THE PEOPLE'S SKI TEST - ELAN RIPSTICK 106 BLACK EDITION
ELAN RIPSTICK 106 BLACK EDITION
Category: Freeride
Lengths: 164, 172, 180, 188
Dimensions: 143/106/120
Radius: 18.1m @ 180
MSRP: $949
More info: elanskis.com
"Sleek and powerful like a panther, classy like a stretch limo on prom night, technologically advanced like the Tesla you’ll never afford. Elan’s Ripstick 106 Black Edition expects, no, demands a high caliber skier to make it perform. It’s not going to do anything for you. It’s not going to make the turn or the landings more forgiving, or the powder easier to ski. But it will perform to amazing levels if you step on the gas and ski it like you stole it. It truly came alive when I pushed it hard and fast. The Ripstick is a stiff ski, with a subtle shape, standard early-rise tip, and a touch of camber. Not much, but it’s there. Which means to get a return impulse out of this ski, it needs to be loaded up and flexed. Take it into the rhubarb and you’ll find it solid, dependable and reliable as it stomps landings and eats crud for breakfast. Lighter and less aggressive skiers may find it feels dead, because if you ski it lazy, it won’t give you much back—so ski it at 110 per cent." —Dylan Strelioff
Reviewer’s Rating - On Piste: 7/10 • Off Piste: 8/10
Average Rating - On Piste: 7/10 • Off Piste: 8/10
REVIEWER BIO:
Dylan Strelioff
Age: 40 / Height: 5’9” / Weight: 165 lbs / Occupation: Rope Access Welder
A rope access welder and longtime purveyor of revelry in Rossland, Dylan Strelioff has been hard charging Red Mountain Resort for over 30 years and has a technical background to boot as a former Level 3 ski instructor and freeski coach at the resort. His favourite type of terrain is steeps and trees (the steeper the better), and while he’s not a huge fan of the park, he loves natural airs (the bigger the better), railing groomers (the faster the better) and chasing soft snow as often as possible in the backcountry. Strelioff’s preferred weapon of choice is a more traditional and directional ski in the neighbourhood of 90 to 100 millimetres underfoot with a less pronounced shape, slight-to-moderate early rise in the tip and tail, regular camber and stiff tails.