Me: Level 8 skier, 37 years old
Other skis in quiver: Gotamas (183), Powder RX (189)
Boots Salomon Ghost
Volkl Bridge 185, 92 mm underfoot
Conditions: Vail & Copper Mtn. packed powder with a few spots of fresh in the tress and on sides of the trail
Picked these up a few weeks ago with the intent to make them my all mtn. ski for days when there isn't a ton of fresh snow, for bumping or anything else. Early on, I am VERY happy wth this choice.
These skis are fairly stiff and have that familiar Volkl feel. The edges engage very quickly--even for a 92mm waisted ski. They really do rail the groomers if you know how to stay on top them. The stiffnes makes them particularly adept at crudbusting. I hit some leftover frozen crud in Sundown Bowl and they really impressed me with how solid and confident they felt underfoot. I spent a fair amount of time in the bumps and I needed to stay on my game to not have them throw me in the backseat....and they might be a tad stiffer than what I'd like for a pure bumps ski. I decided to avoid some of the super deep, carved out bumps that looked like they were going to be a lot of work...but the smaller ones were great.
I managed to find a few bits of POW here and there and I was also impressed how well these floated for their width. They're not quite as floaty as my Gots but that's to be expected. I would not be disappointed if there was a big dump and this was the only ski I had with me. In may ways, I think the ski feels like slightly stiffer baby Gotama that is faster turning. For someone in the West it could make a great daily driver and, paired with a fat, deep POW ski, could make a fabulous 2 ski quiver. In the east, these might be the fatter ski with a skinnier carver for no-snow days.
This ski is not as light as some of the other twin-tip offerings out there...but by no means did they feel overly heavy. In fact, they felt "solid" as if they were just there when you needed them. I would not recommend this ski to someone who is still building solid carving skills or who struggles to stay on top of their skis--you pay a penalty on this ski if you don't stay in control of it. For someone who is fairly athletic and powerful and has a bias toward fatter skis overall....this is a great daily driver. PM me with any questions.
Cheers
