My new best friend

By THOMAS ARMENTO Ranked #2 - Big Mountain Freeride Skis September 27, 2009

I was fortunate to spend the 2nd half of last season on the 190cm Bibby Pro and they quickly became my everyday ski here in Colorado.

As expected, the 118mm waist and tip rocker gives you great float in deep powder making the tips virtually unsinkable. My best day of the season was at Monarch with more than two feet of fresh 2% snow to play with, and I had absolutely no problems keeping my large size afloat while carrying various speeds down the mountain. What I liked most about the Bibby here was the ability to shut it down almost completely and get lost in the whiteroom while regaining speed quickly into the next turn. They slash with ease, and the short running length (measured at 122cm by my account) makes the skis very maneuverable and agile in tight spots and trees.

Once the fresh lines start to disappear, these skis still perform very well in tracked-out conditions. The slightly-tapered tip design allows the Bibby to slice through soft crud, and the added stiffness underfoot (the 190 is much stiffer here when compared to the more playful 186 length) and in the tail allows me to remain aggressive without worrying about the skis failing on me when conditions change quickly.

How these would handled firm crud was going to be the deal maker for me. Most of the rockered skis that have come out recently have been a total dream in soft snow but haven't performed all that desirable in firmer conditions. Back in early April after a dump at Loveland, I found some firm chalky firm snow off the Ridge that offered a true test for how these would perform. While quickly approaching high speeds I began to question myself, but the stiffness underfoot provided enough stability to allow me to run with it.

In hardpack and moguls, I have nothing bad to report. If you want to carve a bunch of turns instead of going straight down the groomers, you can certainly do that with confidence. And if you want to rip moguls like Wayne Wong, you could do that too. Unlike the 186 Bibby which has flat camber, the 190 version has a slight amount which is key to making it perform much better than a flat, rockered ski in non-soft snow. Additionally, the rockered tail gives the ski some forgiveness such that if you find yourself in the backseat or on an off-balance landing, it's pretty easy to recover and get your body more forward.

Construction of the Bibby is typical of all Moments in that the durability so far was been top notch. While coming down Primer Bowl at Loveland, I hit four death cookies buried shallowly in the snow and was able to continue without completely losing it. Twice my left leg was kicked out far to the side and I thought there would be at least a couple of large core shots, but at the end of the day there was only a few very superficial scratches along the bases.

Overall, I think this is one of Moment's most versatile ski and one that has handled all conditions very well. As long as you don't plan on skiing much sastrugi, avalanche debris, or crazy wind-affected snow, you'll be plenty stoked on them.

To see some helmet camera footage of the Bibby in action, please follow the link below:

http://vimeo.com/4056083

View Details: Moment Bibby Pro Model Ski

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