HEAD Shun Okumura x Natsuki Endo | SKIER'S TALK ROOM -Let's talk about gear-

"Let's talk about gear. It might help you get better quickly."

Everyone has their own way of getting better at skiing. Of course it's important to practice hard, but you can improve by using your favorite gear. So how do you choose your gear? Under this theme, ``skillful'' riders from various manufacturers who are active on the front lines gathered together. This time, we decided to change things up a bit and have a cross talk that transcends the boundaries of genres such as freestyle, basics, and alpine.

Here, we have a conversation between two people from HEAD: Shun Okumura, runner-up of the All Japan Ski Technical Championships, and Natsuki Endo, who is active in freeride BC. What do the two of you think about the brand and gear?

Shun Okumura is known for his excellent stability and smooth sliding.

Natsuki Endo (hereinafter referred to as Endo), a long-established brand, have a very solid image and are highly reliable. It is also attractive that it incorporates the latest technology.

Shun Okumura (hereinafter referred to as Okumura): Yeah, that's the image. He has an absolute strength in alpine skiing and has a strong impression of being number one in the rankings. The shoes I'm wearing have the same specs as the alpine shoes, the long ones are ``GS-REBEL SPEEDBLUE'', 186cm long, and the short ones are ``SL-REBEL SPEEDBLUE'', 165cm long, from the same series. Equipped with EMC technology that suppresses vibration and provides excellent stability. Although it is heavy and slow to catch in the first half of the turn, it has good rebound and runs in the second half, and is characterized by a bitter and sticky slide.

Park and powder are OK, rocker and camber ratio is appropriate - Natsuki Endo

Endo : I ride OBLIVION all-mountain skis 101 and 106. It was created with the concept of being able to ride freely in the mountains, allowing you to do park riding as well as powder riding. It's lightweight, has good repulsion, and has an appropriate ratio of rocker and camber. I can see what it feels like to grip the skis and ski on level ground like Shun does, but it's hard to get that feeling. When I rode the basic model, it was thin and reacted too quickly, so I felt like I would get caught.

Okumura 's skating style is different. In our case, we don't want our skis to float. However, when I went into the mountains with the freeride model ``KORE,'' I was surprised at how light it was. I rode "KORE" about 4 or 5 years ago, but the new one was completely different.

Endo "KORE" is a model completely specialized for mountains and is longer than "OBLIVION". It was originally made based on alpine skis, and although the ski itself is thin, it has a good running performance. That's what makes it so typical of Head. They keep changing the material, becoming lighter and thinner, but the repulsion remains the same. However, if you are wearing them for the first time, we recommend the 84 from "OBLIVION". There is a speed range for each waist width, and a width of 84 mm is about middle speed. It has the lightest swing weight.

Okumura: Regarding the skis I ride, I recommend the E-RACE PRO if you are a beginner, or if you have a level 1 or 2 level and want to take the next step. For those who want to wear a high-spec model, it is best to choose one that has the exact same ski contents and is equipped with separate plates. You can get the best of both worlds, with good ski performance and easy deflection.

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Text＝Chiho Kuriyama

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