Salomon XW Tornado Ti 2010

Spent a week on these in Tahoe and loved every minute. Great control at speed on the piste and quick enough edge to edge to bang down the steeps. Not the happiest in powder but thats to be expected for the type of ski.  Even so, with decent technique you can lay down some sweet tracks in the fresh stuff. Comes into it’s own when you let them go and really rip down the prepared runs - no chatter, constant edge and willing to crank as hard as your legs can handle.  I was always convinced I would want a slalom ski to suit my style for edge hold and snappy turns - this made me think it all over again. Ideal for strong experienced skiers who can work a ski properly.  If you can’t carve well then you won’t get the best out of these. Would I buy them? - I find the RRP a bit steep but I am really, really tempted :)

I purchased the Tornado Ti this past week at a shop in Tahoe. Described my style (45 years old and raced into my 20s) to the sales guy and he hooked me up with the Tornado. Prior to the Tornado, I was skiing the Dynastar Omeglass, a carving ski with a very narrow cross cut. The Tornado was night and day from the Dynastar. As soon as the Tornado hit the snow the ski takes-off vs the Dynastar. I could not get over how much faster the Tornado was. Amazing that two carving skis could be so different. No question the Dynastar maintains a superior edge but the Tornado was easy to compress and quick to respond with maybe a little more slide than the Dynastar. The Tornado was much easier to control in the chop and the bumps. Just a great experience.

Went to Killington, Vt. the week-end after they got a 33” dump, at the end of February, and rented these skis as 180 cm. demos, after reading the reviews.  They took me places that my old 195 cm. Dynastar Speed SX skis would have balked at.  Spent the entire week-end on double diamond un-groomed trails, including Double Dipper, Devil’s Fiddle, Power Line, Ovation, Etc.  Strong, yet compliant to the demands of the individual skier’s input.  Made a beilever out of this 63-year-old Advanced skier. 

Bought this ski last season after skiing on Volkl supercross 5 star T50’s for 5 years. If Volkl still made this ski i would buy it any day, it was a piste ski but performed excellently anywhere on the mountain. I am a ski instructor and ski fast and powerfully on the piste, in the bumps and off piste. This tornado has fantastic edge grip and super speed.  But at 60kg (me i mean) i found the stiffness and weight of the Tornado difficult to work with; struggling for the first time ever with short turns (though i know it has a 15.6 radius) and in controlling the speed out of the carve.  However in the bumps it was great. In the powder again i found it was just too heavy. This ski is for strong powerful skiers but you need to be over 60kg, so ladies beware.  If you are light, going down to a shorter length i don’t feel would make a difference to how stiff you would feel this ski is.

I bought the Tornados last year after a long hiatus from skiing and wanting to upgrade from my old Heads. At first I found them difficult to handle just cruising around the resort (Sunshine Village, Alberta) with my kids but when I figured it all out again and really started to push, these ski’s left me grinning from ear to ear. I’m 43 years old, 6ft tall and 220 lb, I could not believe how nimble these skis were in tight quarters and how well they edged when I was really charging the mountian. I felt like a racer. I’m no expert skier but last season was the best I have ever skied with the Tornado skis and the Salomon Mission RS10 boots.

Skier Height: 6’4” Skier Weight:245 Skier Ability:Beginner/Intermediate Ski length Tested:173

Ski Review: God Bless the salesman who pointed me to these.  After learning to ski at age 51, spending a year and a half on K2 Apache Blackhawks, I was really not enjoying the sport.  In my first full season, when I took my trip to Utah/Colorado I still had K2s.  The trip would have been so much more fun had I been on the Tornados!  Equipment really matters.  Strapping on the Tornados felt like strapping on 5 years of experience and confidence.  They are so very stable on the piste.  Having skiied a full season on them now, I have not once experienced chatter.  Not once!  They turn exactly where I want them to with next to no effort.  They grab an edge and hold it extremely well.  And oh, they are faster than blazes!  Nobody and I mean nobody I met on the slopes this year could outrun me.  Never waxed, still on factory finish, these things beg to go fast.  For the first time I know the joy of controlled highspeed runs down the hill.  I wish I would have owned these from my first day on the bunny hill.  What a difference!  Thank you Solomon and thank you to the salesman at MC Sports in TC (You know who you are) who took the time to sell me what I really needed.  These skis have transformed my experience from toil and angst to leisure and joy!  I can not imagine a better ski.