March 23, 2005; Sugar Bowl Resort, CA

So, did they work, and how were they? Show everyone proof that your ride was a success (or even a complete failure)!

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littleKam
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March 23, 2005; Sugar Bowl Resort, CA

Post by littleKam »

After skiing the Bonneville salt flats and getting unstuck from some Nevada mud, Big Kam and Skip manage to get themselves down to my place in Tahoe for a quick ski trip. With over a foot of new snow all over Tahoe, we decided to ski Sugar Bowl hoping to avoid the usual Tahoe feeding frenzy crowd.

This was our first test of the Red Oktobers, made by Big Kam and Kelvin, which have the following dimensions: 135-145-125mm. It's a Spatula-like ski, however, with a little more inverse sidecut and less negative camber (only 2mm). The first runs on the Red Oktobers were amazing and definitely changed our perspective on what a powder ski should be. The huge width combined with the reverse sidecut and soft flex made for a very forgiving ski that allow for super smooth turning and was pretty stable at high speeds in the powder. Even when skiing the cut up leftovers, the Red Oktobers just floated right over the junk. These skis are simply incredible.

They do have some drawbacks though. The skis were a bit too soft (only 7mm at the thickest portion of the core) which allowed them to get knocked around quite a bit. But having the ski so soft also made them very forgiving, which helped out when trying to throw these tanks around. The reverse sidecut was also a little too extreme. You could really notice the sidecut when skiing the hardpack and the bumps. With no edge grip, the skis were hard to control making me look like some wild bird flopping my hands all over the place. But I think with a little more practice, the firmer snow should be managable.

Overall, I really like these skis. They definitely changed how I will ski powder in the future and I doubt if I'll ever go back to skiing a regular fat ski on a powder day again. I've never realized how crappy a regular sidecut ski is for the deep snow.

Pics and video will be up soon.
- Kam S Leang (aka Little Kam)
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bigKam
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Post by bigKam »

here's the link to the video form sugar bowl. good times!!

http://www.skibuilders.com/gallery/redo ... bers02.asf
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Post by broskier »

I was just out at the Kirkwood freeskiing competition and had a chance to ski the spatulas. I am currently skiing the Line prophets (130mm underfoot). After taking runs on these skis and comparing the performance, I must say I like the Prophets better. I think the feel of a normal ski; being able to pressure the tip and tail, is more comforting. I did have a good time on the spatulas, but it was wierd on the hardpack and traversing. I felt like the only place you can edge was under the heel of each foot on the ski. Just my thoughts...
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littleKam
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Post by littleKam »

How was the Kirkwood comp? I was going to head out there for it but the conditions didn't seem to great.

I agree that the Prophets or something similar are more versatile than a Spatula-like ski. The Red Oktobers don't allow for any edge grip at all and can be super scary unless you're skiing powder. In fact, Squaw got over a foot of fresh today but I decided to skip the Okt's in favor of a regular pow ski for the control. I'm glad I did because I saw all the Spatula riders wobbling all over the place.

My next powder ski will be more like a Prophet but with no sidecut. Something with a waist near 130-150mm.
- Kam S Leang (aka Little Kam)
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bigKam
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Post by bigKam »

i agree that the Spatula-like skis aren't as versatile as traditional skis (with sidecut), but it's interesting how in soft and deep snow they perform pretty well. in fact, Spatula-like skis are fun because of their ability to turn. on that note, i'm curious about some variations of the design. Little Kam mentioned designing a wide ski with no sidecut to allow for more effect edge control. i agree and after some thought, i sketched out a design that i'm going to try:
Image
for now, i'm going to call them "Doink the Klown". anyway, the ski is kind of a half-breed, where the outside edge has negative sidecut and the inside edge has no sidecut. hopefully zero-sidecut inside edge will make traversing easier. i'm curious how something like this would ski and the affect of changing the length of zero sidecut on the inside edge. i'm planning on building this ski soon and then testing it in the backcountry, since that's where i mostly ski. anyway, i'll report back soon...
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littleKam
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Post by littleKam »

you're really into clowns
- Kam S Leang (aka Little Kam)
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Post by Madriverglen »

i love that idea those will be sweet skis
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Post by broskier »

I like the idea of ending the sidecut before the end of the ski. K2's seem to be widest at the tip and tail, but one thing that is different on my prophets is that the sidecut ends about a hand down from the tip and tail. I feel like I can turn them faster in the trees and slide them sideways better in pow, more spatula like I guess. The DOINKs are quite a nice looking design, definitely keep us posted on the progress of the ski.
cheers
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Post by broskier »

Oh by the way, the kirkwood comp was sick, you should have come down. It snowed about 4 feet on Monday and Tuesday, the comp started Thursday, and then got sunny and warm for the comp. Since the Cirque is North Facing it stays pretty nice though. I didn't compete due to a bum ankle, but I just hung out at the bottom and filmed and partied in the sun. It's a great place to celebrate; being the last comp of the year and nice and warm and sunny... ;)
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littleKam
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Post by littleKam »

i would've competed just to ride the cirque - legally. a couple of years ago i poached it and got a mouthful from a patroller. but it was worth it.
- Kam S Leang (aka Little Kam)
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