I got a pair of M7 pro's w/ spruce risers recently, so I thought I'd share my experience. Just for reference, I'm about 6'1" 195#.
I don't get to get on the slopes as much as I'd like (welcome to living in Indiana), but the last few years that I've gone, I've rented snowblades (yes, snowblades) and had a blast. Last year I was out in CO, and had even more fun on a pair of solomon mini maxes. This year I decided that I'd paid enough rental fees, and decided to just buy some gear. After some reading online, I learned that the stuff I had been renting was crap, and that I could look forward to a lot better performance from a good pair of canons or something similar.
The first weekend out with the new boards was a lot of fun. I had done all the binding adjustments myself (the directions are very clear) even though I'd never adjusted ski bindings before. Turns out I had them set too loose as I had one pop off landing a jump, but I got that tightened up, and haven't had that problem since.
The boards are great. Very stable, even at high speeds, and very lively in the halfpipe. A TON more stable then the salomon snowblade crap I was used to. I was afraid that the releasable bindings wouldn't provide a "connected" feel to the boards, but they work great. It is nice that they pop off when I bail, and they ride great.
The only real disappointment I had was that they felt a little slow. My brother was consistently passing me on his snowboard, even when I was bombing full out, and that was really getting me down a little. Which brings me to my next point:
Get a good hotwax on these things before you take them out on the slopes!
I got them waxed before the start of the next weekend, and it made a HUGE difference. Tons faster, and I was about neck and neck with my bro on his snowboard, and actually probably a bit faster in places. Lets just say I was passed on the slopes very rarely after the wax by anyone, skis or snowboards... These boards are GREAT at high speeds, and tons of fun to carve down the hill with.
They also jump well. After the minor incident of accidentally losing my right board on landing, I tightened the bindings, and I didn't have that problem again. The springiness of the boards was nice for landings, and once I started trusting the bindings to stay put, getting good air was a lot of fun!
Overall, I am very pleased with these boards. They are great for bombing down the slopes, they were great in the woods, they were great in the pipe, and great on jumps. My only minor complaint is that the finish they used on the top surface doesn't seem to hold too well. It's a dark paint scheme with white fiberglass (or something) underneath, and so every nick and scratch shows. After I ride these for awhile, they could start to look pretty thrashed. A thick polyurethane topcoat like the ones you see on regular skiis might be a good idea. But, they are cheap enough that after they get too worn out, I can just buy some new ones. These are great boards, and I would recommend them to anyone. I was up in michigan the last 2 weekends with them, and even though I can't get clear back up there this weekend, we are going to try to do a night ski at a local resort (they do have tiny bumps here in indiana) and at least have some fun in the terrain park.
Bottom line: These boards rock. The bindings feel great, and it's nice to have the peace of mind that they'll release if you somehow bail doing 40MPH down a hill. I can't wait to get out on the slopes again!
I don't get to get on the slopes as much as I'd like (welcome to living in Indiana), but the last few years that I've gone, I've rented snowblades (yes, snowblades) and had a blast. Last year I was out in CO, and had even more fun on a pair of solomon mini maxes. This year I decided that I'd paid enough rental fees, and decided to just buy some gear. After some reading online, I learned that the stuff I had been renting was crap, and that I could look forward to a lot better performance from a good pair of canons or something similar.
The first weekend out with the new boards was a lot of fun. I had done all the binding adjustments myself (the directions are very clear) even though I'd never adjusted ski bindings before. Turns out I had them set too loose as I had one pop off landing a jump, but I got that tightened up, and haven't had that problem since.
The boards are great. Very stable, even at high speeds, and very lively in the halfpipe. A TON more stable then the salomon snowblade crap I was used to. I was afraid that the releasable bindings wouldn't provide a "connected" feel to the boards, but they work great. It is nice that they pop off when I bail, and they ride great.
The only real disappointment I had was that they felt a little slow. My brother was consistently passing me on his snowboard, even when I was bombing full out, and that was really getting me down a little. Which brings me to my next point:
Get a good hotwax on these things before you take them out on the slopes!
I got them waxed before the start of the next weekend, and it made a HUGE difference. Tons faster, and I was about neck and neck with my bro on his snowboard, and actually probably a bit faster in places. Lets just say I was passed on the slopes very rarely after the wax by anyone, skis or snowboards... These boards are GREAT at high speeds, and tons of fun to carve down the hill with.
They also jump well. After the minor incident of accidentally losing my right board on landing, I tightened the bindings, and I didn't have that problem again. The springiness of the boards was nice for landings, and once I started trusting the bindings to stay put, getting good air was a lot of fun!
Overall, I am very pleased with these boards. They are great for bombing down the slopes, they were great in the woods, they were great in the pipe, and great on jumps. My only minor complaint is that the finish they used on the top surface doesn't seem to hold too well. It's a dark paint scheme with white fiberglass (or something) underneath, and so every nick and scratch shows. After I ride these for awhile, they could start to look pretty thrashed. A thick polyurethane topcoat like the ones you see on regular skiis might be a good idea. But, they are cheap enough that after they get too worn out, I can just buy some new ones. These are great boards, and I would recommend them to anyone. I was up in michigan the last 2 weekends with them, and even though I can't get clear back up there this weekend, we are going to try to do a night ski at a local resort (they do have tiny bumps here in indiana) and at least have some fun in the terrain park.
Bottom line: These boards rock. The bindings feel great, and it's nice to have the peace of mind that they'll release if you somehow bail doing 40MPH down a hill. I can't wait to get out on the slopes again!
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