Freeride Skis and Bindings - FR 500 Patrol 95

I picked these up on sale near the end of the season. We had such a good ski season in Quebec with regular snowfalls, I wanted to try a wider ski for snow days. They performed very well in fresh powder on both cruiser runs and in the glades, and they worked well in spring c

orn. To be honest I didn't love them on hardback or icy conditions, but I have a pair of Rossy Heroes for normal Ontario and Quebec conditions. So, for powder and spring corn, I love them and at the sale price it made owning two pairs of skis possible.

Patrolled on these last season and will continue to do so this year, Great all mountain ski, wide enough with a slight rocker to have some float on a powder day and stiff enough to lay down some nice carves on the groomer

Such an enjoyable ski, only used on piste but really good when the snow was hard packed and through the soft afternoon snow along the edges of the runs, effortless.

An outstanding ski that has a nice, timeless look, great bindings, and handles trail and off-trail skiing quite well and at an incredible value. As to my ski profile: I've been skiing for 34 years and have skied in the Western United States for the last 14 years. I am using

these in Utah in the snowy Wasatch Mountains. I am an expert that enjoys skiing a wide variety of terrain on every outing. I normally ski 50 or more days a winter. I was looking for a lighter yet durable expert ski that could handle on-trail and off-trail conditions. I normally ski on HEAD skis and love their damp, smooth feel. These skis fit the bill. I've now skied about five days on these skis at Alta and Brighton in varied conditions, ranging from hardpack to fresh powder. Wedze has truly underpromised and overdelivered with these skis. They are light yet durable and hold edge very well. I am impressed by how well they handle at speed--no chattering at all. They also shine off-trail. The wide rockered shovel, wide underfoot shape, nice more traditional camber, and less-rockered tail really works perfectly for me. They cruise through fresh snow thanks to the rockered shovel but track quite well thanks to the tail. The stiffness is perfect and even. The length (185cm) is ideal for me and handles high-speed charging very well and confidently. I can't get over how well they perform for the light weight. While I do have many skis, I now reach for these almost instinctively for each outing. Decathlon shipped these quickly from their California warehouse and they were very well packaged with no shipping damage at all. They included the instructions and warranty paperwork. Judging by some of the labels on the box and other hints, I was quite happy to see that Wedze had a very reputable Austrian manufacturer produce these skis (and, admittedly, my go-to brand). A lot of cheaper skis nowadays are made in China. Not these. The edges were indeed sharpened AND detuned at the ends making them ready to go. I applied base wax and the appropriate temperature wax so that they gave a really smooth ride. They took wax quite well. After five days of fairly extensive use, the bases and topsheets still look almost new. The bindings are a typical "demo" or "shop" binding. Adjusting them for the boot, using the OUTSIDE size, is pretty straight forward. They have held my boots quite well and I have had no pre-release issues or problems. I am familiar with Tyrolia Bindings and have them on almost all of my skis. These are what I have used and have had no issues with for years. So seeing them on this ski was a real pro for me. The only downside with a "demo" or "shop" binding is that they are attractive for thieves because the bindings are easily adjusted to almost any boot size, so plan on locking them up. Even though they are a "demo" binding, I do not find them to be too heavy or to negate the performance of the ski. Mine have now broken in and they are exactly what I wanted and more!