thats seems really strange cause everything i had heard was saying that last years and the year before were exactly the same only different graphic. i think people seem to think this years are softer just because the marketing has changed for them because pollard has made better pow skis. i really dont think they have changed, and possibly the fact that they are being marketed more as a park ski this year, could be what is leading people to beleive that this years are softer. just what it seems like to me