They say Antiphase “works by introducing isolated materials with a different oscillation phase to fiberglass, in to the lay-up. Antiphase™ vibrates with a different frequency and amplitude to fiberglass. Almost instantaneously the oscillations of the vibrating Antiphase™ are out of sync with the main resonance body (the ski or snowboard) and start disrupting and damping chatter.”
Here’s a quick video showing Antiphase at work:
They also say that Antiphase “provides superior chatter damping without adding noticeable weight, and it doesn’t confer a soggy, dead feel like elastomer damping.”
Amplid is making a lot of bold claims about Antiphase, and if you’re a frequent reader of Blister, Antiphase is probably sounding a lot like Renoun’s “HDT” technology. Both companies claim that their respective technologies dramatically reduce unwanted vibrations without adding much weight. So we’ll definitely be comparing the Time Machine 90 to some of Renoun’s skis, particularly the Renoun Z-Line 90. Because these two skis seem pretty similar beyond their interesting core tech.
Shape / Rocker Profile
The Time Machine 90 has a pretty traditional “frontside” shape. It has a bit of tip taper (more than the Head Monster 88 Ti, Z-Line 90, and Liberty V92), but the Time Machine 90’s tail has almost zero taper. So the Time Machine 90’s tail looks like it’ll want to hang onto the end of a turn, but its slightly more tapered tip looks like it could decrease swing weight and maybe make the ski a bit more versatile off piste compared to skis with more “hammerhead” tips like the Z-Line 90, V92, etc.
The Time Machine 90’s rocker profile is similarly conservative. It has a tiny bit of tip rocker, and basically no tail rocker.
The designs of ~90mm-wide skis can vary a lot. Some skis look like they’re best reserved for groomed slopes, while others have more taper and rocker, and seem more like true “all-mountain” skis. The Time Machine 90 looks — at least on paper — like it falls into the former category.
Flex Pattern
Here’s how we’d characterize the flex pattern of the Time Machine 90:
Tips: 7
Shovels: 6.5
In Front of Toe Piece: 7-9
Underfoot: 9.5
Behind the Heel Piece: 9.5-8.5
Tails: 8.5-9.5
The Time Machine 90 has a very directional flex pattern. Its tips and shovels are fairly soft (though not super soft), and then it slowly stiffens as you move to the center of the ski. Once you get to the bindings, the ski is quite stiff, and it doesn’t soften up much in the tail. Compared to the Renoun Z-Line 90, the Time Machine 90 is softer in the tips and shovels, but the two skis feel very similar underfoot and in the tails.
Overall, the Time Machine 90’s flex pattern seems like it’d allow you to easily initiate turns, but then have a tail that’s strong enough to finish those turns cleanly.
Weight
The current (18/19) Time Machine 90 has two layers of titanal in it and a stated weight of 2200 grams per ski for the 182 cm version.
The 19/20–20/21 Time Machine 90 that we’re reviewing does not have any titanal, and comes in at a much lower weight of around 1700 grams per ski for the 182 cm length. That makes the Time Machine 90 one of the lightest frontside-oriented skis we’ve used. For a ski that’s supposed to encourage you to “Go faster!,” the Time Machine 90 is very light. Most skis we’ve been on that seem to encourage us to go faster are very, very heavy (e.g., Head Monsters, Fischer RC4 The Curv, etc.).
For reference, here are a number of our measured weights (per ski in grams) for some notable skis. Keep in mind the length differences to try to keep things apples-to-apples.
1690 & 1707 Amplid Time Machine 90, 182 cm (19/20–20/21)
1790 & 1831 Salomon XDR 88 Ti, 186 cm (17/18–18/19)
1839 & 1842 Black Crows Orb, 178.3 cm (17/18–18/19)
1864 & 1882 Armada Invictus 89 Ti, 187 cm (18/19–19/20)
1869 & 1894 Atomic Vantage 90 Ti, 184 cm (18/19–19/20)
1920 & 1940 Volkl Kendo, 177 cm (15/16–18/19)
1931 & 1932 DPS Foundation Cassiar 94, 185 cm (18/19–19/20)
1943 & 1968 Liberty V92, 186 cm (18/19)
1959 & 1985 Renoun Z-Line 90, 180 cm (17/18–18/19)
1997 & 2001 Blizzard Brahma, 180 cm (17/18–19/20)
2008 & 2015 Folsom Skis Spar 88, 182 cm (18/19–19/20)
2049 & 2065 Volkl Mantra M5, 177 cm (18/19–19/20)
2062 & 2063 Rossignol Experience 94 Ti, 187 cm (18/19–19/20)
2077 & 2092 K2 Ikonic 84 Ti, 177 cm – weight includes binding plates (17/18–19/20)
2098 & 2105 Nordica Enforcer 88, 179 cm (19/20)
2114 & 2133 Nordica Enforcer 93, 185 cm (16/17–19/20)
2171 & 2176 Head Monster 88 Ti, 184 cm (18/19)
Some Questions / Things We’re Curious About
(1) Just how well does the Time Machine 90’s Antiphase tech help reduce chatter at speed, especially given the very low weight of the ski?
(2) As with any ski this narrow, we’re eager to see if the Time Machine 90 feels like a dedicated groomer tool, or if it’s more of a true all-mountain ski.
(3) The Renoun Z-Line 90 is another carving-oriented ski that also features a seemingly unique damping material. So how will the Time Machine 90 compare to the Z-Line 90?
Bottom Line (For Now)
The new Amplid Time Machine 90 is very light, pretty strong, has a very traditional shape, and a very non-traditional construction. We’ll post a Flash Review for Blister Members as soon as we get enough time on the ski to form some initial impressions, and will report back with a full review down the line.
Rocker Pics:
Sounds interesting. Like the lean towards a more traditional camber shape. Looking forward to upcoming on-trail reviews.