First off...The pontoons do have a turned up tail, and landing switch in powder is not an every run thing! Especially on a pwder day, you ski top to bottom, as fast as you can on the gnarliest lines possible...
The ONLY downside to the pontoons (I have a pair of 189's and skied them about 20 days last march in Tahoe) is that they SUCK for hiking, try thowing them on your shoulder and they scissor like hell, try sidestepping up a couple hundred vert or traversing so mad dog singletrack and they are tough to control...same with the spatulas..
Not progessing the sport? Don't be that dumb...really? Those two skis the spats and the toon's have changed powder skiing and line selection more than any innovation since the fat ski...