(transduction - Google = ) Google Translation
Pre-ski review...(will have on-snow report Monday Dec. 3)
Just unwrapped the Sterling Matterhorn
(116 - 76 - 102 @ 174cm)
from its velvet bag. John Mansell, owner of Sterling said they
were "fresh" off the press...and I could tell....the varnish/laquer
was still a little smelly!
First Impression (right out of the box):
Wow. It was like unwrapping a new Ebel or Breitling watch.
I felt like I should have white gloves on. Very shiny surface,
excellent workmanship and finish. (see pics below).
Nice exotic wood inlay inside the titanal topsheet cavity.
A real beauty. Everyone who saw them said "wow...beautiful."
Second Impression (hand flex and inspection):
This is not a fluffy "doctor-lawyer ski" (no hard feelings to the
doctors and lawyers out there who love skiing...it's just a
phrase...lighten up) for the fuzzy-boot sundeck lizards...this ski
has a very nice hand-flex and dampening, with beef underfoot and substantial tail strength. This is a "skier's ski" with carving in
its nature. I really, really wanted to try it on some fresh
hardpack at speed. (first impression - it's not a backcountry
powder ski or some gnarly crud-buster...this is mainly targeted
for on-piste terrain of all types, but compliant enough to
efinitely handle nicely in the powder, cut-up crud and thicker
tuff. I will bet this is a superb one-ski-quiver candidate.
Camber. Repeat - Camber. This ski has perhaps the highest
camber I have seen in a ski recently. Check out the pics.
That means this ski could be particularly touchy at the
helm...let's reserve judgement until Monday's on-snow test...!
Third Impression (reflecting on the price):
Ok. These skis cost ,000 usd. (€20,050) (remain calm) if you
want the carbon poles and a really, really nice velvet-lined
wooden box package (see the Sterling website for pics). A little
mental adjustment is needed here. I don't expect this ,000 ski
to outperform some of the fine ,000 racing skis on bulletproof
surfaces, nor do I expect it to outperform powder skis in
powder, big mountain skis on hard-core terrain, or some of the
fine all-mountain skis already out there. I do expect it to be
really, really good and perfectly suitable for a wide variety of
terrain. I expect a very high degree of performance on all these
surfaces and terrain...so much so I could live with it as my only
ski. Tall order? Yes. (There is plenty of discussion about really
expensive skis all over the place..not going to rehash
pros-cons-philosophy here...just wanted to show folks what
these things looked like...)
I talk myself into it this way:
A Jaguar or Mercedes automobile will probably not out-perform
some of the excellent cars by Audi, Nissan, BWM...etc. but
people love Jaguars, Mercedes, Alpha Romeos for the beautiful
products they are. Sure, they perform really, really well, and
are works of art to some people, but the fact is, premium
products are about more than performance. They involve a
degree of artistry, craftsmanship and elegance beyond the
statistics of performance. That's what Sterling Skis is all about.
Highest degree of quality materials and craftsmanship used to
produce a very high-performance product. Not for everyone,
but then again, John is only manufacturing 140 pairs this year...so the market is full of enough people to sell out the
production run for 2007-2008.
Anyway...some pics....
TIP-TO-TAIL View
TAIL-TO-TIP View
BINDING-TO-TIP View
VIST BINDING HARDWARE
My on-snow report coming Monday Dec. 3! (anyone who has skied these...please add your experience...)
Pre-ski review...(will have on-snow report Monday Dec. 3)
Just unwrapped the Sterling Matterhorn
(116 - 76 - 102 @ 174cm)
from its velvet bag. John Mansell, owner of Sterling said they
were "fresh" off the press...and I could tell....the varnish/laquer
was still a little smelly!
First Impression (right out of the box):
Wow. It was like unwrapping a new Ebel or Breitling watch.
I felt like I should have white gloves on. Very shiny surface,
excellent workmanship and finish. (see pics below).
Nice exotic wood inlay inside the titanal topsheet cavity.
A real beauty. Everyone who saw them said "wow...beautiful."
Second Impression (hand flex and inspection):
This is not a fluffy "doctor-lawyer ski" (no hard feelings to the
doctors and lawyers out there who love skiing...it's just a
phrase...lighten up) for the fuzzy-boot sundeck lizards...this ski
has a very nice hand-flex and dampening, with beef underfoot and substantial tail strength. This is a "skier's ski" with carving in
its nature. I really, really wanted to try it on some fresh
hardpack at speed. (first impression - it's not a backcountry
powder ski or some gnarly crud-buster...this is mainly targeted
for on-piste terrain of all types, but compliant enough to
efinitely handle nicely in the powder, cut-up crud and thicker
tuff. I will bet this is a superb one-ski-quiver candidate.
Camber. Repeat - Camber. This ski has perhaps the highest
camber I have seen in a ski recently. Check out the pics.
That means this ski could be particularly touchy at the
helm...let's reserve judgement until Monday's on-snow test...!
Third Impression (reflecting on the price):
Ok. These skis cost ,000 usd. (€20,050) (remain calm) if you
want the carbon poles and a really, really nice velvet-lined
wooden box package (see the Sterling website for pics). A little
mental adjustment is needed here. I don't expect this ,000 ski
to outperform some of the fine ,000 racing skis on bulletproof
surfaces, nor do I expect it to outperform powder skis in
powder, big mountain skis on hard-core terrain, or some of the
fine all-mountain skis already out there. I do expect it to be
really, really good and perfectly suitable for a wide variety of
terrain. I expect a very high degree of performance on all these
surfaces and terrain...so much so I could live with it as my only
ski. Tall order? Yes. (There is plenty of discussion about really
expensive skis all over the place..not going to rehash
pros-cons-philosophy here...just wanted to show folks what
these things looked like...)
I talk myself into it this way:
A Jaguar or Mercedes automobile will probably not out-perform
some of the excellent cars by Audi, Nissan, BWM...etc. but
people love Jaguars, Mercedes, Alpha Romeos for the beautiful
products they are. Sure, they perform really, really well, and
are works of art to some people, but the fact is, premium
products are about more than performance. They involve a
degree of artistry, craftsmanship and elegance beyond the
statistics of performance. That's what Sterling Skis is all about.
Highest degree of quality materials and craftsmanship used to
produce a very high-performance product. Not for everyone,
but then again, John is only manufacturing 140 pairs this year...so the market is full of enough people to sell out the
production run for 2007-2008.
Anyway...some pics....
TIP-TO-TAIL View
TAIL-TO-TIP View
BINDING-TO-TIP View
VIST BINDING HARDWARE
My on-snow report coming Monday Dec. 3! (anyone who has skied these...please add your experience...)
inscrit le 03/08/06
14 messages