Any tele-TST skiers out there?

[Oldschooldropout]

Great to see the forum arise from the zombie apocalypse!

Just wondering if anyone has been riding Armada TST skis tele. They look like poor man's DPS Wailer 99's and I have read very favorable reviews. I'm looking forward to skiing again in '15 after recovering from my accident and want to buy myself new shiny toys for my big comeback...

Please share your impressions of this ski if you have ridden them.

Thanks,

Bruce

[TyrannosaurusKirk]

Hi Bruce,

I own a pair of TSTs and like them a whole lot. I bought them mainly to ski out west, but I've skied them plenty in New England, too. They float well, hold an edge in all but the hardest snow, go fast on groomers, and handle bumps and trees like a pair of champs.

As you've seen, they've got a really tight turn radius, and so they're pretty turny. I've always liked that in a ski, but if you're a big dude who likes to make massively long radius turns, these probably aren't the tool for you. If short-to-medium radius turns are your default, then you'll be a happy camper.

I'm 5'9" 135lbs, and I bought the 183s. I sized up a bit because of the short radius and big floppy tip. I definitely wouldn't want to go smaller. I mounted them with Voile hardwire CRBs, and ski them with Scarpa T2s. The whole thing is a good set up for me.

Because of the significant rocker on them, I really wrestled with where to mount the bindings. I called Armada, trolled the old TTips, placed the bindings on the skis and moved them back and forth while drinking beer, etc. I finally settled on placing the boot midpoint (midpoint of boot sole not counting the duckbill) 1.5cm behind the recommended alpine midpoint. This works well for me, and I'm not inclined to change it.

Hope this helps,

Tim

[Oldschooldropout]

Hey Tim,

Thanks a lot for your thoughtful reply. You anticipated my sizing question as well. I was thinking the 183's were the way go even though a bit more expensive than the 174's on sale right now (5'8" 160). I'm recovering from a series of knee operations and I'm on the home stretch now. I'm going to pick up a pair to keep unmounted and in sight to remind me of the prize at the end of the rehab.

So, it's off to the gym I go... Thanks for your help!

Bruce

[TyrannosaurusKirk]

Hey Bruce,

That sounds like a solid plan. Rehab the crap out of your knees, get your legs good and strong, then go out and rip next season!

You might also consider a releasable tele binding. That's most of what drew me to the Voile CRBs. They don't make them anymore, unfortunately, but there are probably some floating around the Interwebs or folks' garages. There might be other releasable duckbill tele bindings out there, or you could go also NTN, which I bet would work really well for driving a pair of TSTs.

Good luck!

Tim

[Raventele]

A word of caution on the Voile CRB:
I had never had mechanical issues with them and used them for some years..BUT..
last season I tried them on my Volkyl Mantras with T-Race boots and on my strong side I seriously bent the adapter plates when skiing some "heavy powder" ,reason being , apparently, that I was really laying back and the leverage of the boots coupled with my size did the plate in.. OTOH, K2 Backups with T-2's or SynerG's , no issues at all...
I do have some CRB's if there are any interested..I think it sad that Voile stopped production..

[BAKER1]

Wailer 99, TST--- both of these skis have the new paddle plus tight-radius shape. Having tele'd all season on wailer 99 pure 3s, I just can't recommend the shape as advertised. It's not a true all mountain shape that will back you up when the going gets tough. At least for where I live in the Pacific NW, I could not recommend the TST for post surgery Tele come- back. They work much better in parallel than tele and will deliver the goods just like the ferrari comparison. BUT, like a ferrari on a dirt road or going through ditch or getting the slightly wrong fuel, dude, you're going to feel pain.

After a bunch of demos and owning too many skis, my fave easily are two very forgiving longer radius skis that simply back me up in tele mode when the going get's tough, but otherwise have huge sweet spots. In the car comparo, totally built land cruisers rather than ferraris. Moment Deathwish is an amazing tele ski (their dirty moustache rocker really helps me feel both ends of the ski while still delivering rocker performance). Praxis Protest has a huge sweet spot for tele and makes any turn shape as well as the Deathwish, but smoother and with more slide/slave/skid than the amazing DW edge.

I also would recommend something from the Atomic tour series, K2 coombas and the like, over any of the DPS-bandwagon shapes for your situation. Don't get me wrong, I love my '99s, but I need an agro-carve day to appreciate them for Tele and even then have to expect surprises. Note that I'm not associated with any ski company or shop. cheers, Pat

[Oldschooldropout]

Hey Pat,

Interesting take. I appreciate the alternative view to the "forgiving" descriptor I've read several times. I do get that some boards just like parallel turns on tele gear and some just like alpine gear. I'm a telelell skier skier on NTN,actually, and often like to lock the heels in the bc. I really enjoy a long tele carve on the groomers. I was still toying with mounting the TSTs alpine/AT.

Of course, how hard I will be charging is yet to be determined. I'm not planning on getting going again on my Katanas! I will be burning my M-rocks on March 9, 2015 at Hyak and the successor skis will be ready to go. I appreciate your suggestions and will check out those boards specs, etc.

Sound like the TSTs like the high energy input and favor a firm connection for the output. Is that what you're saying?

So psyched to ski...

Bruce

[BAKER1]

Well, a lot has happened since my last post. I have been skiing every week and on semi-fresh stuff too. It's just been long hikes up to find the sweet thin corn layers at 9K.

But back to the skis; Long story short, I had the 99s mounted on the line and then decided to go +1.5 with the AXLs. All the personality was maintained, but they are a lot more manageable. DPS says "mount -1 for race, on the line for neutral and +1 for new school". So now, TELE is new school! I didn't get the memo, but it sure does work for me-- and no I didn't change the tune at all; de-tuned tip down to the widest point and then sharp for the rest. Only one day skiing, but the writing is on the wall-- these radical sidecuts are sensitive while the straighter side cut skis are way more predictable.

I also met a couple (man and woman) who were both on TSTs with fritchi's. They were ripping the mountain and felt like the paddle shape plus pintail was, "where every all-mountain ski is headed." Again, similar to my experience with the 99s in parallel turns. Last guess tho is that if you're already on Katanas, you'll be wanting less fussy, not more for the BC pair if you're switching back and forth from those.

[bogon]

I'm skiing TST in 192cm and I find them really reassuring at times, but they do want to go fast and to be controlled precisely (or else they'll take ya for a ride). Touring performance is good. For pow, consider Norwalks also.

Skiing lazy telemark I've found them real quick edge-to-edge (for 103mm waisted ski, that is).

I do not want their radius to be tighter than it is, and, being 190cm/75kg, I doubt I'd like 183cm version at all. Besides, 192s are nimble enough. This may give some insight on where (and why) to mount 'em - drop me a line if You want that Freehand 10 file w/some explanation.

I disagree that their particular sidecut shape makes 'em better for alpine - I have Movement Mosquitos too, so I do know when it is the case, and when it is not, mind You.

Was even in the back seat a couple of times, but going out of it was manageable, and had no major crashes because of that. OTOH I had one major crash on 'em because of Stupidity(tm).