well as for why you should choose the anthems, they're going to help you with learning corks. the elliptical sidecut lets you set your carves really well coming off the lip. as for rails and such, center mount is pretty much where its at (in my opinion). having the extra width underfoot is also definitely a plus. i'm 5'9", 155 and just took my 178s out to utah, where i had no problem with them. it was only in powder that was more than waist deep that i started to wish i had a wider ski. it was also wide enough to be effective on bc kickers, etc. the butter zones make the ski super fun, and if you have the opportunity to try out a pair, you definitely should.