This is the World Famous TelemarkTalk / TelemarkTips / Telemark Francais Forum, by far the most dynamic telemark and backcountry skiing discussion board on the world wide web since 1998. East, West, North, South, Canada, US or Europe, Backcountry or not.
This is the World Famous TelemarkTalk / TelemarkTips / Telemark Francais Forum, by far the most dynamic telemark and backcountry skiing discussion board on the world wide web since 1998. East, West, North, South, Canada, US or Europe, Backcountry or not.
This is the World Famous TelemarkTalk / TelemarkTips Forum, by far the most dynamic telemark and backcountry skiing discussion board on the world wide web. We have fun here, come on in and be a part of it.
I skied the Red Sled Atomic Beta 24 TMs for several years. 180's. Sexy friggin' boards. Early parabolics. They are a good ski for groomers and even lite pow and packed pow. They work in bumps, but the 24 stands for their max turn radius, which is pretty long (think GS ski). Since tele isn't a carver turn (some will argue, not knowing exactly what a carved turn actually is) but instead a pitch slide and catch, it really doesn't matter much. You can snap these pretty tight into a hard edge. A bit twitchy in a strait line though, like on cat tracks. They tip noodle, hunting for an edge; a little concerning at first but you get used to it quick. Put em on edge and they turn well. You'll need stack plates, which your binding probably come with, and perhaps some wedges, but your ski choice itself won't be a hinderance as long as you keep it resort or skied-out side country. Deep pow and expect to work and fight tip dive like crazy.
Last edited by Harris on Sat Dec 16, 2017 1:02 am, edited 4 times in total.
Despite the poor review in our archive here, I'm a fan of the TM24 which I did demo runs on in a 180, Riva2 (no riser!), and old two-buckle T2s. I wouldn't hesitate to ski the 180 or shorter with my T4s. Great ski for hard snow and very carvy for enjoying P-turns and for getting a nice arc in tele turns.
Like Harris says, 24 meter turn radius is pretty long, but believe it or not, it was a pretty short radius number for a rec ski back in the early days of shaped skis. (Now Atomic's race GS G9 skis (and all their performance hard snow rec skis) will have about an 18 radius. Atomic's actual FIS race 193cm G9 have radius of 30. It's no surprise the FIS GS racing you see uses longer turns than most of us do at a resort. Their SuperG 212cm SG FIS race skis are 45 radius. They don't list thei DH ski. Atomic's FIS race slalom and their de-tuned performance slalom S9 have about the same 13 radius though. Those would be fun to try.)
I couldn't find a TM24 to buy back then so I bought a blue Beta TM-26 instead, which was a Steve Barnett BC favorite in 180 with light leather tele boots.
The TM26 I found was a 200cm, the same length of the skis I was replacing, but Atomic really ramps up their stiffness past 180 and these 200cm have maybe 3" of camber, plenty stiff. Very fun and super fast with long radius at that length. Despite their speed they didn't like to run straight--they were fast and super stable but only when arced. In a straight line at speed they were always trying to turn one way or the other.
My current favorite hard snow ski is a similar Beta Ride 8.20 but in 180, 106-66-90. The resort world now recommends 85-95 waist skis for ice and hard snow, which is fine. But a good 66 waist carving ski is so much fun on hard snow I can't imagine going without one on resort days with no new snow.
teleclub wrote: The resort world now recommends 85-95 waist skis for ice and hard snow, which is fine. But a good 66 waist carving ski is so much fun on hard snow I can't imagine going without one on resort days with no new snow.
I fully agree. I think the industry marketing pitch for 85 to 95 waist skis is because even at 85 it can be still considered an all mountain tool that can work both fresh groom and shallow fluff okay. But like you say the true groomer skis and race boards are still running narrow waisted in the 65 realm. For example the 2018 Atomic Redster S9 FIS is 65.5 mm. My newer K2 pinnacle 95s work fine on soft groomed, and they will edge ice, but a 66 waist carver ski with it's much narrower tip is a lot easier to ski on groomed and bumped-out hard pack. I don't use my Atomic 24s anymore, but on resort days that are packed-out/groomed I do ski an old pair of 170 cm Volkl P60 GCs, which are a junior GS ski with a 108/65/94, and a 17 meter turn radius. A much more fun ski on firm than my clown footed K2 Pinnacles. Plus a 95 waisted ski is almost absurd in packed out moguls; even with a 17 meter turn radius, in bumps radius is irrelevant, it is a lot of ski tip and tail to flop and clack rut to rut on. It can be done, but definitely the wrong tool for the job. If I didn't have my donor P60s I'd probably remount my old Beta 24s. They are a great ski.
This is my TM 24 which should arrive this week. They have the plates installed. I felt pretty uncertain about the ski set-up i choose before i red everyone feedback. Now i feel super exicited too start...if the skis will show up at my door already!!!
Last edited by BCwannaB on Sun Dec 17, 2017 3:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.
teleclub wrote:
My current favorite hard snow ski is a similar Beta Ride 8.20 but in 180, 106-66-90. The resort world now recommends 85-95 waist skis for ice and hard snow, which is fine. But a good 66 waist carving ski is so much fun on hard snow I can't imagine going without one on resort days with no new snow.
THIS. My Fischer Boundless Wax 98-69-88 are my favorite skis for firm snow. You wouldn't think it with today's skis but it's true. Voile 3 pin cable on a G3 riser, driven with a T4. What fun! They are my go-to resort ski here in New England on hard days.
BCwannaB wrote:This is my TM 24 which should arrive this week. They have the plates installed. I felt pretty uncertain about the ski set-up i choose before i red everyone feedback. Now i feel super exicited too start...if the skis will show up at my door already!!!
Great looking skis; they should serve you well.
You may not run into this problem with your new boots, but as you can see in the pictures of the skis you bought, rocker launch (boot takes a permanent bent shape below the bellows (in the soles) that spring loads the heels up and wants to throw you over tips when not in a turn) is an issue you might need to address with a wedge. With that double stack you might have to drop the black plates to accommodate the wedges. But again, with newer duckbills that may not be an issue like a lot of older models suffered. I think G3 still makes them (wedges).
