Write your answer here... At 6ft and 180lbs the elizibeth is way to small for you. The blends work alright in the park maybe a little on the heavy side, do not center mount them, the factory point is around 7 0r 8 cm's back from center I would not go further then maybe 4 or 5 cm's back from center or they will DIVE bigtime in powder.

They will perform well in the park and in the backcountry. There will always be a better park ski, and always be a better backcountry ski, but this is as close as you can get to the best of both worlds in 1 ski.

I wouldn't recommend getting them center mounted, pretty much screw yourself over in the powder. Keep the slight back of center stance. If you really want a center mount ski, look at one designed for it. Or, check out the Elizabeth. Fatty ski that could handle the pow while being designed for a fun ride in the park.

Il stand by the rosingol sas2 200 vert durrable din. 10-18 if you dont want your boards to come off you have that option

Griffons and Jesters (the higher DIN model) are pretty much some of the best bindings you can buy, at least in my opinion. Also good are Look/Rossi/Dynastar bindings, personally I like the Look PX 12 model out of those. As for mount, I say +3 from trad, which will get you plenty of control, good flex and pop, and some switch ability.

Griffons are great. Get the Jesters if you ski at a higher DIN though (anything more than 10). I have a similar style of skiing that you describe: park is good, but most of my time is spent elsewhere. I'm smallish (5'8" - 135lbs) and I generally mount my skis 1.5cm forward of an 'all mountain' recommended mounting line or 2-3cm back of a 'freestyle' line. That way my smaller self can still drive bigger, directional skis but I'm centered enough that I can still ski switch. Fun stuff.

Absolutely. I do a similar setup with the trekkers for in bounds and backcountry days. I'm riding a pair of line pollard's (back when the first came out, 86mm underfoot) 186cm and they're great inbounds or backcountry (east coast, so never really that deep). The blend's being a 100mm underfoot is just the right combination to give you great float in the pow and still be lively and responsive on the groomers.

Hope this helps!

The 178s should be fine. But honestly, I'd go for the 183s at your height and weight. You're going to exert a lot of force on the skis, and the 183s are going to provide a big, stable platform for you. Additionally, those skis are going to give you room to improve your technique. The 178s would be kind of a dead end for you, if you start to ski faster or start skiing deeper snow, you're quickly going to max out the performance of that length for your size.

Volkl Chopstick. Low profile rocker and a huge waist for the pow, twin tip, and a symmetrical sidecut so you can rip it switch. A ripping ski. A less fatter option would be the K2 Kung Fujas...

You could definitely do good with it, but I would say you would feel more comfortable on the 183, which will help you progress, if need be.

For Blends pow skiing, I would say the 183. Plenty of float, great carving performance. Mount where the recommend, which I think is about +3, it's great in the trees, less tip to snag, and more centered control, I find. Plus doesn't feel unnatural on groomers.

Have you telemarked before? If so, are you aggressive? Do you do much backcountry touring? I always recommend the 22 Designs Hammerhead for aggressive tele-skiers, but if you are just learning I might go for the G3 Targa, it's a classic, and not that expensive, you can always upgrade. For Touring, check out Black Diamond O1s.

I would say mount them around the manufacturers markings, but it depends. If you ski switch quite a bit, then maybe around the +5 from trad mark. If not, then the +4 or +3 from trad spots should give you good swing and still let you burn out carves. Any shop should know what +5, etc. means, so just decide where and tell them that spot, or take them in and ask what the tech thinks is best.

For the deep stuff, you probably want the longer option of 178, to give you more float. You might have to ski a little more aggressively if you aren't used to a longer ski, but in the long run I think you will dig it.

For a guy your size, you can definitely handle the 183, so I say go with that. A longer ski skis faster and stomps harder.

The Fujas have a flex more suited to butters and pow, but still throw down in the park or where ever. Switch is no problem on them, but I would mount at about +5, to make pow less of a chore. If you got the Blends, which are good at all this with a slightly stiffer flex profile, I would say step up to the 183, it'll give you better performance. The 179 in the Fujas is good enough though, because K2 measures shorter than other brands.

My favourite spot for no switch riding is +2 from trad, but you might want it further back. Check the recommended spots for it, if it is further forward than +3, then move it back.

Recommended sounds perfect. That's where I got mine mounted and they rock.

Yes, the 178 will be your best size, and I've seen people carving it up on the groomers with these skis, and they have a good side cut to them.

If you are pretty aggressive then the 183 is a good length, even for trees. I am almost the same size as you, but a solid 190, and I ride a 179 ObSethed, which are actually longer than measured. I can even handle a 189 HellBent in the trees, even the tight ones, too.

This ski is very light because of it's core so don't worry about wieght in the blends.. The geometry is freeride and I don't like them in the park because of the stiff tails but it doesn't mean you can't take them there.. If your still growing go bigger in length .. I have many in my quiver so I'm picky on what I take out that day.. Bottom line is blend is a great all mountain groomer and shallow pow ski I love to shred on.

As well as the person using them. Center mount would help.

The ar6 will give you the best park performance, the prophet 90 the best groomer performence but a little stiff for park and the blend the best powder performence but skiswell on the groomers, My son who is the exact same size as you skis the ar6 in 171cm everywhere and rips on them, even backcountry jibbing in 2 feet of powder, i would go ar6 or blend.

Go 183, no doubt. With your weight, you'll overpower a 178. Too much emphasis is placed on height related to ski length; weight is just as important. Someone of your weight needs the surface area of a larger ski to provide the float in deeper snow, and edge control in hard pack. Additionally, going longer will make you a better, faster skier. It's like when you buy boots that are stiffer than you are used to, but they end up improving your skiing.

Depends what "regular" means. Get bindings that have brakes greater than 100mm wide. Some of them have that option when you buy them, otherwise here you go.http://www.backcountry.com/store/MRK0008/Marker-Duke-Jester-110mm-Brake.html

This ski should be great. Don't let topsheet chipping scare you off, it has no real effect on the performance of the ski, it is only a characteristic of most sandwich construction skis. You can file down the edges of the topsheet if you want, that makes it more resistant to the chipping.

Check out this article http://www.telemarkski.com/html/how_tele_mount.html#mount_twin_tips. My buddy who works at Alta Sports says that he's been mounting twin tip tele setups at boot center...

No, they are not all that much stiffer then the bacons about a medium flex i would say. The bacons are not as soft as people make them out to be, but they do get a little softer after you put some hours on them. They def. are a fun ski to just play around on (bacons) and are very quick and responsive, you def. can't tell that their 115 underfoot when you ski them.

If your interested in more backcountry use go 183 they measure out at about 179 or so, yes, and i would go marker jester or baron to keep them light.

This would be a good ski for you. Check out the AR6 by armada, Disorderly by K2

You sould be getting the 178, anything shorter will be to small for you, The blend is softer and fatter and will do better off-piste, the bridge is fairly stiff and will do better on hardpack/ice. you decide which is more important to you.

I would mount them 2cm FOREWARD of the suggested mounting line on the ski, that would put them at 51/2 cm back from center, a good spot for a all mountain ski.

Yes the 183 would be fine, its actually about 179. as for bindings I am the same size as you and i use the look px14 and love them. the rossie sas140 wb is the same binding also the salomon STH14 is a excellent binding. as for weight thats about average for a fat ski. -thanks willie you've been a really big help

Henry-- I bet you would have a hard time finding the speed limit on these unless you were charging big open lines, as for carving they lay down fat gs style turns at speed with no problem yet you can snap them quick if you need to, they can handle it all no prob, just like all lines slantwall skis.-willie your absolutely amazing my friend, keep it up

The turn radius and ski stiffness are what you need to look at for "groomers"

The prophet 90 is an excellent backeast ski because of its metal, it does well on ice and hardpack and will do ok in up to boot deep powder, The blend is more of a freestyle ski that will float good in powder, ski off-piste,ski park yet still carve the groomers. The 90 will give you better groomer performance and the blend better powder/ off-piste. Both will work for you, just decide which is most important to you.

A friend of mine who is 6ft and 200lbs just got 183's and they seem ok for him. You could mount 1 inch back from center to make them ski shorter and you wouldn't loose to much pow performance, But if you are a real strong skier and are used to longer ski's keep them they will work better off-piste then the 178, I'm 5' 7" and ski 183 bacons as my all-mountain ski. the 178 running surface is about the same as a 174 ski so that might be to small. IMO i would keep the 183 and mount 1 1/2" back from center.

The line blends in 183cm are only about 179cm in length but are softer the the 100,s they might be to small for you. The 100,s come in a 186cm and might be better for you. How about prophet 130,s or the new motherships for 09, they might work for you also. or K2 obseths in 189cm.

I suggest going with the 178's, which should have plenty of float in powder if you are under 210 lbs. If you are over go for the 183's.Other opinion: Go longer for your powder skis at your height. Unless you are a skinny rail, the longer skis will give you more float, but will be a tiny bit slower in turns.

go with the blends the are more of a freestyle ski and the 90,s are a freeride ski, meaning the blends will work way better in the park pluse they are 100mm in the waist so they float well in powder. the 90,s are stiff and are more of a groomer ski. 183cm is perfect for you as they are only about 178cm's same as my 182cm line bacons.

If you are planning on focusing your ability on spins / skiing backwards, get them mounted true to center.Everything else is just a gradation. I like my skis about 3 cm forward from traditional mounting. This is just slightly behind the center mark. Remember that realistically, there is no way you will spend half your time going backwards. I would go with 2 - 3 cm forward from traditional.

These will have a fair amount more flex than the prophet 100. The Blend is a "All Mountain" ski but still has quite a bit of it's design focused on park. The Prophet 100 is a true all mountain ski for someone who is really going to be skiing all that a mountain has to offer, also all of the terrain that a resort would have to offer (the 100 is for someone who would still be skiing more pow than the prophet 90).

Unfortunately, we do not have specific dates, the best thing I can advise is that you consistently check back with the website, every other day or so.

No, you sould get 178cm. You would out grow 168's before the end of the season. The running surface on 178's is 144cm's so thats about the same as a 173cm ski. If your worried about the length mount them 1 inch forward of the mount line, which would be 2 inches back from center.

Right now for your height you sould get 178cm, If you think you will keep growing or an advanced skier I would get the 183cm. Line skis tend to ski a little short.