im gonna have to quote the quoted quote. im a new skier as well. last years t-halls were sick, im rocking those 2.5 mounted as well. ive only been skiing for a little under 2 months, and have to say that the t halls are way sick. i have em mounted on some salomon bindings, and the weight of the whole setup is pretty light. it seems normal to me but people tell me often that the whole setup is light. alot of that is prolly do to the ski. they have nice flex to them, and definatly fun to ski on. jumps and rails/boxers are nice, and feel good on the ski. im sure 09 is differnt than the 10 model, but are pretty similar. deep snow is sort of a pain, but not terrible. fun ski. and as for the mounting at 2.5 i like it but i also have never skied anything different. i say just go with what feels right to u. thats what im doing with boot tension, mounting, and din and im loving skiing