Salomon Teneighty Gun Alpine Ski - 2005 BCS

I was looking for a powder ski so I demo'd these at Wolf Creek, CO along with every other fat ski they could supply me. This one won, hands down. It's just so fun and nimble in the powder, especially in CO pine forests. Back then this was a "fat" ski; these days it's on the narrow end of "mid-fat", but it still rips in the powder.

What I didn't know before I bought it was how well it would handle everything else. I was very pleasantly surprised. This has been my one-ski quiver for four seasons now and I don't want to replace it. Fun in the bumps, on the corduroy, in the chop, and especially in the pow. Not terrific on ice, but I'm from the west; who wants to ski that crap anyway? You have to be careful on ice and boilerplate to make sure to carve and not skid; they'll do it, but you have to make them do it.

Another great thing about this ski: it is LIGHT. It is on par with Black Diamond's ski offerings, weighing the same as equivalent length Havocs-with 2mm more across the entire cut. Why is that great? Because these are a fantastic BC weapon. I mounted them up with Naxo NX01s and used them in and out of bounds and loved them on the up and down. When the Naxos broke this year, I remounted them with Fritschis and still love them. Great, great BC ski. Wish I had a second pair to replace them when these eventually wear out.

I'm 6'2", 150lbs., and I found the 175cm to be the best for me. I mounted them on the standard boot center line, not the forward "free" line, and like it. Bigger and more aggressive skiers may want a longer ski, but I like the way I can whip them around on command.

I skied the new Guns for the first time today in 10 inches of classic Northwest fresh (no, it ain't powder!) Excellent all-around ski in spite of the size, it can rip on softer packed runs but really excels on the steep and deep. The skis have a nice bouncy feel without being too snappy. They provide an excellent, stable platform for landing drops and jumps. Can't wait to push them further!

I recently took these Guns up to Mammoth right after they got dumped on. These sticks rip!! I took it through pow, groomers, moguls, and steeps, and these bad boys performed!! I love these sticks!!

Tele mounted the 175cn after long debate over the length. At 180 pounds I felt I was between the 175cn and 185cn but went short counting on the extra float from the skis width. The ski is very lively in all conditions and surprisingly good on groomed terrain. The short turn radius makes bumps and steeper crud easier to blow through than I would have expected. They do drift a bit on the flats and require more attention there than you want to spend when you are trying to catch your breath running to the chair.

Was getting dumped on at last trip to Vail, like a foot a day for 3 days. I wanted to demo more of a powder ski than my X-Screams. Boy, did these things deliver. I usually ski a 175cm so I was a bit hesitant to go with the 165cm. The shortness didn’t bother me at all, still skied like a longer board. This board really goes all over the mountain with a BMW like feel to them. Awesome edge-to-edge transition. Just floated through the pow with ease. It loved bumps, steeps, and even the groomers, but loved the pow the best. One thing I didn’t like was the twin tip. I’m 45 years old, so I really would of like this ski without the twin, but it really only bothered me when side stepping on flats or in the lift line, never while skiing.

I'm on my second pair of these skis, and love 'em. They're lightweight, easy to turn, floaty in the powder, fun in moguls, and altogether make every day on the mountain a fun experience. I can't think of a better tree ski for west coast conditions.

Their light weight means that they get pushed around a bit in the crud, but they're still reasonably stable because of the fat waist.

Beware: The tips and tails are really soft, so you can't ski them like your normal carving skis. You really need to find that middle balance point, otherwise you'll skid your turns. That said, there are plenty of times when the soft tails have saved my ass after landing a jump and being too far in the back seat. You can actually control these skis while leaning backwards! (Not recommended, but this is probably why you see so many gapers riding Pocket Rockets).

Regarding the question of what length to buy, I ski near Lake Tahoe, CA, weigh 165 lbs, and ride the 185cm version. I've never had any trouble turning them.

The twin tips on these skis make attaching skins a bit more difficult. I'm currently using BCA skins and they've worked reasonably well. My friend uses BD skins on her 1080s and has a lot of trouble with the tail attachment coming off.