Atomic Charter vs Access vs .....

Now that the season is winding down and some deals are to be had out there. Has anyone skied the Atomic Charter or Access, and or the K2 Coomback? Do you have any comparisons on any of them? Good, bad, otherwise...

Thanks in advance.

IMO skis are such a personal choice that I'd wait until you can demo skis before buying them. I demo'd skis at VertFest and at Spree---both at Alpental. I'd read a ton about skis, talked to friends, knowledgeable folks in shops, and only one of the pairs of skis that I though I'd like turned out to be right. The other 4 skis I though I'd like based upon other people's opinions, were okay, but paled in compare to the skis I liked.

That said---Voile's V8 is a great ski and I'll be buying a pair next fall when they come out.

For what it's worth... I have a pair of Access that I bought 3 seasons ago. I bought them because I wanted a little less ski under my boot and I wanted something with a tight turning radius for the occasional day in bounds skiing groomers. I also liked that they came in a 192.

The access is by far the easiest turning most forgiving ski I have ever ridden. I have several pairs of zesty sticks in my quiver. I am not a professional ski tester so I won't try to tell you why it is the easiest turning most forgiving ski I have ever ridden but the answer to that can be found when you look at the dimensions and features that are built into it; early rise tip, reverse side-cut etc.

When I bought the ski it was priced really well. Something on the order of several hundred dollars less than anything else I was looking at. It's fairly light. It tours well because the early rise tip floats while breaking trail and yet there is enough ski on the snow to hold it when the skin track gets steep. It carves a nice toight line on groomers and it is very nimble everywhere on the mountain. I have a pair of Marker F-12's mounted on them.

However, that being said, I personally think that I would like a little more width under foot for most powder days. I am 6'2" 200 lbs. I went from 120 something underfoot to 100 w the Access. Kind of a mistake. I should demo more often. I am currently enthralled with the K2 Sidestash or something around 110 underfoot that also has an early rise tip or rocker camber, reverse side-cut and around 20m sidecut.

I think the Access was built for some obscure niche crowd. I forget the marketing blurb. Atomic says that it is built for "intermediate" ability skiers. My pride can hardly take it but I bought them anyways and I have put in some memorable days on them. I certainly wouldn't recomend not buying them if that makes any sense at all.

If you want a ski that is 100mm underfoot and you have no intention of ever riding switch I can't imagine a better more friendly ride. A demo would confirm that for you though. I would venture to say that there is hardly a bad ski on the market now ski design is so good.

For me the big thing is finding the right amount of surface area for your weight. I like to hit bottom and unweight when I turn. Some gunners love the float and rip of a large big mountain ski. I go for the 0 gravity feel between turns and as such I like to kind of bottom out and float during transition and between turns.

A massive ski doesn't allow me to "bottom out" and as such changes the way I ski. I go from being a powder skier to a freerider. Both are great but for me if I am going to spend 1 to 2 hours climbing something I want more that 6 or 8 turns performed at Mach speed. Tongue and cheek of course.

Best of luck on your quest to find the perfect ski...if there is such a thing. Who knows you might just have to keep buying a new pair every year just to calm yer' inner ski bum. We should have such problems.