Atomic Automatic ski demo at 2012 Outdoor Retailer Winter Market
At the 2012 Outdoor Retailer Winter Market All Mountain Demo, a lot of skis were available to test out on the slopes of Solitude Mountain Resort. There were so many in fact, that it would have been impossible to try them all in one day. I only clicked my boots into five skis… but of those skis, one pair was by far the most fun, giggle-like-a-school-girl party on two planks – the brand new Atomic Automatic.
The brand new Atomic Automatic skis. (Photo: Jared Hargrave - UtahOutside.com)
The Atomic Automatic is a new design from pro skiers Dana Flahr and Sage Cattabriga-Alosa. They collaborated on the ski specs, and one of Cattabriga-Alosa’s paintings became the art for the topsheet. Looking at the dimensions, it’s pretty wild at 140.5-117-129.5 – not every day you see decimal points on ski widths!
The dimensions of these skis will have you skiing "automatically." (Photo: Jared Hargrave - UtahOutside.com)
After picking up a pair and heading to the top of the Eagle Express lift, I buckled in and got ready for the ride. Right out of the gate, the Automatic wanted to charge. Hungry for speed, the skis relished both wide and tight turns alike. But the real fun I had on these skis was how playful they were no matter what the mountain threw at them. While kicking around on bumps and terrain features, the Automatics laughed as they carved from edge to edge, and softened landings despite the ice and nearly bare ground.
Boy do I wish I could have skied the Atomic Automatic skis on some deep powder. With rockered tips and tails and 117mm underfoot, I bet they would slay the fluff. But knowing how well they skied the hardpack crust and groomers, I’d say that the Automatic would be a killer, one-quiver ski. In fact, they’re so easy to ski, the name of the skis make perfect sense… they allow you to ski, “automatic.”
Look for them to be available in time for the 2012/13 ski season.
What about stiffness of this beauties?
I’d say they’re stiff enough seeing as how they performed so well on hardpack. But they’re not so still as to have no playfulness.