Surface New Life Skis 2013

Comments about Surface New Life Skis 2013:

I have these skis in a 184, mounted with Dynafit bindings and use them with BD Prime boots. I'm 5-8, 155lbs.

These skis are amazing in untouched snow of any depth. The rocker profile means they turn quickly and easily in any kind of soft snow. They are also pretty stiff, so you can run them surprisingly fast, and they still feel great. The twin shape makes them very surfy in deep pow, lots of fun in the trees, but still more than enough power to stomp some big airs.

On the other hand, the extremely short effective edge means that they don't grip very well in hard snow. I use these skis for touring a lot, and this means that while I have a ton of fun up high where the snow is good, the exits through lower altitude, freeze-thaw snow can be tough. Finally, the bases on these skis are pretty slow. You have to wax them pretty often, or else you will be creeping through the flats.

As a touring ski, I have really enjoyed this ski. The huge surface area means you get a lot of grip with climbing skins (pair these skis with skins that have hooks, like G3, not loops, like BD. The noses are so rounded that the loops don't hold well). Sometimes it would be nice to have a little bit of camber to get a little more bite, but I haven't had too much trouble. as far as weight goes, its a big ski, but fitted with Dynafit bindings, its not bad. On the other hand, a buddy of mine has these in 194 with Dukes, and that setup is unbelievably heavy. The hard snow performance is mediocre, but you just have to ski a little more carefully on the exit.

All in all, this ski is a ton of fun some days, but I wouldn't recommend it to be your only ski. If you are limited to a single pair of skis, I'd say you should get something a little more versatile, but if you pair this with something narrower and more suited to hard snow and mediocre to decent resort contitions, you will be in great shape.

Comments about Surface New Life Skis 2013:

These things destroy all other powder skis! Some other pow skis I've ridden are Hellbents, Obsethed, Rocker2 and JJs and none of those even compare. The super stiff flex is perfect for cutting up crud. They cut rip through chop like nobody's business and are still more playful than any other ski I've been on. Butters and 3s come naturally on these things. The 3 stage rocker profile allows the ski to surf on anything always stay afloat. Tip dive is just not possible on these things. The symmetrical shape makes switch skiing and park tricks in the back country so easy and believe it or not, these things carve harder on groomers than any ski Ive been on with a 100mm or larger waist. Simply unreal skis. Buy these things!