RMU North Shore 114 Carbon Tour Skis

At 114mm underfoot, this is the widest ski in the North Shore lineup. It comes in two versions, the standard and Carbon Tour option which is substantially lighter. So light in fact that it is even lighter than the non-carbon North Shore 110 Skis. At just 3,6,60g / 8lbs for the 184cm pair, the North Shore 114 Carbon Tour Skis incorporates two layers of Aerospace Carbon Fibre to improve responsiveness and control along with Paulownia wood in the core to keep them light. The addition of a full wrap of rubber in the tips and tails helps to dampen the skis and reduce overall chatter. You’ll also find a layer of thin felt layer between different materials in the construction to help increase the durability and adhesion of the materials.

Carbon is very light but also very rigid and RMU made sure to balance the flex profile of the North Shore 114 Carbon Tour Skis to ensure that the tips and tails are slightly softer than the ski underfoot. This softer overall flex allows the skis to be more playful and fun while still being stiff enough to not sacrifice performance. Because of this, RMU recommends a mounting point of -5cm from center if you are a freeride skier with a more traditional mounting point of -7cm.

RMU maintains the same rocker profile in all of its North Shore skis with generous early rise in the tips for float in deeper snow and crud busting. There is a shorter but more aggressive rocker found in the tails to allow the skis to release quickly from a turn and also be skin-track friendly should you need to perform a kick turn.

The extended sidecut along the ski’s length provides a nice long effective edge for better stability at speed and edge grip on firm snow.

With minimal camber underfoot the ability to smear and slash turns in soft snow amps up the North Shore 114 Carbon Tour Ski's fun factor.

RMU not only makes great skis but also runs its business with the environment in mind, trying to make a better future for our children and also hopefully help keep winter around for them to enjoy. They currently manufacture all their skis with 95% recycled materials and they are soon to offset their entire CO2 footprint as they get closer to Carbon Neutrality which is slated to happen in 2025 (if not sooner).

• Polar and Paulownia wood core with beech mounting plate
• Two layers of Aerospace Carbon Fibre
• 18oz Pre Preg Heavy Duty Triax Fiberglass
• ABS Tip and Tail Spacer
• Thin Felt to Increase Adhesion Between Unlike Materials

• Side edge angle of 2°
• Base edge angle of 1.5°
• Extra Thick 8.5mm ABS Sidewall
• Lifetime warranty
• Made with 100% renewable energy

RMU’s North Shore 114s are big mountain freeride skis so they are not ideally suited for touring given their nearly ten-pound weight but with the North Shore 114 Carbon Tour Skis RMU was able to shave 524g or 13% of their weight by lightening up the construction with Paulownia wood and carbon fiber. At 3,660g for the 184cm pair, the North Shore 114 Carbon Tour Skis are by no means ultra-light but if you’re after steeps, chutes, and drops then their weight is secondary to their go-anywhere performance. They are incredibly stable at speed and in any condition thanks to their burly construction with the size and mass to back them up. They can literally ski anything on the mountain and are most at home in deep soft snow and charging steeper lines.

To match the North Shore 114’s go-anywhere attitude I mounted them with the Marker M-Werks Kingpin 12 Bindings and spent several days hunting for leftover pow after a wind storm stripped the mountain of most of the goods. While I am a more conservative resort skier who likes pow days amongst the trees along with bigger touring days, I can still appreciate the benefits the North Shore 114 Carbon Tour Skis provide. On groomers, their edge grip is super solid and you can confidently open them up as they are stable at speed and really like to go fast. Lay them over and they confidently grip the snow even when most of the corduroy is gone and only a firm base remains. They bite into the snow and rail, carving a very satisfying arc into the snow. Given how fat they are underfoot, shorter radius turns are a little more work and edge-to-edge transitions are not snappy quick. This, however, is to be expected from a ski this big, and with as little camber underfoot. Some tip chatter is evident on very firm snow and can resonate up the skis if the conditions permit but staying committed and driving them hard ensures that it does not affect their performance.

Even though they have an enormous amount of rocker in the tips and early rise in the tails, the North Shore 114s hold an edge incredibly well and lay down lines more like a carving ski than big mountain sticks. The tip rocker starts very low down the skis and allows the North Shore 114s to float over everything, ironing out rougher snow and terrain. Busting crud and windblown snow were not much of a challenge for the North Shore 114 Carbon Tour Skis and when I found the remaining pow stashed they provided a very fluid ride. While they do not pop super fast on hard snow, their minimal camber underfoot allowed them to float and smear with ease and in softer, deeper snow I was able to get a nice rebounding rhythm going that made them effortless to ski.

In bumps and firm snow, their rigid construction was more evident as they can provide a bit of a rougher ride and be less than forgiving. Their personality is very strong so you need to be firm with your input and determination, being a bigger more advanced skier definitely helps get the most out of these skis. Point them and they just go, but be sure to stay on them as they are not that forgiving should you get into trouble.

While incredibly fun around the resort they are big and burly for a dedicated touring ski unless you are into big mountain touring and seeking out cliffs, drops, and chutes. Since their tails are not ridiculously rockered a skin track kick turn is possible although not as natural as it could be but this also means that you can still ride the North Shore 114 Skis switch, if that’s your thing.