Dynafit Stoke Ski

I have had quite a few clients on these skis this winter, but have seen at least 3 pair where the inserts have failed resulting in loose bindings not staying on in the field. Be warned about the inserts! Seems like this is a good touring ski for light people with light boots, I have noticed good strong skiers, with heavier boots easily over powering this ski, but if you have some light TLT 5s to match up, and want to slay endless pow and nothing else, this could be a good option.

The craftsmanship and quality of this product is incredible, and you can tell how precise the construction is immediately upon making your first few turns with these skis. As with the Manaslu, because of the ultra light weight you can't charge through hard crud or extremely variable conditions. But for skiing smooth snow under your own power waaaay out in the BC these things are incredible.

We designed this ski with the aim of creating a light yet powerful ski, 106mm in the waist for good flotation but not so large that you cannot deal with the wide variety of snow conditions found in the BC.

Great weight for climbing up, the first day on the prototypes I climbed and skied off Mt-Blanc, a 12000 foot day. The descent was floaty and awesome. The slight tip rise keeping the ski cruising.

The skin system is tight and awesome, it has yet to let me down.

You will enjoy many, many wicked lines on these skis.

Best to get a review on here other than Greg Hill's. :)
I am one of the last Mohican's to get away from the narrow touring ski. I did not like the idea of using up 1/3rd of my pack space with touring skins.
Let me tell you it is well worth the lost space. This Stoke ski is by far the best powder ski I have ever skied on, in 35 years of BC touring, that is forever for some of the kids out there.
I got the 182's late last spring and skied Mt Adams, skied great, but they were to short for me (6'4"-210# aggressive skier). I waited and waited and got the 191cm. Sold the 182's. The rocker reduces the running length for me by at least 5cm.
That is the best move I ever made the 191's shine for a guy my size. Even touring the kick turns are easy, easy, easy.
The turn radius is very subjective to the conditions. These can place the tightest of turns on a powder face and dash through the tight trees with ease. Or for the new schoolers they can open them up and not have a problem at all.
I have found them to be pretty solid on the carve-able groom, the tips shake a bit, but don't effect the ski experience. They really load up in a turn and pop for a wide board! They hold an edge on the ice too, but become more squirrelly in the tips when real firm snow is being tamed.
I have them matched with FT's and BD Quadrant boots. I have used the Scarpa TX-Pros (NTN Tele) even on this rig and they tour great and ski fine in powder.
The weight of the setup is 2# lighter than my 88 waist skis. I put Ascension skins on these and they climb like a goat, but lack the glide on the flats and small downhill shots. I would love to compare mohair to these and see the difference.
The insert system is a little fickle. Even hand/finger tightening with a Pozi-3 I had issues with one of the front screws turning into a spinner. Errr...

Don't hesitate if you are on the fence between the Manaslu or the Stoke. The Stoke will not let you down.

Looking for an all around contender for big days in the big mountains? This ski fits the bill and is sure to make the grin on your face stretch a bit wider. I tried the Stokes in a variety of conditions including powder, crust, firm, wind board, and crud and found them to handle very well. Their predictable nature allows for fast dynamic down the fall-line skiing and their light weight will encourage you to skin up for another lap.
My first runs on the 182cm Stokes was during stormy afternoon on KT-22 at Squaw Valley, CA. 3-4 inches of new snow had begun to fill in the massive icy moguls left in the wake of Presidents week. Visibility was poor at best. (i.e. Not exactly ideal conditions for a BC ski, but poor conditions=good testing ground.) My first turns into 75 chute were tentative, but with each turn, my confidence in the ski's ability to handle the mixed conditions improved. The shovel was stiff enough to drive down the fall line, and the edge-hold on firm exceeded my expectations for a ski as light as the Stoke. I was amazed by its quick, agile nature run after run. Though the ski is not my first choice for resort skiing, I would not swing by the house to switch gear if headed for the chair after a morning skin.
The next morning I met up with a friend for a back-country ski tour on Tahoe's West shore. 12-16 inches of creamy powder lay in wait. 2 turns into the first run, I knew I had found the right ski. The ski's medium flex, 130mm shovel, and 106mm waist allow for aggressive pressure to be placed forward on the ski keeping you in the driver's seat instead of the backseat. 10,000 vertical later, I was still ready for more thanks to the light weight.
Over the next week, I ran the Stokes through quite the variety of BC conditions and was never let down. The ski has powder wired, drives through crust predictably and handles the crud with ease. It can act a bit nervous on wind board, and quick pressure on and off your edges is required to keep it from chattering on firm snow (typical for the width). If I were to compare the ski to a mountain bike, I'd say it feels like a 26lbs, 5 inch travel bike. With proper skill and confidence, you can take them anywhere. That being said, they are probably not the right board with which to enter an extreme competition, nor are they the board to show up at the next rando-rally with (this should be obvious). They are, a fantastic all around back-country ski that will make you happy.

Note: The mounting inserts are a bit far back on the ski for my taste/style, but I was able to move the toe binding into the forward holes and with a 27.0 boot crank ST heal piece bindings forward enough to fit. This put me 1 cm forward and greatly improved the feel of the ski for me.
I am a 6'2" 170 lbs. skier living in Squaw Valley, CA. I ski 50/50 in the back-country and at the resort. I enjoy steep, aggressive fall line skiing but am not afraid to milk a low angle bowl now and again.

Have had many days this winter on the the stokes, moutned with the FT 12 bindings. Super light weight combo. They have held up well from the steep and deep to the ice of the North East. A Light weight and responsive ski. Overall I am pleased with my purchase.

I got a 182 cm set of the Stokes 2 weeks ago. I skiied 2 days at Mt Hood mixed area skiing in crud and some skinning to trouble shoot them before my trip last week. One day at Revy Mtn Resort off of the Stoke and Ripper chairs with a paucity of new snow at the time. Nice turns on hard pack and groomers, a pleasant surprise as I was expecting quite a bit of chatter with the early rise tip. Old pow runs in the crud of North Bowl were rewarded with a responsive easy ride. They rode similarly on the wind pack to my prior skis which were Dynafit FT10 carbons, but fared way better in the loose stuff.
I then took them up to Selkirk Lodge for 7 days of everything from boot top powder all they way to thigh deep freshies in the trees by the end of the week. I have to say that the flotation is awesome with these beasts. The light weight makes skinning effortless as you would expect from Dynafit. The 106mm underfoot provided such great skin surface, that my ski crampons will likely be relagated to the prior gear display on the shelf in my shop. I skiied on them 11 of the first 12 days I had them and it was killing me to put them away on sunday to go back to work.

First used these skis last weekend on a 4 day North Cascades yurt trip. The Stokes handled everything from crappy crust and variable snow for the first day, through some great powder skiing conditions as 27cm of new snow fell. I've got a pair of Manaslu's and while I like the light weight, they were always a compromise in tricky snow. The Stokes power better through all of this, and are still pretty light. In both cases I appreciate the Dynafit Speedskins - they attach well and are easy to transition to downhill without taking the skis off due to the tip rather than tail attchment. I'm 6' / 200lbs and found the 192cm Stokes a great length.

These are my go to deep powder ski when I want to get into the backcountry and not bring the kitchen sink. I'm 5'10, 154lb and ski the 173s. They have been great all season. Not the best for hard pack or crust but in the Wasatch I tend not to ski too much of that as is. They are paired with some Stoke Speedskins, FT12s and Titans.

These are fun. A combination of a powerfull ski and a light ski that blew me away. Really a light ski that blasts through the crap and doesn't get squirley at speed? Powder no problem and to be expected. Icey garbage was pretty easy too. I tried on a sunny frozen day with no new snow, and they owned the groomers. Mocking big turns and quick snappy turns too are easy. The tail design is sweet you can check speed fast if needed. Really designed well and can handle any snow condition you will encounter. I'm in love. I got the whole package titans boots, tlt bindings, and the stokes. The ski/boot/binding combo is perfect! Me: 6' 2 225lb aggressive skier who goes faster than I should with a big smile on my face. I don't like skinny skis at all. I live in the PNW and ski the white mud. They do great, don't have to ski in the back seat at all. Floaty and fun. Go for it you are in the market.

Update! several mega powder days in a row and I love them even more. easy to drive through all conditions. seriously a great all around ski. pow to traverse to wash out groomers, frogels they can do it. they sweet spot is the ball of my foot. feels perfect! love the early rise tip...

I wanted to buy 173 Stoke but it appeared that the Dynafit guys decided that if you have smaller feet you have to ski with 162??? My boots are 279 mm and the smallest possible drilled holes are for 284mm boot... Really sad that this great system is worthless in this case. The same with the Manaslu model and the "women" skis from Dynafit.
What a shame.