Has anyone demoed the Volkl Grizzly? Is the power switch for real or a gimmick? Wonder how they rate compared to the AC-50 for 2009, as well as the K2 Apache and the Rossi Phantom.

I don't know if anyone has had this happen to them, but I almost tried them this past December at Snowshoe but found the Volkl reps (for the second time in as many years) to be THE rudest people on earth. With my family replacing skis this year when they go to Snowshoe later this month, two years ago we spent close to $20K on Volkl equipment and this year we may go to another brand, just on account of the bad customer treatment. I went to the Rossignol booth and made a remark about how bad the treatment was at the Volkl booth and he went out of his way to put me on his skis, but they were 2008 models.

Curious to know which and what the impression was?

Maybe in a separate thread.

If you really like Vokle skis to some serious complaining to their corporate office. I bet you'll get some positive feedback, or even better some discounts thrown your way. Make sure you mention you dropped $20k on their brand a year ago. That will get there attention. Good luck.

My honest opinion of the Grizzly is that it's the worst of all worlds. It brings a beefy metal-layered mid-fat construction into the wide mid-fat range, resulting in a tank-like ski. If you want a bulldozer of a ski, this is it. Personally, when I start going that wide and long, I am looking for more athletic, light, snappy skis.

I am not a fan of the power switch myself. It does have a notable effect (tried the Tigershark 10 and 12 with it last year), but overall I think it's a Rube Goldberg contraption. I like skis that perform well because of their inherent qualities and characteristics, not because of external mods like struts, cables, springs, etc. Just an opinion really. At least on the Tigersharks, the skis rattled with all that claptrap loose in the channels.

Volkl has been diluted a bit in recent years since being folded into the same conglomerate as K2 and Marker. They still have some great skis, but there are also some duds in the lineup. Not sure about the rep staff; I have a feeling this varies rep to rep.

Lou, or anyone else, if you're looking for ski deals, these prices are hard to beat:

http://www.epicski.com/forum/thread/80172/ski-sale-2009-up-to-60-percent-off-from-dawgcatching

I ordered two pair and some bindings on Monday, and they arrived today. These are basically closeout prices on new 08/09 gear, about two months earlier than usual. I've ordered many skis from Scott over the past couple years, and it's always been a great experience.

On his list, some standouts include:

Dynastar Contact 4x4 -- excellent mid-fat carver. It can tear up the frontside and still rock off-trail.

Elan Mag 82 -- a wider mid-fat

Any of the Head Monsters as a sure to please freeride ski. They make excellent all mountain boards.

Add the Dynastar Legend 8K into the above category.

Fischer Progressor 8+ and 9+ (the latter being my preferred ski). Same category as the Contact 4x4, nearly as good. Better choice if you like the Fischer feel (which to me is an improved version of the Volkl feel).

Fischer Watea 94 -- the best wide mid-fat all-mtn ski I have owned. At 94mm underfoot, it is great in powder and slays crud. Yet it will tear up soft groomers with aplomb. This is what I am skiing in the Snowshoe videos I posted recently.

Blizzard Mag 8.7 Have not skied this one myself, but people I trust on EpicSki rave about them.

Those prices are very good! The liquidations have begun early this year. I just got a pair of Dynastar 8K's from there what a sweet deal. Also I have not skied on the Griz yet but heard they are mega stiff. I have the AC40's and they are a very nice forgiving all mountain ski. A friend tried the AC50's at Keystone and raved about them but they are massive looking (like the Blizzard 8.7) and they also have the new wide ski Marker binding that makes them look even more intimidating. I have a pair of the Blizzard 8.7 and just skied Smuggler's Notch with them last Wednesday in 18 inches of falling powder and they were a dream! The only ski I have that I can see the whole ski on top of a foot and a half of fresh snow and still crave the icy turns were the wicked Vermont wind blows the powder away. But with the 87 mm waist I had to ski them with my stiffest boots to be able to handle them well.

I sort of shared your thoughts here up until this crazy week at JH, we're honking down groomers at 50 mph, scraping ice mogul chutes, and launching into soft fluff off cornices. The Stoeckli VXL is certainly a carve tank, it didn't float much at all in the sluff, and it didn't really like to bottom out in the mogul troughs either.

Credit where it's due though: it did hold an ice edge like crazy, it did blast through frozen chicken heads, and it did engage the tips on sunfreeze without expecting an SL turn.

I'm headed to JH on Monday, and still debating ski choice.... Sounds like you need the full bag of tricks out there. Out of my quiver, I am sort of thinking iM88 makes the most sense.

I support your choice. I would also think the Watea 94 could work as well.

Hook up with Bob Peters as well if at all possible.

That should work nicely if the edges are good and sharp.

BTW had a chance to play with about 6 different waxes: Toko Dibloc Blue (LF) ran really well both at Targhee and at the Village, old snow at 36F and fresh snow at 18F.

FWIW, Hoback and Jack Dennis and Edge have started their markdowns, nothing as good as Dawg's prices quite yet.

Yeah I think I will ping Bob -- be good to ski with him. I am tempted to take a lesson, but will only have three days on the snow and I am not sure I want to devote half a day to a lesson right now.

I think the 88s will be my best option overall. If I knew we'd get dumped on, I'd lean towards the Wateas or the new Mojo 94s I got from dawg (not mounted yet), but the forecast looks like there will be minor snow next week with a warming trend as the week goes on. The 88s do a good job imitating a GS race ski when the snow gets hard, which could be fun on wide open terrain. I'll give the forecast one last look before I pack my ski bag on Sunday....