I've been backcountry skiing forever, but this ski sent me to a new realm. While many fat skis can let you rip powder, this ski has the unique ability to do it all. It rips on firm snow, yet floats in crud and powder. For its size, it is amazingly nimble. I like a ski to be easy to ski, and this ski just goes where you want it to with the tip of the head, and you can recover very easily in tricky situation when you blow a turn. I do prefer this ski mounted with AT bindings, over telemark bindings, as it seems to ski easier. I use Fritches on the ski area, and use them mounted with Dynafits for a killer lightweight fat ski set up for touring.

my wife loves these skis! after skiing on the BD lyric for the past 4 years she wanted a powder ski. at 5'3" and 110 she rips on these (165). crud, powder, manky goodness, just about any type of snow (except boiler plate). she still loves her BDs however, these are her go to skis if there is any snow to speak of.

These are totally awesome skis! They are big, stable, fast, and floaty. On the groomers they'll hold a solid edge except on the hardest of boilerplate, while on softer groomer they feel like they'll never let go. In the crud, they're stable, although you've got to keep moving so they don't get hung up. These are not skis that like to go slow. In the powder, weeeellll, let's just say that the float, the turn initiation, and the pop in these things makes you wish the powder would never stop! It's a big ski (I'm 5'8, 135, and skiing the 174), but if you've got the skills, these things are IMPRESSIVE!

So I took a pair of the 165s out in the backcountry on lots of fresh powder, and these skis were amazing...skiing some steep trees, they like to go fast and are really nimble. In crappy snow, you can haul if you're an aggressive skier, but they could be pretty unruly if you're not ready. My only complaints: they were kind of a pain for skinning; the tails walk all over each other. Also, I'm not a huge fan of the graphics--if you see what the boys got on their version of this ski (the team 100s), you might feel the same way.

This is my first season skiing anywhere but the ice coast...and these skis are so fun in Utah powder. I mounted these will AT bindings, but use them inbounds too. At first, I felt like they weren't the best for groomers and crud, but with the edges at the tips and tails detuned a bit, they rock. I've had a blast everywhere on the mountain in these skis. I tried out the K2 Phat Luvs last week to compare, and I like these way more. BTW, I'm 5'7", about 130lbs and I ski the 172s.