Gonna buy a pow ski, need help determining whats too wide.

Nippletron

Nippletron

Member
Hi. I'm 5'11'' and a half, I weigh 155, ski the Swiss and French Alps, and I'm looking for a pow ski. I already own some Line Prophets 98 from 2012/2013. I am an advanced skier, I ski fast and aggressive, charging, however I do like to pull quick, small turns.

I was opting for skis at 116-120 however I realise now that I don't get much backcountry skiing down where I am and its more just straying far off piste in resorts looking for pow such as in Val D'isere, Verbier and Portes de Soleil. So my question is if it just more reasonable to go for a ski in the 112-116 area so I don't sacrifice much on piste performance?

I was first thinking about Pettitor, Bent Chetler, Bibby Pro. But I am now thinking about the ON3P Jeffreys or Billy Goats (If I can find them here in Switz), Armada Norwalk (people dont like Armada skis so much here I've realised but surely the Norwalks are a great all mountain pow ski?) and I absolutely love the look of the Moment Deathwishes, they look like great skis with the mini cambers with such a sick graphic. On that note, I've handled my 98s in some pretty deep pow pretty well so surely I will be able to float and ski great on 112s in deep pow right? So ye, don't know if I should bother going for 120s and sacrificing piste performance when I can handle 112s in deep pow just as well + that I ski resort pow most of the time?

Secondly, what height should I be getting? I'm pretty light at 155 for my height (I'm 20) so I'm thinking in the 189+ area is a no go as I won't be able to ski as nicely on them as if I were to get 185s, etc. So are 189/190 skis still good? Or should I just get 185s/186s? And what is considered too short? I'm thinking anything below 184 right?

TL;DR : Want pow skis, thinking of 112-116s instead of 120s since I don't want to lose that much on piste performance and I only ski resort pow (not extreme backcountry). Also what height, is 190 too high and 184 too short for me?

Thank you for your help, sorry for the long post but I do mad research before I purchase anything and I highly enjoy skiing.
 
i would go on3p for sure. i have been riding a pair of caylors for 4 seasons and they handle any conditions great. they excel in pow, but they can rail turns on groomers. the only place they arent great is moguls but thats not a big deal imo, they handle great everywhere.

also if you have something 98 underfoot, that is wide enough to handle all mountain conditions, so i would look for a dedicated pow ski for the deep days. something 112 underfoot would still kinda be all mountain, you should definitely look wider than that

i would check out the Jeffery 122 or the 114 if you really dont want to go up to 120. they make a 186 and a 191 next year, so either of those would work depending on how long you like your skis
 
Yes I've heard nothing but praise for ON3P. Not that common here in Europe and I'm sure if I find them they will probably be expensive but not by that great of a margin. Any difference you can tell me of between the Billy Goats and the Jeffreys apart from the underfoot width?

And true, I only emphasize 112 because I love the look and design of the Deathwishes, which come in 112 haha, but that should not dictate my choice. I consider myself a pretty good skier and I read a good point that if that's the case you can handle lower width skis in pow fine. Maybe I'll feel 120 Bent Chetlers are more floaty than 114 Jeffreys, but I'll still be able to shred the Jeffreys fine in deep pow just as I would the Chetlers. Maybe I have to demo a pair of each just to see. I just don't want to sacrifice too much on piste quality as I am a resort skier after all.

But would you say 190 is fine for me? I can handle them well enough to my skiing capabilities at 155lbs? I ask this as I'm currently skiing on 179s and 190 is quite a big step up. Definitely keep my eyes out for ON3Ps
 
I ski my bentchetlers in bounds all the time. They do great on the groomers for 123mm in the waist. They kill it in crud, and are just the right flex. I highly recommend them. Especially for your situation.
 
Pay attention to the rocker profile in addition to the waist measurement. The pettitor, for example, (like most the skis you listed) still has a fair amount of camber underfoot, so they will handle much better on the groomers back to the lift than an all-rocker ski.The one disadvantage of the pettitor is that it comes in only a 179 and 189. Ideally, you'd want something in between there (again, depends on the amount of rocker or camber) but go longer if you want to change more and shorter if you want to make quicker turns
 
As long as you like your Prophets, keep those and go fat for a second ski. Look out for deals on the current Bent Chetler, it skis well enough outside of deep powder and you'll be able to handle the 192.
 
i think the automatic 117 is a great versatile pow ski, its fairly soft so it'll be fun for ya since youre light, its still pretty stable at speed too
 
I can't go wrong with the automatics or the bent chetlers, I guess I'm looking for something not too soft as I ski aggressive and fast and I don't pull many tricks on kickers, landing switch etc. But I do love to cliff drop wherever I can.

Only thing I'm uncertain of is the height. Charge with longer skis I know but I don't want to go too big so I can't manage them to my liking. So I think I'm looking for something in the 185-189 region hence why I'm looking at the Pettitors at 189 , not too long so I can't handle them but long enough so I can be more stable etc.at high speeds. Would 185 be too short? That'd the size bent chetlers and I think jeffreys come in if I am to consider getting a lower waist sized ski. I'm like 181ish myself. And weigh 70 kilos, maybe more come next season too.

I mean at the moment I can handle my 79s really well in some pretty deep Poe, albeit I don't go as fast as I would with pow skis, but I can still shred pretty hard with smaller skis than me at 98 width.

I am greatly interested in next years 186 Bibby Pros, which seem like a versatile pow ski known for its charging capabulties
 
I was kind of in the same boat as you, I ski a 100mm ski as my everyday ski buy wanted a pow ski. Ended up getting 191 ON3P Billy Goat tour's. I love them so much, but my roommate bought 192 Bent Chetler's and i gotta say, i like them a lot as well.
 
Oh that changes things, So standing up against a wall they measure at 189 but with a measuring tape from tip to tail they measure at 193? Which other ski brands measure like this? Ie do the 186 Bibbys measure 189/190?
 
Are the Billy Goats more of a touring ski then? So I shouldn't opt for these if I'm not gonna be touring ? Ie the Jeffrey's (114)
 
If you think your not really gona tour much, and you want more of a "do it all jibby kinda ski" the jeffrey 114 would be sick, also next year they will have the jeffrey in 122 as well which is sorta replacing the Caylor. My BG's are deff. more of a directional ski, even though they ski switch pretty well in everything except super deep ass pow.
 
If you think your not really gona tour much, and you want more of a "do it all jibby kinda ski" the jeffrey 114 would be sick, also next year they will have the jeffrey in 122 as well which is sorta replacing the Caylor. My BG's are deff. more of a directional ski, even though they ski switch pretty well in everything except super deep ass pow.
 
Oh sweet so that means the 190s straight measure tape to 188. This is good to know, thanks for bringing this to my attention. I read somewhere that ON3P publish their measurements different to other companies but I did not know the same for other ski brands. Now I am not too afraid of opting for 190 skis anymore , thanks for letting me know. Just got to watch out for what brands do straight measure publications and vice versa. What about your Bents? I'm looking at either the Bents or the Bibby Pros now I believe
 
I have never actually measured my bents oddly enough lol. I can measure and report back though. But I think you will be able to handle the 192. I am the same size and style and I love mine.
 
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