Atomic Nomad Blackeye Ti Skis

Just spent an afternoon trying on skiboots (Solutions4Feet). Highly recommended were the Blackeye skis as a really good all mountain ski. Any thoughts out there?

The dimensions and construction look good for an all mountain ski (maybe too large a sidcut radius for real groomer fun), but I couldn't find any reference to the camber profile anywhere. Camber profile is as important these days, as any of the other specifecations. Not easy to go into a store to check at this time of year.

Everywhere I went last season looking at skis, these were the ones everyone tried to flog me. Not sure if thats because they really are that good, or because they were all on higher commission for Atomic?
However, Fall Line seemed to rave about them from what I remember.
Depends what you want them to do. I was told they are the best 50/50 ski available, but plumped for Scott Neo's in the end, which I found brilliant (apart from the splitting at the end of the tails).

I'm not sure the ski manufacturers have managed to nail the all mountain ski yet.

I bought some Atomic Crimson Ti 169 cm skis a couple of years ago. They are good pseudo all mountain skis, but I'm not sure it was worth the money. They do not really feel as light as I had hoped given the extra cost of the titanium version over the non-titanium version (seems like a bit of a gimmick in reality).

They have a good compromise between piste and off-piste - I'd say they are suitable for about 40/60 off/on piste usage ratio. I was a little disappointed about the performance in powder, but I suppose that is what you get with the all-mountain trade-off.

We skied Niseko, Japan, last season and I left them at home in anticipation of mostly skiing in powder. (Yes, the stories about the powder in Hokkaido are real, 9 m annually!) I hired some head John's:
http://www.altrec.com/head/mens-john-94-sw-freeride-skis
Whilst the weird name and the lame design is a bit of a turn-off, they were an amazing powder ski. They even performed well on non icy pisted runs.

All in all, if you are not constrained by airline baggage requirements, I would choose some ex-demo powder skis in addition to some ex-demo all-mountain/carving skis. It is probably a better deal than getting some new 'all-mountain' skis.

steverandomno - The other ski I was looking at was the Crimson Ti at 169cm - ex demo at a good price? - less than 50% new. I'm 5ft8 and 72ish kg/160lb. 60/40 would be OK. Wondered if the C Ti would be too stiff/take too much effort. Only switched to modern skis this year, after Salomon Equipe PR8 narrow jobs, and had the lowly Salomon Xwing 6 for 11 days, which I thought was pretty good both on and off piste. No really deep powder, but seemed OK in crud as well. I'm quite happy cranking the pressure on the edges.
Too many choices!!!

steverandomno wrote:

All in all, if you are not constrained by airline baggage requirements, I would choose some ex-demo powder skis in addition to some ex-demo all-mountain/carving skis. It is probably a better deal than getting some new 'all-mountain' skis.

I fully agree here-there is NO ski that will do both and if youre going somewhere that will possibly have a dump of snow take some fatter skis otherwise just take 2 if you can!!! I have as my standard 2 pairs of skis now a pair of Atomic GS 186cm for raging about the pistes and my MSP 187cm for going off pitse but if theres been any fresh snow (even a few cm) the MSPs are out of this world good on or off piste!

colinstone wrote:steverandomno - The other ski I was looking at was the Crimson Ti at 169cm - ex demo at a good price? - less than 50% new. I'm 5ft8 and 72ish kg/160lb. 60/40 would be OK. Wondered if the C Ti would be too stiff/take too much effort. Only switched to modern skis this year, after Salomon Equipe PR8 narrow jobs, and had the lowly Salomon Xwing 6 for 11 days, which I thought was pretty good both on and off piste. No really deep powder, but seemed OK in crud as well. I'm quite happy cranking the pressure on the edges.
Too many choices!!!

Sounds like a pretty good deal. I would say that you might find the C Ti's a bit stiffer than the x wings. Though, this is just a guess really and after looking at some reviews, the TI's are considered to be quite a flexible ski. I think the C Ti's are slightly wider underfoot (about 1cm) which is an advantage off piste. I find that they really excel in awkward/interesting terrain and choppy snow. They just power through it.

My GF bought some skis in Canada last winter. She had a good idea what she wanted beforehand and then did some demo's of about 4-5 pairs. In the end, she opted for some used ex-demo skis that she found to be amazing. They were completely different to the skis she would have bought without trying them out. (i.e. they were a completely different colour and pattern to the ones she wanted to match her outfit, that is how much better the skis were that she eventually bought!) Paradoxically, buying skis this way can be a bit more expensive than buying in the UK (though not if you get ex-demo). However, if you have the time, it is very worthwhile given the investment you are making in your future skiing enjoyment. I will definitely do the same next time I buy skis.

P.S. I would definitely take look at the Salomon Shoguns if I were looking to get some new all mountain skis. Bamboo, Basalt top sheet, new rocker design, rave reviews! Sounds promising.