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Ideal Target Skier: All Mountain Park Rider: Skiers that go anywhere on the mountain, and still make trips through the terrain park enough to require twin tips, describe these skiers. They are not afraid to skip park sessions to ski deep powder, but are torn sometimes for their love of hitting rails and jumps in the park. Skier Ability: Upper Intermediate to Advanced: Skiing most black diamond runs, but cautiously or at moderate speeds. Speed: Fast: At this speed, these skiers are passing most of the others on blue square runs, and keeping up with most skiers on black diamond runs. Phil Larose Pro Model: Liberty Skis and Phil Larose have teamed up to offer a solid park and all mountain ski. This ski has high rebound for maximum air in the park, but also has a smooth feel in all mountain conditions and just cruising around. The ski has been overbuilt for the abuse it takes in the park, and the bamboo core keeps the ski lightweight and easy to control.
If Phil Larose is not a recognized name, here's a little history lesson: Back in the mid 1990's when skiing was boring and slowly dying, a small group of skiers banded together to form the New Canadian Air Force. This group was dedicated to bring skiing back to life through innovative tricks and skiing styles that involved invading the snowboarder dominated terrain parks. One of its members was Phil Larose. Phil has been involved in ski design and the progression of the sport since then, and the resulting experience and input is shown in the production of this ski. Team Core: The Team Core has a unique flex pattern, centered exactly over the middle of the ski. This benefits skiers that ride switch, and need the same flex from the skis no matter which direction they are going. Bamboo is the main material used in the core, with poplar stringers to add a bit of stiffness and strength to the ski. Sandwich Construction (SW): SW means that the sides of the skis are a vertical wall rather the rounded Cap construction found on most skis. Since none of the skis material needs to be exerting force maintaining shape at the edges, SW skis are stiffer than their Cap counterparts. Most people find SW skis to be damper, that is more glued to the snow, superior at high speed GS turns and top notch at busting through crud or choppy snow. Cab Forward Stance: These skis come with multiple mounting points, with the modern and preferred mark labeled as 'Cab Forward.' This gets the skier's weight over the center of the ski, and allows for quicker turning and better balance for spins and flips. The standard mounting point is recommended for all mountain skiers, and the center mounting point is for dedicated park skiers. Fiber Reinforced polymer: This material is added to the ski in the binding mounting area to give extra hold for the binding screws and to stiffen the mid section of the ski. HRC 40 Edges: A fairly soft steel that is easily tuned/sharpened, and has a great resistance to cracking. This is the choice for skis being used in the park so they slide better on rails, and deform instead of cracking on hard hits to rails. UHMW Sidewall: This stands for Ultra High Molecular Weight, which basically means that the sidewall material is just like the base material. The benefits of an UHMW sidewall is that it is almost impossible to crack, it is resistant to scratches, and if it is damaged, it can easily be repaired. P-Tex 2000: The base material for this ski is hard and resistant to scratches and dings from rocks or anything else hiding under the snow. A hard base also translates to a fast glide, so get ready to hold on! ISO Topsheet: This topsheet resists scratches and chips, and gives clean, crisp graphics for others to admire. 78 Degree sidewalls: The slant of the sidewall is set to 78 degrees, which Liberty has found to be the best angle to reduce the chance of topsheet chipping while still putting most of the weight and force over the edge during a turn. This translates to better edge hold on firm snow and ice. Liberty Skis: has been around for several years, making performance twin tip skis suitable for a wide range of skiers and skiing abilities. What's different about Liberty that sets them apart from most, if not all independent ski manufacturers is their commitment to the environment. They have picked Bamboo as their main core material for its performance qualities, but also because of its nature to quickly regenerate. Within a year, a plant is ready to harvest again while hardwoods still need at least another 10 years to regenerate. Liberty also uses windpower for all energy needs from lights in the office to ski production in the factory.
Being green sometimes takes away from the quality and performance of a product, but fortunately, Liberty has found a great balance. They consistently produce quality freeride skis while showing the rest of the ski industry how it should be done environmentally. Twin tip skis: are where its at these days. Their versatility allows you to ski powder in the morning, bumps at midday, and session the park in the afternoon. These are the skis that have brought skiing back to life and kept the younger generation interested in this great sport. The turned up tail is designed for skiing backwards (switch), but for most people, it just looks cool. You can also spray your friends with the rooster tail of snow behind you. |
