EP Stiletto Review

[Horton]

The EP Stiletto was manufactured from the late 1980s into the early 1990s and was one of the most dominate skis of its era.

The ski weighs in at about 3 times the weight of a modern top of the line ski. The materials used to build the Stiletto are far inferior to those used to build all but the cheapest skis today. Even the technology to create the mold for the ski was ridiculously archaic by current standards. The test ski has some shape inconsistencies in the tunnel that may have been manufacturing errors or perhaps the mold was just imperfect.

With all of the technological advances in the last 30 years, the question is - “How does the Stiletto compare to modern skis?” In a straight-up test trying to run balls or just carve turns the new skis are clearly better. I would expect to run 4 to 6 balls more on a modern ski than on the Stiletto. That is not to say that the Stiletto does not have some very good attributes.

General Feel

The ski is surprisingly fast to accelerate and it glides as fast as most modern skis. The ski rolls side to side a bit more freely than I would prefer but not more than I can adjust to.

Off Side Turns

The Off Side turns are perhaps the best thing about the Stiletto. Especially at a hard pass when things start going wrong, the finish of the off side turn is as good as any modern ski. If the skier is patient the ski will flow back under the line and make a beeline for the other side of the lake.

When trying to run early and smooth the ski is a little more challenging because it rolls out so freely. As a right foot forward skier, I struggled to keep my shoulders level and mass over the ski going into one ball at my hardest pass.

On Side Turns

The one thing about the ski that I could not get to work on par with a modern ski is the on side turns. I tried moving the fin forward, backward, shallower, deeper, and longer. Perhaps with time, a solution could be found but the on side is for me the only real problem with the ski.

Conclusion

The last few weeks skiing on the Stiletto have been a lot of fun and a nice change but I would never expect to ski at the same level on a 30 year old ski as I would on a modern ski.

The question has been asked more than once: If the Stiletto was remade with modern materials would it be as good as modern skis? Most likely it would not. The ski shape has some design elements that were way ahead of their time and others that were not up to modern standards.

 

[gsm_peter]

Thanks. Great subject. Really grateful that you put in so much effort in this comparision.

[Mateo_Vargas]

Where can I buy one?

[MISkier]

@Mateo_Vargas,

 

http://www.ski-it-again.com/php/skiitagain.php?endless=summer&topic=Search&category=Slalom&postid=46128

[Mateo_Vargas]

@MISkier that's funny. I'm in the same ski club as Bob & Iris.

[Horton]

if it was a 67....

[MISkier]

@Mateo_Vargas, even better. Just ask to borrow/test it. Crank the boat up to 36, since it's a 65 and relive the glory days.

[packski]

Do a review on a 68" EP Pro Stock. That should be interesting!

[Wish]

On to the CDX

[Ski_Dad]

that was a really cool project! Was it one of your Dad's skis ?

[mr34]

I believe the Stilleto tuned properly in the hands of a top skier who is very familiar with it would perform closer to current levels than one might expect. I had the opportunity to watch Lucky ski a practice set on Lake Dexter in his prime at 36mph. He started at 35 off. He ran back to back 35's, back to back 38's and one of the pretties 39's I have ever seen. He did not opt to shorten to 41 but clearly he could have gotten at least the one ball that was the world record performance at the time. That is pretty close to what is being done currently.

[Horton]

@mr34 yeah.... No.

 

Was that hand drive or Perfect Pass? Neither offer a fair comparison to elite skiing with ZO.

 

Lucky was super elite in his era. If he had modern gear back then he would have gotten a lot farther.

 

it's kind of like giving a modern race car driver a twenty-year-old race spec 911. He's going to go out and go wicked fast but really it doesn't compare with modern era gear and set up.

 

[pcmcon729]

Slightly off subject. In Sept 1989 I skied Lucky's ski school at Dexter. I hand drove him thru 39 @36. It was my first time pulling someone at that level. I'll just say that he was so damn efficient, you wouldn't even know someone was behind the boat. I skied on a Connelly Shortline at that time. He commented that something was off with my skiing, and wanted to rule out the ski. He took it for a spin, and ran 38 straight down the rope. Guy was amazing.

[eyepeeler]

Lucky could grab your ski, not change a thing, switch his foot forward to right foot, and run 38. Later I saw him do one handed chinups while eating a sandwich with the free hand.

[6balls]

@eyepeeler that sounds like stuff that belongs on that Jeff Rodgers thread that is kinda like Chuck Norris.

Lucky was rough on my brother in training, the last guy you would want to mess with, and out of respect Jim took it in stride.

[LLUSA]

I trained Lucky for the 1991 Worlds that he won, we skied head to head each day with me getting a 2 mph and 6 buoy handicap, made for some intense sessions. I filled the Mastercraft with water to simulate the wakes behind the Bosch boats, also had the Kjellanders training with us. At a party right before leaving to go to Austria I guaranteed Lucky would win, and he did, as one of the first seeds out he led all day, Mapple and Kjellander went out at about 5PM and tied Lucky. They drew straws and Lucky was the last out, he ran a cold 38 off the dock to win on an EP Stilleto. Still wondering where my gold medal is

[mr34]

Horton.... Pretty sure it was PerfectPass. Was incredible to watch. We were in a fishing punt half way to ball 4 guides on the 1,3,5 side. The 39 pass looked like a 22!!!

[CBR51]

Love to see a HO CDX or Connelly Concept review