( Everyone reacted with “wow” you must have been on a super day. Well the truth is, I was having a mediocre day with my body (I had a limited acclimation period), but my skis were absolutely incredible in the cold Canmore snow. (Salomon makes some of the best cold snow skis and now wet snow skis in the world… more on that later). Once we had some espresso with Jean-Marc and Martin, we went...
Skintec is a performance no-wax ski that deliver a strong kick in all conditions along with great glide. The Kick is created by two different skin grip modules which are easily switched according to conditions.
Which is best for you? The Fischer S-Track has very soft tips and tails. Peak pressure/contract pressure is closer to the foot which aids in flotation and gives easy static release and easy climbing. Fischer chooses NIS plates for all S-Track skis but we can mount SNS or NNN. The S-Track comes with Fischer's standard 28 Plus base. The Atomic Featherlite features a longer wheelbase which gives great ski feel and stability in firm and medium track. Coupled with a race wedge the Atomic climbs with ease. Both skis are extremely light but the Atomic gets the slight nod in the weight category. The bases on both skis are very slippery and production grind finish quality is better than ever... Fischer is running Mantec machines and Atomic chooses Wintersteiger.
Step one: This is the flex tester that is used on a ski after production when the epoxies and resins have had time to fully dry. This is the tester that provides us with half body weight flex, full body weight flex, and a profile of the flex pattern. A few years ago this was all the further flex testing Atomic USA underwent. For most companies, the regular retail stock for race skis ends at...
For many years, top Norwegian and Swedish athletes have ventured north at the end of spring for extensive on snow training at the Sognefjell glacier in Norway. This spring, more US skiers have made the trip to Sognefjell than at anytime before. Sognefjell is becoming more than a backyard training facility for top Scandinavians, it is evolving into the premier place for all nationalities to come to early in the summer. It only makes sense...
Our final stop on our SIA Show tour brought us to the Atomic booth, where we met up with Rick Halling. He talked to us about the new camber construction of their classic skis and the changes to their World Cup boots.
There has been a worldwide surge in classic racing the last two years. Major marathons, such as the American Birkebeiner, used to focus on skating with classic receiving a secondary status. That status is undergoing a major change at Marathons throughout the world. Skiers are discovering the joy of classic and Marathons with both techniques are witnessing parity in numbers. The end result of this growth is that manufacturers are putting extensive R & D...
Good Gracious Almighty! What Has Atomic Gone And Done Now? Atomic is to classic marathons what Ferrari is to Formula One. For the last thirty years, the long distance events have been dominated by Atomic athletes and the tenacious Austrian ski company is not about to let that change. Atomic’s racing focus has always been on the Marathons because these are the races that have proven to be the best testing ground for equipment. For...
That’s right, take your old wax box full of nasty sticky stuff and just throw it away. After almost ten years of testing, Atomic introduces its Skintec classic ski to the general public. The idea behind Skintec technology? Atomic agrees with the industry that it is nice to have a waxless ski that outperforms waxable skis for those difficult zero degrees Celsius conditions. But why stop there? Why not have a waxless ski that is...
Atomic’s International Race Director, Roman Toferer, will return to the Midwest to fit US consumers at major sales in the Twin Cities September 16 – 18 and he will attend a special Team Night in Ely, MN on September 20. He will then fly to Montana for a special presentation at Nordic Ski Source in Bozeman. Roman has selected, fitted and tuned skis for dozens of Olympic, Worldcup and World Loppet medalists including Claudia Kuenzel,...
The 2012 Nordic World Championships proved to be one of the best championships in Nordic history. Great crowds, spectacular racing and beautiful tracks. The nordic community expected nothing less when the event took place in the acclaimed birth place of skiing. We called Atomic’s Nordic Race Director, the outrageous Roman Toferer, to get his perspectives on what it is like to be a technician at the World Championships. RICK HALLING: Congratulations, you turned in some...
Now available at your favorite Atomic dealer is the new SNS Wedge 60. Putting these on your skis is almost like giving them a banned substance, only these new 60mm Wedges have been approved by the FIS and IBU. The cheating is figurative, of course, not literal — these bindings will give your skis an unfair advantage over the folks you ski with. The new wedge is perfectly legal. Last year, the regular SNS Wedge...
The thermometer is stuck on -5F, the wind is blowing, and the schedule calls for a six-and-a-half hour shift. But people don’t flock to West Yellowstone over Thanksgiving just to ride the water slide at the Day’s Inn or have a go at a beginning pilates class. They are here to ski, and to ski on the latest and greatest equipment. Representatives for all the major ski gear companies set up shop as part of...
The first Worldcup of the new season is November 20th in Gallivare, Sweden. It begins with the Women’s 10K Skate in the morning and the Men’s 15K Skate in the afternoon. The next day is followed up with relays. Sit in a room right now with a few coaches, athletes and industry folk and you can feel the anticipation. The coaches and athletes are excited, but not tense. The extensive hours spent on glaciers, in...
Rick Halling is the Nordic Director for Atomic USA Two things are going on when a ski shop measures the flex of a race ski for a customer. One, they are looking at the stiffness of the ski and making sure it is the right flex for the weight and ability of that customer. Two, the shop is making a final “quality control” inspection to make sure the customer is getting a ski of...
The 2010 Olympics served as concrete proof that Roman Toferer of Atomic is unequalled when it comes to picking skis and making them go fast. The man from the little village of Eben, Austria proved to be a virtual miracle worker on the trails at Whister. If you watched Claudia Nystad take Gold it was obvious her skis were running at speeds far greater than her competition. The Teutonic blonde looked like something out of...
This year’s annual International Ski Federation (FIS) Congress included the selection for the 2015 Nordic World Championships. Held in Turkey, the finalists included Sweden, Finland, Poland and Germany. Sweden was smart. They brought along some of their top athletes to be part of the presentation to bring Worlds to Falun. Nothing like hearing it straight from an athlete’s mouth. It definitely worked, because Sweden beat their key rivals to become the hosts for 2015. Key in that presentation was Olympic...
Do cheaters deserve a second chance? Gerhard Urain thinks so. And since Urain is the nordic race director for Fischer Skis, that means that his company is willing to sponsor athletes who have returned from serving two-year doping suspensions, like Russian Olympic medalist Irina Khazova. “I always try to compare it with normal life,” Urain said. “If you sent somebody to prison…and the punishment is finished, then everyone is having a resocialization program.” In an...
There is an eternal conflict shared by car, bike and ski companies. At what point do you unleash a new design unto the public? How much testing, how many races, does a ski or a bike or a car need to undertake before it is ready for the market? The Italian car manufacturer Alfa Romeo had a race director named Enzo Ferrari who left Alfa and started his own company over this very issue. Atomic...
Part I – Skate Skis Part II – Classic Skis Part III – Back Stock