REVIEWS
Hear It from the Source
SAM BASS - Skiing Magazine Senior Editor & Director of Skiing's gear testing program:
That glued-to-the-snow sensation only increased as I turned up the volume.
The edges simply could not be bucked off their arcs.
The ride was smooth, mellow, and easy—very easy.
Experts will love tearing down groomers and bumps on these marvels of engineering.
CLAUDIA CARBONE - Ski & Travel Journalist Women Skiing and Sports:
Of all the skis I demoed at the SIA on-snow show at Winter Park, the most fun was the Anton, a brand new ski with a built-in suspension system like your car, absorbing all the shock.
It has an unbelievable way of hugging the snow so you are always in control and able to initiate turns like never before.
PETER KEELTY - RealSkiers.com/ExpertSkier.com:
This ski is unique; there is absolutely nothing like it.
The Antons feel like flying when skied appropriately and there is no ski made that is quicker. That includes all World Cup slaloms and everything else.
A slice of carving Heaven. It can help level 8 skiers reach level 9 rapidly.
Innovation of the Year!
WAYNE WONG - World Champion Freestyle Skier, Canadian Ski Hall Of Fame and US Ski Hall Of Fame:
I have been waiting to see the next technological breakthrough in skiing since the parabolic/shape ski. This is it!
The Anton Active Suspension System is so revolutionary that it is going to make us rethink how a typical ski is designed and how it performs.
The system is very forgiving, yet dynamic in performance, allowing beginner to advanced skiers to benefit immensely from this technology.
MORTEN LUND - Author (The Skiers Bible, etc), Former Editor at SKI Magazine, Sports Illustrated, and many others:
Produced a "Wow, I never did this before!" feeling, that rare occurrence of suddenly skiing at the next level up.
This is a stunning result coming from a stunning engineering achievement.
Makes initiating a carved turn pretty effortless by comparison to any shaped ski now on the market.
SETH MASIA - Former Tech Editor, SKI Magazine
After a day or two on Anton Gliders, terminal intermediates can leap-frog up to expert level carving.
Turned reasonably firm surface into a powder experience for me.
It requires little or no energy to roll up on edge.
On Anton Gliders, an unskilled skier literally cannot make a mistake in stance.
MARTIN BELL - 4-Time Olympian Ski Racer, Ski Coach, Media Sports & Equipment Editor:
Every edging movement of the ski boot is translated immediately to the ski tip, making the Anton Gliders incredibly responsive.
The Gliders can also be a way of creating a new breakthrough for skiers who have been cruising around on the "intermediate plateau" for years.
You do get what you pay for; in this case, radical technology, which totally changes the way in which skis perform.
SHAUN SUTNER - Worcester Telegram & Gazette:
These things are just awesome. I felt like all I had to do was wiggle my toes and both skis carved miraculously smooth arcs.
It took little effort, and it was easy on the body. That's the point of this product: to make carving accessible to the masses.
MITCH KAPLAN - Snow East Magazine, Bergen County Record, etc:
This ski induced a World Cup feeling. It carved, even on the iciest trails.
You really can feel like an accomplished skier after a few runs.
This actually could be a ski-design revolution.
DAN CASSIDY – www.mainecoastnow.com:
The unique shape and dual-action full suspension system of the Anton Gliders deliver exceptional performance and stability, almost instantly.
These new skis do not require the strength, speed, precise balance or any of the special athletic techniques typically associated with downhill skiing.
They will be great for beginner to advanced skiers and skiers with bad knees.
From a Test/Review By S1AM, Originally Posted on EXOTICSKIS.COM:
The most torsionally rigid ski I have ever layed over. The result is a trench digging powerhouse.
These things hold an edge like few other skis.
It is almost unnerving how easily turns are initiated on the Gliders.
The Anton doesn't require any muscle to turn in, all you need to do is subtly shift your weight and you are launched into your turn. Somehow this happens without the ski feeling twitchy.
I have tried other skis and ski/binding systems that claimed to offer adjustable stiffness. The Antons are far and away the most effective at achieving this goal.
A truly remarkable ski.
From a Test/Review By TFAVRO, Originally Posted on EXOTICSKIS.COM:
This system rocks and is completely innovative. I started out on setting 9 (and was taking it carefully because of my skepticism. I was on Super Star head wall @ Killington) It was groomed hard snow and I was thinking these will never work, they are too short, and I am going to die. So..one turn, nice carve, second turn, real nice carve. Pick up the speed and carve,carve,carve! Nice linked turns, and I forgot about how short they were!
So I ripped the rest of Super Star and realized, these work and work incredibly. The next run I cranked them down to 20 and off we go, fast and furious on a little ski with a really cool suspension system. It works, It flies. It is absolutely tuneable to any ability.
Awesome design...it works. Its brilliant thinking.
TRACIE MAX SACHS - World Champion Speed Skier –Fastest American Female Skier:
You can adjust the skis to your style, the snow conditions, and the trail type.
One pair can become a different ski on different settings. That shows the versatility of the skis. I like the fact that you can make the tail soft and the tip harder, for example.
The Carbon EX is definitely good for the East – I have been on many pairs of skis, and with these you know it's great for Eastern skiing.
It was fun ... definitely ... really fun.
The Following Are Exerpts From a Full Test and Review by ERIC EDELSTEIN, EXOTICSKIS.COM:
This ski is like nothing I have skied before...you just have to try them.
They are really, really cool to hold and examine up close. They are a real high-tech work of art. Tech junkies will drool over them.
ERIC EDELSTEIN, EXOTICSKIS.COM On Adjustability:
This system is truly adjustable and has a profound effect upon the ski's behavior and works as advertised.
You get 20 different settings - on the forebody and the tail section! That means you can tune the behavior of these things like nothing else I have ever seen...and I have seen pretty much all the gimmicks in the ski industry over the last 40 years.
I think the world has its first "real" adjustable ski.
ERIC EDELSTEIN, EXOTICSKIS.COM On The Carbon FS:
No roll of the ankle, no roll of the knee, no shift of the hips, no shift of your shoulders, no shift of your hands...just tip your toe or merely put a pound more weight on one ski than the other to start a turn.
A beginner on a firm packed surface could learn carving in no time flat.
ERIC EDELSTEIN, EXOTICSKIS.COM On The Carbon GT:
This is what I would call a very friendly "extreme carver". You could put your Grandmother on these and she would love them on the groomers.
No speed requirements or limitations. Great grip, great turns.
Don't be fooled, however. Grandma might like them just fine, but a rowdy frontside skier will cut some great arcs with these things simply by turning up the tension adjustments.
Even the experts will find the GTs really really FUN.
ERIC EDELSTEIN, EXOTICSKIS.COM On The Adjustability of the Carbon EX:
We both found the EX had suddenly changed its personality into a serious GS-like race carver that just ripped. Very cool ride. Complete personality change.
These are the first "adjustable flex" skis I have every tried that really change when you twiddle the adjusters! Finally. It only took 20 years for someone to pull it off.
Really cool for expert carvers, but adjustable so anyone could really enjoy them.
To learn more, read the Exoticskis.com Full Test and Review:
- Exoticskis.com Review: Anton Gliders Advance 5.5, Carbon FS, GT, EX
- Exoticskis.com Review: Anton Gliders Carbon EX 158cm (2007-2008)
- Exoticskis.com Review: Anton Dynamics UFOria -XA 162cm 2010
[This is a transcript of the story that originally appeared in SKIMAG.COM]
SKIING Editor Sam Bass chased ski legend Wayne Wong down the slopes of Winter Park, Colorado, on an unusual ski—the Anton UFOria XA. Here's what he thought of them.
I don’t like to think of myself as one easily taken by gimmicks. As director of Skiing’s gear-testing program, I see a lot of products that claim to revolutionize this or that aspect of skiing—products that, when field-tested, simply don’t stand up to the claims made by their marketing alchemists.
So it was with a healthy dose of skepticism that I approached my first run on a robotic-looking ski called the Anton UFOria XA. I have to admit, the real reason I initially responded to a request that I take these skis out for a spin was that the request came from none other than the legendary Wayne Wong—one of the godfathers of freestyle skiing and, with his trademark windswept black coiffure and white-framed shades, certainly the most recognizable of those progenitors. Wong told me he gave the skis a try at the urging of a friend, was awed by their performance, and is now helping designer Anton Wilson market the skis. Wilson was a retired engineer when he dreamed up this elaborate design. He says he did it for himself—chasing the holy grail of the perfect carve—with no initial intention of selling or marketing the skis. As he let friends try them and positive feedback began rolling in, his inner entrepreneur began scheming about bringing the design to market.
Basic Function
I met Wong a few weeks ago at the snow-sports trade show in Denver. A couple of days later, at the show’s on-snow demo at Winter Park, I boarded the lift with him and Skiing’s photography editor Niall Bouzon. Wong explained that the ski’s elaborate suspension system is akin to a leaf spring on an automobile. Picture a car going over a bump on a road. After the wheels travel over the bump, the leaf springs push the wheels back downward to maintain contact with the road even if the car’s body is still slightly airborne from having gone over the bump. The ski’s suspension system, Wong said, is designed to function the same way; the mechanism provides constant pressure to the ski’s tip and tail no matter where the skier’s body weight happens to be. When the ski crosses an undulation in the snow, the mechanism forces the tips down the backside of the undulation rather than allowing them to pop off of the bump, as a conventional ski would do.
How the Skis Performed
Here’s where I’ll do some gushing. Like I said, I was a serious skeptic coming into this experience. Even with the likes of Wayne Wong selling me on this product, I was ready to be disappointed. But then I pushed off and tilted the skis ever so slightly on edge. I could feel that pressure distribution right away. Every centimeter of the skis felt firmly glued to the snow. I gained speed and leaned the skis over more and more with each turn, working into some aggressive two-footed carves. That glued-to-the-snow sensation only increased as I turned up the volume. The edges simply could not be bucked off their arcs. The ride was smooth, mellow, and easy—very easy. Right away, I was making clean, effortless arcs.
The sensation was most noticeable in two situations: (1) At the end of the turn—when a conventional ski tends to pop out of the carve and become slightly airborne before entering the transition and then being forced by the skier down into the next turn—the skis didn’t suddenly de-camber and pull their edges off the snow; they stayed glued until I rolled them over and then immediately reengaged themselves in the next turn. (2) Like Wong said they would, the tips of these skis literally dove down the backside of any bump or whoop-de-doo I encountered. It took a little getting used to not having that momentary feeling of disengagement after hitting an irregularity in the snow’s surface.
Niall, our photo editor, seemed equally enthused. “I think these skis do for carving what rocker has done for powder skiing,” he said. “I could put my mom on these and she’d be carving right away.”
Just before the next run, Wong informed me that I had been skiing the skis in “soft” mode. He had me take them off and performed a quick adjustment, turning one dial in front of the binding’s toepiece and one behind the heelpiece. The dials each lowered a rubber-like cylinder down from that red metal beam on which the binding is mounted (see picture). The cylinders pressed against the skis’ topsheets, effectively stiffening the flex. When I skied the skis in “hard” mode they felt stiffer and slightly more responsive, but they took a bit more effort to bend. So on the next run, I lowered them halfway down—a happy medium. At 190 pounds, I felt like the middle setting was perfect.
I even tried following Wong through moguls. I’ve never been a great mogul skier, but Wayne—even at age 60, having skied for 49 years of his life—still rips in the bumps. Not just in the bumps, either. As I followed him down the groomers, watching him scribe fast arcs and trying hard to stay on his tails (I’m 34 and struggled to keep up), I had a surreal feeling that I was synchro-skiing sometime back in the mid-70s. Skiing with this guy was one of the greatest pleasures of my skiing life. He’s still as passionate as I imagine he was as an 11-year-old first discovering a fun new sport.
And Finally…
I was very impressed by the Anton UFOria XAs, and I came away from my experience on them smiling broadly. The design is no gimmick. It does what it’s alleged to do, and it got me more excited about ripping down groomers than I have been in a long time. The design has the potential to be an awesome teaching tool for beginners through advanced intermediates seeking that perfect carve, but experts will love tearing down groomers and bumps on these marvels of engineering. Engineering like this doesn't come cheap—the skis retail at $1,990. But as production increases and manufacturing adjusts to demand, Anton Wilson expects that the price of his skis will drop. As I noticed while visiting the booths of several ski manufacturers during the trade show, there’s a new trend afoot—a budding resurgence in excitement surrounding the groomed-snow experience. Anton Dynamics, maker of the Anton UFOria XA, seems to have come into being at the perfect time. For more information, visit www.antongliders.com
—Sam Bass