Storm Skis
"Rage"

(118-84-107) 21.2m radius @ 174cm
2009-2010 pre-production candidate

 

Manufacturer Info:

Storm Skis Ltd
18 Sanders Close
Shipley View
Ilkeston, Derbyshire DE7 9LN
UK

Tel: +44-07788-717055
http://www.stormskis.com

Background:

Storm Skis is one of two ski companies in the U.K. (both born last year, testing their skis this season for retail sales next year...both led by guys named Andrew...go figure..). Storm Skis is another tiny company founded by an ex pro skier (Andy David was British Freestyle mogul champion in 2002-2003 competing for 6 years in Europa and Continental Cup tours and specializes in big mountain freeriding) who wanted to make skis to his design and have his own ski business. With skiing and testing based primarily out of Verbier, Switzerland (Chris David - Andy's brother [Another British Europa/Continental Cup mogul pro] - helped make Altitude Snowsport School (http://www.altitude-extreme.co.uk) in Verbier a big success a while ago and is working with the Storm Skis brand also), Storm Skis has the terrain to test and verify ski performance. Storm is building up a line of perhaps 10 models of skis for official sale in the 2009-2010 season.  The skis are made to Storm's specifications at one of the oldest wood-core ski factories in the Czech Republic.

Usage Class:

Park & Pipe / All Mountain Freestyle

Your Rating (with comments): (1="get me off these things"->10="I have to own a pair")

7+

Summary:

A surprisingly versatile "Park & Pipe" ski capable of doing just about anything pretty well without any bad behaviors. This ski will probably make many skiers of many abilities happy. Not an outstanding state-of-the-art high-performance tool, but an all-around jacknife handy to have nearly anywhere on the hill. Click-in-and-go type of ski. Easy to ski, but responds to serious commands if you want to give them. Crowd pleaser.

Technical Ski Data:

Beech-Poplar wood core
Triaxial and biaxial fiberglass
P-Tex 6000 base
"extra thick edges"
ABS Sidewalls
Sizes:
(118-84-107) 21.2m radius @ 174cm
(118-84-107) 19.1m radius @ 166cm
Price ~ €450 (approximate...price not published yet)
Manufactured in the Czech Republic

Sales Channels:

Contact info@stormskis.com for direct-to-consumer sales and sales info.
Contact www.soundskis.co.uk for mail order sales through their Ebay webstore of some models. More retailers will be brought on-board for 2009-2010 season. Check their website for current listings.
 
Pre-Skiing Impression:

The Storm Rage is a well-balanced, well built woodcore sandwich "semi-twintip" freestyle ski with moderate (not explosive or wimpy) rebound, compliant torsional strength and a balanced dampening throughout its flex. Nice graphics. Geometry is not radical, but definitely biased more toward all-mountain skiing shape than perfectly-symetrical fore-and-aft design of some "P&P" skis.

Test Conditions:

Dry to semi-softening packed groomers. Val-D'Isere, France. March 2009. No aerials - just resort skiing...so someone else will have to report on the ski's performance in the park and pipe terrain.

Test Results:

Like they say on their promo material, the Rage is surprisingly versatile.  Not just designed for park & pipe antics, the Rage can easily go just about anywhere on the mountain and never give you any problems at all. Spunky rebound when you want it off bits of terrain large and small, respectably carveable on-piste without too much effort, capable of round turns, j-turns, small, medium and even some larger radius turns.  Not as stiff as some P&P skis, but not an ultra-softy either. Not really happy at GS-speeds, but controlled at higher speeds when mounted a bit back-of-center as these demos were.  Quick edge-to-edge and in directional changes without needing an olympian's conditioning or reflexes. After a few runs, I got the feeling the Rage could make just about anyone happy on any part of the hill in most conditions that were not extreme to one end of the spectrum or another.  A "populist" ski for sure.  Very good manners, never any surprises (a good thing). The Rage always gives good feedback about when it is being pushed too hard on firm surfaces without suddenly giving up the ghost without warning. Gives a good feel for the snow underfoot and is happy on-edge or sliding sideways. Good balance of performance and comfort for doing just about anything.  The Rage is not a hard-core "pure park" weapon, but more of an all-around ski with a yen to head to the park.  "Playfun" is a word that comes to mind with this ski.  The ski looks like it will hold up well under abuse (this pair had some miles on them) without needing to be a plank 2x4. The Storm Rage is the kind of ski you can get on and go without any learning curve. That sums it up pretty well.  I think Storm has a market-pleaser here that will appeal to a wide range of skiers and conditions at a decent price. I think it will sell well to a wide audience. 

How does it compare to the "Other" U.K. Park and Pipe Ski?

Storm Rage = (118-84-107) 21.2m radius @ 174cm
White Dot "The One" = (124-89-119) 18m radius @ 173cm

People are going to want to know how it compares to the other U.K. park & pipe ski from White Dot Freeride....so here you go... The White Dot "The One" is stiffer and quicker, with a bit more pop and rebound, but it is more demanding than the Storm Rage which is somewhat softer and more damp.  I would rather take the Storm Rage into fresh snow than the White Dot "The One" , while "The One" is definitely a better hard-snow ski with more pop when needed.  The One wants to carve and cut, while the Rage is happy to slide a bit, but have a little less authoritative grip on firm surfaces than The One.  Basically, it's up to your own preference. Softer or stiffer. Quicker or more versatile. Choose your ride.  That's the beauty of different brands aimed at the same market. You can pick the one most suitable for your day out.

Analogies: (this ski is like...)

A favorite pair of trainer athletic shoes you always grab for playing some ball with friends. Does anything you're likely to do on your day off for fun as long as it's not extreme (which would require a more specialized tool).

Self-Description of Skiing Style, Ability, Experience, Preferences:

Expert groomed-surface carver, "old-style" race inspired, "foot steerer" with fairly sensitive edging feel who loves the feel of powder floating and banking. Loves to hold long arcs with lots of pressure on the downhill ski (you know the type), but also loves the feel of both skis on-edge leaving tiny railroad track edge tracks. Not an instructor, but 10 year coach for youth race team in New England (bulletproof is the norm).