Ski Test Jobe Rogue Part II

[Horton]

Ski tests for the second half of this season have been a little disjointed because of things out of my control. Example: I was almost ready to write a final review for one ski when United Airlines destroyed it so I am on to another ski.

 

I am back on the Jobe Rogue. I ran a 38 (which is really good for me) on it the last time I rode it before I restarted another review.

 

I went out on the Jobe last night for the first time in about 5 weeks. My first ride was a bit messy as I had to adjust my gate timing from the previous ski I was on. I ran ½ way down 38 but nothing to be excited about. After talking with ski partner Todd “FishEye” McBride I shifted my stance around on the ski a little and BOOM I got and awesome start at 38.

 

With the stock fin settings minus a wing I am finding that I really need to bring my center forward approaching off side to get the ski to finish as well as I need. This could perhaps be a fin / binding adjust but that will take a number of rides to work out. Hate to say it but maybe I need to put the wing back on. (this could ruin my reputation as the no wing guy)

 

I am a long way from characterizing this ski but I can say for sure at $999.99 is it is the best deal in high end skis today. https://usa.jobesports.com/slalom-skis/rogue/

 

[454SS]

Curious if you are testing the bindings as well, they look pretty cool, a lot like the Radar's, with a better price tag.

[crashman]

I can say for sure at $999.99 is it is the best deal in high end skis

 

Wow- that's a bold statement. No reason to doubt your expertise but I'm seeing this year's Strada out there for $40 more but with free shipping. Sounds like the Rogue is the real deal.

[Horton]

@crashman

I ran 1 1/2 at 39 today on the Rogue today. That is more or less as good as ever ski on any ski at any price. My 38 was a bit rough but I think I have some ideas about changing the settings that will make it better. My 35s on this ski are stupid easy - Wide and Early.

[Skihack]

Horton, can you describe the bottom design for us. I am hearing that it is very different from most ski bottom designs. Thanks.

[skibug]

Yes, bottom design. Are there any steps? Is it a continues concave or does it have rails?

[DanE]

Seen the ski, nothing radical about how it looks other than it´s very blue...

[Horton]

Looks like a slalom ski

[SDNAH2OSKIER]

For a smurf...... I hate to be a cheap bastard, but I am, and I for one and happy to hear a report about a cheaper ski making the grade. I waited months to get a good enough deal on a ski to buy one. $1000 is a lot of money and usually does not include another 250-400 for binders.

[Horton]

Aaaa Geeee this darn thing is for real. I added a wing today and ran 38 twice. The 38s were not pretty but I am not sure I have ever run 35s more smooth and flowy (I know that is not a word but I like it. Flow-eeee) I had at least one - 1 ball at 38 that was as good as I have ever had (I screwed that pass up). I also ran a 38 with the worst one ball you can imagine skiing away from.

 

Some skis never feel great but get you a big score and other skis feel great on easier passes but may or may not forgive you when the rope gets short. The Rogue feels awesome on the passes I never miss and is pretty forgiving when I run out of talent. Maybe not the most forgiving ski ever but in that league.

 

I liked it better without a wing until 38 and then I needed a little help with angle. Adding a wing fixed that.

[Guest]

I sat in the boat and watched Horton ski on the Jobe three different times this weekend. I have been in the boat at some point for every ski he has reviewed over the last couple of years. I have to say the Jobe is one of the more impressive skis I have witnessed. It is absolutely a legitimate short line ski. Horton can run passes on most anything, but once he found his spot over this ski he actually looked good. Including 1 ball at 38, which is the bane of his existence. The ski worked best when he moved his center of mass forward over the ski, but by no means did the ski require perfect position to finish the turn and carry out off the second wake. I am looking forward to trying it when jumps to the next best ever ski.

 

Todd McBride

Ski West Village

[Steven_Haines]

Horton,

What degree did you set the wing? You mentioned the reason you added the wing was to help with angle, is a steeper wing better in this case or would it be the other way around?

[Horton]

I am using 8 or 9. With a wing the the ski gets more angle even if I am not in the best position at the apex.

[Steven_Haines]

It seems that i gravitate to a 7, just wondering if a steeper wing angle would help me build more thru the wakes. Next time I'm home I'm going to try an 8 or 9 to see if that helps tighten the radius of my toe side turn. It still blows me away at something so minute can make such a difference!

[Horton]

I confess I do not mess with wing angle much at all. I am working on a theory that as my skiing gets technically better I need a wing more often. Might be a bunch of crap. We will see.

[Horton]

@454SS No I do not have the bindings. They are super cool looking and I will try to get some.

[skidawg]

@todd....."next best ski ever" hahahahahahahahaha!

[andjules]

@454SS - I'm intrigued by the bindings as well... they look like wakeboard adaptations. They use the word 'liners' in the product info, but I didn't get any sense that the liners come out (unlike the Radars).

[DanE]

@Horton, You mentioned before when you skied the Jobe it was not an off the shelf ski, are you on a ski that´s available to the general public now?

[Horton]

@DanE I think I sort of miss stated that. The first ski I had was a out of spec & should have been a display ski.

 

The ski I am on now is bone stock and is for sale.

[Horton]

I just got the email. Pretty Blue bindings are on the way.

[Razorskier1]

@Horton -- I assume you are on a 67? I'm not sure I could ski on something that color.

[Horton]

67 yes. All i care about is the color of the rope

[Horton]

Fyi i think this ski runs big. At 190 the 67 fits not feel small

[tfriess]

@horton, you said the ski is forsale? How much might this be?

[Horton]

$999.99

 

See the link in the first post above

[tfriess]

I thought the ski that you currently are on

[Horton]

No. Ski test skis are generally never sold. There are all kinds of bad ethics and business implications.

 

Some skis go back to the factory and others join my demo fleet.

[A_B]

Looks like it only goes up to 67" correct?

Do they come in combos?

[Skihack]

Any one know the weight ranges for each length ski?

[Horton]

About the same as most other skis.

[Horton]

Straining my brain to figure out what I am going to write about this ski. Sometimes writing about skis is easy and some times it kills me. The more forgiving the ski is the harder is it to write something technical. Give me a super grumpy ski that requires that I ski near perfect and I will write you a darn novel.

[DanE]

I can see what you´re going through, got to try a Rogue for a couple of passes before we pulled the boat out for the season and all I can say it´s the most stable and forgiving ski I´ve ever tried.

Can´t wait ´til next season to ski it on a regular basis.