Believe it or not, this short review is been a hard one to write. Some may think it is because it’s been hard to get our hands on this particular model. Others will say it’s been hard because it is a difficult pair to ski with. Some others will think words weren’t coming easy at all at the time of writing the experience. A few of these will think it’s because this is a so great ski, there are not enough good words to describe it. The rest will think quite the contrary. All of them will be wrong.
Elan Ripstick Fusion 2015-2016
© Elan d.o.o.
The problem is that there is not much to say without repeating what is been said in other posts of this very website.
The Elan Ripstick Fusion seems to be the exact same ski as the Elan GSX Fusion. In fact, they come so close that I believe they are the same exact ski with a different paintwork. A paintwork that is changed year after year for us to believe something new has come into the game. Therefore, the question is what to write about, if the Elan Ripstick Fusion is in fact the Elan GSX Fusion. Or… is it otherwise?
So this is not the first time we talk about this ski in SkiReviewer. In the season 2013-2014 we published the first article about the GSX Fusion, which indeed was -and still is- the same as the Elan Ripstick Fusion. Let’s recap a bit. What did we say about it then? Something like the following:
“If we strictly follow what Elan says in their own website, this ski should: “offer the highest performance all the time, satisfying the more demanding experts in the Giant Slalom”. Then the key question is: does it?
No. It doesn’t, not even by mistake. This ski vibrates tremendously at high speed (the speed it is meant to travel at), making us slow down due to the sense of insecurity that it transmits. If the terrain is a bit irregular (a bit bumpy) as it was in some parts of our testing trail, this unstable behavior is shown earlier. However, when traveling at medium speeds on absolutely flat terrain it is a relaxed, comfortable and easy ski. Skiing on the edge is very easy because the tip easily bites the snow and it comes along in every turn.”
Don’t think for a moment the Elan Ripstick Fusion is a bad ski. It is bad marketed. It is inflated with unnecessary wordiness. And I believe it’s an exact copy of the GSX Fusion. Despite all this, the Elan Ripstick Fusion is a great (yes, I said great) ski for those willing to face all the corners of their favorite mountain with a pair of Race skis. It’s obvious that those days of powder won’t be as enjoyable as if we had a decent pair of fat skis. It’s obvious that those runs with a planted Slalom race won’t be as fun and easy as if we were on a pair of decent Slalom skis. But don’t be fooled. This is a great overall ski if you pretend to have just one pair and the word ‘Race’ is really necessary for you.
