Help an autistic man sort out his quiver (+k)

[xxACIDTRIPxx]

Next year I’m gonna be skiing for a few years on a bit of a round the world trip,

but I can really only take two skis with me.

I’m trying to think about the best way to go about it.....

I’m thinking a big mtn/touring/pow ski:

wildcat tour 116 190/184 with cast

(would 190 be too big for more technical terrain? 184 too small for deep days?)

and something a little bit more chill for inbounds/low tide days:

like a Jeffery 108 184

That is a pretty versatile setup I feel for a wide range of conditions. I don’t ski park and I hate skis that are mounted super back, I don’t like being locked into turns super hard. I’ve got some wildcat 184s mounted pretty far forward which I think are the best ski ever.

my stats :

6’1 90kg

If anyone has any suggestions I’d appreciate it!

 

[Hamez]

If youre dead set on 2 skis 96/102 jeffery or wildcat 101 and sego condor 108, icelantic 105 lite, armada whitewalker or arvjj116UL or wildcat tour could be good.

seems pointless having jeffery 108 and a pow ski when the jeffery 108 is just as capable at skiing pow, unless youre going to japan.

or

if youre travelling about a bit just go for a 1 ski quiver with wildcat 108 or the wildcat 108 tour or jeffery 108 with the 50/50 layup and throw a cast system on there. Travelling about with multiple skis sucks.

 

[MPoub]

when the jeffery 108 is just as capable at skiing pow

I second this. On most days, a 108 ski is going to perform just as nice in my opinion (im 6'1, about 195 lbs).

To be fair, the most powder I've skied was in Vermont (ice coast) and was about 6-7 inches.

Also traveling with one set of skis is already a pain, why double that?

 

[clorox]

If you're set on 2 skis I'd go in the 90mm range for the inbounds ski. I always feel so much more nimble skiing trees or going fast than on something around 105+. My 90mm range is usually filled with a park ski but Vishnu Wet + is currently my favorite ski for bombing moguls and trees. I've skied thigh deep pow with them and not once wished they were wider.

 

[CossackMalone]

Well you say 184 wildcats are your favorite skis ever so I’d base it around that. Could you put the cast settup on those that you currently have and use them as the big mtn/touring skis? At your height and weight you could for sure ride the 190s but if your current 184s are plenty stable there is no need. Are you looking for something that your 184s currently aren’t doing for you?

I really like a two ski quiver of around 105 and around 115 for skiing where it regularly snows. Based on loving the wildcat 116s you could add a wildcat 108 and you will know it will ski similar to what you already know and like. Other good all mtn freeride skis would be volkl revolt 104, Jeffrey 108, Dynastar m-free 108, or 4frnt devastators. There are other good options but knowing you like the moments so much it think wildcat 116 and 108 would be hard to beat.

 

[xxACIDTRIPxx]

Well you say 184 wildcats are your favorite skis ever so I’d base it around that. Could you put the cast settup on those that you currently have and use them as the big mtn/touring skis? At your height and weight you could for sure ride the 190s but if your current 184s are plenty stable there is no need. Are you looking for something that your 184s currently aren’t doing for you?

I really like a two ski quiver of around 105 and around 115 for skiing where it regularly snows. Based on loving the wildcat 116s you could add a wildcat 108 and you will know it will ski similar to what you already know and like. Other good all mtn freeride skis would be volkl revolt 104, Jeffrey 108, Dynastar m-free 108, or 4frnt devastators. There are other good options but knowing you like the moments so much it think wildcat 116 and 108 would be hard to beat.

Yeah I’m happy with 184 cats they go as hard as I need them too (I ride the 108s btw)

I wanted something like the jefferies for something different. I don’t want a quiver full of the same ski....

 

[xxACIDTRIPxx]

If youre dead set on 2 skis 96/102 jeffery or wildcat 101 and sego condor 108, icelantic 105 lite, armada whitewalker or arvjj116UL or wildcat tour could be good.

seems pointless having jeffery 108 and a pow ski when the jeffery 108 is just as capable at skiing pow, unless youre going to japan.

or

if youre travelling about a bit just go for a 1 ski quiver with wildcat 108 or the wildcat 108 tour or jeffery 108 with the 50/50 layup and throw a cast system on there. Travelling about with multiple skis sucks.

So something like

wildcat tour 116 in 184 with CAST

Jeffery 102 low 180 length

would make more sense?

 

[Cade2]

I second this. On most days, a 108 ski is going to perform just as nice in my opinion (im 6'1, about 195 lbs).

To be fair, the most powder I've skied was in Vermont (ice coast) and was about 6-7 inches.

Also traveling with one set of skis is already a pain, why double that?

thats sad lol

 

[Hamez]

So something like

wildcat tour 116 in 184 with CAST

Jeffery 102 low 180 length

would make more sense?

That would make more sense.

The skis would be relatively the same size though since moment skis usually run a few cms shorter than stated 184 actually come in at 182, so if you're feeling confident and like charging maybe push for the 190's wildcat tour. But again, that is a lot of ski to haul up hill.

If you've already got the 108 why not just keep that, either get a specific touring ski with touring bindings, the whitewalker, JJUL, 4frnt and Jskis have got some decent looking touring skis, blackcrows as well.

Or just use the wildcat 108 as your pow and touring ski and then get like a jeffery 96 or 102 or nomand 95, or arv 96, faction 1.0/2.0 prodigy or CT or the revolt 95.

Honestly though, it really depends how much touring you want to do, how much snow the places you're going to ski get and how much inbounds you want to ski. But if you're travelling around 116mm ski does seem a bit overkill cos the chances of you needing a ski that wide regularly are pretty slim.

Personally I'd go with the wildcat you've got, throw a cast system on it and then get a jeffery 102 or 96 for the inbounds. I'm going to be rocking the wildcat 108 with a cast for everything and then I've got a 90mm park ski.

 

[Twig]

Real question, how much traveling do you actually think you're going to be doing and where? Because especially if you don't ski park, traveling with one set of skis is just so much more chilled than with two. I'm very fortunate that because of doing Roofbox Reviews, I have a pretty large quiver every season. But I almost never carry more than one pair of skis with me because it sucks so bad when you're moving around a city or even getting to your hotel in resort.

I would be tempted to say go just for something around 186cm, 106-110mm underfoot and put CAST on them. It won't be the lightest setup, but it will do just about everything. Jeffrey 108 seems like the perfect choice really if you want a change from the Wildcat 108. At 90kg you shouldn't have any issues handling them. Other options off the top of my head: Sego Big Horn 106 (187), Armada ARV 106 (188).

 

[xxACIDTRIPxx]

Real question, how much traveling do you actually think you're going to be doing and where? Because especially if you don't ski park, traveling with one set of skis is just so much more chilled than with two. I'm very fortunate that because of doing Roofbox Reviews, I have a pretty large quiver every season. But I almost never carry more than one pair of skis with me because it sucks so bad when you're moving around a city or even getting to your hotel in resort.

I would be tempted to say go just for something around 186cm, 106-110mm underfoot and put CAST on them. It won't be the lightest setup, but it will do just about everything. Jeffrey 108 seems like the perfect choice really if you want a change from the Wildcat 108. At 90kg you shouldn't have any issues handling them. Other options off the top of my head: Sego Big Horn 106 (187), Armada ARV 106 (188).

I’ll be doing seasons at Monte Rosa/euro alps, Montana/NA then a season at Japan over 3 years. So travelling with two pairs doesn’t phase me.

But yeah I am leaning to just going cast with the 184 non tour WC, then maybe going for a smaller wasted ski

 

[WoFIowz]

People might disagree but op if you're gonna bring a 116 ski, why not have your second ski be in the range of 96-102? Just a thought. 96 might sound skinny but with enough rocker, it still performs very well and will also be good on hard pack that is inevitable. For deep days, then bring out the wider ones.

 

[animator]

thats sad lol

Also seems unlikely? I ski the east coast and there’s plenty of powder to be found and I’ve certainly skied more than 6 inches after a storm

 

[Liam_j10]

I second the wildcat 108’s. Theyre my favorite skis too and I bet you’ll be able to use them like 90% of days. Then maybe a light pow ski like the bent chetler for deep days. You could go cast or daymakers on both of them for bc too.

if i was in ur shoes and was only bringing 2 skis I would bring skis that I love to rip inbounds and then suck it up a little for touring

 

[GayWolf420]

get used to skiing something with like a 116 waist or whatever that way your daily driver is a fat ski and you're always ready for the deepness lol

 

[xxACIDTRIPxx]

I second the wildcat 108’s. Theyre my favorite skis too and I bet you’ll be able to use them like 90% of days. Then maybe a light pow ski like the bent chetler for deep days. You could go cast or daymakers on both of them for bc too.

if i was in ur shoes and was only bringing 2 skis I would bring skis that I love to rip inbounds and then suck it up a little for touring

The thing is with the WC108 is that it can pretty much do anything.

So now I’ve just gotta decide between a smaller waisted ski or a pow ski.

 

[Liam_j10]

The thing is with the WC108 is that it can pretty much do anything.

So now I’ve just gotta decide between a smaller waisted ski or a pow ski.

Yeah so ide personally go with a pow ski. For me the firm snow performance and maneuverability of the 108’s is amazing so I wouldnt need a thinner ski.

Plus if you got a touring setup that could include both skis I would rather have a powder ski as a touring option than a thin downhill ski.

 

[xxACIDTRIPxx]

Yeah so ide personally go with a pow ski. For me the firm snow performance and maneuverability of the 108’s is amazing so I wouldnt need a thinner ski.

Plus if you got a touring setup that could include both skis I would rather have a powder ski as a touring option than a thin downhill ski.

Cool thanks for your input.

i might look at the white walker

 

[Twig]

The thing is with the WC108 is that it can pretty much do anything.

So now I’ve just gotta decide between a smaller waisted ski or a pow ski.

For Europe at least, it's very rare to get days you want anything bigger than 108. You're way more likely to be skiing a foot on something quite steep than low angle blower. Correspondingly, for resort days, I often do want something narrower than 108. In winter here I ski around 95-100 for park/all-mountain jibbing, and then something in that 106-108 kinda range for bigger days (in the summer I ride wider skis for park).

For Japan, you probably do want a bigger ski because it's exactly the opposite (low angle, deep snow). It's a tough call.

 

[sidewaysbeater]

As someone who has grown up skiing between the US and Europe, I can agree that you're rarely gonna feel inadequate on a 108. Every now and then there's a season that is fairly epic (think Austria two years ago) but generally I've found that being on skis like my CT 3.0s is perfect.

As for the comments about OP not wanting to haul two skis around, it sounds like they are going to be in places for months on end and only traveling to get between them, so I think the multi-ski quiver is fine. What about a quiver of something like the moment deathwish (112mm) and wildcat 101s? I think the 112 waist width would definitely suffice for pow wherever you are and you're rarely going to feel like you need something fatter and then you can grab something narrower that can charge on the low tide days.

 

[xxACIDTRIPxx]

As someone who has grown up skiing between the US and Europe, I can agree that you're rarely gonna feel inadequate on a 108. Every now and then there's a season that is fairly epic (think Austria two years ago) but generally I've found that being on skis like my CT 3.0s is perfect.

As for the comments about OP not wanting to haul two skis around, it sounds like they are going to be in places for months on end and only traveling to get between them, so I think the multi-ski quiver is fine. What about a quiver of something like the moment deathwish (112mm) and wildcat 101s? I think the 112 waist width would definitely suffice for pow wherever you are and you're rarely going to feel like you need something fatter and then you can grab something narrower that can charge on the low tide days.

I’ve actually been thinking about the death wish.

Those two skis you recommended would actually be perfect.