One ski for park/powder for a big guy?

LC.

LC.

Active member


I've moved to Whistler for the season and can only afford one ski for everything. I need something that's going to be able to float in the deep stuff, cope with chopped up snow, good in the park and carve quite well on the groomed so I can have some fun skiing home. I'm 6'4" and 185 lbs - I won't ski anything under 185, the longer the better really. I've skied on the old black V-Pros for the last three seasons which were awesome all mountain but held me back in the park. I really want to push my park riding this year but for sure I'd rather be riding powder when it dumps, so I need a ski for both.

Here's my shortlist (I haven't actually skied any, just flexed and looked at specs):

4Frnt MSP - I really like the specs and the flex seems what I'm looking for. Bombproof skis from what people have told me too.

ARV - Seemed the softest of all skis I've flexed.

Big Trouble - Seems nice, but the huge twintip makes it seem a lot shorter than others. Questionable edge strength?

Mojo 90 - Nice all round, strong, stiffer than most but would work for me in the park.

Vicious - Too wide for park? Stiffer tail than others, too stiff?

Scratch BC - Too wide for park? Tail seems very stiff. I've been told their edges are very strong though.

Karma - Nice firm flex, maybe too stiff for pure park. Too narrow for big days?

Any help? Informed opinions only please, and I will not ski Line.
 
I like em OK

and you should look into the Liberty SB's for the stuff you named. no idea how they are but I just ordered some
 
The ArVs seem like the obvious choice to me. Vicious and Karma are alternatives.
 
id say mojo 90

msp sucks for park if you ask me, delams fast, flex just seems out of character, and the turning radius blows
 
I dont know about the new Mojo's but the old head twins carved like crazy on the groomers. with added width i would think they would dominate everywhere
 
I agree with the ARV's.

Karma might not be fat enough for your purposes although it's a great ski.
 
I actually agree with JD on this one your best option will be the 185 ARV. The other skis you listed are mostly too stiff to get good in the park on. I'm 6' 200 lbs and I can still ski really fast big mountain on the ARV even though it's so soft because the vertical sidewall saves the day, plus they absolutely kill the park. If you aren't trying to spin to win this year you'd also like the JP Julien, similar flex to the ARV but bigger, 188cm and I think a 104mm waist. The Head Rossi and the 4FRNT are way to stiff to commit to park. The K2 is soft enough but a little heavy. The ARV is super light and skis well despite the flex. Roll with that bro.
 
6'4, 185's....he should be able to get some flex out of a stiff ski. If he wants to put down some carves, soft ARV's will chatter with a big guy laying it out on them i would think
 
Thanks for the input everyone. I really think that the ARV will be way too soft for me out of the park - I couldn't believe how soft it felt in the shop. I'm 185lbs so something slightly stiffer is what I'm aiming towards. Vicious or Scratch BC would work best out of the park probably, but they seem a bit wide for the park and the BC's tail felt the stiffest of anythign I flexed.

Right now I think the MSP fits what I'm looking for best - the flex feels right, it's long and the width seems good. Mojo 90s would be my second choice right now - I can get them for about $300-400 through my shop but we don't sell 4Frnt so those would be $720. I don't want to let price affect my choice too much though, I've spent a hell of a lot of money getting myself set up in Whistler so a few hundred more towards the best possible ski is not too important.

Vicious, why do you not rate the MSP highly? I have read a lot of your posts about equipment and you're one of the few people here who seems to know what you're talking about.
 
As JD and Vicious said, it sounds like the ARV would be the ski. I feel dumb repeating what's already been said but that just seems what fits. 185cm you'd be set...Gotama's would be my second recomendation.
 
Vicious bought a pair of MSP's last year from shaunm1260 which were center mounted, so he didn't like them for all mountain. Now he talks trash about them from one day out on a bad mount.

Careful who you "value opinions of"

MSP's are sick.
 
Get the vicious they can still hold their own in the park, dont be fooled by how wide they are....get the 189 vicious
 
The only thing you are right about is that I bought a pair of 187s from Shawn.

Get a clue what you talk about before opening your mouth.

I've skied the 187 MSP at several different spots and didn't like them at any of the mount points, whether it be center, freeride, or even a bit behind freeride. I wouldn't form an opinion about a ski if I didn't have enough time on it to form an opinion or give a reasonable review.

These are just my thoughts and I realize many people like the MSPs, but get your shit straight before trying to call me out.

Personally, I thought the MSPs skied like crap. The feel underfoot was dead. The edge hold was below average. The pow performance was sub-par. And, the construction (at least last year's) wasn't anything to write home about. It's not an awful ski, but there are plenty of others I would personally rather be on. $700+ is also an awful lot to spend on a ski.

However, I will say that the new 4frnt binders are dope.

That aside, BamBam...you are about my size. I'm an inch shorter and 5# heavier. You'll have no problem powering most of the skis listed here. I think you'll find the ARV too soft. As I originally said, 189 Vicious or 190 Gotama.
 
Gotamas will be too big in the park, I'm sure. The 189 Vicious is a good bit stiffer than the 179, and is what Seth skis lines with, so I can't help feeling it will be too much ski for me in the park.

Right now, it's looking like MSPs or Mojo 90s. The MSP is only $720 Canadian here, the same or cheaper than anything else mentioned. I'll see what deal I can get on the Mojo and that might swing it, they have a pretty similar flex I think and I've heard nothing but good things about the Mojo.
 
The MSP is only 2cm shorter than the 189 Seth and I will assure you, the Vicious will perform better in the park.

Just mount the 189 at like +5 and your $$
 
no kidding!

i'm 6'3" and 170 or so... basically just a shade smaller than you, and i would probably go with Viscous (how the hell do you spell that?) in the 189 if i could only have one set of skis. i no longer get the hookup on K2s, but if i did i would definetly have a pair.

i have a couple pairs of dynastar twintips that i absolutely love for all mountain stuff. they are definetly not for powder though. my pocket rockets (175s) are too short, but aside from that i like them. i was surpised by their groomer and crud chopping capabilities. i brought 4 pairs of skis with me to whistler one time and only used the pocket rockets the entire month i was there.

i'm tall and light, but strong, so this affects my opinions of skis. keep that in mind. oh yea, i also don't really like rails and spend maybe 10% of my time in the park.
 
you forgot the one ski that matters, i no you want somin 185 and ova but consider the 05/06 179 PE, best ski eva.
 
dude neither of those skis ski park for shit your shooting yourself in the foot. The Mojo 90 is way too stiff to even consider skiing park on. 185lbs is not very big. I have 25 pounds on you and have skied every ski on your list in the sizes you're looking at. If you are at all concerned with killing it in the park this year don't buy a stiff ski. The 189 Vicious would kill it for you at like +2 from core center and it won't feel that stiff there. Or what about the 186 Big Trouble that would be perfect have you seen/flexed that yet? Not as wide as the 4FRNT or the K2 so it will be more practical in the park but still big enough to perform big mountain.
 
seconded.

if your gonna mount that far foward why even get the 189?

if you want a ski that is good for pow/park and your big...

189 SV - mount +4 or +5. +4 is almost too far foward on my 189 for powder, and im shorter than you are. And honestly...

why get a 189 and mount it to ski park.

mount in foward enough to get by...but in a place where the ski will actually ski well. SO, pretty much you could have a ski that does great all mountain and ok in the park...or a ski that maybe somewhat better in the park, not too much at that length, but would suck all mountain?

or just ask yourself this....

you moved to whistler to A) ski powder or B) ski park?

IF A, go +3-+5, if B, consider a different set up.
 
also, so you know.

the 190 Gotama is a few cm shorter than the 189 Seth Vicious.

But I would agree, not the best park skis. Throw some AT bindings on them and our good to go.
 
I'm 210 lbs, I can tell you with some confidence that a 185 ArV would be a good one ski quiver for me at reccomended... I still think it's the right ski for the job. It's not a stiff ski, but I really wouldn't trust a shop flex to tell you it's not beef enough for you. If you do get the Vicious, and I agree that it really is a good choice overall as long as it's mounted a fair bit forward of reccomended. Mount +5 as suggested by others.
 
To whoever asked if I came to Whistler to ski powder or park, I came to ski both. Obviously on a powder day I'm going to be in the bowls but if it hasn't snowed for a while, I'll be in the park. I do want to leanr a lot in the park this year so I need something that isn't going to hold me back there. I can only afford one ski so it's going to have to be able to ski both.

The Mojo 90 didn't feel as stiff to me as the Karma or Big Trouble. I was staying with McKeeman when I moved to Whistler and he said he would ski the 90 everywhere.

Big Troubles - they felt pretty stiff to me. How would they work for me in the park? I'm actually selling some Legend Pros to buy whatever ski I get - I might see if I could get the Big Trouble as part of the package instead of the Legends.

Any more experiences with ARVs? I checked them out today again and I'm still not sure if I'd be able to charge hard on them. Any heavier guys used them?

All this is really helping, keep the comments coming.
 
if you want to ski park and pow, and think the 185 ARV is gonna be too small, I would go with the 189 Seth Vicious mounted +5.

it is gonna be the best balance of a ski that can actually charge and still perform in the pipe.

the ARV are sick skis, and it is possible they would be fine for you.

But if you something a little beefier, the SV is sick.

From people who have skied the big trouble...it is kind of like a pocket rocket...so I would stay away at your size. And why get something so skiiny?

seriously. get the SV.
 
I'm 6'3 185, I have last years 187msp's and I'll tell you you will not be disappointed! I love them for park(bomb proof) and after a good dumping the have great float. I mounted them at freeride which is 4cm back from center and they perform great for everything. I ski 75% park and 25% all mountain. Hope this helps!
 
If you're only getting one pair of skis, don't buy fat fuckers like seth vicious! Out of the pow they'd be a pain, especially on groomed piste! Get something thinner like a public enemy or scratch fs, line chronic, troublemaker etc etc! They wont be bad in the deep stuff! Especially the PE.
 
Bambam, let me explain my previous critique of Vicious (the guy, not the ski). The aptly named V-crew, aka sean, vicious, and iggy, have gone into every thread about ski recommendation, and vouched for the K2 and their other (for what ever reason) "favorites", (which implies they think the ski they like is best for everyone) and in the SV case, it's before some of them even skied it. Vicious named himself Vicious before the ski was finished production, take that as you will.

In other words, they don't seem to be subject to input from other members on dif skis because they click on every thread knowing what they want to say.

So, trust their opinions if you want, but they appear narrow minded, and seeing that someone like the aforementioned might affect yours or others $600+ decision pissed me off... and I never chime in on here.
 
i would personally recommend scratch BC. they will be more comfortable to use in the park, and the edges are built to be strong for the park. it will perform in the BC as well.

that being said, the vicious are a nice ski, as are the ARV(but the arv is probably too small for you)
 
hahaha first off...

if you can't see that V-crew is a joke, than you don't have a since of humor.

Ok, and now about the skis.

We vouch for the skis that we feel as the best. We someone asks a question as basic as "pick me a ski" we give our anwser. I know I often ask for people to give more details about what terrain they ski and what they are looking for, etc. If they say they are looking for a park oriented ski, then I may not suggest to SV. if you look around you can see that.

But in our opinions, and yes, we have all skied the ski (vicious did last year as well), it is one of the best skis available for everyday pow/park, IN OUR OPINION. We don't say this is the only ski to consider. Do you hear us talking shit about tons of other skis???

We post, in our opinion, what the best ski in our mind is. How is that subject to input from other members? We say one thing, you say another....ok sounds good. Why are you having your period all over the place over it?

I don't see how us suggesting certain skis is any different from what you are doing. Vicious said the MSP sucked. You said it didn't.....how is that narrow minded? He disagreed with your assessment of the ski, and he feels it is his responsibility to stop someone from spending $600 on a ski that he felt sucked. Why would he want someone to waste their money like that?

The stupidity of your post is up there with some of the stupidest shit I've ever read on here. We are narrow minded individuals because we have an opinion...right.

And, in defense of our opinions, the number of different skis we have all owned and skied on isn't just the vicious. Want the list? Want a review of every one?

Out of every ski that the 3 of us have skied, the SV has turned out to be a great ski and we suggest that to people because we want them to spend their money wisely. Whether or not we listen to what people on here has to say depends on what they actually have to say. If you just gonna say 'this ski sucks' and that is it then why should our views be swayed? If you wanna give a review that actually has real info, than we take into account what people say.

Most of our decision based upon the quality of skis comes from skiing them ourselves or having friends and such that have. Honestly...everyone has a different opinion. If you dont want our then don't fucking ask. But you saying that by suggesting one ski we are narrow minded just proves your an idiot.

and our opinions aren't only shared by us. many people agree that the seth vicious is a great ski.

Like I said above, though, our favorates have been determined through skiing a lot of skis.

So, to show how little we know about other types of skis I will post just the skis that I know both Luke and I have OWNED (not including ones just skied on) in the past year. I think that our opinions of the skis we have owned are well based.

Me

Igneous - FFF, FGS, MFC

K2 - Seth pistol, Fujative, seth vicious, public enemy, Ak enemy

Volkl - V, gotama

line - skogen, darkside,

Volant - Spats

Luke

K2 - Seth Vicious, Public enemy (both older and newer models), fujatives, seth pistols, 3 different pairs of made'ns

Armada - ARV, ANT, JP vs Julien

Line - Prophet 130, Pollard

Volkl - sanouk

4frnt - MSP

Rossi - B3

Knissel - Tanker

ummm...that is just off the top of my head. and those are skis owned.

so...if you think that our opinions are skewed because we have only tired a few favorate skis....your mistaken.

I'm sorry that we try to waste peopls money and fuck with people's ski choices by expressing out narrow minded beliefs showing our complete lack of knowledge. Please....before you try and talk next time at least think of something intellegent to say instead of making your self appear...well....narrow minded.
 
Exactly, the dude bought some MSP's skied them, than talked shit the next day about them cayse they were centered, it's bullshit he tried all those mounts etc... Than, he was all gungho to get the ARV's with pink graphics, right after he did, he started talking about them on here like he had them for years. Than he tried to sell them "undrilled" on here. Now, I'm not an expert, but don't you have to ski on something to give it a review? or can you just look at it in your bedroom w/ no bindings on it.

Those two instances are the ONLY reason I got pissed to read someone likes his opinion.

And thanks for listing all the skis you owned which I know you didn't spend enough time on the hill testing to give qualified reviews, cause your both too busy typing on NS telling everyone to get Vicious in every thread.

...and now I go off skiing
 
I'll retort, Vicious skis as we know them from the past year:

K2 - Seth Vicious, Public enemy (both older and newer models), fujatives, seth pistols, 3 different pairs of made'ns

Armada - ARV, ANT, JP vs Julien

Line - Prophet 130, Pollard

Volkl - sanouk

4frnt - MSP

Rossi - B3

Knissel - Tanker

And not only that, but this is a quote from him in this thread:

"I've skied the 187 MSP at several different spots and didn't like them at any of the mount points, whether it be center, freeride, or even a bit behind freeride."

jesus, the guy must never ski the same ski at the same mount for more than one run. And if the K2 vicious are so well rounded than..... why all the others...?
 
All the more progressive companies start their mounting options at plus 8 on the K2 chart bro wake up. Armada recomended is ahead of K2 core center and 4FRNTs recomended further back line is too. I would never ski any K2 further back than plus 6. Sure you have to lean back further to stomp cliffs but this guy is talking about something that is completely foreign to yous and has been for years: skiing on one ski. It doesn't make sense to you or I that one would move to whistler and only have one ski but that is what this thread is about. If he bought the MSP 187 he would be at LEAST plus 8 relative to the K2 think about it.

Sure my vote would be for him to get some cheap park skis and some gnarly big mountain skis mounted proper for their purposes but that apparently isn't an option for this kid. Maybe if he buys huge skis he'll love skiing them so much he won't go in to the park unless its shitty out, that's probably what will happen if he takes your suggestions, not that that is a bad thing.
 
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