2014-2015 Whitedot Redeemer CarbonLite 180cm

138-142/128/132-128 r = 21.5m @ 180cm

Whitedot Redeemer CarbonLite (bottom of photo)

Whitedot Redeemer CarbonLite

Manufacturer Info:
Whitedot Skis Ltd
91-93 Green Lane
Leeds, LS16 7EY
United Kingdom
Phone:

Suggested Retail Price (MSRP):
€996.00
$1,085 usd at 4/4/2015 exchange rate

Usage Class:

Big Mountain / Powder

Background:

Whitedot Skis began to really get skis out of prototype mode and sold to the public in 2009. (We tested some of their first production
candidate models back in 2009 in France.) Whitedot Skis is the
collaborative effort of several enthusiasts who wanted to build unique and effective skis in small batches using designs developed with pro freeriders at Chamonix and Verbier testing grounds. The guys at Whitedot believe in constantly evolving their designs and exploring the effectiveness of different materials, so their models often behave differently from year to year. Whitedot Skis are very popular in Europe for a reason...they seem to work for the conditions found in the Alpes of France, Italy and Austria.

Rating (with comments):

(1="get me off these things"->10="I have to own a pair")

8+ for large bumps, 7 for small bumps
7+ for packed powder groomers for its size
9 for variable snow conditions below high-speeds...
8 for variable snow conditions in harder, crusty or cobbly material
5-6 for boilerplate hardpack
9+ for powder (less than super-high speeds, more directional than
super-surfy)

Manufacturer's Description:

"As Whitedot’s flagship powder ski, the Redeemer is an adaptable and dependable friend in the big mountains.The Redeemer’s playful and powerful shape is a natural choice to be paired with our CL:3 layup, decreasing the weight and making for one of the most natural and fluid turning rides you will experience in deep snow. "

- Whitedot website 2014

Summary:

The Redeemer's CarbonLite C3 construction is indeed very lightweight (1838 / 1842 grams [approx 4.0 lbs] for the 180cm). We did an A-B comparison last season of the "Standard" and "CarbonLite" Redeemer versions and found the CarbonLite to have a definite personality difference accented by a lighter, more responsive and sporty feel underfoot, increased agility and a slightly lower top-end speed limit. We reviewed this season's latest version with some more time on more kinds of conditions and found it to have excellent flotation, admirable composure and stability in mixed-surfaces, and a lightweight agility to let you ski all day with very little effort (a good thing on a 120mm waisted ski with lots of surface area). Hardpack grip was pretty good for a flat, non-cambered design...not "wow" impressive, but always had
good bite when you needed to stop or change directions on a moment's notice, and will carve across packed surfaces if you roll it up and pressure it consistently...never slick or spooky. The somewhat unusual shaping produced a ride with nice turn engagement and finish in 3D snow, nearly zero deflection except when hitting frozen obstacles under the surface, but the very lightweight chassis made it easy to make corrections. When fully flexed and released, the Redeemer has a nice zing to it, propelling the pilot nicely without surprises. The lasting impression after skiing the Redeemer CarbonLite was it became friendlier and friendlier the more you skied it, never demanding, and super playful and fun. Hard-chargers might want the standard layup for more mass underfoot and stoutness under pressure. The Redeemer has been quietly revised each season since its introduction, and this version in CarbonLite construction is a crowd pleaser with very low effort to ski, and a wide range of capablities highlighted by a smooth, agile, balanced powder ride.

Technical Ski Data: (from mfr specs)

Weight: 1838 / 1842 grams (measured) [approx 4.0 lbs]
1.2mm ISO 7200 High Speed Precision Sintered base, Die-cut
Full Tip - Tail Popular / Ash Laminate Core
Carbon Fibre / Flax / Carbon-Kevlar Stringers / Dry Weave Binding
Retention Plate / Rubber Foil Dampening Tape / Carbon-Aramid /
Carbon 1.9mm hardened Steel, 360 pre-bent Wrap-Around Edges
ISO Foil, Screen Printed & Twice Lacquered topsheet
Zero-camber, rockered tip and tail

Bindings and Boots Used:

Tyrolia PRD12 PowerRail Bindings
Salomon S-Max 120 boots.

Pre-Skiing Impression:

Great dots, excellent fit and finish with glossy topsheet. Soft tip and tail flex, firmer midsection. Very light weight by hand-feel (see specs...they are indeed very light), relatively damp response with moderate torsional strength. Appealing look and feel. Very thin vertical thickness...almost blade-like.

Test Conditions:

Eastern corduroy, packed powder and hardpack groomers, boilerplate, ungroomed packed powder with small bumps, shin-deep to knee-deep powder conditions, both smooth and bumpy. Chalky wind buff, fresh and old powder..

Hardpack and Boilerplate

Like the narrower Director model, the Redeemer Carbonlite is flat (no camber), with moderately rockered tip and tail, so it doesn't grip
hardpack with a vengence...more of a decent, respectable grip when you need it, but don't expect to dig GS-trenches on cueball surfaces. If you roll them up on edge, engage the effective edge with some deliberate intent and get the edge set and ride it, they can traverse the hardpack with quiet security. If you find some good old-fashioned Eastern boilerplate (can't get your pole to stand up in it), you might find the Redeemer Carbonlites a little slippery unless you use a punchy, bite-down-underfoot change of direction to hold a line...then it's fine. The CarbonLite construction has a great characteristic of seriously dampening vibrations and buzz underfoot on hard surfaces very, very well, without deadening the ski or reducing its responsive feel. Overall, the hardpack performance feels predictably good for such a lightweight and wide-bodied ski.

Mixed Conditions:

Mixed surface conditions were totally fun and playful on the Redeemer Carbonlites. They light, agile feel underfoot combined with a playful, responsive personality makes navigating cut up snow and mixed condtions really fun and pretty much zero-effort (Same description as the 107mmm underfoot Directors). If you get going at warp-9 speeds, you can feel a bit of tip flap and notice the lack of heavy mass underfoot, but control is always available, and the ski is quiet and controlled, thanks to the C3 CarbonLite construction. Heavier skiers might overpower the Carbonlites if they are heavy-handed. Beefy skiers might like the standard construction Redeemer instead because of its additional mass and stiffness to support higher load-bearing activity. Technical or finesse skiers will probably love the Redeemer Carbonlites.

Unlike the Directors, the Redeemers rarely get knocked around by crusty materials or subsurface chunder, and if they ever do deflect a bit off-line, the agility and lightweight chassis makes corrections nearly instantaneous and effortless. "Quietly Playful" is a good phrase to describe the Redeemers in mixed conditions. Definitely a ski you can ride "Bell-To-Bell" on fresh-snow days. The more we skied the Redeemer in mixed conditions, the more we found it like an old friend..reliable, fun and never surprising...letting us explore and cut across materials we might hesitate to try on less capable skis. For such a light ski, the Redeemers were remarkably damp-feeling without being heavy or dead, yet sporty and responsive when loaded and released.The C3 CarbonLite is probably the reason.

The sidecut and flex of the Redeemer in its CarbonLite construction allows some surprisingly agile directional changes for its size in mixed snow...making it appealing for people who ski in 3D conditions off all types. Some people might find the shaping of the forebody to be too-quick to engage in choppy, cruddy conditions...bordering on "darty" or "front-pulling"...but this is easily tempered by keeping the Redeemers flatter in mixed conditions rather than tipped at higher angles.

Bumps:

The Redeemer rolls though large bumps with smooth, damp
characterstics. Smaller, tighter bumpy terrain can slow down the
navigation of the Redeemer a little because of its size, but it never
fights or hangs. Riding bumps in the first 1/3 of the flex range of the
Redeemer is smooth and stable, while if you press deeper into the
body's flex range and release it, you get the extra energy of the carbon construction...making it pretty darn fun to bang away at bumps on this big ski. The takeaway note from this ski in the bumps is it does not require much effort to control and manage the Redeemer...making it easy to ski all day.

Powder:.

Powder skiing with the Redeemer Carbonlites is super easy and fun.They roll through powder with an agile, fairly effortless ride. No tip dive to speak of, and the flex pattern is balanced through 3D
snow..making it easy to ride...even on your first run with them in
powder. Essentially zero learning curve. The CarbonLite construction really works in powder, giving you a carbon-infused, responsive, lightweight ride without the need to be hyper-vigilant as with some high-performance powder skis. Turn shapes are easily modified mid-arc, and you can throw the Redeemers sideways in the fluff, and then hook them up and turn on a dime when needed (similar to the Directors...but less darty). Heavy-weight skiers might find they over-flex the CarbonLites in deep snow, but they can always opt for the standard construction if they need more support from the chassis. They seem more like playful toys in powder than workhorse tools (if that makes sense). On powder days, the Redeemers would be one of the first skis I would grab...no questions asked.

Analogies: ("This ski is like...")

Playful bird-dog in the powder, comfortable, lightweight touring sedan with wide tires in mixed snow conditions..

Things I Would Change About This Ski:

I might choose a longer-taper forebody shape (less pronounced paddlewidth) with a touch more stiffness to raise the speed limit a little without affecting the easy handling....(We agree with Paul Forward's observations at Blister Gear Review).

Short Answer When Someone Asks "What Do You Think About This Ski?":

These are lightweight, responsive powder skis with a big fun-factor in fresh or cut up conditions because they take zero effort, yet feel playful and sporty. Cool dots.

Advice To People Considering This Ski:

If you are a heavier or stronger skier, you may want to choose the
standard construction version if you tend to overpower a ski or want a model more suited to high-speed, big-mountain terrain.

Other Reviews:

Blister Rear Review (Carbonlite version)
http://blistergearreview.com/gear-reviews/2015-2016-whitedot-redeemer-carbonlite-3

Std Version:

http://blistergearreview.com/gear-reviews/2015-2016-whitedot-skis-redeemer

Pics: (click images for larger versions)