Reviews

I love these skis. They have exceeded my expectations in every single aspect. I went into ski shopping this season looking for a fat, rockered, solid ski to use for backcountry days, leading UVMOC trips, and powder days at Mad River Glen. In every respect, these have performed flawlessly.

The only drawback I have does not necessarily have to do with the skis though. I mounted the MFD Alltime and Rossignol FKS140 AT system on the skis, and it makes the setup very heavy. This means that it's not the most enjoyable thing for extended touring or speed laps. On the way down, though, it is still 100% solid.

To solve this, I will be adding a Dynafit-based touring setup to my quiver, and it will be on another pair ON3P skis, without a doubt.

The Caylors blew away my expectations, hands down. This was my first pair of full rockered skis, and I can honestly say I am never going back. I felt that I could launch anything, and as long as my balance was where it should be, I would stomp the landing no matter what. The Caylors both shred crud and float super nicely on the fluffy stuff. Even the tighter lines at Mad River Glen were completely manageable.

This ski is basically a scaled-up and rockered version of an all-mountain ski. Unlike the ON3P Billy Goats or Rossignol Super7s, it doesn't have a shovel-like tip or 5 point geometry. Although this makes the turning radius larger than those skis, it does not present itself as a real issue. Like what was stated before, it can still carve very nicely on hardpack, and it's not an issue in trees, where one doesn't carve so much as slide through turns.

The full rocker is perfect for deep snow. It was very easy to set skin tracks in fresh snow (the most I did it in was ~24"). This was particularly important because I am a backcountry skiing leader for UVM Outing Club, and I often have to set new, easier tracks for the beginner backcountry skiers that I lead. The rocker makes this much less tiring than it used to. On the way down, the combination of the large tip and rocker make this ski the most fun thing I have ever used in deep snow.

ON3P lists this at $750 (less if it's on sale), which is right on par, if not less, than comparable skis from other manufacturers. Besides this, though, I like that ON3P is a smaller company and will likely be able to address any concerns that could arise quickly and fairly. The overall reputation for customer service ON3P (and that they are not made in China) adds immensely to the value of the skis in my eyes.

I am 5'8" and about 170 lbs and I have the 181cm Caylors. They seem pretty perfect for backcountry skiing in the East (tighter lines/trees generally than out West). They were solid on the big(ger) mountain skiing lines I did in the Chic Choc Mountains as well.

If I was out West, however, I would have likely gotten the 191 cm version for added stability and for bigger lines. The effective edge of the 181s is less than my non-rockered 176cm 4FRNT VCTs.

They are stiff and solid yet still relatively playful. They carve very well on hardpack at higher speeds (both regular and switch). I have MFD Alltimes on them as well, though, which may make the ski be a little stiffer.

I have only had them for 1 season. Since the snow situation here in the East for '11-'12 was essentially anemic, I did not get to use them as much as I wanted. Still, though, I used them for 22 backcountry and 5 lift-serve days and they have held up beautifully. I see some wear on the topsheets on the tip and tail from my BD skins, but that is normal for skis that do not have specific fittings for skins (like Dynafit/some K2 and BD skis).