Looking for opinions on Powder Skis

C

chontynz

New member
Hey i'm 6'0 200lb pretty advanced level skier, who mostly skis all over NZ and Japan. Im looking into getting a new pair of 2014/15 powder skis, mainly something that can go awesome charging in powder though i do like to do a few cliff drops and pop of bumps when opportunity arises. This is gonna be my only ski so it will go on groomers occasionaly but I would much rather have an awesome powder experience.

At the moment Im looking at the Rossi Super 7, Armada JJ, Atomic Bent Chetler, Line Mr Pollards Opus and K2 Pettitors and would be interested to hear what you guys have to say about these!
 
If you are looking for this to be the only ski I would look for something that can still carve. So you want to avoid really soft skis like the opus and the pepitor. The Chetler is a good option as is the super 7. I would avoid the jj as it has a really short turn radius. One thing to consider is if you want them to be a twin or not. The super 7 is a directional ski so not made for landing or riding switch.

So is freestyle performance important or are you more after a charging ski. Let is know and we can advise some suitable skis.
 
As a bigger guy who's aiming to ski pretty hard you might not appreciate how soft the skis you listed were. By the sounds of it, a stiffer pow ski will be appreciated. Just let me know whether you'd prefer a directional or bidirectional ski, and I'll try and come up with some suggestions for you.
 
Cheers for the awesome replies. Im not a huge trick person, but I do like popping a few 180s every now and then. That being said when Im out in powder I dont play around and mostly just charge, but like I said do enjoy dropping off the odd cliffs and that. In the past I have skied on a bi-directional ski and found it to be no trouble.Thanks for any help!
 
Any of those skis will be great. I have the Obsethed which are basically the old version of the Pettitor, I use them for everything. They're fine on everything except ice. The Pettitors aren't exactly the same and I haven't demo'd them but they should be similar. Bent Chetlers have more rocker, the tails will wash out more, and they prefer tight short radius turns on groomers. S7s suck on groomers, don't hold an edge, not sure how the Super 7s compare. Haven't tried the others you mentioned.
 
Fair, Im mostly gathering opinions at this stage. Ive heard quite a few good things about the Super 7s, not really sure how they compare to the older S7s
 
Bidirectional:ON3P Jeffrey 114/122 (take your pick on width)

Moment Bibby Pro

Volkl One

Volkl Two

Folsom Gambit

Directional:

ON3P Billy Goat

Moment Governor

Down Countdown 2

Praxis GPO

4FRNT Renegade

Praxis Concept

Praxis Ullr

I'd advise doing research into the suggestions from here, as although they each fall into these two discrete groups, whether a ski is bidirectional or not doesn't really revel a lot about the ski. I've tried to pick skis with different characteristics, each with their own pros and cons so you can find the best fit for yourself.
 
Well there are a ton of great soft snow skis it's finding some that still perform out of the soft which is harder. My favourites are

Directional.

Atomic automatic 117. Amazing skis.

Rossi squad or super 7.

Salomon q 115

Armada tst

For twin there is quite a bit more choice.

Atomic bent Chetler

Salomon rocker 122

Armada jj or bubba

White dot preacher

Line opus magnum or sick days

The new blizzard twins look fun but I have not skied them.

The on3p could be worth a try but I have only skied the jmo which is a great soft snow ski so I would guess the Jeffery would be good too but prob not carve as well as the others I suggested.

From here honestly try to demo as many as you can. See what works for your skiing style.
 
I got a pair of pettitors this year and absolutely love them. I was trying to decide between them and the line opuses, but after demoing both I went with the k2s because the opuses felt too soft. I was actually really surprised by how well they did on groomers. With a 189 you still have a decent sized effective edge and as long as you stay away from ice you shouldn't have too many troubles
 
Thanks for all the reply guys, given me some great things to think about. I am in NZ so some brands are quite hard to get, though that wont stop me once my mind is set!
 
It kind of baffles me how much the blizzard gunsmoke and peacemaker get looked over. No they are not noodles like many of the kids on ns seem to love, but they are super poppy, very stable at speed, carve as well, if not better than any other tail rockered ski at their waist width, and rage through crud. I am 6'0" and 205 lbs, and have skied both the peacemaker and gunsmoke extensively. This year we went on a cat trip with them and skied everything from 10 in of blower to, corn to refrozen granulated, and I never wanted a different ski than the gunsmoke. As long as you stay forward, they are super lively, stable and very easy to ski. If you ski lazy, or are backseat, they will work you a little bit. If it were my decision to make I would go with the gunsmoke without any reservation whatsoever. Btw the gunsmoke is 114 underfoot and floats well for its width, unlike the Cochise and bodacious which ski like narrower skis because of their relative stiffness.
 
If I could only choose one ski in your neck of the woods it would either be a Praxis GPO or a PM Gear Kusala. Both are right in the 120 underfoot range with regular sidecut that will fkn slay pow and still rail turns too. Both turn on a dime, are light but still have backbone and are extremely well built in the US of A.
 
One more ski that came to mind: Surface New Life. Similar to the others, but flat underfoot (no camber) and symmetrical (designed for center mount). Since it has no camber it's better in pow than the others, but not as good on groomers (but can still handle them), and being symmetrical of course it's better for skiing switch.
 
12944171:Sh4dow said:
One more ski that came to mind: Surface New Life. Similar to the others, but flat underfoot (no camber) and symmetrical (designed for center mount). Since it has no camber it's better in pow than the others, but not as good on groomers (but can still handle them), and being symmetrical of course it's better for skiing switch.
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I don't think I could ever convince myself to spend any amount of money on skis with extruded bases.
 
Atomic Bentchetlers are a good, stiff pow ski. They handle my brother's larger size (5'10 240 lbs. ) very well. They can still charge hard but are also good for the occasional cliff and trick.
 
12944767:Scotty_Boy said:
Atomic Bentchetlers are a good, stiff pow ski. They handle my brother's larger size (5'10 240 lbs. ) very well. They can still charge hard but are also good for the occasional cliff and trick.
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This is what I like to hear. I can get a pretty sweet deal on Atomics so have been leaning that way. What size does he ski on?
 
12944827:NZphysio said:
This is what I like to hear. I can get a pretty sweet deal on Atomics so have been leaning that way. What size does he ski on?
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He skis the 183. Which is kinda small for him, especially for a pow ski, considering that pow skis have tons of rocker and longer skis float better.
 
12945015:Scotty_Boy said:
He skis the 183. Which is kinda small for him, especially for a pow ski, considering that pow skis have tons of rocker and longer skis float better.
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interesting to hear. If I do go the Bent Chetler route it will be the 14/15 versions which I believe are 185 and 192 sizes
 
12945127:NZphysio said:
interesting to hear. If I do go the Bent Chetler route it will be the 14/15 versions which I believe are 185 and 192 sizes
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I would suggest the 192 if you are a strong skier. That's what I ride at 5'11" and 155lbs. I love them.
 
Defiantly demo te Chetler to work out size. I'm 5'11 and 175 and ride the 184. The 192 is just too much for tighter trees and chutes. As said before it's a mid stiff ski with loads of rocker so you don't need to be up sizing to get the float. Try them but I would think unless your looking for an all out charging ski (in which case Chetler is not the ski) that the 184 will work best.
 
japan = praxis protests!

13/14 bent chetler 192 should also be a good second option, along with 191 jeffrey 122

you probably could size down to 180s since this is going to be your only ski!
 
12945539:tomPietrowski said:
Defiantly demo te Chetler to work out size. I'm 5'11 and 175 and ride the 184. The 192 is just too much for tighter trees and chutes. As said before it's a mid stiff ski with loads of rocker so you don't need to be up sizing to get the float. Try them but I would think unless your looking for an all out charging ski (in which case Chetler is not the ski) that the 184 will work best.
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I like mine in tighter trees and chutes, but it's all preference. I would Definately suggest a demo of both!
 
12947285:Profahoben_212 said:
I like mine in tighter trees and chutes, but it's all preference. I would Definately suggest a demo of both!
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yeah for sure try both, but certainly in whistler we found most people went for the 184 and we did not sell many 192's. It may be partly to do with thye snow though. Obviuosly in whistler we have wet heavy snow, so having a longer ski does not always help and can somtimes slow you down and if you get snow on the skis it will weigh a tonn.

So for where whistler 184 was the go too size unless the guy was like 6'3 and above or really heavy.
 
12941847:tomPietrowski Directional. Atomic automatic 117. Amazing skis. Salomon q 115 .[/QUOTE said:
have you skied both of these? I'm looking at these two for a pow ski next year.
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12947415:b-kul said:
12941847:tomPietrowski Directional. Atomic automatic 117. Amazing skis. Salomon q 115 .[/QUOTE said:
have you skied both of these? I'm looking at these two for a pow ski next year.
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Yeah Both very good skis. Personally I prefer the automatic. It carves so so well. I used it as my groomer ski quite a bit last season as they hold an edge so well. They are really fun in the trees. Only thing I would like is a slightly stiffer tail.

The salomon is a very stable ski too. Hooks up an edge well but I felt it did not carve quite as well as the atomic. The salomon is slighty stiffer so will be better for a bigger guy. One other thing to mention with the q115 is the largest size so the 188 is slightly stiffer then the smaller models. Its not much but as its the ski the big mnt guys use on the team so its slightly stiffened. Personally I prefer the sidecut on the atomic but if you are a bigger guy the salomon is more stable especially in the tail.

Overall though I love the automatic
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If I was going to be on one ski for the rest of my life it would be the 4frnt Devastator. check out both the 84 and 94 sizes, depends on how chargey you want to get. im 5 11 190 and do just fine on the 84!
 
12947435:tomPietrowski said:
have you skied both of these? I'm looking at these two for a pow ski next year.
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Yeah Both very good skis. Personally I prefer the automatic. It carves so so well. I used it as my groomer ski quite a bit last season as they hold an edge so well. They are really fun in the trees. Only thing I would like is a slightly stiffer tail.

The salomon is a very stable ski too. Hooks up an edge well but I felt it did not carve quite as well as the atomic. The salomon is slighty stiffer so will be better for a bigger guy. One other thing to mention with the q115 is the largest size so the 188 is slightly stiffer then the smaller models. Its not much but as its the ski the big mnt guys use on the team so its slightly stiffened. Personally I prefer the sidecut on the atomic but if you are a bigger guy the salomon is more stable especially in the tail.

Overall though I love the automatic[/QUOTE]

thanks man. i am pretty tall (6'1'' or 6'2'') but pretty light and don't charge very hard. i already have helix's as my groomer/ light pow ski. sounds like i can't really go wrong with either ski.
 
^yeah both could work well for you. I really do prefer the atomic but you may prefer the slightly stiffer feel of te salomon. See if you can demo them both.

Just a reminder too that there are more then one model of the automatic this year. The one you will want to look at is the widest waisted one which is 117mm I believe.
 
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