Megawatts: The Pow Ski That Can Do It All!

By NickW Ranked #223 - Big Mountain Freeride Skis March 23, 2009

Lets hit the basics: (1) Sizing - Due to the rockered tip, they ski shorter than they are. I am 6'3", 185 and ski the 188s. I think the sizing works perfect, but would even be pumped for a longer pair to really open up on steep slopes. (2) Weight - For a ski this big (125 waist), they are surprisingly light. Much more so than some of the other fat pow ski competitors. I have FFR+ on mine and would/can definitely tour with them for those ultra-deep days that I don't want to take my Verdicts. I have seen these mounted with Dynafit FT-12s and they seem super light and bomber. (3) Powder Performance - What do you want here? These things rock in bottomless pow. The zero camber alows you versatility to smear turns, and the huge shovel w/ rockered tip means there is NO WAY you can dive the tips. No need to lean back here - you can drive these hard in an agressive stance. With the 125 waist and almost "pin-tail" design, the tails just sink and the tips float. (4) Crud/Crust/Variable - This is where I think these truly shine. At the end of the day, we all know bottomless, hero powder doesn't always turn up at the end of the skin track. The Megawatts absolutely destroy any variable conditions. The large shovel and rockered tip will keep you up above any crust or chopped up crude. Although the tip is nice and flexy to stay up, the remainder of the running length of the ski is very stiff (as with all the current BD "freeride" skis). Therefore, you are able to essentially "point and shoot" through nasty conditions that would otherwise equal survival turns with other skis. I have never had so much fun in variable snow. (5) In-Bounds Hardpack - At the end, this is not what they are designed for. With that said, these do have some slight side-cut, so they are manageable on groomers. WAY more so than the current generation of reverse/reverse skis (e.g., Pontoons, Spats, Praxis, etc...). Because of an effective side-cut, you can also tour with these where steep, switch-back style skin tracks are found. Not really possible with reverse/reverse skis b/c not enough sidecut and effective edge to hold on steep, switch-back skin tracks. SUMMARY: BUY THESE NOW!!! They are awesome pow/crud/crust skis that ski shorter due to the larger rocker, can be pointed at warp speed due to the stiffness, but are very "turny" as well due to the rocker.

View Details: Black Diamond Megawatt Ski

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