Skied: 178cm,   142mm - 117mm - 141mm ,   14m radius

I skied the 178cm Rock Star this past week at Heavenly in Sierra Cement, chop, and windblown (skied out cement that if you stuck your pole in the snow it would go in 3-4 feet). I am waiting for some more days on it and will add to the review. So far so good.

1) The ski rocks in powder, chop and crud. The stiff tips have no trouble floating in the powder due to their size and the later day chop was not even an issue.  The tip just blows through crappy snow if not floating on top of it.

2) The ski is unusual because it can also be easily skied slowly and at moderate speeds. So long as you are balanced, this ski works at every speed applied to it despite--or perhaps--of the relative stiffness. Flexing the ski makes you think it is just for experts, but I think anyone who can ski parallel could ski this without a problem provided they are not in the back seat.

3) The smaller and softer bumps I encountered were a joy on this ski. There was no hardpack or large bumps to ski on while I was there.

4) The learning curve was maybe three turns. Just stay neutral (to me that means hardpack "neutral") and go.

5) Tree skiing at Heavenly is, well, like skiing groomers compared to the tight trees found in the east. Regardless, these skis are super quick with a very tight 14m radius. What impressed me is that they could be skied slowly and at speed. I initially thought that I could easily ski this at the longer length, but then again I had no trouble when I took it up to a little speed. At age 57, the 178cm is probably right since my "skiing stupid" days are long over.

6) These may be the easiest drifting skis I was ever on in soft or windswept snow. The turning radius doesn't get in the way of drifting longer radiused turns in powder.

7) These were an absolute blast on groomers. I could carve turns with them in the soft snow without a lot of effort (they are 117 underfoot). The ski has a smidgen of camber and this seems to help on groomers. There was no hard snow to try them on. The 14m radius does make for quick turns, perhaps too quick, when just rolling your knees. There was no issue steering these fats.

8) These skis, unlike my older Ullr's, have a top sheet with the "clear iron" (that is the material over the marquetry) given a slight radius. I didn't ask, but imagine this was done to prevent chipping. If so, it worked.

9) The skis arrived with perfectly flat bottoms. I have no idea if the edge angles are consistent (nothing in the garage to measure them), not that it matters in powder.

10) The Rock Star is billed as a "Big Mountain Show Skiing" ski with the stiffer tip and tail making it easier to pop kickers. I no longer huck anything taller than me and can't comment on that. I do think Ski Logik is either smart or lucky going with the stiffer extremities when many others build skis with a relatively softer tip. The stiffness paradoxically seems to have added to the versatility of the Rock Star while allowing it to be skied at a relatively shorter length.

11) I don't own a ski shop and don't test a zillion skis a year. Therefore, I am not qualified to make a lot of comparisons. I did demo the S7 two years ago and believe it skis softer than the Rock Star. The S7 has a softer tip that floats over everything, but it is at a slight loss of "feel" (for lack of a better word).  The Rock Star seems more precise, yet can also be skied as slowly provided you ski neutral. I like the Rock Star better because it is more precise, quicker and more fun when on the groomers going back to the lift.

I skied the Rock Stars at Okemo on February 9, just after Okemo received 10-12" of new snow.  I was lucky enough to get first chair (on the Black Ridge) and made first tracks on several runs that morning, including the Plunge and Rolling Thunder (for those of you who know the mountain).  All I can say about these skis is WOW!  My usual powder boards are a set of Salomon Czars with a few years (but not enough miles) on them at this point.  I found the Rock Stars to be much easier to ski between opportunities to make first tracks.  I actually felt like I could get these up on edge even in areas that had been mostly skied off and even in some icy patches.  Given the width of these skis and the length (188 vs 174 for my Czars), I thought I would find the Rock Stars to be more difficult to ski in the trees and the bumps as the day wore on and we looked for fresh stashes.  I have to say, that was not the case at all.  Even following my kids through tree runs that were not well suited to a full-size adult, the Rock Stars were smooth and stable and easy to throw around when necessary to protect life and limb(s).  When the conditions were ideal, I felt like I was flying.  Anyone who loves skiing fresh snow will know what I mean when I say that there's nothing better than the feeling of floating on untracked snow.  Well, the Rock Stars made me feel like an expert powder skier with little to no effort (or particular skill) on my part. These skis provied a fantastic platform to float turns down the hill.  I just wish I had more opportunity to ski untracked snow on these skis as they were some of the best runs I've had this season.  I don't know a lot about designing or building skis, but from my perspective, I can't imagine anyone makes a ski I could have enjoyed much more that day.  I know SkiLogic terms these their "Big Mountain" skis in the catalog, but I think they worked extremely well in tight quarters as well as on more open runs and I think they would be the perfect compliment to your usual set of frontside skis for those big storms we sometimes see in the east and also your vacations out west (or to Hokkaido), should you be so fortunate.  Definitely on my Christmas list!