Movement Response Light Rocker 10
I’ve been intrigued by Movement’s X-series AT skis since their inception a few years ago but have never had an opportunity to ski them until now, specifically the 177cm Response, the widest of the X-series at 89mm underfoot coming in at a featherweight 1192gr (actual weight of our test ski). Yet another wonder in the one kilo class! Movement achieves this feather effect with a Karuba/Poplar core and working with North TPT fibers who provides Movement with exclusive use of their technology for application in the ski industry. While probably adding a few grams, I also appreciate the addition of a fiber mounting plate to reinforce screw retention. (Despite the binding plate, Movement recommends against mounting any of the X-series with tele bindings.)
Dimensions are 128-89-116 with a user friendly 18m radius. The Response has a “Light Rocker 10” which is minimalist by today’s standards, plus no tail rocker. My first impression was that the minimal rocker combined with the relatively narrow waist would make for a carving oriented ski that would be best suited either on edge or off edge without much room in between to be playful. In the end, the rallying cry for the Response was a versatile ski that called for a go-anywhere do-anything attitude.
Over the course of a number of days on the Response, I got to experience most conditions including powder, corn, firm wind buff with a little slop and mank thrown in just to keep me on my toes. As expected, these skis do prefer to be on edge and have ample torsion to provide a solid platform and clean carve. In fact, the Response had some of the best edge hold of any of the skis I tried this past spring which is typically a shortcoming in the lighter skis. That said, on really firm snow I had to keep the speed down to avoid moderate chatter. The Response eats up corn slicing and dicing precise arcs.
What about powder? Kinda narrow and not much rocker. There I stood on top of our line with a bunch of buddies looking at a nice wind protected, broad gully after another fresh dump the night before. We started playing the game of being magnanimous about who is going first. “You take it. No, it’s all yours. You broke trail. You helped. Take it!” You don’t have to tell me twice as I was gone in a heartbeat feeling the pressure of four sets of eyes on me from behind and another party coming up from below. I got to the bottom, remembered to finally take a breath and thought, “that was good.” No, they don’t slarve and it feels a little bit old school requiring something called technique, which has been lost to some degree on an entire generation (just kidding) but I’ll be danged if I didn’t have fun. Everyone reached the bottom, we slapped our skins on and went up for another lap. Count me in!
I found myself playing with the width of my stance based on the snow conditions. The more consistent the snow, the wider the stance. In mank or breakable snow, I was able to create an almost single, wide ski utilizing a narrow stance letting the ski drift and slide into the turn. The edge set was minimal and more off of the tail than usual but I was surprised to find I could be playful in difficult snow on what seemed to be a more traditional ski.
Interestingly, Movement also has a line of touring skis with a bit more traditional construction that mirrors the X-Series almost model for model with a couple of exceptions. The touring series includes the 98mm Shift with a more modern profile that I would love to see in the X-series. Just saying!
My last day skiing the Response was a solo mission in mid June where I reached that heightened, blissful state when all thought disappeared and I found myself in perfect unison with the skis and snow while flowing down the mountain, rocketing from one turn into the next. At the bottom, I looked back up realizing this is exactly why I do this, and walking back towards the car to head home I thought, “now, I’m ready for summer.”
Movement Response X-Series
Length tested 177 cm
Weight 1192 grams
Shape 128-89-116
Bob Perlmutter and his wife Sue live in Aspen where Bob manages Aspen Mountain Powder Tours, a snowcat skiing operation. Bob has sought adventure skiing over the past thirty years, in the nearby Elk Mountains as well as numerous locales around the world. Presently, he is reeling it in close to home to embark on his biggest adventure yet, fatherhood.
