Atomic Nomad Crimson (2008)

How does this ski stack up against the AC-40?

i bought the crimson yesterday after demoing the ac40 and the blackeye. the ac40 requires alot of force/speed to get much out of it. the crimson had equal edge control and carving capability and yet was easier to initiate turns and seems more forgiving. I liked the ac 40 but just liked the crimson more.

these skis rip! floated layouts in powder like a snow-to basically race a ice course GS. But your knees are gonna hurt, you;ll never have skied better if you push the little bastards!

Skied this board in a demo day today. 
IMHO the ski was not tuned properly, there was grabbing on the ski shovel right above the toe piece. 
When the ski was skied flat it had great stability in the the chopped up snow and ice. But the ski missed the boat because of the ski was poorly tuned and forced you to force turns and get railed.  
Would take another look at the ski at another demo, but would not buy until satisfied with the turning performance. 
I could get much better performance out of a lighter ski set up.

After quite extensive research including extended visits with some top local ski shop pros, I settled on the Atomic Crimsons from REI where their no-questions-asked return policy can work to further help migitate not having demo'd these. I could have but neither wanted to wait for a few more weeks for the scheduled demos nor do the demo away from my home mountain (top of Alpental). Bottom line? My first real day out on these skis, after some "warming up" for my first skiing this season which I took care to do the entire prior day of skiing (also an indicator of how I tend to be a good bit more methodical and studied about these sorts of things than most folks, from what I've seen and read)...saw me ripping down some of the steepest runs off the top of Alpental in WA State, widely-regarded by those "in the know" as the type of terrain that if you can handle this, you can ski anywhere in the world...and doing the ripping at a confidence level inspired by the impressive control and performance of these Crimsons...barely matched anytime with any of my skiing the previous season. In short, my starting performance for the first part of the season has me very near my best season-ending performance from last season. With no real curve getting my ski legs back, etc. What was remarkable was I'd actually been a bit concerned going in, hence the studied day of warming up on easier slopes in advance...expressly given my business has kept me from my usual high level of exercise all during the intervening time between last season and the start of this one. Further, the conditions were tricky enough because of substantial fresh dumping and resulting wide-ranging surface variability and very out of synch bumps not yet filled in by follow on snow, that one of my ski buddies with close to ten years of serious skiing under his belt versus my having been away for more than a decade while snowboarding and just getting back at it this last season...had him wiping out multiple times on each of our runs off the top with at least two that were worthy of those famed "agony of defeat" clips from whichever Wide World of Sports network show used to run those years ago. Really wish I had a camera ready for him both for stark contrast to my performance, follow-on entertainment and heck, even a possible money paying slot on America's Funniest Home Videos! Not kidding here...these skis were very impressive enablers for me, unlocking more control and resulting confidence in me, than literally dozens of runs down these same slopes did for me last season with my previous skis which were admittedly rentals albeit respectable ones nonetheless. "What a Difference a Day Makes" would be a fitting marketing phrase for Atomic selling these skis; meaning a day after buying these, of course!

Demo'd Rossignol 170cm Z11's and 176cm Crimsons last night. After the Z11's, I expected the Crimsons to feel land turn ike aircraft carriers being so much wider. Wrong! They won't turn quite as tight as the Z11's but still carved an amazingly tight and clean arc. In deep snow on a steep slope they were rock solid & did not side slip downhill at all as did the Z11's. The extra width definitely gave a feeling of staying on top of the snow yet solidly carving a tight arc. Doing tight turns on the same slope on the Z11's in deep snow, I could tell I was deeper in the snow and was tending to side slip downhill more. The extra width of the Crimsons held better. If it was a fresh deep snow day I would definitely want to be on the Crimsons. Felt I could go anywhere I could on the Z11's, just slightly less tight turns and would stay on top of powder better than the Z11's.

Would you Chose a Pair of 174 K2 Apache Recons or a Pair of 169 Atomic Nomad Crimson's?

There is a foot of fresh at Taos Ski Valley and I'm out on a pair of Nomad Crimson's, 162 cm. This is a stellar powder ski - very steady and sure in variable powder cover and crud. The edge to edge response on intermediate and expert terrane is very quick and they ski flat very well on hardpack. In the bumps they are quick to initiate but I found the tails to be somewhat flat although forgiving. With 86 mm under the boot and 26 mm of sidecut, these boards are designed to carve but have plenty of width for stability in crud and powder. Overall, a really fun all-mountain cruiser and plenty of edge and control for the steep and deep.

I took a chance thought I'd demo skis instead of using my trusty ole K-2 5500's that are 195 cm long and that I've had for over 15 years. Based on the recommendation of the sales rep I demoed the Atomic NOmad Crimson's and loved them. This was my first time skiing this year and I only skied once last year and these ski's were very easy to ski on. I think I'll get rid of my old K-2's that I really loved and continue using the Atomic Nomad Crimsons. I highly recommend them.

The best ski on the market... im an ex-east coast racer who spends time ripping tight Stowe Backcountry and the steepest and deepest of the west coast (Silverton, Jackson, etc.). Arc'em or Park'em!

I demoed both of these skis last week at Whistler in marginal conditions. The Recons ripped in the crud. The Nomads didn't really stand out there. One weird thing I noticed about the Nomads was that they make a kind of weird clacking sound when they knock together. There was plenty of icy hardpack to test on too. The Nomads were insane on that surface while the Recons were decent. I've never skied anything that held an edge that well and I've been a Nastar/Club racer on and off over the years. I would totally agree with the reviewer above who says these skis are perfect to "race a ice course GS". 
 
As a Westerner I'm fairly spoiled and ski a lot of good fresh snow so I think I'm leaning towards the Recons. I know I'll be thinking of the Nomads whenever it's crusty. I would love to have both pair. I tried the Atomic B15s too and didn't really like them off the hard pack. Whistler (and other Canadian resorts) has a really nice free demo program so I demoed a bunch of skis over four days - Rossi's, Solomon's and Head's in addition to the K2s and Atomics. I thought these two skis were fantastic.

Skied the 176 in powder and on ICE this winter.Quick edge to edge and loves to go fast down the fall line.Does great in the POW !.A do it all ski for sure.

This ski is the real deal. I skiied it in all conditions/terrain this past year.  
 
If you only hae one pair these are it. 
 

Demo'd these at Whistler and had trouble returning them. I'm a over sixty honker who can still do a few turns and these skis rock. Tight turns on groomers or crud off piste--as the man said "bring it on". Felt like they turned the clock back 20 years. Just closed a deal on a pair through E-Bay.

I have spent the last 4 years on Atomic Mex 165 length, and I've donated those to my nephew. The atomic rep sold me on 176 length Nomad Crimsons, since I my skiing has steadily moved to the freeride steep-and-fresh direction and I see so many on long and wide. the Mex would get bogged down with heavy Whistler "pow" at times since they were too short to float. I'm 5'7", 175 lbs and ski everything. Am I giving up trees and bumps on a ski this long, or have you all found the Nomads to stay mobile? These skis remind me of the old Rex made lighter, which is what I'm after, but I'm concerned about turning such a big ski on demand when I need it.

I answered my own question. I took my 176 Nomad Crimsons out for the first time yesterday. -7 celcius, packed powder in overcrowded blue runs. Sometimes bumpy, sometimes icy. I didn't buy long and wide skis for hardpack, but they slaughtered. There is a lot of press over the way these things perform a GS turn on hardpack, but that's a very incomplete picture. This things handled ANY turn shape at ANY speed. I charged quick slalom turns at high speed on run #2. By run #4, I just let them run and take speed. But unlike a race ski, these things also ran amazingly stable through the chop and bumps. Those flexible tips and tails are cleverly engineered for both turn initiation and smoothing out the ride, but I'd never call these things "damp". The stiff centre under the boot created amazing rebound. Way easier initiation than my old M ex pair. The weight difference was a huge factor. My pair was a flat 2007 model with rock solid old school "ffg 14" bindings. Having ridden two generations of Atomic freeflexing binding systems, I noticed no difference in leverage or edge hold under the boot at all, and the weight savings is huge. If you can find the 2007 flat version, BUY! I saved $600 and lost only the fancier 2008 topsheet and the "system" plate. You COULD put a good AT binding on them too, but I think these are designed to run best with your boot nearly flat to the ski, and the big lifters and weight on downhill friendly AT would compromise what appears to be a finely tuned engineering of flex, leverage, and shape. Better off keeping them light enough for a backpack and hauling some snowshoes around for those bootpacks into Spanky's Ladder or Flute Bowl. Can't wait to get the same results over some deep and fresh!

How do they stand compared to the ac50? I've demoed both and liked the 50s better. They felt more solid and turny. The 50s didn't need as muck working and didn't rebound under your body as you change directions as much under a heavy carve. Has anyone else ridden them in different conditions? I had fresh powder for both so no experience with either in the hard pack and ice.. The nomads are much cheaper right now anyhow and my vertigo's need to go.

I have been skiing on Crimsons for a little over a year now. I was surprised at how well they handled in all types of terrain for such a light ski. Being a foam core, surprising from Atomic, I have had no loss of energy after 30-35 days on them. Not as aggressive as I used to be, it has been nice to ski on something a little more forgiving. It shines in powder and through tight spaces. It only glimmers through the crud. A nice one quiver ski.

After Demoing the Nomad Crimson Tis, I bought a pair. I can't say how they compare to the Crimsons, but the specs have them as being pretty similar. I found that the skiis gave me trmendous control over turn shape and were silky smooth with terrific edge hold. I bought the skiis because I wanted something that would ski powder well, while allowing me to do some decent trenching on the groomers in between the runs through the trees. I'm really impressed. The ski is just plain fun in all conditions and it makes the perfect companion to my trusty Metron B5s...The only problem with it is that the Crimson Ti just sucks me into skiing faster...a lot faster.

Tried these in Zermatt this week on powdery piste and heavy off-piste. Good performance skis for the advanced skiier. Not as quick or as flexible as my own XScreams but much quicker into the turns and super grippy - positively blast through moguls. But ouch, my knees. not a smooth ride at all. If you have the energy they're well worth a demo

Agreed these ski absolutely rock, you can throw them anywhere and any speed but yes, your legs and knees will scream! I don't know what that is about maybe the way they just are always wanting to be on edge. I want to try the TI version see what they are like. A revolutionary Lambroghini of a ski...if that is your cup of cha!

I ski Stevens Pass in WA, where we get a variety of ice, powder, groomers & tree runs. I've been skiing K2 Recons for the last year & just demo'ed the Nomads today. I'm very impressed with the stability of the ski & its ability to power through the crud. I think I'm done with the Recons, the wider instep of the Nomads (88 v 67mm) adds a lot more stability. I skied 40x this year, so maybe the Recons are a little worn out & I need to step into a stiffer & bigger ski. Has any one tried the Vokel Matra's or Salomon Furies?