tetchaje202153281

Incredible skis. The amount of float and control that you have in powder with these skis is amazing. Very light and and nimble through the trees and I didn't find that the skis wanted to hook or force me into a turn shape. I felt that I could clarve well even though they aren't reverse sidecut - true slarvyness is reserved for full reverse reverse skis. The camber is flat'ish (there is a slight positive camber), but they are extremely easy to decamber, so the big nose floats up to the top and you can drive them in powder very well without worrying about going over the handlebars. This may relax to a true flat camber over time, but I haven't had them long enough to find out. They work fine as is, though.

I'm 5'9" and 180lbs and went with the 182cm, though I'd feel just as comfortable skiing the 190's. I usually find that my ideal ski length is about 187-188, even though I have skis that are 177-195 in length. The 182's give me plenty of float, though, so there isn't any need for a person of my size who skis aggressively to go longer unless you really want to bomb a face and need the extra stability.

One thing - they are funky on groomers. Surprisingly good edge hold, but the width is such that it takes quite a bit to get them up on edge and then when you do it feels like you kind of fall into place on edge. I came down one icy groomed face after hitting the pow and the edges held like mad on the face, but it was just a bit funky getting used to tipping onto the 121mm waist without a soft substrate.

The only disappointing thing for me was the "Made in China" sticker on the bases when I took them out of the plastic. Hey! I thought these were made in Colorado by snow-loving, red-blooded Americans!

I'm 5'9'' and 175lbs and got a screamin' deal on some XXL 194's. First thing, if you are my size and weight then you have to be on your game at all times and aggressive. If you are, the ski will reward you with a great ride that kills everything on the mountain and is freight train stable at speed. If not, they can hurt you. The faint of heart need not apply.

First time I took them out in 15" of fresh I had them mounted on the line and was disappointed that I was getting tip dive and the skis weren't performing as well as I would have wanted for such a fat ski. They killed the crud and groomers, but left me wanting in fresh.

Second time I took them out in 13" pow and moved the bindings back 1.5cm (rail mounted bindings) and it made a HUGE difference. Now they were a bit less solid on the hardpack but floated incredibly in the pow and were amazingly nimble for such a big ski. I could not get the skis to dive even when loading up the tips and I skied faster than I ever have before through the trees. Once you get them up to speed they are surprisingly nimble in the pow even though they aren't rockered and are relatively stiff. At slow speeds they feel sluggish and take some big legs to work them. At speed they come alive. Who wants to go slow anyway?

Anyway fun skis that are rock solid and kill everything on the mountain. Big and heavy, but that helps them not get thrown around in the crud. Not that fun in the bumps. It was possible to do it, but I'll be honest that it sucked because it was so much work. Awesome in pow once I moved the bindings back a bit. I'm happy.