If you don't like them, you need your bumps feeling! (Salomon Snowblade)

Member Name: MuttleyMcLadd

Product:	Salomon Snowblade
Date:	27/11/02 (1666 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: FUN! FUN! FUN!, hand-on-snow-carving, no poles

Disadvantages: not much use off-piste

2002-2003 will be my fourth season on blades and I can honestly say that I have never come down a mountain on anything better and I can’t see myself EVER skiing or boarding again on a regular basis!

I have a pair of Salomon Minimax 99.9’s and an older pair of 90cm Decathlon own brand [a complete bargain at £60 in an end of season sale]. Both perform brilliantly on-piste, with the 99.9’s having the edge for stability at speed.

These things are excellent on groomed runs, allowing you to carve big turns with your palm on the snow and even do full 360° carved turns [well, occasionally anyway]. Even the most timid skier will soon get up enough confidence to try jumping, going backwards or do pirouettes on blades. Even my dear old Pa [60+ years old] can't get enough of them!

Blades are also excellent in mogul fields, as it’s a doddle to dance your way down the slope like only the best skiers can. Really steep mogul fields are even more fun as you just rest your hand on top of the moguls for stability as you snake your way down.

On a practical note, blades’ short length, light weight and lack of poles make them brilliant for lugging around a resort [no more aching shoulders from having to carry my skis…and the wife’s] they also fit in my suitcase - so no more thieving ski supplements on aircraft.

A word or two of warning though. Off-piste is pretty much a no-no, a bit like snow-shoeing without snow-shoes. It is possible to blade off-piste, but you’ve got to be going fast, weight the back of the blades and expect to take a tumble [or eight!]. Similarly, stodgy wet snow can slow you to a virtual crawl. Also, busy lift queues with a slight slope can make you get fairly intimate with people around you as you’ve got no poles to wedge yourself in position.

So when you’re on the slopes this winter, keep your eyes open for a pack of snowbladers, you wont be ab
le to miss them, they’ll be the ones enjoying themselves the most! As my sister-in-law said on her first day on blades “It’s cold…and my teeth hurt from grinning so much!”

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