Summit Cone 106 review

[bauerb]

don't expect a lot of technical stuff here, but I will tell you what I think.
Gear: Summit Cone 106, 182cm. OutlawX, Scarpa TXPro
Height: 5'11
Weight 187~

so I've been here in Whitefish for a month. some days I ski AT uphill, other days I ski Tele downhill.

This winter while I've been here, there have not been epic storms like you read about in places like Truckee or Jackson, but somehow 48" or so of new snow has accumulated in the last 4 weeks. typically its 2-4" at a time, so it just stacks up over days and weeks. this means that ski conditions are packed powder most of the time, or hard pack depending on the wind and how popular the run is.

hardpack and packed powder: the Summit cone turns easily, but the wide tips are overkill

what I really want to talk about is what happens when you ski in 7" of fresh powder like I did today. this was not untracked powder because I had work until noon. what I skied today were freshly formed powder moguls.

in fresh powder moguls these skis absolutely freakin killed it. I mean we( my skis and I) totally had our way with the mountain. I don't know who was more excited, the skis or myself. we sought out and destroyed every every newborn bump we could find. we absolutely had our way with the mountain. it was a kind of partnership: I chose the run, gave the skis some spur, and then just tore up every bit of terrain we could find...and this is what I believe the skis were designed for, or if not, they should have been.

sometimes you look at a mogul field and plot a course. on days like today, you just find the fall line and charge at it like a bat out of hell. now because this was really the first day with these sort of conditions, it took a couple of pitches to gain confidence that between the skis and I, we were going to be completely in control. and in control we were. I didn't need to plot a course or make a plan, I just aimed straight down. we skied over, around and quite often through the moguls. visibility was "ok" by whitefish standards, but not great by most standards. what this means is that you don't always know exactly what is going to happen on the next turn, because you can't see all the details of the snow. well the summit cones didn't care. not only did they do exactly what I asked, I'm pretty sure they are smart enough to know what to do even when I asked for the wrong thing.

the summit cones like to ski under the chair lift. they know they if they can kill it, they will get the hoots and hollers. I swear these skis were looking for some kudos today , and they deserved it.

my preferred style is short radius, snappy turns which are what you do when skiing bumps with speed. these skis have the energy, enthusiasm and shape to make these kinds of turns a joy in powdery moguls like today. Its probably not an exaggeration to say I skied some of my best Tele ever today.

I knew that these skis had it in them, they just needed an opportunity to show me. because I have been skiing a bunch in recent weeks on my K2 Mt Baker skis mounted with AT, I already knew that the SummitCone 106 was a better turning ski than the K2. and by that I mean, on packed snow, the summit cone will initiate the turn with minimal input from me. the K2's require more thought and finesse. but on packed powder, it matters less what kind of ski you are on.

my conclusion: with 7" of fresh powder being pushed into soft new moguls, the Summitcone excels when pushed hard. I generally do not charge too hard because I get hurt all the time. but today, the skis provided predictability, turn ability and without question made me a better skier. how do I know: when I charge hard, I almost always get crossed up at some point and eat a face full of snow. today I was charging the bumps and never fell. never came close to falling..and I was skiing faster and harder than normal in bumps. I think I found the right job for these skis.

lastly: if you ski mostly hardpack, I don't think you need a 106, and you don't need the wide tips on these skis, but if you ski conditions like I did today, the wide tips, I call them "shovels" are ideal

[joeatomictoad]

@bauerb
Too bad you did not enjoy the skis.
Do you have a review of Whitefish ski area as in-depth as you made for these Fey Bros. sticks?

[Woodserson]

in fresh powder moguls these skis absolutely freakin killed it. I mean we( my skis and I) totally had our way with the mountain. I don't know who was more excited, the skis or myself. we sought out and destroyed every every newborn bump we could find. we absolutely had our way with the mountain. it was a kind of partnership: I chose the run, gave the skis some spur, and then just tore up every bit of terrain we could find...and this is what I believe the skis were designed for, or if not, they should have been.

well the summit cones didn't care. not only did they do exactly what I asked, I'm pretty sure they are smart enough to know what to do even when I asked for the wrong thing.

the summit cones like to ski under the chair lift. they know they if they can kill it, they will get the hoots and hollers. I swear these skis were looking for some kudos today , and they deserved it.

Legend!

[joeatomictoad]

@bauerb
Do you have a review of Whitefish ski area...?

Sorry, there's a whole thread about your experiences this month (duh.) For some reason, in my simple monkey mind, I had associated it with a different user. Apologies for the ignorance. ¡Cheers!

[bauerb]

thats a good idea. I will do a writeup on Whitefish Mountain Resort and the town. I took lots of vids etc, but most of that doesn't exactly tell you what to expect in Whitefish. in a nutshell: Whitefish is exactly what I was looking for. I wanted the opposite of Aspen, Vail, Whistler, etc. I sincerely wish I had found Whitefish a few years ago.

[joeatomictoad]

in a nutshell: Whitefish is exactly what I was looking for. I wanted the opposite of Aspen, Vail, Whistler, etc.

@bauerb
Would you be as bold to say that it's the Montana version of Arapahoe, A-Basin?... because I cannot think of a place that is more anti-Vail Resorts and still has good terrain.

[TyrannosaurusKirk]

Hey reviving this old thread to add my $.02.

Just took my brand new Exile 106s out to Lake Tahoe and they were great. If you're reading this review and thinking about buying this ski, just do it. You won't regret it.

Skier: 5'9" 135 lbs. Good technique, not inclined to charge and wanted a ski to help correct that.

Set up: Fey Bros Summit Cone Exile 106s in 174 with 7tm Power XR bindings and Scarpa T1s.

Review: These things did everything I asked of them and more. Deep light fluffy powder--tons of float. Chopped or heavy wet Sierra Cement type powder--lots of stability. Bumps--turny because of that big shovel with good schmear from the tail when you want it. Groomers--damp with good edge hold on packed powder. Didn't get to try them on real hard pack or ice yet though. Room for improvement? The top sheet is getting chewed up where it meets the sidewall already. Cosmetic only and not a big deal, but also not what you really want to see for a brand new set of boards. Oh well, they're skis not art.

Bottom line: I skied way better on these than on my old Armada TSTs. They gave me the confidence to charge harder than I otherwise would have, and to get down into tele turns in terrain and at speeds where I might previously have reverted to P-turns.

5 stars would recommend!

[freeheel_freethinker]

+1. I love this ski. It's m go-to for anything from medium pow days to groomers.

[Tele Czar]

Skis: Summit Cone Outcast 106c, Inwild 3.0 with brakes, Scarpa TX Pro.
Skier: 5'7", 190, 45 years Telemark experience.

For context: I had a pair of Blizzard Zero G 105s that I had for backcountry. A light and lively ride, but really tough to telemark! Had to ski them heels down most of the time. So, I sold them and bought these Summit Cones to get back to telemark.

Seven days on these Outcasts and they just get better. First couple of days were icy groomers and end-of-day till. Found that the edges are perfectly adequate when skied heels down. Telemark in those conditions tends to be kind of "float and slide" and the Outcasts were very stable and predictable.
Next couple of days were Cascade cream cheese. The Outcasts, once floating on something, became magical. Effortless and easily-modulated turn-in, round flex, and a lovely spring into the transition. Not the greatest snow for a full reveal, but the skis always were predictable and lively.
Next couple of days were 4-6 inches of fresh, wind-buffed a bit in the open, but soft in the trees. The Outcasts really shone in this condition. Most notably, they wanted to telemark! While they were fun in the heels down mode, they were practically begging to telemark in the steep and smooth. They came around quickly and predictably in the trees, and were easy to completely unweight in the transitions. In fact, they wanted to hop from turn to turn if given the whip. So fun and playful.
Overall, the Outcast is remarkably versatile, handling every condition short of sheer ice with solid edge hold and plenty of energy return. They were born to telemark; when you drop the knee and move the hands forward, telemark turns flow effortlessly. And for those who care about such things, many people commented on the sunny top sheet graphics. While I have not skied them uphill yet, I can tell they will be good there, especially with the Inwild 3.0.
Thanks Fey Brothers, you built a winner!

[fisheater]

For those that don’t know, there are two Summitcone 106 skis. There is the Outcast, which has a carbon/paulowania core, and the Exile which has a birch/aspen core with rubber foil dampener layer.
I’m pretty sure they are made in the same molds.