Last year rumour had it that the cutting edge DoubleDeck technology will appear on race skis, however, I didn't believe it.
I was wrong. It has arrived and we have tested it. . In the middle of February, on the courses of Präbichl sI had the chance to ski with one of next year's top skis of Atomic, namely the SL D2. And that was a 160cm one.
I was a little worried whether the ski would work under me as I've always used the 150-155cm ones from this category. My height of just under 170cm and weight of 60 kilos have given grounds for it.
I was fascinated by its looks. The classic Atomic colours can be seen on the bottom ski and the upper one is simply grey. This double build-up offers a really harmonious appearance. It's plain, but catches the eye.
Its structure is the renewed old one: a wooden core with titanium bracing.
Knowing all these I could hardly wait to stand on the ski, but I didn't feel a thing on the lift. Why is that so?
The real test began and there came the short turns, what's more in formation, and I was amazed. Starting a turn went without any difficulty, which seems logical as the basic ski is softer. I wasn't sure whether it would keep on like that in the next sections or it would fail. The upper deck, though, finely started to show its stiffening abilities and it held on. When steering out, I released charging gradually and the ski returned the forces very dynamically, but not aggressively. As much as I charged it that much I got back. The ski felt „tame" in formation. You can play around with the charging really gently.
On the lower part of the slope I had to face another task. On a very steep slope our head, Ozsi, ordered carved parallel turns. Well, I got scared: parallel turns with a slalom ski...
The pace was frightening. My adrenalin level up in skies. If the speed had been measured, it would have been like on a motorway. Yet, after some turns, I started to pay attention to the ski. Interesting. It was stable in a curve, didn't tremble and I didn't feel the torsion to be too low. The next task was even more enjoyable of course. It was sensational in the medium length curves. It was extremely dynamic. Don't forget, it's a slalom ski.
Due to the D2 technology the ski is suitable for a wide range of skiers. As the bottom ski is softer and it starts getting harder with necessary bending, and the output is as much as the skier charges it. As a result, intermediate level skiers can use it well too. It won't take „revenge". Anyway, only good skiers will really be able to make use of this fantastic structure, and mostly those who prefer short curves.
I'll go for this ski in the next season, but the 155cm one. I hope it will hold on in the fast paced turns just as well as the test ski did.
Gábor Pásztory
Ski school head - demonstrator
As I'm getting less and less young, I don't feel like buckling on more serious skis. I absolutely enjoy second rate slalom ones. They may not hold on so much in hard conditions, otherwise they're more comfortable to ski.
I had this prejudice before I put on D2 SL as well. At the same time I was curious, because I had been trying to find out what the engineers had in mind, when I heard there would be some skis supplied with the VarioFlex technology in the 2009/2010 season. Why do they want to harden the ski that is already hard when charging. I just didn't see the point. The other possible question was whether the most professional slalom ski would be terribly hard or not. If so, it's brave, but may work..
It did work. I think the basic ski is less stiff than the top category skis are (but don't think that we're talking about some sagging floor-plank), however, the upper ski as a result of bending hardens up to a normal slalom ski rate. Thus, you can finely ski on flat surfaces at slower speeds, it's just as easy to direct it as a soft slalom ski. You don't need to force it to bend, it reacts well to gentle movements, no need to charge. But when there's speed, skiing gets aggressive, D2 SL gets harder and it holds on safely. This ski can go on a wider spectrum than the ones I know: it's sensitive or it's tough, as you need it to be.
About the looks: it must be highly respected and makes a fair impression on you.
Miklós Ozsváth
Head ski instructor
