Ski Trab Magico

I recently returned from the Benedict 100, where I had the opportunity to ski the Magico with Dynafit Superlite 2 bindings for 6 days in all types of terrain. The skis were outstanding from the start-average day was 16 miles of skinning with approx 4000 vert +/-. some days more, some less. They easily handled the varied snow that is inevitable on a long tour/ski. Side hilling was made easier with a fairly narrow width underfoot, and we skied Mushroom Bowl in 20" of powder, which the Magico dominated. Sun crust, breakthrough crust, boilerplate, you name it. I am 6'3" 175 lbs. was on the 178, which felt great. If you are looking for an all around touring ski, which weighs nada, the Magico is the one.

Overall: A full Five Stars for 84mm of waist width (in a 164cm) at a weight penalty compared to a super-skinny race ski of only about half a pound per foot. Minus maybe a quarter of a star for what might be a suboptimal amount of tip rocker (even for a ski of such dimensions), but that’s about the only drawback to this otherwise almost magical design.

Background on product familiarity: Over 61,000’ vertical during the 2014-15 season in a variety of winter and spring conditions, mounted with an ISMF-prohibited combination of Dynafit Speed SL toes and Plum 165 heels, driven by a mix of the Scarpa Alien 1.0 and Dynafit DyNA EVO (both size 26). Experience with skinnier skis currently on the market includes the Hagan Cirrus, and experience with somewhat wider skis includes the Hagan Y Flow and Movement Response-X.

First, the first impressions out of the box: The tip shape and tail split look highly unconventional (designed for Trab’s very slick proprietary skin attachments, although unfortunately no tip notch for race-style bungee tip attachments). The tip geometry/camber might look highly conventional at first when placed next to significantly rockered skis. Yet up against a truly conventional ski tip for geometry/camber (e.g., my Trab Duo Sint Aero and Movement Logic-X) the Magico clearly has a modern tip geometry, just much more subtle than on a typical wider ski.

And of the course the weight – or rather lack thereof – is astonishing for the relatively ample width.

Second impressions, in use: I felt immediately comfortable on these skis across a wide range of conditions during the winter and into early spring. In particular, the Magico holds very well and is very agile without being at all hooky. In steep and deep powder the dimensions are of course far from ideal, yet they still cope admirably well. Ditto for dealing with breakable crust.

I have sometimes felt though that they were a bit short for me (at 145 lb), but I expected that, especially since my prior experience with the Trab Duo Sint Aero and Duo Freerando made me suspect that the Magico would come up a bit short: literally that is, as my 164cm measures out more like a 162cm compared to other skis. (The old Duo models in a 164cm were more like a 161cm.)

So my only theoretical suggested improvements to this ski would be to add a few more cm of length (i.e., split the difference between the 164 and 171) plus add a few more mm of tip rocker.

Third impressions, for long-term durability: I have yet to dole out any abuse to the Magico. But Trab definitely can make lightweight yet durable skis, as my old Duo Sint Aero skis have almost 800,000 earned vertical feet of use and at-times horrific abuse (plus some lift-served), with 32 holes at the heel, and somehow are still perfectly fine.

I have 5 touring days on them and 1 bell to bell lift day.

Up: these are insanely light and skin like a dream. Combined with a Plum 165 binding my 171 length skis weigh 1194gr. (1002gr just the ski before mount).

Down: it took me until the lift day to get comfortable with how these ski. I find they require a very active and engaged skiing style and if I get sloppy and stop pressing the tips for a bit they quickly feel squirmy. They are very encouraging with jump turns on the steeps. Super low swing weight makes it feel like cheating and the edges are very confidence inspiring when they land. Once I put half a day on the lifts I found them able to handle anything I threw at them including chopped crud and chalky powder. I didn't find bottomless powder that day so can't comment on their use as a powder board, but general skiing and ski mountaineering with variable snow should not be an issue. These are my go to touring ski when not going out specifically expecting powder skiing.

Construction: The toe mount felt good, but when you drill the heel you are looking straight into the open honeycomb core. It was a little unnerving, but hasn't been a problem. The bases and edges came very nicely finished and felt very polished and professional. You are definitely getting your moneys worth with this ski. Bases took wax very nicely.

Possible improvements? I am not the most technically skilled skier and would rather a ski this light but that did not require so much focused intention to ski well. I expect a little rocker would improve this. Overall though I was able to adapt my skiing style to feel very confident anyway. These definitely get 5 of 5 stars for what has been accomplished with so little weight!