Scott Skis On Test

Scott skis on test from left to right, Stunt, Pure, Crusade, Crusair, Stunt and Neo.

I didn't want to give these ones back!

Scott Ski Test

The beautiful Swiss village of Zinal is situated about 30 minutes drive from Sierre. The area is shadowed by some of the most famous Valais 4000m peaks at the head of the valley. So when your skiing some of the quietest off-piste around you get glimpses of the Zinal rothorn, Obergabelhorn, Weisshorn and many others.

Eric and Penny who run ‘Ski Zinal’ provided the base for the week. Whilst seeking out fresh tracks for the guys on our Off Piste Performance course I had the pleasure of taking different Scott skis out each day and giving them a good thrash. Ski Zinal have these skis available for anyone to test when they are there. I suggest you take advantage of this and ‘try before you buy’!

The Scott range is very broad with a ski for every ones taste. I think for me the two that stood out above the others were the ‘Crusair’ and the ‘Crusade’.

The ‘Crusair’ is a dedicated touring ski with a wood core laminate and carbon top sheet. This allows it to be very light yet skis amazingly well (carbon top sheet adds some rigidity). It’s pretty wide underfoot (90mm) so has brilliant flotation in powder. On piste it holds an edge surprisingly we’ll unlike some of it’s competitors which flap like lolly sticks. Off piste it comes into its own being great fun in the powder and stable on chopped up crud. It has reasonable side cut so is easy to turn it tight spots such as trees and couloirs. This is by far the best touring ski on the market and I would thoroughly recommend combining it with a Dynafit binding for the ultimate light go anywhere tourer. The only minor suggestion to Scott is a redesign of the skin clip at the tip and tail as its a bit over engineered!

The ‘Crusade’ lives up to its name and annihilates everything in its path! It’s the most fun I’ve had on a pair of skis for years. They are truly an all mountain ski. They aren’t bad on piste for a wide ski (92mm) and the spoon like tip and gives you loads of lift in powder. Because they have a beefed up laminated wood core they are stiffer than the Scott Mission so are better on chopped up crud and moguls. I found them very easy to ski and were always willing to turn whatever the mountain threw at me. If your looking for a ‘do it all’ quality free-ride ski this is the one. Again the only minor suggestion to the design guys at Scott is to get shot off the Venturi (air scoop) tip and tail as it makes skin fixing annoying and adds very little float to the ski unless you are doing mach 5!

Great fun was had on the other skis in the range. The ‘Pure’ and ‘Stunt’ are Scotts big mountain Freeride ski. They are fat with a capital F and like going very fast. If you have the correct genetic make up (Scandinavian) then you’ll love driving these at high speed round wide turns in powder fields. Don’t expect too much in tight tree skiing or moguls though (bit like trying to drive a Ferrari round Manchester!). The ‘Neo’ is a good 50/50 ski for on and off piste performance. I loved railing it round corners on its short piste turn radius. Surprisingly good fun was there backcountry park ski the ‘Stunt’ This skied like a softer version of the ‘Mission’ but was great fun in the powder. I secretly loved the graphics seriously ‘New School’

So in conclusion if your going touring with us get the ‘Crusair’ and if your doing an off piste course get the ‘Crusade’ or ‘Mission’.

Look forward to seeing you all on Scott skis in the winter,

Olly