D3 NRG Review

[Horton]

Intro:
The NRG represents a departure from D3’s reputation of conservative and incremental ski development. This ski looks different than previous D3s. The one thing that the NRG shares with all previous D3s is that it feels comfortable the first time you ride it.

http://www.ballofspray.com/images/2017/NRG-2.jpg

General Feel:
The NRG turns smooth on both sides, makes ample speed to the wakes, and then slows down quickly approaching the next turn. From the gate pull out to the exit gates, the ski does nothing unfriendly or unexpected but getting the most out of this ski is a nuanced affair.

Ball to the wakes:
If mistakes are made at the ball, one of the NRG’s best attributes is that it allows the skier to regain position and repoint the ski across the lake.

Skiers who do not lean harder than necessary will generate enough speed to be wide and early at the next ball. Skiers who apply excess load heading into the first wake may find the path to the next ball to be not as fluid as it could be.

http://www.ballofspray.com/images/2017/NRG.jpg

Wakes to the ball:
The NRG creates plenty of space in front of the ball and slows down quickly approaching apex. The ski is very stable both side to side and front to back making it easy for the skier to stand where they need to. As noted below in the On Side section, keeping the handle close to the skier’s center of mass after the second wake is the key to unlocking this skis full potential.

Off Side:
The Off Side turns on the NRG are absolutely phenomenal. The ski consistently carves a smooth tight arc under the line and heads for the other side of the course. Its stability in the pre-turn is especially apparent approaching Off Side.

When running wide and early it is recommended that the skier temper aggression at apex to avoid over turning.

When the skier is at their hardest pass and starts to scramble, the Off Side turns happen automatically. This one characteristic of the NRG will result in additional balls.

http://www.ballofspray.com/images/2017/NRG-3.jpg

On Side:
On Side turns on the NRG can be almost as good as the Off Side turns but require the skier to maintain connection and outbound direction off the second wake. Skiers who release the handle (lose connection) too early after edge change will experience inconsistent On Side turns. This issue is more critical on the NRG than on any other ski tested to date.

Skiers whose technique emphasizes connection off the second wake will find that the On Side turns are as dependable as the Off Side turns. The NRG is remarkably tolerant to other technical mistakes approaching On Side.

Other Notes:
Is the NRG a fast ski or a slow ski? Impressions of the amount of work the ski requires are dependent on fin and binding settings. The NRG consistently gets wide enough even if the skier makes technical mistakes so I would call this ski “fast-ish”.

Another outstanding quality of this ski is how it preforms when the skier is desperately scrambling to run a pass. After a substantial mistake is made, if the skier can stay calm and just keep skiing they will round more additional balls than expected.

Skiers may have to adjust their gate pull out technique to avoid losing width before turn in. This is because the NRG slows down so effectively. This trait is not a bad thing, but it does require an adjustment.

Conclusions:
For a skier who maintains good connection off the second wake and can resist being too heavy on the line, the NRG draws a very smooth path through the course. For a skier who struggles with connection, the NRG still offers nearly magical Off Side turns but inconsistent On Side turns.

http://www.ballofspray.com/images/2017/NRG-4.jpg

Settings:
Over 35 rides I tried 6 or 7 different settings. The below two worked best for me on the 67" ski.

Poscente
2.454
6.913
.815
30"
7°

Crawford / Bush
2.463
6.950
.750
29 9/16
8°

[Horton]

@skibrain it's hard to say because my understanding the ski was evolving when I went from one setting to the other. I think I might have been more consistent with the numbers provided by Jay but my best actual score on the ski was with the Crawford/Bush numbers.

[MikeMc]

@Horton nice review on the NRG. Excellent prospective. Sounds like a winner.

[Ed_Johnson]

@Horton ... Thank you for an excellent review...With only 5 rides on the NRG I have to agree with your evaluation. Especially the offside turns, they are tight but soooooo smooth. Only problem I see with the onside is you must have a quiet upper body. Any upper body rotation will cause you to overturn. "Just let it finish."

 

As far as settings, around 2.450 seems to be the magic number on depth, 7 degrees on the wing. .790 - .805 DFT. As far as length, my ski really likes 6.980. It becomes really fast and light. Also allows for some amazing late, last minute turns.

 

When I tried short/deep settings, the ski was ultra stable but a lot more work. I have always been a short/deep guy on other skis, so I had to try it, but it became a Tank and I went back to the shallow settings.

 

As Horton said, this is not your Grandad's D3. It's more like a Formula Car, and is really reactive to the proper settings. On the plus side, I felt it was really easy to feel the result of the different settings and no matter what you set in, it never does anything to be scared of. This is probably the safest high performance ski out there.

 

Once again, Thanks to @Horton for the great review. It was his interest and skiing on it that convinced me to try it, and I'm grateful for that....BOS Rocks !!!!

 

 

[Fam-man]

Thanks again for the review

[ballsohard]

Awesome review! How do you think this ski would perform at 15 off? Would it be a good tool to use to progress?

[Horton]

@ballsohard it would be really good at that level.

[SkiJay]

For what it's worth, I'd recommend moving the bindings forward to 30.1 with my numbers. Binding location is really important on this ski.

2.454

6.913 (tips)

.815 (head)

30.1"

7°

[Chef23]

@SkiJay how are you getting the binding to move to 30.1 a MikroJust or something similar? Generally the holes don't move that fine do they?

[Horton]

I have gotten at least 3 messages asking what size ski those settings are for. 67"

 

[SkiJay]

@Chef23

I use Mikro-Just, which moves in ¹/20" (. 050") increments. Radar's new carbon Sequence plate moves in ¹/16". However you achieve it, micro tuning binding location is the key to dialing in smear at max lean angles around the ball.

[JAS]

@SkiJay as most front and rear bindings are mounted independent of each other, How does a change of binding spacing fit into mix? For example would moving back binding back one hole be similar to moving front binding back .1 inch?

[SkiJay]

@JAS

This is a complex question, and we should keep this thread focused on the NRG review.

So the short answer is that there are significant differences in how the front and rear bindings affect the ski, with precise location of the front being many times more important to overall performance than the rear.

[ballsohard]

What technique adjustment was required for your gates on this ski? What do you think causes the ski to feel different at the gates? @Horton

[Jaypro]

@Horton you commented that you felt that the NRG would be good for a 15' off skier. With the fantastic "mid level" skis, Senates, Omni's, Connelly Carbon V, would you put the NRG in that mix? What attributes of the NRG lend itself to the 15-22 off 30-34 mph skier? Thanks as always for the review and the great forum!!

[Ed_Johnson]

@Jaypro ... I totally agree with Horton on this. You know how some of the new high performance cars now have electronic ride selection, ie: Touring, Competition Mode etc. Well the NRG is just like that. You can tune it short/deep and be Super Stable, still have great turns, and give yourself a little more time to get into your fully leveraged position. You can also start shallowing the fin in depth and adding more tip, making the ski feel lighter and faster. This has the effect of engageing more tip pressure, which is the really strong point of this ski.

 

Bottom line, you can easily tune this super stable for a beginning 15 off skier, or light, fast, and looser for the 38off skier. It will do it all.

 

 

[Horton]

@Ed_Johnson I would put a 15 off skier on my same settings.

 

@Jaypro The ski is stable and user friendly. Would be great for 15 off skiers.

[Horton]

@skibrain The NRG is a very good ski. It is better than most skis I ride.

 

Direct comparisons between skis is something I avoid.

[santangelo]

@skibrain , I've ridden the 67 ARC S for a year and have been on the NRG for a few weeks now. If there is one distinguishing trait I felt immediately was the finish of the offside turn was more stable and carried inbound more/easier than the ARC. The ARC was already very good at this and I had no issues with it, but the NRG was noticeably better. I had another person coming from a Q45 that said the same thing without being prompted.

 

I didn't notice any change in speed cross course. Speed is sufficient. It's overall stability is classic D3 and easily rideable by all allowing mistakes without punishment.

 

When I get a new D3, I typically set it up exactly like the ski I'm currently on and it's generally pretty close. This was not the case with the NRG. Very different settings and I'm still making minor adjustments.

 

BTW, 67 ARC S for sale.

[Ed_Johnson]

@santangelo ..... Interested in what fin settings you settle on. I also tried to set mine up to favorite past settings, which are normally short and deep, and that did not work at all. Finally ended up with long and shallow. For me it was trying to maximize tip pressure off the apex without tip bite.

 

Offsides were great with any fin setting. So setting it up for the onside turn was key, without it overturning...The ski really comes alive at 35 off like I've never seen before.

 

 

[ballsohard]

@santangelo what was the binding placement on your ARC-S and what is it now on the NRG?

[ballsohard]

@Ed_Johnson did you notice the importance of handle control in order to achieve a consistent onside like Horton alluded to? If so how hard was it for you to achieve this compared to on other comparable ski's?

[Ed_Johnson]

@ballsohard ... I believe it's always important to maintain good handle control on any ski. With the NRG it's important to be free of the boat at Apex, fall into the turn with built up momentum, that it does quite well, and most of all, on the onside, do not force a hard turn. It will come off the apex and set angle if you let it and not force it.

 

Also, this ski needs to be setup for the onside turn. In all my settings I tried, the offside turn always worked, Unless you put the fin on backwards, it will always get a great offside turn. Better than any other ski I have ever tried.

 

Right now I'm zeroing in with very small adjustments to get the onside just right. Even offset depth...However, the biggest factor I have found is DFT. Factory DFT gave me tip bite. It has to be forward of that. I believe Horton was like .815 and I'm edging my way there. Last set at .79 felt really good. I've already set it at .808 for the next set.

 

 

[santangelo]

@ballsohard , 29.5625 on both ARC-S and NRG, but tempted to move it back an 1/8". I have front Reflex with modified rear kick-in.

[ballsohard]

Coming from a 2013 Syndicate A3 I am curious how the NRG will compare

[ballsohard]

@santangelo could you describe or post a picture of your rear binding? What did you modify about it?

[Ed_Johnson]

UPDATE ... As I stated before, when I went from DFT at .757 to .790 the ski really came alive, especially at 35 off. I know Horton liked Jay's setting at .815, so I started heading in that direction. Had .808 set in there when I skied this morning and it really was better. Ski feels really light and nimble and was able to do the Horton turns off the apex, if you saw his video.

Right now I would be very happy to keep it there and be done with fin setup. However, since .808 was much better than .790, I've got to try Jay's .815 when I ski Friday. I have never had a ski so responsive to DFT before. The magic in this ski is how it develops tip pressure and DFT seems to be the biggest factor that effects that.

 

 

[ballsohard]

@Ed_Johnson Would you still recommend starting off at exact stock?

[Ed_Johnson]

@ballsohard .... NO !!! Go to the numbers Jay gave Horton !!!

 

I ended up needing a little more tip, but that's only because my bindings cannot go forward anymore, and they are at 30.5" which is the factory setting for the 68" ski.

 

 

 

[Horton]

Once you get to 32 or 35 off and beyond it is more important that you work to free the tail on the NRG going into On Side. Those settings @SkiJay gave me seem to allow the tail to flow away (Over Steer) early off the second wake going into onside without making off side erratic.

 

My focus on connection is really all about getting the ski start to oversteer early. If you come off the line to early the tail of the ski tracks too well and you have to achieve all your rotation at the apex.

 

I have given up on the word "smear" because it means too many things to different skiers.

[gmut]

@Ed_Johnson are you riding a 67 or a 68 ?

[Ed_Johnson]

@gmut ... 68" 6'4"@220..6.995..2.450.. .815 ..7*

[Horton]

@6balls I moved your post to a new thread. See here

[gmut]

@Ed_Johnson WOW, I tried a 68 NRG at the end of the summer but I ran pretty close to stock numbers, no further forward than .750. I am 6'1" and 210 and ski at 32mph. I think that I might have to demo this ski again in the Spring. It felt really slow in the turn and cross course What speed do you ski at? I was running .750 2.470 and 6.940 30.5 frt boot 7deg wing. I think that your numbers make more sense.

[Ed_Johnson]

@gmut ... Since you asked, I went out and skied 32 mph at the above numbers. Absolutely great. Most skis I have been on require a little more effort at 32 vs 34, since you loose some momentum. Not the NRG, 28 and 32 were easy, and at 35 I had way too much speed for the effort exerted, and had to back off considerably to slow it down. This ski really ROCKS when you have the right numbers.

 

 

[mbabiash]

@Ed_Johnson

Seems way longer than @SkiJay settings.

Do you think that the 1/10 inch forward compensates for that much more length.

I was on stock until the season ended.

Really loved the ski but hadn’t quite dialed it in yet. I moved boots a tenth forward and I’m at 2.450 6.940 .790 7 degrees

Thanks.

Matt

 

[Ed_Johnson]

@mbabiash ... Yes, if I could have moved my bindings any farther forward I would not have needed as much tip. My size 13 Reflex is at it's max forward limit and it's right at factory 30.5". Would have to grind out "ALL" the slots on the plate to get it any farther forward. May do that and add a Mikro-Just.

 

The other numbers are keepers. 2.450 and .815. May play around with different wing settings and different wings. The forward DFT made the biggest difference of any adjustment yet, BY FAR !!!

 

 

[LeonL]

@santangelo , wow measurement out to 4 places on bindings! What do you use to take that measurement?

[ballsohard]

Why is it that D3 recommends setting the wing at 7 for 32/34 and at 8 for 36 when it seems that most companies recommend setting the wing at 9?

[santangelo]

@LeonL , I set up finDB to accept 1/16 increments for bindings, thus 4 decimal places.

[Drago]

@ballsohard seriously?

[LeonL]

Wing setting? I find it hard to believe that ski companies even recommend a wing angle. It's such a simple adjustment.

[santangelo]

Had THE best set of my life this past weekend on the NRG.

 

I've been demoing both the 66 and 67. I've never tried deep/short settings before. When I was riding the 66 after several adjustments, I went to deep/short and skied better than the other settings that were closer to shallow/long than anything else and is typical for what I've always ridden.

 

Went back to the 67 with the previous long/shallow settings and skied a set, then decided to try the deep/short on it. I tied my practice and tournament PB (3@39) which I've only done 3 times in my life, running back to back 38's (head/tail) in the process. The thing was, I actually didn't ski very well. It wasn't pretty. The ski was just always there at the end of the turn, pointing in the right direction, allowing me to go to the other side. Patience really paid off.

 

FWIW, here are the settings I tried. I plan to adjust again today and see if I can smooth things out:

29.5625, 6.893 tips, 2.5 flat, .795 flat, 7'

 

[Ed_Johnson]

@santangelo ... In the past, when I skied with Andy Mapple, he was insistent that you tune the ski for 38 off, and accept what it gives you at the longer lines. I found the NRG really comes alive at 35 off, like it is a dramatically different ski and a lot faster. What have you experienced along those lines??? THX

 

[santangelo]

@skibrain , 5'-11 @ 162lbs. 34.2 mph. I've ridden a 67" for the past 6 years at this weight, and since the skis are getting wider in the forebody, I though't I'd try 66". It was fine, but I like the oversized ski still.

 

@Ed_Johnson , that's what I've heard too. I typically don't shorten the rope much in practice, but wanted to see what this ski can do. Needless to say, I'm buying.

[Ed_Johnson]

@santangelo ...... With this ski you need to start shortening in practice, because that is where the fun really starts. I know they advertise this ski as a shortline ski, but I really believe D3 needs to put a sticker on this ski that says, "I Come Alive at 35."

 

[santangelo]

Just skied 1.5@39 up the rope with these settings:

29.5625, 6.911 tips, 2.504 flat, .795 flat, 7'

 

Felt better, so I'll stick with these settings for a while.

 

My 6th 38 on this ski in the past 2 weeks. Only ran 2 in practice the rest of the year, so this is very good for me.

 

[Ed_Johnson]

@santangelo .... A trick you may want to try is differential depth. Today I skied with the left side of the fin at 2.433 and the right side of the fin at 2.453, RFF. It really improved my onside turn. For the first time I felt some smear off the apex on the onside, almost equal to what I have been feeling on the offside for awhile now. It was a much smoother turn and had no tendency to overturn. Much easier to set cross course angle.

 

I had tried this before with just a thin washer under the center left fin box screw, but the difference was only .010, and I did not notice a difference. Today I tried a standard size washer which took away .020, and there was a noticeable difference. May even try .030, but for sure the .020 is a keeper.

 

 

[ballsohard]

@Ed_Johnson Did you try .030?

[Ed_Johnson]

@ballsohard ... No, these Cold Fronts are moving through, so may not get a chance for a week or so. Plus I have another New NRG coming from the factory that was in their last production run before they shutdown the factory to move it. Taking advantage of the Christmas specials. I have a whole lot of things lined up to try like a Carbon Fin, Schnitz Fin, and Ventrals. Should be a busy winter testing. Getting ready for a serious competition season in 2018.