This is my first pair of fat skiboards. I am an experienced skier who also rides sometimes ‘blades’. I was always dreaming of a slightly longer and fat skiboard compared to the ‘standard’ blades you can find in Europe. So when I found out about the Condors I ordered them immediately.
After a few crappy ski seasons, this year we have an amazing winter here in Brasov, Romania with lots of snow so I took the Condors through the woods in 70cm (2ft) fresh powder. I would say that they are the perfect tool for skiing through the forest! I can take them anywhere. They are very easy to control and steer, ideal for thick woods. I could take them in places where I would not go on normal skis; moreover, I was enjoying every bit of the descent.
Yesterday we went down on thinly wooded south mountain face. First half of the descent, for about 600m altitude drop we had slopes of 40-50%. The powder snow was almost 1 meter deep. There was a bit of crust and the snow was a bit wet and heavy, but it was a joy to ride this mountain face on the Condors. My friends, (one on powder fat and long skis and one on standard all mountain skis) had quite some trouble controlling and steering their long skis and were complaining about the heavy snow. Riding on the Condors I had no idea what they were talking about! Down on the valley, when the slope become less than 5-10% it was clear that the Condors would not glide as fast as normal skis, but it was OK as I am always using ski poles – they are very useful for off-piste skiing.
I also rode the Condors on hard packed well prepared slopes and I was surprised on how stable they were, even at a quite high speed. Carving on them is a joy. Even though they are perfectly fine on hard packed snow and I enjoyed the run, in this conditions I would rather chose a narrower ski/skiboard.
I rode them with both race stiff ski boots and soft touring ski boots. In powder I prefer the softer option as I felt more relaxed. On hard-pack I only tried the stiff ones.
I also tried the Condors on soft bumps and they are fun to ride. I would probably avoid hard bumps as I would not recommend this skiboard for icy conditions – in fact they are not designed for icy conditions.
Rider – Mihai – Expert Rider
