Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Atomic Ski Equipment

Atomic are the worlds most successful producer of race skis, they have dominated the mens circuit for the last few years and their skis are renowned for their power, precision and liveliness. Atomic are part of the vast Finnish group Amer that now also owns Salomon, Wilson, Precor and Suunto.Although there is no range merge between the two manufacturers the likelyhood is that Salomon's Freeride knowhow will benefit Atomic, and the Austrian manufacturer will influence mens race skis at Salomon. Salomon already have the best womens race skis as per podium medals and it is doubtful they would wish to change that.New last season on the race line was the LT range. They have proved very popular and successful. They are lighter and feature larger side-cuts that are easier to use and will be loved by lighter advanced to expert skiers, expert women, and those of you who like shredding gates in your spare time.On the Freestyle front the "Triplets" are rad and come in batches of three, they also have "inner edges", all the better to grind with plus being much more durable for Park use. There are some great new Freeride models with funky graphics and names like the new Pimp, Punx and Deviant. They are also lighter and easier to use than many Atomic models of the past.There are also a couple of extra models in the Metron range they continue to be a very versatile ski, albeit it ones that require a throughly modern technique.For intermediate to expert skiers who like cruising the pistes the SX range offers a full range of models that go from green run cruiser to nail-biting high-speed bruiser, the new SX12 pb taking over from the legendary SX 11.The introduction of the Power Bridge on many of the newest models is the giant leap forwards at Atomic this yeargiving the skier lots of power and smoothness underfoot to drive their skis yet harder and faster. 2007 also sees huge improvement in the Atomic boot range, quite the fledgling for the last few years the Atomic line has finally caught up with some great products. Check out the new boot reviews for further info.