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*Please note, I originally reviewed these skis in 2010 and am tidying up my reviews, thus the new date*
Overall:
I didn't have a lot of fun on piste but they are great in the park. Lightweight, durable and very poppy.
Park: This is what the ski is designed for and it kills it. That is all that I need to say really. I don't ski massive jumps so no comment on sw10s over a 60ft table, but it is light and easy to spin. Stiff enough to support on backseat landings and so quick on rails. If you want to spin fast off rails it's pretty much perfect Also very energetic and poppy.
Piste: Ok. It's very very quick to turn and doesn't really want to go straight. I prefer a softer ski on piste and I like to do long turns,
Bumps:Comparable to my old Walls, a bit poppier and thus less smooth but a good ski for bumps.
Design
Beautiful graphics. The square tips distinguish them from other skis which is nice. The edges are thick and tough and the sintered 4000 base is bomber and very fast.
Fit:
I have the 171. At 175cm I found them a little on the short side. I'm sure this contributed to my discomfort on the piste. I was torn between the sizes and went for the 171 due to my loving the Line Elizabeth. But the effective edge is quite short and the rise on the tip/tail is quite long,
Durability:
Topsheets chip, they always will but these are holding up pretty well, I went over the edges of the top sheet with a razor blade and then a medium file and this has minimised chipping. My edges are detuned under foot for rails and there were no cracks when I sold them on to a friend.
I rated this ski honestly by my 10 point system as a 9. However, if I could compare it to other skis that have been rated 10 on this website, this can easily break off higher into the double digits.
This review is coming after 30-40 days on this product.
Any questions, feel free to PM
Performance
This ski was intended to shred parks. I am not much of a jumper so I'm afraid your review of how easy it is to switch 900 compared to ________ will have to come from another user. However, it is a very easy ski to spin on and off with a very stable rail ride due to the 86mm waist.
It is possible to butter with this ski but it does take a little getting used to. I bend my knees a little more than other skis. This could purely be length though, not the ski, I find it incredibly easy to butter on shorter skis.
Even though this is designed as a pure park ski, whats that even matter if you can't ski that to the park?
This ski can be skied both relaxed or aggressivly on groomers. I enjoy making nice wide sweeping turns putting the ski on edge and having it pull me around the trail for a relaxed ride (think y=sin(x)) but it can just as easily make tight agressive turns (punch y=sin(x/4) into your graphing calculator).
I enjoy skiing bumps, or at least those which have a rhythm, and this ski allows me to do that quite well. If I cannot find the rhythm of the bumps, skiing these things down isn't always the most of fun.
When I was caught out in an unexpected Idaho powder day I skied these suckers. The width does help you stay higher then a skinnier ski, however I was not finding full confidence in my turns or my ability to lay down consistent ones in the steeps. I stayed clear of the tighter lines not having the confidence I would be able to pull them around before losing my head. Crapppy story short, its a park ski, not a powder ski.
Design
The graphic is many cassette tapes over at over again, is there an artistic meaning? Probably. Do I know it? No. Does it look cool? I think so.
The technical name for the base is the Sintered 4000 but all you need to know if that it truly deserves the name bombproof. although it doesn't have the fastest base I have ever skied, it is quite durable. I only have a few minor scratches and many a run in with a rock or 2 or an east coast on closing day.
The sidewalls are also quite strong, the only way they differ from their unridden form is small black rubber marks from rubbing the brakes from my other ski or rubbing while transporting.
The 3/4 wrap edge(edges stop about 4 or 5 cm from skis) adds to the duribilty of the ski. Skis expand and contract slightly when they flex but the edges are do not expand. Using a 3/4 wrap ski, you prevent tip/tail delam by putting the pressure on it like edges causing tip delams for invaders while taking out the need for rivets like on Salomon and k2s.
The square tip is mainly for show and I way to tell a moment apart but
I have found uses for it that separates it from the industry standard
semi-circle. I particularly enjoy doing toe drags and toe drag
variations. The square enables me to either drage the flat tail or the
corner causing two very different turns that are fun to play around
with. I have also used my square tip as a shovel. Although an actual
shovel is more productive, if all you have is skis, shoveling with a square tip is easier to transfer larger volumes of snow with due to the larger amount of surface area compared to non-squared tips.
Value
The Reno Jib can be purchased online at shops such as Jibij and D-structure or maybe even a shop in your area for $499 dollars. I would consider that a wise investment even though its easy to pick up a pair of price point skis. You will notice a difference between the two skis so choose which one you like better, YOU are buying the ski even though I think you will like the one I have.
When symetrical mounted skis come to mind, the first thing that pops into most peoples mind is the line invader. But if you want something stiffer and more durible that with withstand a little thing called abuse, buy this ski. With the condition my skis are in, I could have destroyed many other park skis in the same amount of days.
Fit
This ski comes in 171 and 181 cm lengths. Those are the facts. Choosing the size for you is up to you. Most skiers prefer skis that are centermounted to range from coming up to the bridge of their nose in height to slightly over their head. There is no such thing as a correct height of the ski, thought you may recieve hate from other skiers about how short they think your skis are, its more important for you to be important with your product than the masses. Due to the price of skis or the inabilty to demo, you can never go wrong with a park ski that comes up to your eye level.
Even though I review how this ski performs in other terrain, remember
that this is a park ski, do not buy this ski with the intention of
being used predominantly all mountain.
Due to the symetry of the ski it is designed to be mounted center however there is also a -1cm mount line of the skis. I have never skied the ski at -1 but according to the technical analisys, the -1 is supposed to give you better all mountain performance by moving your boot behind the waist of the ski ever so slighlty while still giving the ski a center mount feel while riding switch.
I am 6' 2", 185 lbs, and I ride the 181 cm version and its a great ski. Its hard to explain this but PM me with questions if you have any.
Characteristics
The Reno Jib is a mid to stiff flexed park ski with either a symetircal flex or something very close to that. Also the flex gets progressivly softer as you are heading down the tips or tails.
If you ever have the chance to hand flex this ski, that is not what you will be riding on after the first run. The softening will be noticeable between the first and second days and then after 25+ you'll just then realize that it's softer than it was on day 2. It is not distracting at all and even though the ski loses pop slightly over time, its still a beast in that category
This is by far the poppiest ski I have ever skied (troublemaker, invader, Dumont, suspect, 1260, etc) and it's a very easy ski to pop too . The stiffness of the ski combined with its massive camber creates one poppy ski. To experience the pop for yourself, I suggest remember a particular whale back you pop off to make the ride to the park more enjoyable then imagine that again in special mode on a skateboarding video game. My first time popping I had time to contemplate why the fuck I was still in the air hitting the knoll at the same speed as usual.
Durability
My top sheet has a few chips around the side which can be noticed in the pictures. The largest chip is actually many form rubbing, scraping, hitting my right ski against my left inside. Check the pictures for more info, remember that is from 30-40 days, and they are purely cosmetic.
My edges are holding up well at all. Absolutly zero cracks and not wearing down as fast as the 07 trouble makers did. I did not detune them before and it took about 2 days to get them to not catch at all on either side and to be completely confident that they would not catch at all.
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