Icelantic keeper vs nomad

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PEJibber31

Member
So I've been scoping these two skis out quite a bit but I've hit some crossroads and need a bit of advice/opinions.

I've been riding 07 Seth vicious' for quite some time now and have loved them but I've finally beaten them to death so it's time for some new rides. I'm an aggressive skier, spend most of my time in crud, trees, and bumps but I also do a small bit of park, and ski quite a bit switch. Also, when all else fails I do enjoy some carving at high speeds down steeps and/or groomers (way back in the day I was in a racing program so sometimes that sneaks out of me). I'm 6'2" and a fluctuating 180#.

So here comes my dilemma. I currently live in Maine and have been shredding Sugarloaf my whole life, but I am moving to Colorado next year so that has put me onto micro skis and such. Since I won't be west coast til next fall but need to pick up the skis soon/this season I won't be able to demo these guys. Since my Seth's are pre-rocker I'm fairly ignorant to how early rise skis feel on harder pack conditions. So basically my questions come down to these quick points:

1) which ski would I prefer in the bumps/trees since I would stick to the 180ish length. Would the keepers be too sluggish?

2) if I went with the nomads (which I am leaning towards), would I really regret not picking up an everyday ski with no early rise tip?

3) how do these models perform at higher speeds in bowls, chutes, etc?

Important side note: I will be picking up some playful über rockered skis (probably hellbents) within a year as well so the skis I'm picking up now will act as an average conditions ski with a lot of days and potential groomer days. They would probably travel with me home to the east as well, however this isn't too much of a concern for me.
 
If you pick up some decicated pow skis, I would say go nomad for sure, it will fit perfectly into the description you provided. If you do go with the nomad, i would go with the OG stiffer version rather than the softer one.
 
Thanks, I'm definitely leaning that way for sure. My only reservation has been I've had multiple friends tell me I'd regret not going with something at least slightly rockered. I know next year they're sporting a rockered nomad but I'm looking to get something for the rest of the season and as weak as it sounds I just like this seasons top sheets a lot.
 
Yeah a hellbent keeper quiver seems like alot of overlap. nomads would be better for sure if those are the only two your looking at.
 
Yeah I think that would end up being my quiver for awhile since I have to stock up on bc gear. Hellbent was just an example I'm looking at a few other options as well but I have more time to figure those out.
 
Note that the helbent is a noodle and the nomad/keepers isn't/aren't. What kind of skiing do you want to do/ what skis have you liked/ anything else you think is relevant.
 
while rocker is fun on all types of skis, it isn't a necessity for all mountain skis and you will have plenty of rocker with your bents. My all mountain skis right now don't have rocker and I don't mind even after demoing many all mountain/park skis that have rocker incorporated. I say go for it, the tophseets on this seasons are dope as well!
 
I have a decent amount of experience on the nomad SFTs and a bit of time of the normal stiff ones though. Never ridden the keepers. But I'm 5'5" and 120lbs d rode the 168s, so maybe what I think about the SFTs will transfer to you and the stiffer ones, unless you like soft skis...

But I found them (the SFTs) to carve great, switch and forward. Great on groomers overall, no chatter really. The flex was great for me, nice and poppy and never felt unstable. Super fun for nollies and such. I'm not much of a big mountain/pow skier coming from NJ (skied these for 3 days in loveland co), but I did get some fresh snow with them and didn't really have a problem floating. They're decently fat. Never tried them in the park. So maybe the stiffer ones would be good for you. I though they were great skis when riding them.

If I lived in colorado I'd definitely consider them as an every day pair/probably own a pair by now.

At one point I rented JJs, the rocker and so shorter running length made it a little easier to throw around in trees, but the soft nomads were fine going through tracked out tree runs with a bit of fresh snow left. I'd be totally fine with not having a rockered every day ski.
 
I have a decent amount of experience on the nomad SFTs and a bit of time of the normal stiff ones though. Never ridden the keepers. But I'm 5'5" and 120lbs d rode the 168s, so maybe what I think about the SFTs will transfer to you and the stiffer ones, unless you like soft skis...

But I found them (the SFTs) to carve great, switch and forward. Great on groomers overall, no chatter really. The flex was great for me, nice and poppy and never felt unstable. Super fun for nollies and such. I'm not much of a big mountain/pow skier coming from NJ (skied these for 3 days in loveland co), but I did get some fresh snow with them and didn't really have a problem floating. They're decently fat. Never tried them in the park. So maybe the stiffer ones would be good for you. I though they were great skis when riding them.

If I lived in colorado I'd definitely consider them as an every day pair/probably own a pair by now.

At one point I rented JJs, the rocker and so shorter running length made it a little easier to throw around in trees, but the soft nomads were fine going through tracked out tree runs with a bit of fresh snow left. I'd be totally fine with not having a rockered every day ski.
 
Yeah I know about the softness with the hellbents, that's why I'd like a stiffer ski as my most-conditions ski, and then a soft playful pow ski for buttering and jibbing. I might go with pollards opus but I should be able to demo those options down the road. Hell, I might even check out the Gypsy for my pow skis, but it really does sound like the nomad is exactly what I'm looking for. I like the durability as well, seeing as I've beaten the hell out of my Seth's and just kept ptexing and fixin them up. Thanks for the help, these responses have been very helpful!
 
I am 5'8" 160 and I ski a 189 Keeper most days. Not the stiffest ski, but not a pussy either. Smaller rocker profile than a lot of similar skis. Carves better than some of my skis under 100 in the waste. Engages turns really well and releases really well when it needs to. I would stay away from it if you plan on skiing park, or skiing switch a lot. For your size go with the 189. If I were you I would get Keepers as an all mountain/new snow ski and something else for park or whatever you do. My favorite thing about it is I can ski it all day from touring too groomer laps without problems.
 
So I'm almost embaraassed to post this but here is the inevitable "where to mount" post. As I previously stated I've been riding traditional cambered vicious' at around a +4 (might actually be a + 5) for a few years and really dig the mounting when skiing switch but I ski a lot of bumps and trees so I don't want to mount too far forward. Anyone currently riding nomads have any input on their (icelantic's) suggested mount?
 
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