Review of 2007/08 DP Lotus 138
Ski: 07/08 Lotus 138, Flex 2
Skier: 5'11, 170lbs
Conditions: Skied 5 days in Jackson, conditions ranging from 10" of dry stuff through to 6" of heavy cement. Also skied one day in Vail BC with 2/3 ft of blown in powder.
First off i'd like to say a huge "thank you" to Stephan for giving me free use of these over the past few weeks. I'd been emailing back and forth to see if my set would arrive in time for my Christmas trip to Jackson, only to come home to find these sitting in my room, along with a note asking me to try some different mounting points. Props for some PM Gear rivaling customer service.
The first thing i noticed about the skis was the increased rocker over last years model. My housemate has a set of last year's 138's, and the new model has almost exactly double the tip and tail rocker. Other differences include a wider tip profile, a new topsheet, thicker side walls (lined with bamboo), and a further layer of elastomer. They have a nice progressive flexing tip - i'd say about 20% stiffer than Marshals 06 120's - with a significantly stiffer tail. Even though these are supposedly a set of blems, the build quality seems outstanding. They are maybe a fraction heavier than last year's, although i'd need to weigh to confirm.
My first run from the Gondola in Jackson to Thunder these was somewhat hairy. I'd never skied anything with this shape/camber before, so didn't really know what to expect. My objective quickly shifted from trying not to eat shit, to trying not to kill anyone on the way down. Don't even try and set an edge on these; strictly old school pivot turns. That said i've since got used to them on the groomed, and so long as you stay centred they are actually quite fun - their party trick is the ludicrously fast side-slip.
Fortunately though i didn't have to wait long to try them in better conditions, and no surprises that here they excel. Powder truly becomes effortless, the skis just sit on top of the snow and accelerate. Turning is almost surreal; they accelerate out of the turn like you wouldn't believe. I don't really know how to articulate it, the skis just seem perfectly efficient. It's as if all the effort you put into the turn, instead of getting scrubbed off as with other skis, translates directly into raw acceleration. If you want to slow these down in a turn, you'd best keep going until your facing uphill. Another notable feature was that they refuse to dive under the any circumstances. I tried a number of different mounting points, and at my preferred position (-1 on the new scale) i felt as though no matter how heavily i weighted the tips they wouldn't sink. I think this was one of Stephan's objectives for this year's ski, as he wanted them to plane even at low speeds. If you have an affinity for face shots, i suggest you look elsewhere.
I know lots of you will be interested to hear how these cope with drops etc. Unfortunately i'm not renowned for my hucking abilities, however on the few little things i did hit, the landings were no problem. On one occasion i remember landing WAY forward and still the tips stayed up and made saved my blushes. These skis have a habit of making you look good.
In spite of all the lavish praise above, i'd say my most impressive experience on these came last weekend on a tracked out chunky Vail back bowl. These skis slice through crud and chop like a hot knife through butter. They just sit on top of everything and beg to go faster. I actually enjoy skiing them more in these conditions, as you can go faster in crud/chop than blower pow. It's the equivalent of railing a race ski on a perfectly groomed run, they just want to be let loose.
Downsides? Well dust on crud bumps suck. Also i've taken a number of groomer spills whereby i've absent mildly tried to set an edge, only to have the skis wash out from under me. If you're doing any type of hiking you'd best have a pack, the camber means they can't be shouldered like a regular ski. Traverses on these are also really slow going. If i was in Jackson for the season again, i think the Granite traverse might get old very, very quickly. The topsheet on of one of the tips has also started to chip, although Stephan did say that the tips on these aren't the same as the production model. Otherwise the durability has been unquestionable. I skied these a lot in early season Jackson conditions, and the edges/bases seem bomber.
As you can probably tell i'm fairly taken by these sticks, am actually suffering from a bout of severe post purchase satisfaction. I look forward to hearing other's feedback as well as comparisons with spats, ehps etc. For the record i think the first batch of 200 or so skis are getting sent out next week. I'll be doing a head to head of my own, with at set of Unity Hiatt 191's (155-140-155) in the next couple of weeks or so - I'm expecting those to ski more like an extra fat 120, than the 138 though.
Below are a few pics - apologies for the quality.