Pop and Power
Written: Sep 10 '03
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Go anywhere in the west
Cons: Not for firm snow...
The Bottom Line: The 74 has the width you need for float, power to go anywhere, and a flex that'll make you a better skier
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| RONinPC's Full Review: Dynastar Intuitiv 74 Downhill Skis |
Summary:Dynastar improves on it's popular 4x4 powertrac with Autodrive.
Pros: Exceptional confidence plus a swoop at the end of every turn.
Cons:Took about a year to break in my 4x4 Powertrac, can be a plank in the powder.
Compare to:
Rossignol Brandit X
Head Cross Ti
Volkl P-50 Platinum
Ok, before I start bashing this ski, I want to make it clear that I own a pair, and love them.
Imagine a car company (BMW for instance) making a car like the X-5, and selling it to compete with a Range Rover. You would buy it expecting a capable four wheeler, and maybe be a bit disappointed in it's abilities. In the process though , if you were in the right situation, you might realize that "Hey, this thing really rips!", and can go just about anywhere fast in comfort and style... if not being able to climb a tree like the Range Rover.
That long winded analogy is exactly what happened with my Dynastar 4x4's (now the 74). I demo'ed the ski expecting it to own up to the companies hype of "a Great Off Piste Powder Ski". It was not. The Powertrac hated powder, hated the pause and patience of graceful 8's in the snow. It even hated ripping high speed arcs through the fluff.
But no mountain stays powder coated all day, and crud takes over. If I thought the Powertrac was bad in the fluff, I never expected it to suck in the crud like it did. It bucked and kicked like bad gas in an old 'Caddy. In order to make it work at all in the crud, mach 2 was minimum speed... Power through it and it behaved.
Eventually it all packs out, and chalky chutes begin to offer their lines. So here I am on a Demo Pair of skis that I have yet to really enjoy... I thought it was funny that Volkl could make so great a ski as the G-31 and Dynastar could get it so wrong. And I am entering terrain that makes me gulp. But I dropped into a narrow cupped chute, waiting for the Boing Boing Boing of a ski too stiff for functionality. And it held. Really well. Like claws. and I started to arc em in the chute and they performed so well that I thought I must be mistaken. I got to the bottom, where the runout had turned to bumps and they worked OK, but not exceptionally...
Later that week I skied them on the groomed, and exposed ice, and the skis were as powerful as anything I had ever skied. Except they had a vaguely familiar feel, like the Dynastar G-9. It was the tail... power with a promise to be nice. They would come around the turn and give you a goose.
When a ski both kicks my butt and shows promise all at once, I am intrigued, so I got a pair of 4x4's last year. It took all year, but they now ski the bumps just fine (not great, but OK). I can make them work in powder... not fun, not flowing, but they work. Crud... well I hate crud anyway. They are not the best race ski. They do allright, but there's not enough sidecut to really work the course.
All that would make you think that this is one to pass on... except for that chute, and the firm, and the ice, and the IMPROVEMENT. Imagine a ski that is so confidence inspiring that when you get into a situation that absolutely SUCKS, you know that your boards will rise to the occassion.
Now, add the IMPROVEMENT- Autodrive.
Dynastar's Autodrive is a new twist on an old problem. How to make a ski reactive in the tail without being torsionally soft, and without it breaking somewhere right behind the binding screws.
Dynastar mounted a stiff plate on a urethane-like layer. The Aluminum is free flexing at the tail, and limited flex to the front. The result is an active tail previously missing in the powertrac, and unlike any ski since Authier's Zubiflex. This swoopiness (you got a better word?) makes the ski finish what it starts better, and with more intent. It is the change the ski needed.
Should you buy it? The new Autodrive adds versatility to a ski with one outstanding quality. I think it may just be the element that makes this ski a winner.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
RONinPC
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 - Top 500 |
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Member: Ron Shepard
Location: Park City, UT
Reviews written: 133
Trusted by: 136 members
About Me:
Skiing, Biking, Sailing and Hiking are the passions of this Park City Family.
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