Head Mojo 90's -too small for me?

Hi All,

I currently use a pair of Head Monster im77's, 177cm in length. I'm 90kgs (200lbs) and ski pretty much everywhere except the park, although my 10 yo had me venturing in last Winter so I expect that I will have to spend more time in there. I prefer skiing off piste but still like to lay down some tracks on the groomed when I'm with the family.

Last ski trip was Northern Japan and expect that next trip will be there also. Lots & lots of fresh powder. I had a ball on my Monsters but was thinking that a wider set of skis might be the go for the next trip.

My question is, would a pair of Head Mojo 90's at 176cm be too short for me? I've never owned twinnies but have read that you are supposed to go longer.

cheers in advance

Yes, they'd be too short.

I'm about the same weight as you.  I have one pair of skis that are similar to the im77s -- 176 Fischer AMC79s (79mm waist).  My other skis in regular use are 186 Fischer Big Stix 84s (84mm waist), 188 PM Gear Bro Models (99mm waist), and 195 Praxis Powders (136mm waist, reverse camber and sidecut).  This year, I also skied 191 Scott P4s (108mm waist) as a conventionally-shaped powder and soft day ski, but I'm replacing those with 190 Moment Rubies (112mm waist) for next season.  Note that all of those other skis are significantly longer than my AMC79s.  That's not an accident.

There are a lot of reasons why you'd want to ski Mojo 90s, in particular, longer.  First, they're twin tips.  That means you'll have a shorter effective edge than a similar ski with a flat tail.  Obviously, the amount of kick in the tail varies, but figure you should add 5cm or so.  That puts you at least into the low to mid 180s.

But since you're looking for a powder/off piste ski that can also handle groomers, the good news is that there are more options today than there have ever been.  The question is what you want as a two-ski quiver.

I'm going to suggest that what you don't want to complement the im77s is another pair of skis that are conventionally shaped and only 13mm wider.  Those would be replacements for the im77s, not complements.

There are plenty of great, wider skis that do great on groomers.  The Moment Rubies are a great example -- I fell in love with them on groomers that were softening in the spring sun, where they were like a freight train.

I'd encourage you to try demoing some skis.  Try a pair in the 90mm width range as a baseline.  Try something 100 or 110mm wide to satisfy yourself that you won't sacrifice much in groomer performance by going wider.  Try a few different constructions in the larger skis -- more vs. less sidecut, more vs. less camber, stiffer vs. softer -- and get a sense of what you like better on the groomed and the soft.

Then come back and we'll find you the perfect ski.  ;-)

Alternatively, if you find a smoking deal on something 100-120mm wide, probably with a radius in the 25+ meter range (because sidecut matters with soft snow skis), buy it and try it, and if you don't like it, sell it at a slight loss to someone who will like it.

TheDad has good comments, but I'll ask a followup question or two:

Do you have a line on a smoking-hot deal on the Mojo 90's?  If you do, can you choose between the 176 and the 186?  Like TheDad, I think the 186 would be a better SOFT-SNOW length for you and I don't think it would take much for you to get used to them.

If you *don't* have a hot deal in mind on the 90's, could/would you consider a different model?  The "new" 2009 Mojo 94 is slightly wider and comes in a 180cm, which might be the perfect compromise.  The downside of that is that you probably can't get the kind of deal on the 94 that you can on the leftover 90's. 

I skied the 94 as my primary powder ski this past winter at Jackson Hole and for the life of me I can't figure out why a good skier would NEED anything wider.  The nice thing about that ski's width and conventional shape is that it floats perfectly well in powder but will still ski about a billion times better than unconventional shapes during the times when you find yourself on groomers or tracked-out off piste.

Feel free to ignore my comments, however, as I am decidedly old-school. 

Yep. I suspected they would be too short. I'm a travelling skier so a quiver isn't an option but a killer deal is available. Althouigh its not a deal if the skis don't suit. I'll stick to my im77's for now because i still think they are an awsome ski.

Cheers

Craigr,

I'll make you an offer for an even more-killer deal. Have a pair of old K2 Seth Pistols that I bought used from the Rythym & Beat gang at Niseko. They have rental bindings on them, so adjustable for any boot size. When you come up, give me a shout and I'll get them to you; you can use them and pay me whatever you think is reasonable. They're 179s, twin tips, good for pow but not so much if hardpacked. If you don't like'em at all, just send back to me in Tokyo (or, maybe I'll be at Niseko same time as you). How's that sound?

jim