Every year in early December the ski reps put on a shop demo day for all the dealers. I use this two day event as a refresher on the mid level men's and women's skis that I didn't have time to really wring out the previous spring. This year as usual, the early season conditions were varible between hard manmade snow and very hard manmade snow. The first thing that impressed me about the Red was the edge grip. It was way better than expected for a mid priced ski. As I got more confident, I pushed the ski harder and it still held and stayed solidly stable. The Red Heat is a ski that performs well above it's price range in all aspects of ski performance. It was also exceptionally well balanced between grippy and forgiving, energetic and damp, and short radius vs. long radius turns. This would be a great work ski for a ski instructor who was driven by practicality rather than ego. Any intermediate could handle the red heat without undue effort but would also have a ski to grow with for the long haul.