The Vacation "MALLARD" R.J. McDonald x J Collab Limited Edition Ski Shredding ImageThe Vacation "MALLARD" R.J. McDonald x J Collab Limited Edition Ski Shredding Image

The Vacation

Mallard

R.J. McDonald x J Collab

$749
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All orders placed by 3pm EST on weekdays ship out the same day. Orders placed after 3pm or on weekends ship the next business day.All orders placed by 3pm EST on weekdays ship out the same day. Orders placed after 3pm or on weekends ship the next business day.J skis are backed by an industry leading 2-year warranty against manufacturing defectsJ skis are backed by an industry leading 2-year warranty against manufacturing defects5 Day On Snow Trial5 Day On Snow Trial

Waist Width: 104mm

J Says Best For:
Soft groomers / Powder / Park / Glades / Freestyle

Personality

Soft & PlayfulHappy MediumStiff & Aggressive

Conditions

70% powder
30% groomers
View All Vacation Graphics

The Vacation Awards

The Artwork

R.J. McDonald x J Collab

350 Made

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Released August 1, 2022

We waddled through a ton of different artists to find the king of nature painting for this ski! If you’ve ever seen a painting of ducks, deer, or fish, there’s a good chance you already know R.J. McDonald’s artwork. His iconic style has brought the nature of Tennessee to life for over thirty years, there’s even a wildlife area in central Tennessee named in his honor.

Our designer Fank used a high quality scan of one of R.J.’s paintings to cover as much of the top of the ski as possible, making sure to show off as much detail of those fancy feathers as possible. I’d tell you all about the official RealTree collab using their new Max-7 camo pattern on the base graphic, but it's impossible for you to see it in the wild.

You’ll need to wake up at the quack of dawn to get on a pair of these Vacations! I’m only making 350 pair and hand-signing & numbering each. Pick up a pair for a guaranteed ducking good time!

Check out more of R.J.’s nature paintings on his social and pick your own artwork here

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The Vacation

127 -

 104 

- 122

A wide ski with a soft playful flex for throwing tricks all over the mountain from the park to the pow.

“The Vacation” is the ultimate getaway from traditional boring skis! It features a truly one-of-a-kind, soft flex pattern that’s equally distributed throughout the length of the ski. This enables it to match transitions and excel at a larger variety of freestyle terrain so you can throw down with more style and control, without getting bucked. Its 104mm waist is super versatile, it floats easily in powder, yet is quick enough to also shred all over the mountain, including the park. The added surface area under foot makes for stable landings and provides even more balance and control when buttering and sliding rails. I designed the tips with a very smooth rocker and a unique early tapper geometry for a catch-free, effortless, surfy feel. You can pivot on a dime, and never have to worry again about catching your tips when popping from forward to backwards, buttering, or throwing tricks… even in fresh snow. If your idea of fun is to slash, press, air, butter, nollie & jib from untracked pow to the park and everywhere in between, it’s time for a Vacation!

#JVacationSki

The Vacation IN THE WILD

Share your shred by tagging #JVacationSki on Instagram

This ski is kind of a big deal!
Blister Gear ReviewBlister Gear Review
Freeskier MagazineFreeskier Magazine
Powder MagazinePowder Magazine
Backcountry MagazineBackcountry Magazine
NewschoolersNewschoolers

    "One of the most well-rounded playful all-mountain skis we’ve been on."

    - Blister Gear Review

    "Truly constructed for your enjoyment, these skis feature a distinctively tapered geometry that's designed to pivot quickly and avoid tip/tail catching when you're swapping from forwards to backwards."

    - Freeskier Magazine

    "The Vacation is a very versatile ski that can handle everything from groomer days to full on pow days."

    - Powder Magazine

    "The Vacation is geared toward the daily charger who slides both on boxes and in skintracks."

    - Backcountry Magazine

    "Their flex pattern staying consistently soft opens up a lot of possibilities for skiing differently on otherwise ordinary terrain."

    - Newschoolers

The Finest Materials

Carbon Fiber Construction

By selling these skis factory direct to you, we're able to invest more money into using the highest quality materials possible for a game-changing level of premium performance & durability.

Carbon FiberCarbon Fiber

Carbon Fiber

Lighter with more energy & pop than fiberglass
Just like fiberglass carbon needs to be fully stretched like a guitar string to give you the most pop. Unlike other brands of skis with wavy black carbon, not stretched, thus you’re not getting the energy out of it, we use pre-cured, pre-stretched carbon fiber laminates. This means the carbon is pre-stretched & cured under perfect conditions at the carbon fiber production facility prior to us receiving it. This pre-cured carbon laminate is twice the cost but also gives you many more times the performance. You’ll feel it!

Maple Wood Core

Highest quality wood for a lively energetic feel & long life
The factory is located in Quebec Canada, so we got Maple, eh! Maple is a very expensive high quality hard wood, thus the reason it’s used to build floors and furniture in your house that lasts a lifetime. Maple absorbs impact, and has a ton of energy for a very ski feel and long life. We run 4 – 20mm wide Maple laminates the entire length of the core, plus 100% under your foot for unprecedented energy, durability & binding screw retention. At the tips of my skis you’ll see more of the light colored Aspen which is incredibly lightweight with plenty strong when laminated alongside Maple for reduced swing weight at the tips.

Full Height Sidewalls

Maximum impact resistant & vibration dampening
We’re using super durable, high impact absorbing Ultra High Molecular Weight (UHMW) polyethylene for our sidewalls. This is the same material we use on our ski's bases. It’s very impact resistant and since it’s full height, it also absorbs more vibration like using a longer spring in your car’s suspension. Take a metal pipe and hit it against a rock, then do the same with a piece of plastic. The metal vibrates through to your bones & the plastic absorbs the vibration for you. That’s the difference of having full height plastic shock absorbing sidewalls over your edges or not. We’re cutting the sides of the sidewalls to a 10* angle, with a nice step at the bottom for easy tuning like race skis.

Extra Thick Edge

The thickest, most durable edge in the industry
We use the thickest hardened steel edges in the industry 2.2mm x 2.5mm. More metal = more durable. Whether you’re accidentally hitting a rock or purposely sliding a rail, you’re edges will live a much longer life. You’ll also be able to re-tune many more times or file them round to slide rails longer.

High Performance Base

The fastest, thickest, most durable base material
I don’t match my clothes, but I always match my base & edge. We use the thickest edge so I also use the thickest base in the industry 1.8mm. I use sintered Ultra High Molecular Weight (UHMW) Polyethylene, the highest quality base material available. It absorbs wax better, slides faster, and is more durable than any other base material. Basically it’s super hard & fast, like your _______ likes it.

Quasitropic Fiberglass

Fibers run in 4 directions to maximize energy & strength
Fiberglass works like a guitar string, when it is flexed it wants to spring back, that’s the energy or pop you feel in a ski. However this energy can only be applied in the direction the actual fiberglass is run. This means the more directions of fiberglass, the more energy, pop & responsiveness. Industry standard “Triaxial” fiberglass runs in only three directions, we use a Quasi Isotropic fiberglass configuration, same as the aerospace industry to maximize energy & strength in as many directions as possible, 4 different axis 0, 90, +45, -45. It costs more, but it’s worth the performance.

SPECS

Length166cm173cm180cm186cm
Dimensions127 - 104 - 122127 - 104 - 122127 - 104 - 122127 - 104 - 122
Sidecut Radius15.3m16.9m18.5m20.1m
Weight Per Ski1840g1890g2045g2195g
The Vacation "MALLARD" R.J. McDonald x J Collab Limited Edition Ski Design GraphicThe Vacation "MALLARD" R.J. McDonald x J Collab Limited Edition Ski Design Graphic