Salomon XW Tornado (2008)

I'm a level 3 expert skier who makes about three trips a year out west. I've been looking for a new pair of skis that will suit everything I'm looking for: bumps, carving, steeps, and powder; just a very solid one quiver ski. I've been looking at a couple different pairs: the K2 Apache Recons, the Volkl Tigersharks, and these. I need some advice from some othere people onn how they feel about these three options, and which pair best suits all my needs. I'm about 6' and weigh about 145 lbs.

If you could put the Volkl AC30's in the mix as well, that'd be good. I forgot to mention those.

I'm 5'11" and 175lbs. Demo'd the AC30s; these are awesome at high speed, but heavy everywhere else on the mountain. K2 Recons felt like the average rental ski to me. Haven't tried the sharks, though. Tornados have a great feel all over the mountain, and are light as well. Definite kudos for the Tornados; this ski rocks! Oh yeah, you should check out the Nordica Hot Rod Nitrous, it's a quick ski, a bit more stable at speed than the Tornado, but not as nimble in the bumps(still had a blast in the bruisers). Good luck! 

This ski is awesome, simply put. I bought a pair and have not regretted it at all since. These skis are very light, allowing you to throw them around if you like, but are still super stable at speed (I couldn't get mine to chatter once, and believe me, I tried!) A real pleasure in the bumps, and rock solid on the groomers. Can't comment on powder skiing with these skis, as it was hardpack in NZ where I was (hopefully we can fix that this season in whistler!) Get this ski, its off the hook.

I am an instructor teaching 250 days a year and need a ski for all and every condition. Luckily I was offered a sponsership with salomon and they gave me a pair of Tornado's. What a ski. Salomon have really got this one right. They are simply awsome and great fun. The harder you ski them the better they are. Well done salomon, a true all mountain ski

Happened to have a few turns on these in excellent snow (Grands Montets this afternoon). Very disappointing - undemanding, skittish and generally rather too easy to ski on for my liking. Not an expert ski at all IMHO. Mind you, I was comparing them to Nordica Dobermann SL-Rs, which are quite a different animal.

I've been skiing Volkl 6 Star's for several seasons. The 6 stars rock but want to run like a scalded cat all the time. So.....I started looking for a ski to enjoy a more relaxed day on. Demo'd AC30's, K2 Strikers and the XW Tornado. The Tornado was the best in my book. You can sit back and carve or push and these babies will still get up and run. The K2 Striker was nice but a bit too soft to run as hard as I like to and the AC30 confusingly squirrely at times. Buying a set or Tornados this week.

I bought a pair of Tornado's end of last year. I am 6' 185lbs and bought the 170cm. Wishing now that I would have gone to the 178cm for more float and high speed stability. Absolutley love the skis except for higher speed busted up groomers(tips get bounced around) and the once in awhile over the tips feeling in the deep stuff. Demo'd a 177cm AC30 today(they sucked except for high speed, total GS racer feel). Anybody know if they changed anything in the Tornado ski this year other than graphics?

Just demoed a Fury vs my Tornados today in a foot of cold powder, bumps, trees, crud etc.. Expert level skier(36 years old) that skis everything the hill has. In a nutshell if you like a light, quick, energetic, snappy, grippy, turny, drop your shoulder carver, plus awesome powder ski go Tornado. Go Fury if higher speeds busting through powder, crud, uneven condtions are your thing. Fury is much more damp, stable, powerful, bullet proof especially in busted up conditions. It is stiffer but is easily handled in tight spots, moguls, trees, etc... Alot more energy and fun if you compare them to certain Volkl all mountain skis, in my opinion.

Tested 9 skis. I am a woman, expert skier 5'2" and 110 lbs. The ski is pretty good in all sorts of terrain, and you can make them do short and longer radius turns. They were good in bumps, good in crud, good on groomed , good on broken powder good on steep, (and not stellar in really heavy deep powder -but no all mtn. ski is). I tested them in Whistler before buying. Not a difficult ski to ski (there is only so much you can do with 110 lbs after all).

Where do I find out the recommended skier weight range for each length of Ski - I can't find any guidance on the Salomon site. I'm a short 145lbs and high end Intermediate aspiring to advanced.

Picked up a pair of 178s a month ago. Handles great in powder, ice, slush, and chewed up late day crud. Easy to ski, but also very easy to over-ski. On packed powder groomers they have a habit of skipping out of really high-speed turns. As long as you obey their speed limit they're a blast.  
 
Now I start out on GS12's on the groomers until the corduroy gets chewed up, then I switch to the Tornados and couldn't ask for a better day.

Tested for 2 days in powder in Tahoe - fantastic ski - turns quickly - not so stable initially at speed for some reason, but eventually got used to that. Highly recommended for good intermediates.

Just used a pair of 170's (85kg and 1.68m tall) in France on and off piste. Changed from Ross B£ and immediately took to these. They hold there edge well, can be thrown around bumps and float in powder thanks to their wider front and tail. Really had fun with them and will now only rent these until something better comes along.

Just changed from volkl 5 stars, looking for off piste and bump performance without sacrificing high speed carving. These skis delivered in spades! Skied 170's (1.81m/75kg) for a week in Tignes/Val D'Isere and they handled everything that the mountains threw at them with ease. They are definitely high energy skis that do not tolerate tail sitting, nor do they like to be pointed in a straight line. They were excellent in moderately deep fresh powder, much better in the bumps compared to my old 5 stars, highly manouverable and carved as well as if not better than my 5 stars. Couldn't be happier!!

Skied hard-packed and scraped powder for a week in France in January 08 on 170s. I'm 175cm / 85Kg and prefer moderately steep, fall-line skiing on piste. The Tornados were OK for this, but not great. They prefer medium to longer turns and can handle a fair bit of speed but they are relatively slow edge-to-edge compared with Salomon Equipe 3Vs or Fischer RX8s or Dynastar Omecarve 10s. They do not have anything like the spring or feel of these skis in short turns down the fall line and their edge holding, while good, was not in the same category as the Fischers or the Rossignol 9S ti I skied a season or two back.  
 
I was however, pleased with their stability and feel in medium and longer carving turns at speed or on fast traverses, where a small amount of edge seemed to keep them tracking that little bit better and gave me a bit more confidence to go faster. Despite this, they are quite soft tip and tail (easily demonstrated in store) and this lets them navigate the bumps in relaxed style. They didn't bash through 'le soupe' (as the French call it) at the edge of the piste so much as try to run over it with varying degrees of success, but I did get a good feel from them in the soft snow at the very bottom of the hill where they felt easy to turn in the chop, bumps and rice. There was no off-piste access that week due to the freeze-thaw.  
 
On balance I think they will be better in the spring conditions I'm heading out to in April - the skis edge well enough on firm snow to let me out early; the wide tip should help me carve through the softening snow of mid-morning; the soft tip and tail should help me navigate the bumps that form by mid-day and the relatively wide footprint should help with flotation in the mush of early afternoon. But for early season on packed powder I'm sticking with my 3Vs for the extra bounce and carve in short turns.  
 
PS This review was incorrectly posted in the 2007 model section before being copied here. 
 

Just bought a pair and skied three hard days at Taos over spring break. I'm strictly a groomer, and steeper trails like Taos are my favorites. I had three of the best ski days in my 30 year on skis with the Tornadoes. Quick into and out of turns, held their edge effortlessly carving turns on Baby Bear and Firlefanz and others. Really just a fun, fast, quick, energetic and amazingly fun ski.

these skis outperformed ac30 easily from my spring weekend in tahoe. Not as quick in bumps as k2 apache, but perhaps a bit more stable and less chattery. Again, I thought ac 30 were more stable but also more sluggish and I used 163 ac30 and 170 tornados. Also I tried the nordica jet fuel 170 and found them really unwnjoyable

Been back on the slopes after 15 years for about 4 seasons. I try to make between 10-15 trips to the mountain each season. I replaced a pair of Atomic Izor 3.1's with these New Tornados. The Izor is a very forgiving ski. My level is probably sound Intermediate now. The Tornado with its wider ski hugs the mountain well even in the crud. They carve with little effort, and don't seem to chatter on the steeps. I noticed you can't sit back on them or they'll let you know you've lost a lot of control. Stay centered or forward and you'll get whatever you ask from them.

I am about to buy Atomic Nomad Crimson after having skied for couple of years on Metron EX (I love them but they are extremely heavy), but right before I bought them got a tip about this model ... any input is appreciated.