Line sir francis bacon 2020 - Length talk

[AirFops]

Hey My fellow skibums. I desperately need your great wisdom.

I'm looking for some new skis. I'm 183 cm and weigh 78 kgs. I would class my self as an advanced skiier. I tend to ski about 35% piste, 50 % off-piste and 15 % park. I love to play/jibb on my skis and do butters, jump/spin and so forth. I also really like to ski trees and moguls.

I think the new 2020 line SFB seems like a good fit for me. I've tried the nordica enforcer 110 and black crows atris last season and while both these skis were fun and great skis, I thought they were too stiff to press for manuals and butters. I'd much rather sacrifize some stability for more playfulness!

You think I should go for the SFB? Anyone tried it? Should i go for 190 or 184 cm? Feel like moguls and swing weight would be negatively impacted by the 190 cm, but on the other hand it would offer more stability? Any other skis you would recommend? (Arv 106, k2 marksman, icelantic nomad 105, Bent chetler 100 etc)

All answers/opinions are greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance.

 

[shin-bang]

Copy and paste from another thread cus I’m too lazy

“So got last years sfb for a steal a couple months ago. I rode them for the first time today, riding the 190s mounted with pivot 18s, 130 flex boot. I ride aggressive all mountain and like to get air. I’m 6’2, 200lbs

first impressions: coming directly off my Caylors, the sfb was soooo fun. Super poppy. Literally getting air out of high speed carves. Super nimble. Boosting off EVERYTHING. The tip shape allowed me to bust through crud no problem. Didn’t really get any deflections. Ski seemed torsionally stiff as well. Only real interesting thing was the flex. The tails seem way soft to me, while the noses seem pretty stiff??? Like I did some mad wheelies and tail butters that I normally would not have been able to do. Switch over to nose butters and presses, I got nothing. Pretty stiff. Maybe it’s just my crappy nose butter form who knows. That being said, I loved the way they rode. Super light weight, easy to rip around. Great all mtn ski so far. I’m just worried about durability in the long run. Thin full wrap edges, semi cap type construction in the tips. Haven’t logged a ton of hours on em, but these were my impressions. We’ll see how it goes!”

 

[shin-bang]

Also, I’m not really a line kind of dude, so I have not kept up on whether they have changed much on the ski from last years model

 

[AirFops]

According to the rooftopbox review and blister review of this 2020 variant of the bacon, it is closer to the first iteration of the SFB (like before 2015). Much softer in tip and tail with now 108 mm under foot. The 2nd generation (2015-2019) is significantly stiffer which is the one you describe.

 

[SavageBiff]

According to the rooftopbox review and blister review of this 2020 variant of the bacon, it is closer to the first iteration of the SFB (like before 2015). Much softer in tip and tail with now 108 mm under foot. The 2nd generation (2015-2019) is significantly stiffer which is the one you describe.

^this

3 days on bacon ,1 day 2ft pow , 1 day 6” , 1 day 3” few days of chop and groomer

as far as the other guy saying stiff tips , uh no , not for me , I’m 6’1 200 , and if I don’t land like a blader I’ll manual or nose butter like crazy , already faced myself twice ejecting while landing 5s

in chop they get knocked around I mean cmon no techs gonna make a ski that light a crud buster but they’re sturdy nuff a strong skier can “play” hard, not charge but hopefully ya get the idea

powder- for me the 190s are sooo surfy in pow , swerve , slash and pivot on a dime

Length- they measure and ski shorter ,they are very light , the 184s are considerably below my head at 6’1

that said , for play they are great , however I feel I personally shoulda went with woodsmans

 

[Cade2]

184 if you want to be playful. I'm 6'1 and have the previous gen Bacon's In a 184 and they r very playful

 

[SavageBiff]

They’re still very playful in the 190 , they ski very short , lotta rocker in the tail and tip and they measure short anyway

 

[AirFops]

^this

3 days on bacon ,1 day 2ft pow , 1 day 6” , 1 day 3” few days of chop and groomer

as far as the other guy saying stiff tips , uh no , not for me , I’m 6’1 200 , and if I don’t land like a blader I’ll manual or nose butter like crazy , already faced myself twice ejecting while landing 5s

in chop they get knocked around I mean cmon no techs gonna make a ski that light a crud buster but they’re sturdy nuff a strong skier can “play” hard, not charge but hopefully ya get the idea

powder- for me the 190s are sooo surfy in pow , swerve , slash and pivot on a dime

Length- they measure and ski shorter ,they are very light , the 184s are considerably below my head at 6’1

that said , for play they are great , however I feel I personally shoulda went with woodsmans

Thank for your answer my man. Great stuff. Yeah I get what you mean with the crud. I'm not looking for a crud killer. I usually just kill speed where I can and then jump my way through the patches.

Would be dope if you could give some more of your experience with the 190 length (So torn lol)

- Like I really like a nimble ski when I skii trees and moguls. Don't want to feel like my tail gets stuck when I want to pivot for the next turn. However since the SFB har so short turn radius I feel like that will compensate for that with 190 cm. Besides because of the sphere form there shouldn't be any "hooky" feel?

- I also like to quick get a 360 or 540 out in small jumps and long skis tend to feel like they drag in the air. Because of the big shovel I feel like that would also add to that draggy feel. How did this feel for you? Like the spin-weight on the 190 cm?

- How were they to butter with? Manual/presses? (Shouldn't be so easy to do a downhill straight manual because of the sphere form lol, but getting a quick butter 3 around should be great)

 

[AirFops]

Thanks for your answers as well as my dudes. So torn though lol. Leaning towards the 190. However, I managed to sign up for a ski test next week and hopefully I can try both lenghs there.

 

[SavageBiff]

Thank for your answer my man. Great stuff. Yeah I get what you mean with the crud. I'm not looking for a crud killer. I usually just kill speed where I can and then jump my way through the patches.

Would be dope if you could give some more of your experience with the 190 length (So torn lol)

- Like I really like a nimble ski when I skii trees and moguls. Don't want to feel like my tail gets stuck when I want to pivot for the next turn. However since the SFB har so short turn radius I feel like that will compensate for that with 190 cm. Besides because of the sphere form there shouldn't be any "hooky" feel?

- I also like to quick get a 360 or 540 out in small jumps and long skis tend to feel like they drag in the air. Because of the big shovel I feel like that would also add to that draggy feel. How did this feel for you? Like the spin-weight on the 190 cm?

- How were they to butter with? Manual/presses? (Shouldn't be so easy to do a downhill straight manual because of the sphere form lol, but getting a quick butter 3 around should be great)

The 184 is def gonna ski easier and release tails easier but there’s so much rocker , it’s basically center mount so not much pressure on tips or tails they are so easy to release , pivot real fast

do not hook at all , and I’m new to pow so if your advanced or better you’ll find them real easy

Spinning , at 190 with those tips it’s a lotta ski , for me anyway , I feel like I’m spinning in slo mo compared to my other skis , and takes more effort , if I’m backseat at all I’ll manual and butter sideways and wash out, fall

for presses idk I learned to nose/tail butter3 last year , never did a “stalled press” , however last year I was just letting my tips push thru snow during butters there was no bending of the tips , I can bend these during butters , could probably snap em

Straight manual , really fun and surfy don’t seem to wanna slide , I think they wash out on me on spins cause I’m not landing well

if I could do it over , hard to say prob 190s I like a lot of ski in front of me and at 184 -3cm there wouldn’t be much there , I imagine the 184 would feel extremely rapid

 

[patagonialuke]

Thanks for your answers as well as my dudes. So torn though lol. Leaning towards the 190. However, I managed to sign up for a ski test next week and hopefully I can try both lenghs there.

What skis have you used in the past, and in what lengths? Did any of them feel particularly long or short?

I feel like you could go 190 since the new SFB is so light, pretty soft, and has a lot of rocker, but if you haven't been skiing anything close to that long, then it might make sense to go 184. But I wouldn't be worried about the swing weight — I've spent a lot of time on the 184 and it feels extremely light in the air, despite its fat tips and tails.

 

[AirFops]

What skis have you used in the past, and in what lengths? Did any of them feel particularly long or short?

I feel like you could go 190 since the new SFB is so light, pretty soft, and has a lot of rocker, but if you haven't been skiing anything close to that long, then it might make sense to go 184. But I wouldn't be worried about the swing weight — I've spent a lot of time on the 184 and it feels extremely light in the air, despite its fat tips and tails.

Hey luke, love yours and the blister crew reviews. Gotta say it feels pretty cool to get your opinion on the bacon since it was yours (and twig here on newschoolers) review that made me so interested in the ski. I'm leaning towards the 190 cm as you and many others suggest. But I can't help to think I would have more fun on the 184 in both moguls and jumps. So torn lol. Hopefully I'll get to ski both variants next weekend at my local ski shop test and that will settle it.

As I've mentioned above I've tried the black crow atris and enforcer 110 last season. Before that I've mainly rided park skis that have been about the same length as me, lastly K2 (2011) revival in 179 cm. I tried the enforcer 110 (2018/19) in 185 cm and I tried the atris (2018/19) both in 184 and 189 cm. I liked the atris better of theses skis since they were more playful. But no where enough as playful for what I want. Sure they were quite nice in crud and high speed on groomers. But I'd much rather have more playfulness instead of the stability that those two offered. Regarding the length of atris, the 189 only felt better than the 184. It was much better in powder and swing weight and feel of the ski was pretty much the same to the 184 (The 184 still felt heavy to spin with compared to my park skis, and the noses was pretty stiff so I had to work very hard to pull of butters which is why I want something softer, lighter like the SFB).

Could you give your opinion on the bacons in moguls as well? I knew there is a sub headline in your review on blister. But I'd be very grateful for an elaboration? Do the big nose hook into moguls? Easy to maintain balance? The short turn radius works? Think the 190 cm would be worse compared to the 184 cm there since it will be quite some tail behind me?

 

[DrZoidberg]

I'm like 5'5" and I have 178s, but the 2018s not the 2020s which are different somehow? I ride 171 Magnus as park skis.

They're great skis though. Super light, super fun to ski groomed snow with the tight turn radius. They're very compliant. They're not race skis of course, but I've gone pretty fast over not perfectly groomed snow without exploding. They definitely want to chatter and bounce a high speed on edge while hooked into a deep turn if the ground isn't perfect. I think they ski a bit short due to how compliant they are, the rocker and how the mount is like -2cm or something. I don't find them tedious to spin or press. I like them in trees and spots where quick maneuvers are needed.

 

[DrZoidberg]

I'm like 5'5" and I have 178s, but the 2018s not the 2020s which are different somehow? I ride 171 Magnus as park skis.

They're great skis though. Super light, super fun to ski groomed snow with the tight turn radius. They're very compliant. They're not race skis of course, but I've gone pretty fast over not perfectly groomed snow without exploding. They definitely want to chatter and bounce a high speed on edge while hooked into a deep turn if the ground isn't perfect. I think they ski a bit short due to how compliant they are, the rocker and how the mount is like -2cm or something. I don't find them tedious to spin or press. I like them in trees and spots where quick maneuvers are needed.

 

[patagonialuke]

Hey luke, love yours and the blister crew reviews. Gotta say it feels pretty cool to get your opinion on the bacon since it was yours (and twig here on newschoolers) review that made me so interested in the ski. I'm leaning towards the 190 cm as you and many others suggest. But I can't help to think I would have more fun on the 184 in both moguls and jumps. So torn lol. Hopefully I'll get to ski both variants next weekend at my local ski shop test and that will settle it.

As I've mentioned above I've tried the black crow atris and enforcer 110 last season. Before that I've mainly rided park skis that have been about the same length as me, lastly K2 (2011) revival in 179 cm. I tried the enforcer 110 (2018/19) in 185 cm and I tried the atris (2018/19) both in 184 and 189 cm. I liked the atris better of theses skis since they were more playful. But no where enough as playful for what I want. Sure they were quite nice in crud and high speed on groomers. But I'd much rather have more playfulness instead of the stability that those two offered. Regarding the length of atris, the 189 only felt better than the 184. It was much better in powder and swing weight and feel of the ski was pretty much the same to the 184 (The 184 still felt heavy to spin with compared to my park skis, and the noses was pretty stiff so I had to work very hard to pull of butters which is why I want something softer, lighter like the SFB).

Could you give your opinion on the bacons in moguls as well? I knew there is a sub headline in your review on blister. But I'd be very grateful for an elaboration? Do the big nose hook into moguls? Easy to maintain balance? The short turn radius works? Think the 190 cm would be worse compared to the 184 cm there since it will be quite some tail behind me?

Gotcha, in that case, I think I'd recommend the 190. It's so much lighter and softer than the Atris, and I think it'll give you much more playfulness without totally folding up on you at speed (but it obviously won't be as stable as the Atris).

And I love the Bacon in moguls. While it has really wide tips and tails, I do think the convexity at the ends helps when it comes to keeping them from feeling hooky ("hooky" never came to mind while skiing that ski). And then the ski also has a lot of rocker and fairly soft tails, so it doesn't feel like, say, the Blizzard Rustler 10, which also has minimal taper, but much stiffer tails that do sometimes feel like they get caught up in bumps. I think the SFB has a pretty big sweet spot and I find it easy to stay balanced on it in bumps, but you will probably find yourself skiing bumps a bit more centered than you can on the Atris. As for the short radius, I never really noticed it in bumps, probably because the ski is still so easy to pivot. All in all, if you were relatively ok with the 189 Atris in bumps, I think the 190 SFB will not be any more difficult, and it'll likely be easier.

 

[AirFops]

Gotcha, in that case, I think I'd recommend the 190. It's so much lighter and softer than the Atris, and I think it'll give you much more playfulness without totally folding up on you at speed (but it obviously won't be as stable as the Atris).

And I love the Bacon in moguls. While it has really wide tips and tails, I do think the convexity at the ends helps when it comes to keeping them from feeling hooky ("hooky" never came to mind while skiing that ski). And then the ski also has a lot of rocker and fairly soft tails, so it doesn't feel like, say, the Blizzard Rustler 10, which also has minimal taper, but much stiffer tails that do sometimes feel like they get caught up in bumps. I think the SFB has a pretty big sweet spot and I find it easy to stay balanced on it in bumps, but you will probably find yourself skiing bumps a bit more centered than you can on the Atris. As for the short radius, I never really noticed it in bumps, probably because the ski is still so easy to pivot. All in all, if you were relatively ok with the 189 Atris in bumps, I think the 190 SFB will not be any more difficult, and it'll likely be easier.

Cheers Luke. Awesome stuff. I got try the 184 variant for about 20 rides this weekend at my local mountain (Åre, Sweden).Unfortunately I didn't get try the 190 but I REALLY liked the 184. It was so light and nimble and I loved the softer flex in the tip and tail. Was so fun to butter, nollie and spin. As you said mogul skiing was great. Didn't have any hooky feel at all. On groomers it was so much fun with the short turn radius. However as expected in crud and really bumpy, icey grommers and it was kinda messy. But still fun if I skied with finesse and try to jump on patches and kill speed in soft parts.

I have now ordered the 190 cm variant and I couldn't be happier!

 

[patagonialuke]

Cheers Luke. Awesome stuff. I got try the 184 variant for about 20 rides this weekend at my local mountain (Åre, Sweden).Unfortunately I didn't get try the 190 but I REALLY liked the 184. It was so light and nimble and I loved the softer flex in the tip and tail. Was so fun to butter, nollie and spin. As you said mogul skiing was great. Didn't have any hooky feel at all. On groomers it was so much fun with the short turn radius. However as expected in crud and really bumpy, icey grommers and it was kinda messy. But still fun if I skied with finesse and try to jump on patches and kill speed in soft parts.

I have now ordered the 190 cm variant and I couldn't be happier!

Sick! Your description sounds pretty spot-on. Such a fun ski.

 

[dylansiggers]

I'm 6'2 and love the 184! Short for stunting wide for powing

 

[sheddd]

I'm 5'9 165lb and went with the 176; squirrely but fun! Not the best skiing, but I had a ball last week in some shallow powder

**This post was edited on Dec 16th 2019 at 1:28:24pm

 

[SavageBiff]

I'm 5'9 165lb and went with the 176; squirrely but fun! Not the best skiing, but I had a ball last week in some shallow powder

**This post was edited on Dec 16th 2019 at 1:28:24pm

They don’t feel short ?

they measure short , I’m 185 cm , and my 190 bacns are shorter than I

 

[sheddd]

They don’t feel short ?

they measure short , I’m 185 cm , and my 190 bacns are shorter than I

They do, but I usually travel with two pair and I like the length I got for me; they are maybe 1/2cm taller than me.

 

[AirFops]

I'm 6'2 and love the 184! Short for stunting wide for powing

Yo Dylan. I follow you on Instagram and you really perform some crazy stunts indeed. Cool of you go check in here! However I've decided for the 190 but now if I cant't copy your tricks I can always blame it on lenght of the ski lol

 

[dylansiggers]

Yo Dylan. I follow you on Instagram and you really perform some crazy stunts indeed. Cool of you go check in here! However I've decided for the 190 but now if I cant't copy your tricks I can always blame it on lenght of the ski lol

lol perfect, hope you like em!

 

[WisconsinBadger4]

I have now ordered the 190 cm variant and I couldn't be happier!

Sounds like you were pretty stoked about the 184s, are you glad you went with the 190s now that you’ve skied both?

 

[sheddd]

I love the (now last year's) SFB; tried the new one at blister this year and don't like it as much; no convex and stiffer. I have a really tired 176 which I think is sooo good at low angle pow in tight trees; damaged it a couple days ago and ordered the last '22 184 I could find on the web. Sorry to see this ski get discontinued; I spend more time on it than any other ski I have.