So here comes my review of the Snowrider Mach1 SL in 165 cm after being asked to write about it by  Eric; bought in Feb 2005 (Now called Snowrider Race Slalom). Now used for around 40days.

Specs: 120-66-104, Radius 12 Meters.
Retail price around €500 without plates or binders.
I got them for a bit below €600 with VIST WCRV and Tyrolia Freeflex binders new directly at Snowrider.
Skis aren't sold in retail stores but only at Snowrider directly and 2 or 3 stores in Austria and 1 in Switzerland. There will be no end of season discounts. The developers are doing this as a hobby and have all full jobs besides ski development however there into ski development since about 1990 (with the originator Reini Fischer since around 1970)

Profile of Tester: Amateur snowboard racer (Slalom and GS), Time diffference to worldcup riders (winning qualification time) between 10%-25% depending on snow conditions run), extremecarver with my 168M SWOARD Extremecarver and Skier: Started skiing with 3 years (bout 20 days/season) stopped with 6 when I tried my first snowboard (still without edges). Restarted sking in December 2004. Now getting 40-60 days a season, about one third on skis (salom and GS), two thirds on various Snowboards (from racing and BX over extremecarving, bit of freestyle to freeriding).

My skiing skills: Some People say they can still see my snowboarding technique. Can only carve and race (nay, but rest of my skills on skis is very bad). Racing sometimes Slalom and Giant in local races. I can handle proper SG racing skis for freeskiing, but not in the racecourse (done it once - too scared to do it one more time). Weight bout 70-75kg, Size 180. I do various other sports (last year mainly paragliding, table tennis, MTB, rockclimbing and boulder, surfing, Kite-surfing). For freeskiing I usually carve only, for racing of course drifting is part of the game. Agressive Style. From Cross Under to Cross-Through or Cross-Over everything. Carving with full body leaning in, or race style bend at the waist. Normally riding in neutral position, sometimes with counter-rotation or body facing downwards all the time.

Slopes: The steeper and icier the better.
Course: I like it most if prepared with lots of water. I love freeriding but prefer doing that on a freeride snowboard (on big pow days on a Swallowtail). I use skis mostly when slopes are too full for carving with my snowboard or very very icy (though race snowboards handle ice very well by now too)

Ski in use with Vist World Cup Metal Race Plate Alu 16mm and Tyrolia Freeflex binders, edges 0,5°/87° (boots Fischer Somatec World Cup 9000Ti, filed down on the outside about 4mm each side to counter bootout):

Ski construction: Very solid 2x titanal sidewall/sandwich construction. Edges quite soft but thick like on snowboards (2.1x1.9cm). Very very soft tip, but harder between tip and mid-section. For a race ski rather soft tail. Middle of the Radius very far to the tail. Ski is produced at Voigt / VR Ski in Germany but designed and developped by the Snowrider team (the same equipe that developped the shapes for various other boutique brands produced at VR like Indigo/Bogner). Snowrider is the brand Reini Fischer set up and used to market the very first modern carving skis that then revolutionised the skiing world.

Test Procedure for skis compared to: Well the Snowrider slalom is my everyday ski, the Fischer and Atomic I got to test when training on a hill that was closed for public skiing, while training with my snowboard club. I took the chance to ask for some test runs. Freeskied them for 2 runs, then took them down a timed slalom run twice. The Blizzard I tested on a ski testival.

The Snowrider slalom Review: It rides very similar to all my snowboards. It demands for pressure on the tip for turn initiation to close in the radius but rewards with very exact steering. It's not a really damp ski but more lively than other slalom race skis. There is quite strong rebound when getting out of the turn, like on carving snowboards, It is easily possible to use the pop to jump out of the turn and drag the skis through the air below your body. This suites my technique but might be not optimal for serious FIS racers as with the pop you might loose a foot on transition. Ice hold is great and even on bad ruts (like racing with number 70 down a slalom course) I don't feel like I'm missing any edgehold. Drifting to initate a turn works well, but once on edge it's hard to get off the edge, So if one is "early" for a gate it's not easy change the radius last moment, resulting in me taking down a few gates till I got used to this. I one is late for a gate, throwing in cross-under and moving the weight back in the second half of the turn the radius closes in really really well if you can stand the gravity.

Beware: Ski wants to be on the edge, if gliding over flat passages catching an edge is very easy, this ski "swimms" when not put on the edge. Other skis even with edges sharpened similary are not as catchy.

I have heard from people riding with "classic" technique that this ski doesn't work at all for them, though they get by very good with consumer slalom skis from the big manufacturers.

Great: For everyone who rides the "wide line" through slalom courses. Not good for people racing the most direct line with drifting on every turn initation.

Outside of the racing course this ski makes also loads of fun. Carving down a beat up slope in spring it takes the moguls and ruts without any problems. Very stable at any speed you can ride while using the Radius - no matter how steep the slope is. My favourite is however riding down the steepest groomed slopes Austria has to offer with wide turns with this skis, the icier the better.

Similar slalom skis ridden:
Atomic Slalom Race Department SL11 06/07 (optimum weith 76 kg indicated on a small sticker - edges tuned to 0.7/0.5/0.6 /// 86/85/86 indication tip/midsection/tail) , without beta lobes, but no Sidewall (real race stock - not consumer stock).
I did not really like that ski when tested. It does not turn as easy on initation as my Snowrider with my techniqe, and I lost a lot of time in the Slalom course (unbelievable 2-3 seconds slower in a 50 second slalom run). It is however more stable than my Snowrider and had an even better felt edgehold. Railway feeling. Maybe the tune was too agressive (it was tuned for B cadre athletes)

Fischer Worldcup SL 05/06 and 06/07 166cm consumer race stock with race plate (there are some models sold with detuned plate): I liked that ski a lot too, not as damp as the Atomic and easier for me to ride. Very good edgehold but again I can't influence the turn radius as good as on my Snowrider but the times in the slalom course were quite close to those on my Snowrider.

Blizzard Slaloms Consumer Race Stock: Haven't yet tested them on hard snow, nor in the gates therefore I don't want to say anything about it though I've ridden it sometimes.

Atomic SL11, Rossignol 9S, Head Slaloms all NON race-stock. Skis aren't really comparable as they were never tuned so agressively, less stable and just not race specifique.

Skis with similar skifeeling: Fischer Worldcup SC 03/04 with 123mm tip (tested in 160 and 165 - edges 1/87). Sold as a slalom ski, but more a funcarver. Was a favourite with young ski coaches in Austria back then. Wanted to be ridden with a similar technique, not as stable and not such a good edgehold. Provided nearly the same amount of fun for freecarving/funcarving. In the gates however I wasn't fast with this ski as I couldn't keep in contact with the ground very good when going over ruts.

Snowrider Slalom 165 with Vist Speedlock Pro: Edgehold isn't as good as with the real Vist plate, however the ski is overall easier to ski and doesn't need to be steered so exactly. Nor as agressive or damp. For freecarving this plate is enough, however it doesn't ride like a real race ski anymore. Allows for even better radius variation as id doesn't stiffen up the ski like the Vist WCRV.

Snowrider Slalom 155 cm with Vist Speedlock Pro: Wow this is a really turny ski, It's radius is too short for me in slalom runs so I wasn't really fast with this ski. Gets pretty tiring on a full day on steep slopes with its 11m radius. Otherwise same as for Snowrider Slalom 165 with Vist Speedlock Plate. Haven't tested this ski with the WCRV.

Other things to try if you like this ski: Swoard Extremcarving Snowboard (www.extremecarving.com) - have a look at the latest Video (Lifted) to get a feeling what it's about

Felix