Chex

Toasty warm even below zero (farenheit, and I've got poor circulation in my hands!) and stops wind dead. I'd recommend liners as others have purely for wicking away sweat. They're not the most dextrous things on the planet, but given how warm they are that's acceptable.

Picked these up after getting a set of chronics last season, so far Line's quality is consistently amazing. Definitely beat on these things running over rocks early season that should've torn 'em up (same with my chronics for that matter) and it didn't matter at all, barely a scratch. They inspire a lot of confidence, dampening out chatter when snow quality is less than ideal and pretty much just crushing through anything that gets in the way. I've mounted Dukes on 'em so my setup is a little heavy, but it's really only noticeable while trying to hop around in tighter spots. They're manageable in moguls, but it's a lot more work. Haven't tried the AT thing yet, but I'll update this or something when I do later this season.

Picked this up to wear around town and it's great for that. Worn it in temps from 45 down to 15 and been good to go with just a cotton t-shirt underneath. Also, stops wind DEAD, and stays dry even in a downpour. I've worn it skiing too, was more than warm enough in the single digits at killington with a t-shirt and midweight polypro. Not sure I'd trust the outside material to not rip if I were to have a close encounter in the trees, but I don't think it was ever meant for that, so this thing is stellar. I'm 6'2" 205 and the large fits great as an athletic fit.

to frame my comments, this is my first set of park-friendly skis and I'm coming from a pair of 04-05 apache recons

That said, I really like my 171's. They're super-responsive and super-springy, so I can load 'em into a turn and they'll push the rest of the way through on their own. They're stable at high speeds provided the snow is smooth, but they get squirrelly in crud. They're really not stiff enough for the heavy crusty wind-blown stuff either (no surprise). I've started messing around with 'em in the pipe and they're friendly enough that someone without much freestyle experience (me) doesn't make a complete ass of himself. I've already managed to put a couple of pretty serious gouges in the bases that would've been core-shots on my old recons, but Line isn't joking when they say they've beefed up the bases 'cause mine were good to go again after some quick ptex work. If you're looking for a great all-around ski then these fit the bill, especially since they're a good $200 cheaper than their competitors, just don't plan on taking 'em off-piste or anywhere with questionable snow conditions.