Titan Pro - Three Days In

**AKWL** · 12-30-2006, 12:36 AM

Skier: 200 lbs, 6 feet tall. 30 years skiing at Whistler. I don't like saying it, but skiing is the one sport that I really am very good at.

Conditions: Whistler, during the holidays, 2 days after a big storm (crowded and tracked out). No untracked, but plenty of soft chop and a few true powder turns here and there. A lot of crowded groomers and even some moguls.

Setup: Titan Pro (193), FKS 155

Background: I've been slow to move up into the bigger ski realm (baby, mortgage, etc.) These are my first 90mm+ skis. I've been worried about these skis since I bought them - I was worried that they were too stiff and even a bit too wide. I've demoed a lot over the last few years and had previously liked the G4s, The Bandit XX and XXX, B3 & B4. I had not liked the Dynastar 4x4, or any of the recent Heads. I knew the Titans were in a totally different league from the Rossis, and trying to flex them was scaring me.

Summary: I LOVE THESE SKIS, even though the topsheet is very fragile.

Detail: So far, I have not found any terrain that they are not totally kicking ass on. Powder, crud, groomers, even moguls (within reason). Super G, GS, even old school slalom is manageable on these things. I just point them straight for a bit, get some speed and then it's just charge, charge, charge. They blew through the chop and drifts like nothing, the tips floated through the few proper powder turns I found, and they railed deep trenches on the 'hardpack'. I even got down the odd zipper line on these things (not easy, but do-able). It took effort, but quick edge-to-edge turns through the hordes of gapers was possible. Unless it's totally bulletproof, I can't see ever wanting a narrower ski.

It's not all perfect.

The topsheets are incredibly delicate. At the end of day 1, which was all soft snow and groomers, there were chunks cracking off the side of the topsheet. I certainly never hit anything, and the skis never even hit each other. I don't know what caused it. I've since sanded and rounded the edge of the topsheet (thanks to Marshal and Splat for the advice) and no more chunks have fallen off. Not a big deal, but dissapointing. I bought the skis brand new off ebay and there's no Canadian distributor that I know of, so warrantying them could be a problem.

All-in-all, the best ski purchase I have made, ever.

I do not have a lot of cash in these and I was really ready to not like them and put them onto gear swap. There is no way that will happen now!

Another thanks to Marshal for starting the what-ski-to-buy thread. I never would have known the Titan Pro existed if he had not included it in his list.

**gramboh** · 12-30-2006, 02:54 AM

Cool reivew, seen a bunch of talk about this ski on the board but not many people seem to have it because of Blizzard's lackluster distribution in North America.

**Flexon Phil** · 12-30-2006, 06:32 AM

Originally Posted by gramboh

Cool reivew, seen a bunch of talk about this ski on the board but not many people seem to have it because of Blizzard's lackluster distribution in North America.

And the distibution is going to get even worse, if Blizzard even stays in teh US. I do love my Titan Nines, they made me unload my Metrons and now they are my hardpack snow ski. Good review on the Pro, I was interested in it too, but it was too big of a ski for me in the east and I currently have some Seths and some Goodes on the way.

I have 6 days in on mine and I haven't seen any problems with the topsheets.

**keksie** · 12-30-2006, 04:02 PM

Originally Posted by Flexon Phil

And the distibution is going to get even worse, if Blizzard even stays in teh US.

and at the same time the pros and regular nines are going for redinkolously low prices in yurp..

**c-dubya** · 01-01-2007, 03:19 PM

Thought I'd add my review of these skis as well.

Me: 6', 205# (w/o gear), fast, aggr., racer type

Location: Ajax/Highlands/Snowmass Dec. 24-29. No new snow despite serious dumpage in front range. Mostly hard conditions but great courdoroy in the mornings.

Other skis used previously: Rossi 9x, Atomic SX 11, Salomon Gun Lab (you may have seen these recently on ebay - thanks to whoever put the link up in the gear swap).

Setup: tyrolia mojo 15, rossi elite pro 1 boots

Objective impression: Beautiful looking ski, better looking in person. Yes, they are stiff! They start stiff in the nose, and only get stiffer through the waist and tail. The flex feels similar to a good skinny GS racing ski.

After several days skiing, the topsheets are now chipped in several places along the edge. I wish that I had prepped these, but didn't have a bastard! file handy. I will definately do it before I ski again.

Subjective impression: These skis need lots of either a) speed or b) input to arc a nice turn. Once up and going, they feel like a gs-sg ski and simply rail. Widen the stance, get low, and hang your ass off the side to keep the pressure on the edges. They are completely unflappable and I could not find a top speed limit. They clearly work best aimed down the fall line.

Ice: Fine as long as you keep them pointed downhill, better than expected given the profile. I got some stuttering on the hard stuff when pointed across the fall line too much. Way better performance on ice than the gun labs.

Short turns: Possible, but obviously not the forte. Hard to get them to carve short radius turns. Still, fairly quick edge to edge, so you can avoid things, people, etc. if you have to. They do not have the springy pop that lets you effortlessly link short turns.

Moguls: Limited testing in hard moguls as it's not all that fun. They do a serviceable job in the bumps, but these long and stiff skis are clearly better suited elsewhere. I could get them going for a while, but it has a tendency to get out of hand. All in all, they performed as expected. Who really likes hard moguls anyway?

Powder and Crud: Not tested. They should rule, but tip may be a little stiff for pow.

Overall: These are serious skis that crave open space. Their hard snow performance was awesome, and they are really fun, scary fun. I got them for skiing Mammoth, and they should be perfect for laps off the top in crud and powder. It takes a lot of leg to ski on these properly, and my body is pretty worked after 5 days. It is absolutely necessary to stay on top of these boards. Once I figured these skis out and found the sweet spot, I love them. They would make a great one ski quiver for variable conditions. Obviously there would be better condition specific skis, but across the board, I think these would be hard to beat.

That being said, for the hard conditions and terrain (and crowds) that I had in Aspen, the SX 11's would be better suited, and I'm going to keep them for that purpose.

Mojo comments: These binders performed great for the most part With the skis they are fairly light combo, and the turntable heelpiece is a nice feature. They were set at 8.5 by the shop and released early once at speed, which was was a little unnerving to say the least. I'm gonna set em at 10 and they should be fine. The brake got bent once but was easy to bend back by hand.

Great website, I look forward to contributing more in the future.

**pechelman** · 01-01-2007, 03:26 PM

nice review.
welcome

**vinnay** · 01-01-2007, 04:09 PM

word. your first post makes me feel ashamed of mine.

**Poacher** · 01-01-2007, 04:13 PM

Sounds alot like my AK king Salmons minus 13cm, I will work on a review after I get the tune dialed.

**frorider** · 01-01-2007, 04:58 PM

Originally Posted by Poacher

Sounds alot like my AK king Salmons minus 13cm, I will work on a review after I get the tune dialed.

disagree. i've skied the king salmons--nicely made all-wood ski feel, relatively smooth at speed for a medium weight ski, but has nothing like the dampness and power of a GS race construction fatty like a head monster or titan pro or legend pro.

i saw the titan pros in a shop recently for $499 new, and i suspect they'd take a lower offer. PM if interested.

**Poacher** · 01-01-2007, 08:36 PM

just IMO.
Kings are not as damp as my LPs were, however they feel like they have similar edge hold and power, just lighter, more shape, and a bit more energetic. So far I think I prefer the super smooth ride of the Lps, though if I could get the tune dailed on the Kings I think they have alot of potential. Very solid almost burly feeling 180cm ski. IMO they are more demanding and ski bigger then my 186 Pro Riders and my 190 FFs but very rewarding if you charge hard on them.

**Flexon Phil** · 01-21-2007, 06:10 PM

Originally Posted by Flexon Phil

I have 6 days in on mine and I haven't seen any problems with the topsheets.

I will retract this. My tails are starting to loose the top sheets.

**hemas** · 01-22-2007, 12:45 AM

Mine are still unmounted and the topsheets are still pretty mint. Oh, and for the wise asses, I bought the skis as used and they had been ridden atleast two years.

Now to the interesting part, I'm freaking scared... These babies are stiff and make my 186 black Stormrider DPs feel like noodles. Hope fully I'm man enough to drive them with locked heels.

If not, look for an add at Gear Swap.

**c-dubya** · 03-10-2007, 01:12 AM

Mid Season Update.

These are now my favorite skis of all time. After getting them dialed in, they are more fun and stable at speed than anything I have skied before.

Mammoth has finally started to fill in, and I was able to get them in some softer stuff. When I had some room to open it up, I couldn't go too fast. Had some pretty heavy powder, and they ate it up. Tip dive wasn't a factor.

On the other hand, my topsheets have delammed on both tails all the way to the bolts, kind of a bummer, but no big deal. maybe try to get a warranty, but I like these skiis so much.

Overall, if you can find a good deal on these, I wouldn't hestitate to pick some up. Although next years look freakin killer.

**agent j** · 04-09-2007, 06:58 PM

Curious about the top sheet problems mentioned, are the problems with the yellow or blue ones or both? Also, are there any differences between this years(blue) and last years(yellow) besides the vertical sidewalls and flat tail on this years? Do they pretty much ski the same? Thanks for any info.

**jerr** · 12-04-2007, 11:00 PM

Great write ups on this ski so far. I thought I would make an addition.

These skis ski fast; not because they don't know slow or moderate speed, but because they just feel so damn capable and comfortable at speed. They are also easier to ski when hauling arse. A wicked ski.

I used these skis for the later part of the recently departed southern winter.

**dookeyXXX** · 12-04-2007, 11:21 PM

I have their baby sister, the 181 T9. still unmounted and shrunk wrapped. Kinda wish I'd gone 188, but I only demoed the 181 (in the old piss green) and loved that. It skied long for it's length, I felt (feel the same about my 180 King Salmons, too...feel like a much longer ski).

Looking forward to getting out on the T9's if 1. we ever get any snow in Tahoe and 2. my back heals up from an encounter with the corner of a table.