Help with my Quiver. Need non pow ski.

I ski in Whitefish MT, 44 years old, advanced skier. I prefer to ski in the trees and rarely charge hard on the groomers.

My maprika GPS said that I went 40 mph last year, and that was fast enough for me.

I currently have some Sir Francis Bacons from 2015 I think. They are 108 underfoot. They have been drilled for 3 different sets of bindings and are VERY soft. Fun in the pow and trees, but downright scary on anything hard backed and they wont grip anything. I only ski these early in the season when there are rocks and sticks still exposed.

I have Line Magnus Opus that I ski 90% of the time. These are probably way more pow ski than I need as I ski resort 90% of the time, once in a while I will go out of bounds at the resort, but I am never touring with them.

I recently purchased Line Sakanas and I am hoping that these are my everyday ski for once we have good snow and the trees are safe to ski in.

I am looking for a ski in the 90-100mm underfoot range for the days where the wife wants to ski groomers , its hard packed and choppy, or for when we go night skiing and the snow almost always sucks.

I am strongly considering the Blizzard Bonafide for the times where I want to charge a little harder, or when there is no fresh snow.
 
Lots of twins that would still be fun but charge harder than any of your Line skis with far more grip on harder snow. The Bonifide is a more traditional ski that’s stiffer, less forgiving and really doesn’t come alive till higher speeds. Even something like an Enforcer 93 or the softer flexing 100 would be more fun at lower speeds.

The best option for you would be a more substantial but narrower twin like the Master Blaster, Woodsman 96/Wren 96, ARV 96Ti or the Menace 98(Slicer Factory). All would still be fun at lower speeds on groomers but would charge much harder than any of your current skis when the mood strikes.
 
Even if you don’t ski backwards or in the park, a twin tip tail will release easier from a turn, pivot easier and more playful in general with their symmetrical flex.

The Bonifide is a much more “serious” and far less playful ski than any of your current skis. The twins I mentioned would be in between your current skis and something traditional like the Bonifide.
 
The Sakana's are a fucking dream to cruise on groomers at high speeds, but aren't too hot if you are trying to blast chop and moguls. Try out the Sakana's before you buy anything because it's probably going to be just fine, if not take a look at the Volkl Mantras, or Nordica enforcer series.
 
14066844:NightFantasies said:
The Sakana's are a fucking dream to cruise on groomers at high speeds, but aren't too hot if you are trying to blast chop and moguls. Try out the Sakana's before you buy anything because it's probably going to be just fine, if not take a look at the Volkl Mantras, or Nordica enforcer series.

That was my plan, but I ran across a good deal on some Bonafides. How soft are the Sakanas? My Bacons are noodles, and the Magnum Opus are water skis when I am on anything hard pack. Am I just overthinking things here?

My form isn't the best, and I am working on getting my weight more forward, but the issue I had last year was that I couldn't get either ski to hold an edge on hard pack, to the point where it was scary.
 
14067153:WHITEFISHNATE said:
That was my plan, but I ran across a good deal on some Bonafides. How soft are the Sakanas? My Bacons are noodles, and the Magnum Opus are water skis when I am on anything hard pack. Am I just overthinking things here?

My form isn't the best, and I am working on getting my weight more forward, but the issue I had last year was that I couldn't get either ski to hold an edge on hard pack, to the point where it was scary.

the sakanas are pretty stiff under foot but get a little softer towards the tip, that's what makes them a pretty chattery ski if you are trying to bomb through crud. The upside to this (as well as the ridiculous amount of sidecut they have) is that they are an EXTREMELY lively ski on hard pack, and have totally changed the game for me personally when it comes to skiing groomers. They are soft enough that controlling the shape of your turn at high speeds is effortless, and have enough pop that my first day on them I almost fell over switching to my other edge because I jumped a good 2 feet off the ground without trying.

I haven't skied them on anything bulletproof yet, but as someone who also skis the Bacon's and Opus I know for sure they will do much better as long as the edge is decently sharp (don't go for a race tune though). The Bonafides are the best ski out there if you want to straight line mogul fields, but in order to achieve that they are extremely stiff and heavy making them not the best ski if you just want to cruise groomers.

TL;DR: I'm a huge Line fanboy (what can I say), and the Sakana is probably going to be exactly what you are looking for and you already own it :)
 
14067286:NightFantasies said:
the sakanas are pretty stiff under foot but get a little softer towards the tip, that's what makes them a pretty chattery ski if you are trying to bomb through crud. The upside to this (as well as the ridiculous amount of sidecut they have) is that they are an EXTREMELY lively ski on hard pack, and have totally changed the game for me personally when it comes to skiing groomers. They are soft enough that controlling the shape of your turn at high speeds is effortless, and have enough pop that my first day on them I almost fell over switching to my other edge because I jumped a good 2 feet off the ground without trying.

I haven't skied them on anything bulletproof yet, but as someone who also skis the Bacon's and Opus I know for sure they will do much better as long as the edge is decently sharp (don't go for a race tune though). The Bonafides are the best ski out there if you want to straight line mogul fields, but in order to achieve that they are extremely stiff and heavy making them not the best ski if you just want to cruise groomers.

TL;DR: I'm a huge Line fanboy (what can I say), and the Sakana is probably going to be exactly what you are looking for and you already own it :)

sakana's are very cool

i wanna try them
 
Went to a local ski auction last night and picked up a pair of Blizzard Brahmas with marker bindings for $200. Couldn't pass them up and I figure they should be a good complement to the Sakana and the Magnum Opus.
 
14067723:WHITEFISHNATE said:
Went to a local ski auction last night and picked up a pair of Blizzard Brahmas with marker bindings for $200. Couldn't pass them up and I figure they should be a good complement to the Sakana and the Magnum Opus.

That’s a great deal! Brahma will be more friendly than the Bonafide with better grip on the groomers. Great mogul ski too.
 
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