A1 vs RS-1

[jwakes]

Has anyone ridden both the RS-1 and A1?  Rode the A1 today and liked it.  I've ridden the MPD but not the RS-1.  Very different feeling skis from my perspective.  I got used to the A1 much faster than the MPD..... 

 Thanks

J

[JAYK]

A-1 to RS-1, two totally different skis. I found that the RS creates it's angle more at the buoy and has a more pronounced edge change, it's faster cross course. The A-1, you can feel it build angle as it gets to the wake and you don't have as strong of a feeling of edge change as the RS, it also feels like you are standing almost flat on the ski in the preturn, feels like a board under your feet. Pretty secure. I Think they are both awesome skis and first set on the A-1 ran 1/2 a buoy off my PB which I set on the RS.

I never liked the MPD, hated it actually. I found the RS to be different than the MPD.

 

 

[jwakes]

Jay-

i agree completely about the edge change....felt a little slow on the A-1.  i don't know if there is a fin adjustment to speak of for that.  As a result i felt more in control with the A-1...and i could get on it if needed...but was a little narrower overall.  Still, i liked the feel of the A-1.  Do you know any place to pick one up at a decent price?

 J

[Thomas Wayne]

I just want to know if they're shipping it in the 68.75 size yet.

 TW

[kc]

I have a 66.25", skied 5 sets, will sell for $900.  kcslaloms@aol.com.

[Horton]

With luck I will be reviewing the A1 within a week.

[jwakes]

As an FYI...i moved my bindings one back from neutral...seemed to ride a little better through the turns...although i am on Approach boots..

 J

[BillBarton]

I went to The Liquid Edge and Doug Meeker set me up with the A1 in 2 sizes and a 68" RS-1. You're definitely right about them being totally different design concepts. At the end of the series I brought home the RS-1.

The A-1 is a departure from the Monza design that I have ridden for the last 2 years. The Monza's line out of the ball is negotiable all the way from one side to the other and it's speed is it's redeeming quality. Once the A1 sets a line it is inclined to hold it as long as you're in a position to take it. I liked that part, but if I crawled up on the front of it at all coming into the ball it would shut down abruptly and I couldn't overcome that.

 

The RS-1 is what you would expect to get if you morphed the best qualities of the RCX and the MPD together. It's a highly polished MPD that seems to exit the ball as fast as it entered. Very low effort through the pass because there is so little re-acceleration to be done. And it turns like a Radar product so it will demand a good pre-turn position. If you've got that and an ounce of patients its awesome.

A quick note on early RS-1's. There are  2 different fins. A gun metal gray colored one with a knife edge and the more traditional black. I didn't like the gray one at all. It feels like stainless steel. The black one works very well and right now I have a 106+ redim carbon in it and that works REALLY well.

 

oh ya, and use Rossi's numbers. They are spot on perfect.

[JAYK]

From what I have gotten shipped to me, the 67" and larger RS-1's have the grey fin, the smaller skis are using the black fin as of this week still. Haven't compared the two yet as far as shape, which was the difference between the gold and black of last year, according to RIni.