Icelantic Boards Nomad RKR 2014

Last year I had to opportunity to demo a bunch of skis for a day from the rossi soul7, sin7, volkl mantra, and the k2 shreditor 112 and just wasn't too stoked on any of them. I ended up getting a pair of 181 icelantic nomad rkrs with marker barons off a friends pro deal and holy guacamole I am happy I did so!!!!

These skis are amazing!!!!! I skied them in spring conditions from late March through May mostly at sugarloaf me and tuckermans ravine. I don't know how they perform in deep pow yet but I will review everything I skied them in.

Flex/radius: They have a medium stiff flex. stiff underfoot, with softer tip and tail. for me the flex is perfect. they are super maneuverable, fun, and poppy, but prefer high speeds and remain extremely stable despite their playfulness. 19m is my favorite radius because it makes the ski responsive and fun, but also makes the ski capable of doing big gs turns just as well.

groomers: you wouldn't expect it with a 105 waist but these are the most fun skis I have ever skied on groomed trails period. I previously owned line prophet 90s which are known as good groomer skis and these trumped them as well as the volkl mantras which i thought felt dead. They are incredibly grippy and responsive on edge, and really give back what you put into them. I love the feeling of bouncing through aggressive turns on groomers and these have an ideal radius and flex pattern for really driving the ski through the turn and then rebounding into the next turn. (FYI i generally prefer a responsive turny short radius ski against a 'i wanna' go straight and fast long radius ski.) . However, while they are very responsive, they are also silky smooth at high speed and feel very stable. They definitely support more of a race style forward stance and don't perform at all if you get in the back seat.

Trees: took em into bracket basin at the loaf and they were great. not quite as easy to throw around as my skinnier prophets but had more stability and performed butter in variable snow. for a 105 underfoot ski though, i was blown away with how easily they handled the chopped up moguls/tight turns of east coast tree skiing. also had enough stiffness to handle small drops very well.

Crud/korn/tuckermans: these skis were a blessing to have in tuckermans this spring. They handled chopped up spring conditions very smoothly and were easy to execute short turns in tights areas but could also open up and rip big fast aggressive turns. My friends skiing on mantras, line prophets, etc. could not plow through spring slushy crud as easily as i was able too. Felt extremely confident riding these guys and again, they made it so much fun.

Park: since i have a touring setup, w/ a traditional mounting point I haven't skied them a ton in the park but they are light for their size, have great pop but also have the rocker tip and tail for buttery shenanigans. Even though they are mounted traditional, they ski switch surprisingly well. They are definitely stiff enough for going fast and hitting big jumps, but have enough flex in the tip and tail to be buttery and fun when not going big.

Conclusion: These are my spirit skis. i don't think there is a better ski out there for the way i ski. Every time i clicked in and went downhill with these guys I was smiling because they are so much damn fun to ski and they continue to surprise me. Bottom line is that if you are a confident skier who likes a responsive ski that can go anywhere or any speed while adding an extra element of fun, these are the right skis for you. Also the graphics are super dope.

• Terrain
  Park
  Pow
• Design
  Clean
  Busy
• Durability
  Fragile
  Durable
• Weight
  Light
  Heavy
• Style
  Uncool
  Cool
• Flex
  Soft
  Stiff
• Camber
  Cambered
  Rockered
• Pop
  No Pop
  Poppy
• Stability
  Jittery
  Stable