BRING BACK THE EXPLOSIV!!

[dfinn]

maybe it's because I don't know any better (white wizards are my first pair of skis) but I thought they felt just as good on the corduroy as they did in the fluff.

[skiitsbetter]

CMH still have their limited editions? Man anybody I ever saw in a lift line with those it was imediate respect.

[YoEddy]

I'm obviously a panty waist, ... I can easily see the appeal if you're in nothing but ankle-to-knee deep powder, but on-piste they were horrible. ... I actually like to turn some and am not a Mach 11-with-my-hair-on-fire-kind of guy.

It ain't just a "powder ski" although it happens to be good at that too (maybe too stiff for some tastes), and unbeatable in crud (hence the bulldozer comment). It's a fat Super-G race ski ... and like a Super-G you should to be going Mach 11 ... Mach 12 even for them to come to life. If you don't typically ski at Mach 12 then I can see why you wouldn't like them.

It's amazing how they come to life at those speeds

[yooper]

I just received my new (used) Wizards yesterday, and I am pumped. They are in GREAT shape. I'm a little nervous that they will be too short (180), but other than that, I can't wait to try 'em out.
Unfortunately, I gave up a pair of 184 Mantras to get them... and I LOVED my Mantras. We'll see how damn good these explosivs are....

[Dromond]

Some thoughts on the ski:

I've skied numerous days on my 180 sploders, mostly on the east coast, but some above treeline as well. My feelings seem to be mirrored by a few other maggots.

First of all, I love these skis. As long as conditions are soft, crud, chop, or powder, and not too too tight, these are go anywhere all day skis. Decent float, great stability, etc. About the speed thing. As long as there is new snow on the ground they are great at slower speeds. Their straightness and width lets them slide and slarve any way you wish. They also blast through the crud for the same reason. However when the snow is firm you definitely need to put a whole lot of work to "make them come alive" at anything other than very hight speed. I imagine that for this reason the Mantras are in fact a friendlier, all around more fun ski. We get plenty of firm slopes here, even on powder days, and many times I've felt as though I had 2x4s strapped to my feet. Not that that's always a bad thing. I'd love to try the Mantras someday, but the explives definitely have their place and are great at what they're great at. No doubt about it.

[dookeyXXX]

Slide and slarve...i think that sums it up. I'm new to the whole wide ski thing. this is only my second season on such boards having spent the past 15 on 198 Rossi 7S's, so I'm still angling into the whole sliding and slarving action. I think the Explosiv's were just a bit too much ski for me. I'm not Mach 12 aggressive and they felt like I needed to be about 50 pounds heavier for me to muscle them around. Like I said, I enjoyed them in ankle deep pow, but when I shot out full blast onto a groomer I felt like I was hydroplaning.

[irul&ublo]

Slide and slarve...i think that sums it up. I'm new to the whole wide ski thing. this is only my second season on such boards having spent the past 15 on 198 Rossi 7S's, so I'm still angling into the whole sliding and slarving action. I think the Explosiv's were just a bit too much ski for me. I'm not Mach 12 aggressive and they felt like I needed to be about 50 pounds heavier for me to muscle them around. Like I said, I enjoyed them in ankle deep pow, but when I shot out full blast onto a groomer I felt like I was hydroplaning.

You ought to try them in thigh deep....even better.

[Dromond]

...but when I shot out full blast onto a groomer I felt like I was hydroplaning.

Eer, um, isn't that the idea in powder? To plane on the top? That's what I go for, anyways.

[Jer]

ankle deep pow

Does that even qualify??

[Shin-to-Win]

Loved the 'sploders, but sold them to get Bro Stiffs. I always wanted a little more tip on the explosive, and a 185 size. The 180 was too short, the 190 too long. They were better on groomers/hard snow than my Bro stiffs due to the metal and slightly narrower waist . . . but who buys a ski in this size for groomer performance?

[YoEddy]

Loved the 'sploders, but sold them to get Bro Stiffs. I always wanted a little more tip on the explosive, and a 185 size. The 180 was too short, the 190 too long. They were better on groomers/hard snow than my Bro stiffs due to the metal and slightly narrower waist . . . but who buys a ski in this size for groomer performance?

More tip? Really? The 190's haven't left me looking for more. I've been looking for a replacement to the Sploders and my main concern has been all of the skis I've tried are too soft up front. Just not the same Super-G-bulldozer-Bull-in-the-chhina-shop feeling.

I haven't tried the Mantra yet, but the more I read it looks as if the Gotama is the heir apparent to the Sploder. I've also been curious about them thar Bro's - you're comments summed up exactly the info I was looking for. I didn't realize they didn't have any metal in them.

[HitMe]

I'm obviously a panty waist, cuz I skied a pair of Explosivs last season on demo (the maroon ones with the bhudda sticker on 'em) and those skis killed me.

Granted they handled great in pow, but on-piste they were like skiing two-by-fours.

I can easily see the appeal if you're in nothing but ankle-to-knee deep powder, but on-piste they were horrible. of course it didn't help that I was at Sugarbowl two days after a storm, so pretty much everything was tracked out. Also, I was trying to demo some Stockli's and the shop tech mistakenly told me that they had them and then when i got to the shop they were like "Um, we don't demo Stockli's, but we've got a nice pair of Explosivs." To their credit the shop did preface the demo transaction by saying "Just point 'em downhill and mach it out and you'll have a blast." i neglected to tell them that I actually like to turn some and am not a Mach 11-with-my-hair-on-fire-kind of guy. I skied them for a few hours and then took 'em back and swapped 'em out for some M:EX's. In hindsight, I kind of wish I'd kept the Explosive's for the day and tried to figure them out. But I'm a quick fix kind of guy and I just wanted to have a day skiing with my buddies rather than sprawling around the hill trying to figure out a pair of skis, especially powder pigs on a mostly groomer day.

This is what I meant with my above post. There are skiers which will not handle the Explosive (and for which the Mantra will do great things). For us that like the Explosive, the performance in cut up conditions or even hard pist skiing is a part of why we like it. True, it does feel weird with so little sidecute in that stifff packages when you come of a turnier ski, but if you can just get themrailed up and start to charge, the ski will never let you down.

[HitMe]

how would exploders compare to gotamas in terms of performance and which would make a better one-ski quiver?

If you compare to 05-06 Gotamas, I think they are very, very far from Explosive performance. Maybe better in true fluff, but they don't hold up nearly as well in tougher (cut up etc) conditions and don't give any ofthe kick you can get out of an actively and fast skied Explosive. So, despite the same "cut" (Gotamas only being wider) I see them as two totally different skiis.

The 06-07 Gotamas are stiffer and has more cut and may challange the Explosive a bit more, but they still don't have the metal feel to them, and the softer tail also makes them different. However, I haven't put the 07 Gotamas on snow yet, so I can't really say.

[HitMe]

More tip? Really? The 190's haven't left me looking for more. I've been looking for a replacement to the Sploders and my main concern has been all of the skis I've tried are too soft up front. Just not the same Super-G-bulldozer-Bull-in-the-chhina-shop feeling.

I haven't tried the Mantra yet, but the more I read it looks as if the Gotama is the heir apparent to the Sploder. I've also been curious about them thar Bro's - you're comments summed up exactly the info I was looking for. I didn't realize they didn't have any metal in them.

I would actually say that the Mantras are whet you get if you want more tip on the Explosives (shape wise). The tip is also a tad softer, but thats neccesary if you're gonna keep the ski balanced with this much metal in it, I think. I haven't skied the Bros, but in after many, many years of using skis with and without metal I kind of think this gives a ski a certain charactersistic. Its a combination of livelyness and dampness that no glass ski I've used can match.

Comparing Mantra and Explosive again, what you gain in float and performance whan you go for the wider Mantra tip and adjust the flex accordingly will enevitably make the ski a bit more skittery in some (tough but non grippy) conditions. If you compare to 07 Gotama, they've addet tip width (shape) but also went stiffer, but while I do think thiss will add a lot of beef to the ski, I also predict this will not give you the same active+damped feel of the Mantra/Explosive, rather just make it feel more damped.

Hmm, when I think this through, this makes me wonder if we won't see a metal construction Gotama some time in the future. The original Gotama was super soft and metal would not have worked. It has since stiffened up and the 07s is the epitome of that transformation. From my perspective putting metal in it would be the next logical step (unless its too expensive).

[mojorisin]

I'm no expert on any volkls, but I definetely remember a visible metal layer in the goats that I've skied (04-05, I think)

[kidwoo]

I'm no expert on any volkls, but I definetely remember a visible metal layer in the goats that I've skied (04-05, I think)

04/05 definitely has a metal top sheet. I can see it on mine.

I may be on crack but compared to the used 05/06 ones I bought the 04/05 feel more solid.

[Arty50]

04/05 definitely has a metal top sheet. I can see it on mine.

I may be on crack but compared to the used 05/06 ones I bought the 04/05 feel more solid.

You are on crack.

03/04 - no metal
04/05 - titanal strips down the sidewall to prevent topsheet chipping which also stiffened the ski by around 10%
05/06 - same as 04/05 but ptex sidewall instead of wood

My 05/06s skied exactly the same as my 04/05s. The big difference was between the 03/04 and 04/05.

[kidwoo]

You are on crack.

03/04 - no metal
04/05 - titanal strips down the sidewall to prevent topsheet chipping which also stiffened the ski by around 10%
05/06 - same as 04/05 but ptex sidewall instead of wood

My 05/06s skied exactly the same as my 04/05s. The big difference was between the 03/04 and 04/05.

I mentioned mine were used for a reason. It may have just been the pair I had.

But that metal isn't a topsheet? Hmm

[HitMe]

I mentioned mine were used for a reason. It may have just been the pair I had.

But that metal isn't a topsheet? Hmm

No Arty50 definitely has it right, the metal is only a protective edge (and this is not even a particularly smart way to reinforce the top edge).

[skiitsbetter]

CMH still have their limited editions? Man anybody I ever saw in a lift line with those it was imediate respect.

I mean does CMH currently have a "signature ski"?.

[Arty50]

I mentioned mine were used for a reason. It may have just been the pair I had.

Do I have to start using winky faces and stuff now?

[kidwoo]

Do I have to start using winky faces and stuff now?

Do you have one with boobies?

[XtrPickels]

How about the AK King Salmon?
Similiar shape (a little more curvy) but still seems a pretty burly ski even though its limited to 180.

[gforce]

My 2 Cents: Explosiv/Mantra Comparison.
The Mantra is a nice ski but Volkl labeling it as the Explosiv replacement is a bit of a stretch - maybe they should have called it Exlplosiv Lite. I expected it to have the same power with the claimed wood/2 layers of titanal construction. Flexing the two is really different as the Mantra is considerably softer. But the killer is the mounting point - the Mantra has a much more centered mounting point and the ski hinges completely different. Get off an Explosiv and jump on a Mantra and think about turning and you have already done it. You don't have to drive it like the Explosiv - which for me is part of the appeal of the Explosiv - knowing you can blast through anything without the ski faltering - totally predictable. Volkl made the Mantra much more user friendly but watered down the traditional Volkl ride a bit...not a bad thing but to me very different. I would like to try skiing a Mantra with a -2 mount though.

[YoEddy]

I would actually say that the Mantras are whet you get if you want more tip on the Explosives (shape wise). The tip is also a tad softer, but thats neccesary if you're gonna keep the ski balanced with this much metal in it, I think. ...

Ahhh, I thought we were talking about the stiffness not the sidecut. It makes sense that they'd soften it a bit in going to more side cut. Although ... I think sidecut is highly over rated ...