Cover Photo: Tom KP

Ski: 1000 Skis All Mountain

Reviewer height/weight: 6’2” / 165lbs

Ski weights (per ski): 2071g/2064g

Length skied: 186

Actual length (with straight tape):

Dimensions: 136/106/124

Mounted: -2.5cm from true centre

Bindings: Pivot/FKS 18

Locations: Sunshine Village, Revelstoke & Whistler

Conditions skied: Pow, Groomers, Park, Crust, Slush

Days Skied: 7

_

Intro

For many years we’ve loved them in ski movies, on their respective brands and seminally as The Bunch, the team behind 1000 Skis has forgotten more about skiing than most of us will ever know. That being said, until a couple of years ago none of us would have foreseen the Swedish business venture, 1000 Skis. But now, we have a full range of park to pow skis and a full size run too. I got on the middle child, the 106 all mountain in a 186 and took them for a rip! This ski is super unique and was a blast to get to know and love!

_

Shape/Flex/Construction

Part of the mission statement of 1000 Skis was their belief that most people are riding skis that are too stiff for their ability or style, as such the 1000 AM ski isn’t a stiff ski, it’s not as soft as the park ski which is a fairly buttery ski with a uniform flex - the idea that when one bends the ski, the whole ski flexes and there are no significant hinge points. This is somewhat similar to the AM ski. The key difference is the tail has been stiffened up from the park ski to provide support on landings and more stability all round. The softness of the ski is counteracted but the long camber, there is some early rise in the nose and tail but it is rather subtle. It is almost the opposite of and ON3P - a very stiff but very rockered ski. These two approaches create playfulness from one area while creating stability in the other.

The shape and construction is pretty traditional in some respects and totally unique in others, there is almost no taper, a full wrap edge and blunted tips. They are also bright red. The full wrap edge is implemented with the goal of increased durability and to provide grip no matter what angle you decide to bend, press or turn the ski - seeing who made them it checks out. In the 186, the radius is 21m which is pretty standard for a ski with these dimensions. They have a beech/poplar core, 2.3mm edges and come in a hair over 2kgs per ski - lighter than similar skis ARV 106, Prodigy 3.0 and Revolt 104 by roughly 200-300g. In hand they do flex pretty significantly when you lean into them, they snap back at you. The in-hand, pre-ski impressions is that these are a light snappy all-mountain freestyle ski (okay…duh) but I was crazy excited to ski these and, despite not loving the red… it grew on me.

_

_

On Snow

On snow these originally felt hooky and horrible, but that’s completely on me because I spaced on detuning the tips and tails. The lack of taper and relatively minimal rocker means this was an essential early step with these skis. I also found they needed a wax very early on, I’m not sure if they had much from the factory but it didn’t last very long. So with some early tuning/detuning out of the way I was ready to properly ski these.

The thing that really jumped out at me about these skis is how easy they are to ski. Turn initiation is super easy and they’re a very grippy ski, which I think comes down to the very long effective edge. There’s enough stiffness in the tail to keep them stable and pretty chargy for their softness. I didn’t find they had too much of a top speed, again the minimal early rise reduced a lot of the potential for flappiness that can plague soft, rockered skis are higher speeds.

The big standout of the 1000s all-mountain offering is how much they don’t feel as big as they are, they’re very playful and quick. Nimble is the word I’d use most to describe how they ski. I rode them a bunch on a trip out in Whistler and in some of my favorite zones that have cliffs, jibs and tight trees. I felt like they opened doors and helped me view terrain differently which I always like in a ski. While they stiffen up through the tail they are not a stiff ski per se. So when it comes to dropping bigger cliffs I found I needed to be pretty bolts and not too back seat or I would wash out. For those after a really big stomp stick I think these may fall short unless you’re pretty light or are a better skier than me (a low bar) and don’t land backseat much.

When it came to jibbing zones, ollieing up rocks and features, or generally launching around the hill these were a pretty ideal blend of balanced, playful and fun. The mix of freestyle ski and all-mountain ski is pretty evident here although I think they lean more towards a wider park ski than a true all-mountain ski. At least for my preferences in terms of stiffness. That brings us nicely to the next section…

_

Park

When I got these I mounted them up at -2.5, on recommendation from the team that most of the crew ride them there +/- a cm or so. I’d chosen here as a mount point to keep the ski versatile and have the ability to ski them in all areas of the hill, that’s the purpose of a Roofbox Review after all. After skiing these for a while I had thought I would even be tempted to push that mount point forward and ride them more primarily as a park ski.

This is by no means to take away from how much fun they are all over but I felt they just excelled as a wider rail/butter/jib ski option. They’re so light and the flex for butters is just about perfect. Getting into, and more importantly out of, butters is super easy on the 1000s. I often find if a ski is too soft the lack of snap back when the press or butter is released can make it hard to recentre yourself. With these, that is not the case, they seem to have an excellent butter zone and make for a super fun ski.

On rails the lightness comes into its own. As mentioned above they are lighter than most similarly sized skis on the market and for me this stood out. The trade off for many going to a wider platform in the park is that skis become more cumbersome. With these I didn’t feel that was the case and they were truly easy to ski all over the park.

_

Homie's Take

I have tried to provide a balanced view of these skis but to be brutally honest, they aren't the ski for me. I let my buddy Tom take them out - and get all the photos for the review - when he visited me in Revy. Here's what a way better skier than me has to say about them:

Forgiving flex, lovely camber profile. Turns really nicely on groomers and the soft flex makes it easy to influence the arc of the turn.

The camber gives the ski good edge grip and stability at speed, only downside is more camber compared to other similar skis makes them harder to pivot and slash.

Flex of the ski means that a butter amateur like myself can enjoy the bendier side of life and the consistency of the flex allows for someone like me who’s never truly cracked the code to get a greater understanding of flexing a ski.

Super light for a 188 all-mountain ski. This makes it super fun in the park for shiftys, quick rotations etc. The downside of the lightness is that in choppy terrain it deflects a lot, having skied the blade optic 104 and ARV 106 which just eat crud and bumps. Skiing the 1000 similar to those feels like a hectic ride, however, they are just completely different skis.

I really enjoyed my time on them, the combo of the flex, camber and lightness make for a fun easy ski for the all mountain but I wouldn’t recommend for anyone looking at charging etc. The fact that Hackel and Magnus can do some spicy freeride on them shows how good they are at skiing.

I’d say they’re a great ski for someone to explore skiing outside of “standard” all-mountain riding.

_

I didn't crush media on this review, Tom crushed it in front of the lens tho!

_

Durability

I didn’t get as many days on these last season as I would have liked and didn’t put any truly heavy rail days on them or hit any unwanted obstacles so the skis are in pretty pristine condition still. Therefore it is pretty hard to comment on the durability but they held up to the skiing I did. I got some classic topsheet chippin - mainly on the inside of the tails a problem spot on skis I own due to the way I ski. There were not indications of poor durability and the build quality feels great from what I can tell.

_

Comparisons

Revolt 104 vs 1000 All Mountain

The Revolt 104 is probably one of the closest comparisons I can think of, at least in terms of where it sits in the space. The dimensions are very similar too, with the Revolt sitting at 132/104/122 and the 1000s 136/106/124, although with a longer radius at 22.5m in the 188. The Revolt has a much more significant rocker line, it’s mellow but starts very early, there is minimal camber and it is heavier. Therefore, I think the Revolt 104 is generally damper, prefers to go in a straight line and has a more naturally floaty shape and construction. For want of a better word I’d say they’re more boaty… If that makes any sense at all. Both skis were designed with their respective teams of pros, I think that shines through with each ski respectively. While the Revolt has a more centred recommended mount point I think the 1000s is a more natural park ski because of the swing weight and playfulness. The Revolt is fun to butter but does it less naturally.

The 1000s are more nimble, playful and lighter and I think are easier to ski because of this. While I loved the Revolt 104 I think some might find it a lot more cumbersome than the 1000s. It certainly doesn’t handle groomers or icy conditions as well as the 1000s but will handle cop and crud better than the 1000s because of it’s weight.

_

Bent 110 vs 1000s All Mountain

When it comes to the comparisons I’m making here I think the Bent 110, despite being a smidge wider is one of the closer in the list. Mainly due to the weight and flex. Both fit in the light and soft end of the spectrum, although the measured weight of the Atomic is actually lighter despite being wider. The Atomic has more stiffness underfoot yet get significantly softer in the noses and tails whereas the 1000s have a more consistent flex.

Where they deviate most is the rocker, tip shape (Horizon Tech in the Atomic), and edge wrap. For me, the Bent 110 has a surfy shape akin to its bigger brother, the original Ben Chetler pro model, this makes it go sideways in pow more easily than the 1000s, it loses the groomer battle for me though and definitely the park battle too. I think they’re nimble in different ways. I’d say the 1000s is more turny, whereas the Bent pivots more easily. I find the very soft and thin tips of the Bent are a little more susceptible to deflection than the more uniform flex of the 1000s. The Bent is a more floaty, surfy ski but I think the 1000s is a better frontside park and all-mountain jibber. With the Bent being lighter, I’d be inclined to choose this as a slackcountry/touring option over the 1000s but the 1000s would win as a daily driver for me on all but the deeper days.

_

Sender Free 110 vs 1000s All Mountain

The Sender Free 110 impressed me a lot at the 2023 Newschoolers Skis Test for how it managed to be super damp yet really playful. This was my favorite of the all-mountain offerings at this year’s test. The Sender 110 is a true charger and somehow still buttery. Whilst it retains park pedigree and the likes of P White and Jonah Williams will use it all over the 1000s beat it on nimbleness and lightness - do you see a theme here?

I think the 1000s don’t find their limitations until you really push them and what they lack in this realm they truly make up for in their accessibility and how easy they are to ski. You could put your parents or non-skiing partner on the 1000s and they’d ski them with ease, this is not the case for the beefy Sender.

_

Prodigy 3.0 vs 1000s All Mountain

The Prodigy 3.0 is also very similar to the 1000 All Mountain ski, much like the Revolt 104 as mentioned as above the dimensions are only a few mm off in the tip and tail and with a radius not a million miles off either 20m and 22m in the 184 and 190 respectively. The biggest similarity is the flex through the full length of the ski although the Factions are stiffer out of the box in my opinion.

The rocker lines and taper also separate these skis, as with the Bent 110 comparison, the Prodigy’s go sideways better than the 1000s will but lose out on edge grip. The Prodigy also has a slightly more directional rocker shape and, although with three mount points, the centre of the sidecut is further back than the 1000s. This is probably the closest ski to the 1000s of all the comparison I’ve made in terms of shape, with the weight and flex of the 1000s being lighter and softer by some degree. I always found Factions took some breaking in to be playful and the 1000s were playful from day one.

_

Conclusion

The 1000 Skis All Mountain ski does exactly what it set out to do and therefore is a success in relation to those metrics and the companies mission statement. This ski really is designed to ski the whole mountain and to also be an accessible style of ski. It’s not overly aggressive, not so rockered as to be squirrelly and is light enough to ski all day - in the park or through your favorite freeride terrain.

The drawbacks, to me, mostly fell in my preferences for skis here and there. While they’re a good ski for the resort I felt like I wanted a little more out of them on groomers and when dropping cliffs and sending gaps. They lacked some beefiness to them that I think those who charge will want. As with all things in life there is, however, a trade off. The trade-off here is that these are a fun, easy to ski, buttery and playful option that truly stand out amongst a pretty homogenous mid-fat freestyle ski market. These break trends and offer something new that many of us haven’t experienced or didn’t know we needed. This is a unique ski that needs to be ridden to be understood. So get on a pair and see if you like them!