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The small guys are all the rage right now. Everyone is on the hype train to support the industry where it matters: the true diehard brands. After talking to the Vishnu boys at SIA last year and liking the looks of their sticks, I was really eager to get on a pair of the Wet. I was fortunate enough to ski these bad ass planks for the better part of the season. And I wouldn’t have wanted to be on any other ski.
Now that sound cliche and all, but it is the truth. The Wet is definitely a different type of ski. A few companies have experimented with aggressive tip and tail rocker on a narrow ski. Coming in at 116 / 88 / 116 in the 183, it would be expected to not be very versatile. I will say with 100% confidence that I had no trouble grabbing these out of the closet on any day, any condition. Granted, there weren’t too many deep pow days late season in Colorado for me, but I skied everything from ice to slush to knee deep. The best was in a couple fresh inches; silky smooth. A slight bit of chatter when ripping down Keystone at night on the ice, but what would you expect from a shit load of rocker? I’ve been on much worse, hell I’ve been on full camber skis with much more chatter than these.
Vishnu claims the Wet to be the softest ski on the market, which I beg to differ. I have a pair of Lizzies from back in the day and no ski I have ever been on has touched them in terms of softness. Now, that isn’t to say the Wet isn’t the playful, buttery, press master of the market that Vishnu is going for. They have the flex perfect for the amount of rocker. You can lean in and hold butters and presses forever. I thought the Danollie was the best jib ski on the market, but Vishnu is nipping at its heels with the Wet. The Danollie is softer I would say, but I felt like I could over flex them in comparison to the Wet.
Now, you may be thinking, “yea it can jib but is it stable?†Bombing down all Vail can offer and hitting Main Street in Area 51 dismissed any concern of that. I hate saying that something is a perfect all around tool. Nothing will do everything perfectly. But if you want a ski that will actually do every type of skiing that you do, obviously mostly in the park, the Wet is nothing to fear.
Durability. Here is the biggy when it comes to buying a park ski, especially one marketed as a street ski. I have never had a ski slide rails so smooth on the first day. I never caught an edge. Not sure if they have the edges beveled at a certain angle, but I was astonished. I ran a gummy stone and that is all, my usual routine with new skis. Even after 30+ days of hitting rails, jibbing rocks, and driving them like a rental car, there were no edge cracks. ZERO. The only ski that comes close from my experience are my HG Stingers with 3 edge cracks after about 60 days. My Revisions had 11 after 20 days. Vishnu really is keeping it true when they say this can hold up to abuse. I took one nasty fall that put a slight gouge in the topsheet, and an even nicer one in my shin. Other than that, the sidewalls and topsheets were looking like they just came out of the box. The bases were also on the stronger side, couple scrapes and scratches here and there. Holding it down up there like the best on the industry in the base category.
Swing weight seems to be a large factor these days. The Wet is on the lower side of the spectrum. I think the only ski I have been on with lower swing weight was the Candide 1.0. If I had to compare the Wet to anything else on the market, I would say it is the love child between the Danollie and the Candide 1.0. Take all the best attributes of those skis and blend them into one and you have the Wet.
I wish I could find a fault in the Wet. I truly do because no ski has ever felt so perfect for my skiing. I do wish it came in a longer length. I think a 188 would be perfect for me at 6’1†and a meager 160 pounds. The swing weight is so low and the rocker makes the effective edge so short, handling the Wet in a longer length would be no problem. If you are looking to support a dope brand on some skis that will turn heads and perform well, give the Wet a consider. Where other brands have to make guarantees and special warranty programs to confirm their build quality, Vishnu skips ahead to simply building something awesome right off the bat. Support the small guys! They do it for the fun and for the love of the sport.
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