black diamond kilowatts 155 cm. for my 14 year old nephew

i am taking my 14 year old nephew to alta and snowbird in january, and want to put him on something other than his east coast boards. i can pick up some black diamond kilowatts in 155 cm. for cheap. he is a strong skier and small in stature. 148 cm.'s come up to his forehead. does anyone think these would work as a good western ski for him? also, he has never experienced true powder and huge terrain before.

Sorry, but if he's never "experienced true powder or huge terrain" why would you want to buy a ski?  Who knows what the conditions will be in January.  Have him bring his boots (assuming these have been properly fitted) and demo skis appropriate for the conditions at the time.  I don't know the BD Kilowatt ski, but a quick Google search and it seems like a back country AT ski -- not something that would fit for what you need.

The BD Kilowatt is a fairly stiff wide board and would work pretty well for a strong skier in LCC.  But I dunno if your nephew is strong enough to handle a stiff board that may be a bit long for him.  

Don't worry about the backcountry AT designation - the Kilowatt is a well-built ski that can handle alpine bindings and in-bounds conditions.  Worry about the stiffness and size.  

the shorter the ski, the softer ski companies make them....

There is no way the 155 is the same stiffness as the longer lenghts.

bazooka the conditions at Alta and bird are almost always soft or at least very edgeable chaulk that time of year. The only way you will hit hard enough stuff thats not fun on that ski is if you look for it on Emma. 95mm is hardly wide, and forehead height is a short lenght for a LCC local. Most LCC locals ski skis much over head high as everyday skis.

Bob Lee's response is spot on.

Skier 103, If he is a strong skier they should work and will make him alot better in softer off trail conditons, on groomers if he aggressive enough and knows how to actively get on the outside ski 95mm like I said is hardly wide.

thanks for your input. that is the same thought i have of them. he will be bringing his other skis, dynastar troubled youths in 148's. they are twin tips and 80 under foot. he skis them hard back east and they would work out there on harder snow, but i want him to have something for when it is soft or deep, which very well could be. i bring 2 pairs, legend pro riders in 186 and 189 pontoons. i want him to have as much fun as i have. the 155 length will let him get next year out of them also. he hasn't had his growth spurt yet. i know the black diamond line is geared more towards backcountry and tele, but i know they will work fine as a resort alpine setup. they are wood core with no metal. how stiff could they really be? can anyone suggest other skis that will work for him? i never took notice last winter what the teens were skiing as a resort ski.

check out small womens skis as well, since he is still light. Like Rossi Scratch Girl BCs, Volkl Auras and really any of them depending on what he wants.

I am partial to 100mm width twins myself for all riding out west, and alot of my repeat clients(aka kids 12-17) used skis like that to great success IMO. Anything wider than 110 IMO start to become weird on bumps and such.

it's tough because he is a late bloomer, he is the smallest kid on his football team. do they make a womens ski that doesn't look like a womens ski? and back to the kilowatt, how stiff do you think it could be? i can get them cheap.

103: How much does he weigh?

Assuming that he's about 100 pounds, I'd actually think the Troubled Youth should do fairly well for him.  I did the calculations on TGR a while back, but suffice it to say that the surface area per pound of an 80mm waisted ski for a 100-pounder is going to be close to the Pontoon for you or me.  So unless you're going with something rockered, I wouldn't stress about going much wider.

That said, I understand the call of the deal better than most.  But remember that the reason these are being offered so cheap is that they're in such low demand, which would make them hard to resell when he outgrows them.

paint them or just be punk :)

the kilowatts not really sure but almost any ski is softer when in a shorter lenght. How much softer? I have never held a pair of 155 kilowatts so I dont know.

i had read that about his weight and width of his skis. that is the info i have been looking for. it also saves me a bunch of money. i am glad to hear that his troubled youths will work in the deep stuff. thanks for your input

I'm not sure that the Troubled Youths will do a great job in the deep.  But I think that, unless he is relatively heavy (~120 pounds or more) or skis powder at high speed, he is unlikely to be able to decamber adult skis like the KW, even in a 155.  So it's less that I think the TYs will do well than that I don't think the KWs will be appreciably better.

what are your thoughts on the new gotama jr.? it is rockered and is 80 under foot. it comes in 148 and 158 cm. lengths. would the 158 be too long? i'd like him to get a couple of years out of them. they are online for $269.
Edited by skier103 - 10/26/09 at 3:04pm

I've not handled the Junior Goats.  But the general rule is to go about 10cm longer with a rockered ski, which (at least theoretically) would make these a sensible complement to the Troubled Youths.

Minor point of order: they're cheap because  BD changed the graphics this year and maybe softened the flex a bit.  The Kilowatt has been a very popular ski for BD.  

Skier103. the KWs are pretty stiff, metal or no.  Go in and flex a pair, see what I'm talking about.  

Interesting.  Maybe stiffness is why the Kilowatts were the least favorite of the skis my son tried on our powder demo day.  I think a lot of stiffness is a bad thing for powder skis (except for a small segment of the population that already knows who they are.)

so 158 gotama with its rocker should fit him well. volkl says it's great in powder and handles groomers well. for $269 all over the internet, it sounds like a done deal.

Are you sure that you can get the Gotama Jr in 158?
I know they have the 148, but cannot find anything on the 158 (even on the Volkl website).  Maybe in Europe, but not in the states at least.

al's ski equipment barn has them in 158's for $269 as well as a few others. go to evogear and read their writeup. they do not have the 158's. they have a good video review also. they look awesome.

I stand corrected.  Thanks.

BTW - My 12 year old son has the Jr Mantra's (pre-Gotama Jr with same dimensions/no rocker) in 138 and absolutely loves them.  He has outgrown them, so I am looking for the next step - probably the 148's.

definitely go to evogears site and check out the review and video. and think about what "the dad" wrote about getting them 10 cm. longer due to the rocker. and thank you to the dad, you really helped me out.

No problem.

FWIW, the smaller twin skied the 128 Mantra Jrs last year until Boxing Day, when one ski was lost.  Sigh.  But he loved them.  Better edge hold than the Fujative Jrs, and really an all-purpose ski for a Tahoe kid.