MagicBus Product Reviews

Salomon XW Tornado Ti (2010)

2001-11-26

The XM Tornado Ti is one interesting ski! With a 78mm waist and a radius of 16.3m at 173cm, the new Tornado Ti is an expert ski with plenty of guts and grip. Initiation is quicker and shorter arcs are easier than expected.


It’s a powerful ski for better skiers that spend most of their time on corduroy and packed runs and the rest "off piste".

The Tornado Ti feels like its telling you to ski fast and just let them run. The glide is top notch and two layers of Titanium with a wood core serve up plenty of torsional power and edge grip.

A ski for powerful skiers who push themselves and their skis, but when you back off a little and cruise the Tornado Ti still perform with confidence and without a lot of input. A relaxed centered stance lets you explore the ski area like you’ve been there all your life.

The Tornado Ti delivers turn variety to serve any good skier regardless of the conditions or energy level.

Magic Rating

"This is a very well designed ski. Excellent performance. They deserve a spot in the top picks column."

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Specialized Stumpjumper

2009-05-08

Our test bike was a Specialized Stumpjumper FSR Expert. Basically it rocked! We tested the Specialized Stumpjumper along with several other test bikes at the same, nobody ever complained about having to ride the Stumpy.

The Specialized Stumpjumper has been around for many years in many incarnations. No doubt, several of them have been our favorites list over the years. This version, for the '06 model year, is in our opinion, the best yet.

Riding the Specialized Stumpjumper is a pleasure. With great natural feeling geometry and a healthy amount of squish (120mm rear, 130mm front) the bike is just plain fun. The Specialized Stumpjumper fees great in corners and can launch airs with little effort. The bike inspires confidence in rough sections and is tough enough for some hard hits.

We have been using the Fox Talus RL fork for years now. Great performance and great durability.

For those concerned with efficiency, the three position Fox Triad rear shock worked well in the ProPedal position creating an effective platform. Downhills were quite nice in the open position.

Component spec on the Specialized Stumpjumper Expert is both lightweight and durable. Although we like to see SRAM rear derailleurs on FSR designs to reduce knock, It's hard to complain about XTR.

Magic Rating

It Rocked!

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Dynastar XXL

2008-12-23

These are the BIG boys of the Dynastar Legend lineup. They are 194 cms of the wildest thing you'll put on your feet. Yeah they're huge, yeah they're heavy yeah they have a 41m turn radius, but these aren't your little boy skiis either! Ride them in deep and steep and you'll love your life. These are Heli or cat skiis, not Sunday afternoon cruisers!! Although the temptation to get in the lineup with these is overwhelming. You'll hear "Dude, my board isn't THAT big..."

Naturally it isn't ...

Buy 'em, ride 'em, LOVE 'em.

Magic Rating

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A-frames, eh!

2008-11-20

"I've owned a couple Oakley A-frames and I have never been disappointed with the quality of the goggles and how well they hold up the winter. My current Oakley A-frames have the iridium lense for summer/spring sunny day riding which are great, they hold up well even in flat light conditions. I plan to get more lenses and another pair of Oakley A-frames. The goggles fit really well and have great peripheral vision. The A-frames don't bulk up your face like other goggles sometimes do. And the best part is it's easy to change out lenses on the oakley a-frames. Definitely a solid goggle that I love to use."

Magic Rating

Bottom Line: Yes, I would recommend this to a friend

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2009 K2 Zeppelin

2008-11-19

Hammer Of the Gods is pretty much the best way to describe this Zeppelin. The board that defines K2's heritage, the Zeppelin has offered peak to park performance more than a decade now. With a 4000 Ceramic Sintered base and Hyper Progressive Sidecut, the K2 Zeppelin Snowboard delivers speed and control.

It is unbelievably agile, It's got lots of pop, but also maintains its stability and MAN is it fast. From hitting rails and kickers to full out free riding its a great board. A must have if you like to snowboard.

Magic Rating

Something that the engineers might not have realized is that torsion forks in the nose and tail give the Zeppelin extra stability for nose-presses and jibbing

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Burton King

2008-09-22

Built for the big guys, the wide-foot heavy-duty Burton King is a great all-mountain freestyle snowboard with a durable Super Fly wood core and Lightspeed base for flex and speed no matter how big you are. Most large men find traditional snowboards uncomfortable and difficult to control, since every minute weight shift takes them off-course. The Burton King remedies that differential with robust Dual Zone EGD construction designed to keep taller, heavier men in control on any terrain. The twin-tip design adds more than looks - a forgiving ride with great response is also achieved through intelligently-positioned toe and heel edges.

Large riders love this board; they say finally someone has listened to their complaints and created a board man enough for them. Experienced snowboarders say the design takes a little getting used to after so many years on bigger boards, but it is worth the learning curve to actually be in control - and have fun at the same time! Big beginners shouldn't have problems since they've never taught themselves to compensate for small boards. If you're a larger guy who wants to have some serious fun all over the mountain, then the Burton King is your board. The Burton King comes in sizes 153cm, 158cm, 162cm and 167cm.

Magic Rating

Stiff ride, but works well for heavier people

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Nordica Hot Rod Nitrous (2008)

2008-09-22

While the Hot Rod Nitrous shares its footprint (shape) with the Nordica Hot Rod Top Fuel, it has a more reasonable flex pattern, allowing the skier to choose the turn shape rather than fight with the stiffness of the Top Fuel (which was fine at Top Fuel velocity in big arcs). The Hot Rod Nitrous is much more versatile without sacrificing high speed capability.

Manufacturer's Description of the Nordica Hot Rod Nitrous:

"The Hot Rod series is engineered with four different waist constructions including wider waists, for powder and soft snow flotation, combined with with aggressive sidecuts, for ripping turns on hard packed and groomed snow. A little narrower than the hellcat the Hot Rod Nitrous is the ultimate versatile all-mountain ski if you spend time in a wide variety of snow conditions."

Ski-Review's Verdict:

It's a lot like the Top Fuel but there is no metal in the Nitrous, which should be great news for Mogul lovers that need one ski for everywhere and everything. That is not say that the Nitrous is the definitive "bump ski" but they are very accommodating while the absence of metal will help the skis retain their original camber without the hindrance of "metal memory."

Much more "user friendly" and versatile than its big brother the Top Fuel (which was not a favorite) The Nitrous is characteristic of the newer ski designs that used to be "mid-fats" but as waists got wider and skis got shorter these are now almost the "norm."

A nice blend of "beefy" and agile, for better skiers looking to go a little wider without sacrificing the benefits of a true "All Mountain" ski. Wasn't this formerly known as a "Combi" ski?

Magic Rating

Good ski, but they are nothing special.

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Snake Coral

2008-09-22

I say almost - pretty much every other ski I tested this week range from stable to super stable at speed in a straight line on slush up through to hardpack. I'd like a bit more confidence under my feet under the Coral but I actually had to think long and hard to come up with that negative - and given the natural habitat of this ski, along with a few other characteristics it's hardly a blocker and possibly not representative of a differently proportioned skier on the same length. No chatter - just an extra degree of concentration required. Of course when using words like "perfect" on a ski review I must point out it's a subjective review relating to me and me only. If the Snake Coral sounds good the best solution is to get on a pair yourself before parting with your cash.

The dimensions of the Snake Coral lend themselves well to carving, and in pretty much all snow types you'd want to carve on, they were snappy edge to edge. I'm a guy who started on carving skis measuring 63-65 mm underfoot and still love blasting a groomed blue or red with fresh edges. Given a choice I'd happily stick to the Coral given their performance elsewhere.

Through crud, tracked out snow and everything in between the Snakes felt shorter than they are - nicely manoeuvrable. Yes they were light like any peer in this category, but with Salomon STH 12 bindings. Plenty of pop off pretty much anything you wanted to hit.

In the powder they floated well and just as they felt shorter than they were, they floated better than their waists suggested they might. Quite forgiving.

I'm 5'10 and 76kgs and found it easy to push this ski, especially when on the fronts, essential to get the carving performance the Snake Coral is capable of. Nice and soft latitudinally and torsionally again especially through the front which suits me.

Magic Rating

Wicked Stix!
These are the best I have rode in a while.

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