Thirty years ago, people wanted "a slalom sidecut with a GS flex". This is today's version of that ski. Stiff, with a very stiff tail. You can make all the turns that you make on a Shogun (I have those, too), but you have to be going at least twice as fast to get them to bend enough. They are rock-solid stable, and the foot of rocker is just enough, without so much that they chatter. You work a lot harder on these than on the Shoguns, but you are rewarded with two to three times the speed, skiing the same line. I am 6'3" and I weigh 230 lbs, and I have strong legs. You need them for this ski.