Test drive of the Atomic Affinity Storm

I had the chance to take the Atomic Affinity Storm out for a test drive today.  This is an all mountain ski with rocker from Atomic that has dimensions of 127.5, 84, 107 on the 159cm length, which is what I skied.  This ski has an Atomic system binding.  This means that this is a binding produced by Atomic that comes with the ski.  It's a good binding that is easy to adjust for different boot sizes.  I wouldn't be a true chick if I didn't take a moment to comment on the graphic of these skis. I quiet liked the overall look of them, plenty of colour and good details (it will match almost any outfit).  And the binding matched them well.  A good looking set-up for sure.

This ski has a 15.2m turn radius, meaning that it takes about 15.2m to carve an optimal turn.  This is quick, but not too tight of a radius.  It made some great turns on the more groomed runs I made. There wasn't really any true groomers today, as there was some snow over night (lucky me).  But there were areas where there was limited loose snow, so I took a rip there. They were reactive and I had a great deal of fun playing in this type of snow.  They responded quickly and carved some great turns.  I really just needed to engage in the turn a bit to have the ski respond.  Always fun to play on a pair of skis that respond this quickly.   

I also took the Affinity Storm into the bumpier areas.  The chutes were littered with rocks, so I spent limited time in there, but there were many runs on the face that had some great snow.  These skis were fun in the bumps, but I did find that I needed to use a fair bit of power to get them to respond when there was more snow.  They responded quickly when I did put power in.  I also felt that I was being bounced around a bit in the choppier snow.  Nothing I couldn't handle, but it defiantly required me to stay active and inputting energy.  I think a person who is larger than me would find that these skis moved quite well through this type of snow.  Overall, the Affinity Storm is a light ski that allows for quick turns.  But again, these quick transitions required a fair bit of power to make happen in looser snow.  Not too bad when the ski is light, but it can get tiring, especially at the end of the day. 

Overall, I found these to be a good all mountain ski.  I would recommend them for a powerful skier or a person bigger than me.  They would be a fun purchase for an advanced skier looking for something that can allow them to do a bit of everything.  Consider taking these for a test drive if this describes you.