Salomon Shogun Review

I haven't really seen many reviews on this ski, and i'm sitting at home resting, so figured i'd throw a review up after getting a bit of time on it yesterday.

Specs:
5’11”
165lbs
Mountain: Treble Cone, Wanaka, New Zealand
Other similar skis I like: Volkl Gotama, ON3P Wrenegade, Volkl Mantra, Line Prophet
Similar skis I didn’t really like(but didn’t hate): K2 Obsethed (too soft and sluggish IMO)
Conditions: Variable snow, lots of bumps, groomers, hardpack, and chalky snow (a.k.a the conditions are pretty shitty right now)

Salomon Shogun (182cm w/ STH14’s)
This ski is unchanged from 09/10, even the graphics are the same.

I have been wanting to get on these skis for quite some time. It looks like a great stiffer alternative to skis like K2s Obsethed. The shogun is a basalt and bamboo cap construction ski. Ever since I bought my ON3P Wrenegades I have been a big fan of bamboo, but with the basalt I wasn’t too sure.

It’s a pretty light ski, lighter than most other similar skis I have been on. Semi twin, and definitely more of a forwards orientated ski than backwards. 101mm underfoot, so a good size as an everyday ski IMO(I have only ever skied NZ, and western USA/Canada, so have no idea what’s good on the east)

Groomers: Held an edge very well on the groomers I skied (which wasn’t that many). The (subtle) tip rocker wasn’t really noticeable when skiing and in no way took away from performance on groomed. It was very quick edge to edge and didn’t feel like a 101mm ski, definitely a bit quicker than the Gotama. I could make nice long arcing carve turns pretty easily as well as being able to make short snappy ones. It’s got a nice medium-stiff flex throughout the ski and makes it nice and stable at speed, but it’s still very easy to ski. I think the flex was about perfect for what it was designed for. Very versatile all over.

Bumps: It’s a light ski, and quick to move around, so I found it pretty easy to navigate them through the bumps. Performance here was as good as I would need given performance elsewhere.I wouldn’t exactly go looking for them with the Shogun, but if I happen to find some I was confident the shoguns could handle it. Again, better at this than most similar sized skis. It’s not designed for bumps, but for what you gain elsewhere it’s a good trade off.

Crud/Variable snow: The stiffer flex gives you plenty of stability and support in the crud. You can drive the ski without overpowering it, which I had happen with some other skis. The ski doesn’t get knocked around like the K2 Obsethed does for example. Different feel to something like the mantra for sure, it’s a lot more snappy and lively rather than damp like the mantra, which I really enjoyed. However at speed it was solid and busted through everything I encountered.

Ice: Not great on ice. They would probably be better if they were tuned properly. I didn’t really get to test them much here. Not something I really enjoy to ski, and would go and look for (duh!)

Overall: I was pretty impressed. Probably the first Salomon ski I have been on in a long time which I liked-looks like the are actually listening to their athletes now, and it shows. I think it would be an awesome 1 ski quiver. Decent on groomed, bumps, and crud as well as being fat enough to work well enough in the pow. The small tip rocker would also help here. I'd quite like to try this ski again in better conditions. We really need it to snow right now.