So ran 19 cat skis all winter long on my alpha and MC. Had grippers on my 18 all last winter. Think the 19 cat ski is a huge step up from all previous Cat skis. They look so similar. But after today I am back on the gripper train.
I put one grippers ski and 19 cat ski on my alpha. Road it today in 12" of fluffy pow on top of rock hard snow. So there was little push back and some unpredictable nature of the snow. This is where I noticed the biggest difference on why I like the gripper ski so much. I tried to throw every maneuver down I could on both skis. The gripper was the clear winner for me. The 19 cat ski has wierd spot when you have it on one ski that is grabs bad and makes for tough steering and less predictable nature until is breaks free. Where the gripper easily slides past this grab point and slides back and forth easier. Was a lot less taxing on my shoulder and hand on that side today.
The gripper is lighter. They look similar, but the keel on the gripper goes almost to the tip and tapers down where the 19 cat ski keel stops well before the tip. The 19 cat ski is longer in the rear and the carbide is a tad longer. It tips up more in the rear. The front tips up more by a good margin. The loop on front of the cat ski protrudes forward and is larger where the gripper is smaller all around and curves back quicker. The gripper flexes more at the tip.
So yes I was surprised to see the difference. Didnt think it would be as much as it was. On trails the cat ski is better as it grabs to corner better instead of sliding out as quickly. But Id take that downfall of the gripper compared to how much more predictable it is in one ski conditions on sidehills, donuts, etc. I purposely swung each ski around a ton doing all tech maneuvers to try to make each ski mess up and catch itself in different spots. I knew the only way to compare them equally was to run them both the same day on each side in the same snow conditions
I put one grippers ski and 19 cat ski on my alpha. Road it today in 12" of fluffy pow on top of rock hard snow. So there was little push back and some unpredictable nature of the snow. This is where I noticed the biggest difference on why I like the gripper ski so much. I tried to throw every maneuver down I could on both skis. The gripper was the clear winner for me. The 19 cat ski has wierd spot when you have it on one ski that is grabs bad and makes for tough steering and less predictable nature until is breaks free. Where the gripper easily slides past this grab point and slides back and forth easier. Was a lot less taxing on my shoulder and hand on that side today.
The gripper is lighter. They look similar, but the keel on the gripper goes almost to the tip and tapers down where the 19 cat ski keel stops well before the tip. The 19 cat ski is longer in the rear and the carbide is a tad longer. It tips up more in the rear. The front tips up more by a good margin. The loop on front of the cat ski protrudes forward and is larger where the gripper is smaller all around and curves back quicker. The gripper flexes more at the tip.
So yes I was surprised to see the difference. Didnt think it would be as much as it was. On trails the cat ski is better as it grabs to corner better instead of sliding out as quickly. But Id take that downfall of the gripper compared to how much more predictable it is in one ski conditions on sidehills, donuts, etc. I purposely swung each ski around a ton doing all tech maneuvers to try to make each ski mess up and catch itself in different spots. I knew the only way to compare them equally was to run them both the same day on each side in the same snow conditions
