That said, I'm looking for another every day ski, not just a powder-specific tool. Groomers aren't my choice, I'd much much rather be off-piste, so I haven't regretted any choice to move to a wider ski yet. So, I demoed a few of the Moments and one pair of DPS today. Here are my thoughts.
Started the day on 184 Bibby Pros. The ones on the left there. (184cm, 143, 116,134, 24.5m turning radius) Playful was the word of the day. Completely responsive to anything I had to throw at them, they turned on a dime, slarved better than anything else I've ever been on, and left me in complete control. They also chewed up the crud and bumps perfectly. I haven't skied such a fun ski on moguls for a long time. I felt like Tigger. That said, their light weight and playfulness meant they're not the right tool for a steep, icy couloir. They handled their speed incredibly well, but didn't rail on edge in a way that'd give you supreme confidence in a tight, icy spot. In a little bit of fresh in the steeper trees/bushes/rocks, though, they were shining.186 Governor (skis on the right above) is kind of like a Bibby Pro with a stiffer tail and a bit more weight. (Was on next year's skis, so hard to say about the exact stats.) They were meant to rail a bit more, and they were a bit of a transition coming from the 184 Bibby Pros. Nearly caught myself out until I realized they needed to be skied to the end of the tails. After that, they were great.. I didn't feel like I was much faster on them than the 184 Bibby Pros, though, and they weren't quite as playful feeling. So, I couldn't figure out why to choose them over the Bibby Pros.
Next, I jumped on the 190 DPS Wailer 112. (190cm, 141/112/128, 18m radius) Was. Not. For. Me. 18m turn radius constantly had me feeling like it was trying to turn uphill when I skied it with an aggressive, forward stance. I finally gave in and surfed it in the backseat. I was surprised, as it was the best behaved ski I've ever been on while sitting in the backseat. That said, I didn't feel like I could take it into anything constrained since every time I set an edge it turned me uphill. If I were to put a powder newbie on a ski, this might be one of them. I bet that tip would float like nothing else and give a powder newbie all the confidence in the world that they wouldn't tip dive. But I need a much more aggressive ski for where I'm trying to go, and I'd prefer a ski that didn't insist I ski backseat. The EHPs wouldn't like it, and would punish me later for my laziness.Since I'm looking to size up, I wanted to know whether the 184 Bibby was enough, so towards the end of the day I hopped on some 190 Bibby Pros (190cm, 143/118/134, 26.5m turning radius). Definitely a bit too much for me. I was struggling in the tighter spots to get the ski around, and don't feel like I'd be confident in things like my favorite C2 lines, Corkscrew, or Granite Peak at Squaw. On the easy frontside of Alpine, no worries, but that's again not where I'm aiming to spend my time.
Jan skied the 196 Governor and the 186 Night Train in addition to the 190 Bibby Pro. He was happiest on the 196 Governor. He didn't find the night train very playful, and complained it always wanted to be set on edge.
Oh, and since this is a review from skiislikeagirl... next year's Bibby Pro graphics are great! Just not clear that I'm willing to wait until they release in September. Instead, they look like this, which is OK, but not as cool to me as next year's topsheet.
Oh, and since this is a review from skiislikeagirl... next year's Bibby Pro graphics are great! Just not clear that I'm willing to wait until they release in September. Instead, they look like this, which is OK, but not as cool to me as next year's topsheet.
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