First pow skis ever, mount decisions

TheSmokinL

TheSmokinL

Member
I've lived out east my whole life, finally made the west move and picked up my first set of pows, 106 under foot.

Recommended mount is 4cm back from center. (J vacations)

Here's my problemo, I've been center mounted on skis for some 11 or so years. I feel like 4cm back won't kill me but last year I demo'd pows set further back and I was all bent out of shape from it and not to sound like a bitch but it nearly ruined my few days trying to enjoy them.

SO, should I remain center mounted or maybe do 2cm instead of 4?

I can talk park skis all day and worked at a shop on the east for awhile mostly selling boots and straight skis/park skis but this has me at a loss since I've never touched pow skis more than once. All help/advice appreciated.
 
For powder sticks, if you plan on riding and landing switch A LOT then go center, otherwise I would go with the 2cm back or recommended. I had a chance to take a couple runs on a friends pair and liked the recommend mount myself but don't usually ride center mounted on my skis. Just my 2 cents, if it feels totally messed up to you do what is comfortable, you're the one riding them.

**This post was edited on Nov 3rd 2017 at 1:31:12pm
 
^ I agree, for powder I wouldn't center mount my own skis. Which is what I said to begin with.

**This post was edited on Nov 3rd 2017 at 3:58:38pm
 
I'm having a pair of Candide 3.0 (the old ones, 112mm) mounted at recommended, which is like 6cm from center. I'm also not super sure about this mount location but I think it will be good for powder. So we'll see.

Worst case scenario, you have to remount at -2 later this season. Not that big of a big deal.
 
I would pretty much never mount a non fully symmetrical ski center....ever. kills the performance.

OP...how much will you ski switch? -4 is not far back at all.
 
13851677:BrawnTrends said:
Worst case scenario, you have to remount at -2 later this season. Not that big of a big deal.
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The thought of redrilling hurts my soul but I’ve put thought into that option in case I hate the mount I choose *sigh*

13851681:Profahoben_212 said:
I would pretty much never mount a non fully symmetrical ski center....ever. kills the performance.

OP...how much will you ski switch? -4 is not far back at all.
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Great question, I want to be able to still hit natty features on the fly and be stable in landings. I should’ve said that, my b. I was thinking if I did negative 2 then at least I’d be slightly closer to center but again I’m very new to pow skis so I’m happy with good opinions from you guys who have been in deeper snow than ice
 
Maybe you're just bad at pow skiing right now? Not claiming anything, I live in New England. I do know that's skiing pow is much different than hard snow. My opinion: mount em at rec
 
A. If you center mount you will not be in the center of the sidecut. Hurting your on snow performance.

B. Everyone over estimates how much they are going to ski/land switch in powder.

C. If you are new to pow ski's you should probably mount at recommended. I imagine J's mount is more progrerssive than you might think.

D. if having more ski in front of you bothers you, then you should probably learn to work a ski.
 
I have my Hellbents center mounted, but they are made for that. 106 underfoot is all mountain ski in my book, I would go -2 if recommended is -4. That's what I did on my Annexs, +2 ahead of recommended.
 
All good opinions guys, thanks for taking the time to respond. Literally why I made the thread is so that I can see what people who ride pow on the reg recommend. I’m glad you took it seriously so I can make a real decision. Upvotes all around
 
You really have to try different mounting locations to figure it out, and every ski is going to perform differently at -x from center. My One Lifes killed it at center, my Fatypus M5's hated center, wouldn't float at all. My S3's back in the day floated better at center and they were narrower than the M5.

I used to be a center only kind of guy no matter the ski and it worked for me. I guess my style of skiing has changed a little bit, I still stay pretty close. My Majesty Lumberjacks are around -2 or -3 and they are perfect. I also have a very aggressive stance so my knees are always over if not past my toes.
 
I center mount everything, even my touring skis. I like the way it feels and I ski switch quite a bit. If you feel comfortable center, stay center.
 
106 ain't no pow ski.. that's a park/all mountain ski;)

but I wouldn't go any closer than -2

for reference, I had my kartel 106s mounted at -2.5ish and loved them there, even on powder days. They performed pretty damn well.
 
I wouldn't go as drastic as the 4cm back...I think you'll be bummed with it especially if you are use to riding center mounted park skis. Maybe 2 cm back instead?

My first pair of pow skis a long time ago were a pair of 189 hellbents and I actually center mounted those...I probably wouldn't make that decision anymore but that was about 10 years ago and we all make decisions like that once and a while. Although, because that ski is so huge and longer than what I was use to skiing in the park, center mounting them makes them ski shorter which makes them a lot of fun and I still take them out from time to time.

Also...I know that someone already mentioned this but you might find that the 106 under foot isn't that wide for a pow ski. I think you might get out west and realize that it's still too narrow.

The choice is yours but like I mentioned, I wouldn't go 4cm back.
 
-4 is "drastic"? Woah... What about recommended at -10 on the Line Sick Day, then? Not all skis are supposed to be ridden close to center. And -4 is still relatively centered (all things considered, obviously).

Anyway to go back to my previous message, I finally had the Candide 3.0 mounted right in between freestyle and recommended, which is.... -4 (hehe), and I got to try them today in the first powder of the season (15-20"). Absolutely loved them. They float really well (112 underfoot), really responsive, light, etc.
 
13853045:BrawnTrends said:
-4 is "drastic"? Woah... What about recommended at -10 on the Line Sick Day, then? Not all skis are supposed to be ridden close to center. And -4 is still relatively centered (all things considered, obviously).

Anyway to go back to my previous message, I finally had the Candide 3.0 mounted right in between freestyle and recommended, which is.... -4 (hehe), and I got to try them today in the first powder of the season (15-20"). Absolutely loved them. They float really well (112 underfoot), really responsive, light, etc.
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Line Sick Days are recommended at -10??? Holy shit. But yeah, -4 isn't bad at all. That's what all the Kartel series hover around. That's what my Inthaynes are as well, and that's a chargy ski haha.

I think anything -4 and closer is a pretty playful, but you can still charge on a lot of skis and be playful anywhere from -4 to -2. Get any closer on certain skis and ya get a bit squirrelly. Anything farther back than -6 kinda scares me though. Although, I really want to try Moment Governors which are -9.5, and I've wanted to try Line Sick Day 114s... but -10 gee whiz.
 
Yeah for context I’m only 5foot and 102lbs so I went with the vacations (106) instead of the friend (114) because even tho I’m a really aggressive skier with 23 some years under my belt, I know my weight has held me back on previous skis, regardless of these being my first pows (or I guess all mtns as some have pointed out). Whether I made the right decision or not, I’m still hype on em and mounting question is still the same. Going from true center to figuring what’s comfy is the hard part but these opinions are helpful

Im still reading your guys comments tho, I wanted you to know because it’s really helping me solidify where I’m going to mount these planks. After reading I’m def swayed away from true center (thanks for all the details that led me to that) and I’m debating a healthy -2 or -4 and learning slightly closer to -4 as of now
 
13853062:TheSmokinL said:
Yeah for context I’m only 5foot and 102lbs so I went with the vacations (106) instead of the friend (114) because even tho I’m a really aggressive skier with 23 some years under my belt, I know my weight has held me back on previous skis, regardless of these being my first pows (or I guess all mtns as some have pointed out). Whether I made the right decision or not, I’m still hype on em and mounting question is still the same. Going from true center to figuring what’s comfy is the hard part but these opinions are helpful

Im still reading your guys comments tho, I wanted you to know because it’s really helping me solidify where I’m going to mount these planks. After reading I’m def swayed away from true center (thanks for all the details that led me to that) and I’m debating a healthy -2 or -4 and learning slightly closer to -4 as of now
Click to expand...

Go look at 4cm. It's not much. It makes a difference, but it's not much. And yeah, at your size, a 106 pow ski makes great sense. There's a lot of girls I know who shred pow well on skis in the 90mm waist range. 106 will be perfect for your size and preference. If you find they aren't enough, you can always pick up something a little fatter.

My Kartel 106s were mounted at -2.5 and I loved them there for everyday skiing. Sure, I could have gone further back, but unless it was a day where 16"ish + had fallen, I wouldn't really notice a problem. But for those deeper days, I had bigger skis. Except one year I rode the kartels every day. Even on big dumps. There are even some pow days where I take out my 106s cause they get in the pow a little better. Easier to slice through, easier to get face shots;) etc.

youll be fine on the 106s, and if -4 scares you, go -2.5 or -3, or hell, even -2.75 haha. If I was on those skis I would probably mount them at -2.5 just based on my kartels, but idk how different the J skis are

stoked you're trying to move back tho! Once you ski a few days on them and notice how well they carve, the stability, etc, you'll be in love.
 
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