Advice on Powder skis

The most loved and hated powder ski is the Salomon Pocket Rocket. You have to put it on your list. Depending on your technique and tastes you might find it to be a very fun, agile powder ski or you might find it to be a wet noodle.

Another ski you should try is the K2 Seth Pistol. They are very good in powder and great in crud and slush. Considering where you live you shouldn't underrate the crud/slush performance when looking for a fat ski.

My last recommendation is the Atomic Sugar Daddy since you like your R:11s. They are a top notch fat ski with an Atomic feel.

Thanks Rio...

Gratuitous excuse to post this...

Thumbs up for the Pistols, 179 cm.

I work in the rental shop so, got a chance to ski the three skis mentioned. Here's my take.

I'm 41, 5'4" and I weigh about 130 lbs. I ski 100+ days a season.

I am one of those that think the Pocket Rocket is a wet noodle. I've skied it in a 165 & 175cm and didn't like either length. Soft snow was ok but, on firm, wind effected snow was a little scarey. Flutters like crazy. Gets kinda hooky.

I liked the Seth Pistols on deep days. Not a very quick turner. Totally the opposite of the R-11. That R-11 will turn right out from under your feet if you're not on it. Pistols like big turns. That becomes a bit of a challenge in the trees but, overall a good ski. The P-Tex sidewall is bomber. I did see some duct taped and broken tails around the mountain. I don't know if that was mistreatment or manufacturing. If you are a strong skier, with your weight, you might check into K2's Big Kahuna. FYI... K2 builds in China, if you have any political issues with it.

The Sugar Daddy is one of the sweetest fat skis I've ever been on. It's very responsive and doesn't ski like a fat. Not a single broken Sugar all season.

I ski a 178 Rossi B3 myself. Fat, damp and very predictable. This would be my suggestion. They are sized 168, 178, 185, 195.

Good Luck

Are we the same person??? I work a demo shop too, and my opinions on all those skis are pretty much identical to what you said. PR - too soft; Seth Pistol, better, but still not great; Sugar Daddy - very nice. AND I ski a B3 in 185, that is exactly how I describe it - lots of float, very stable and very predictable. What a fluke

That depends...how old are you Juulz?

That's kinda weird.*twilight zone music in background*

It's really not that weird. If given a chance to ski a whole fleet of demo skis like us, most people with advanced/expert abilities would probably come to the same conclusions.

I skied the B3 in a 185 for a few days. It was great out in the open but, was a bit of work in the trees (I'm not a big guy) so, I settled on the 178. The 168 was fun skiing anywhere but, you couldn't stick a landing. Too short, tips dive and you go over the bars. Not to mention that the speed limit on the 168 was a bit slower than I normally ski.

Juulz, make some turns for me and I will return the favor when it's pounding in Jackson.

Peace

Let me pipe up for the G4, (aka the 724 AX4). Good powder ski...though not fat, compared to some of the others. What it does though is kill the crud and spring snow, which, as a Mammoth and tahoe skier you're bound to run into. They will also rip high speed GS turns on the groomed.

Since Volkl has discontinued them, they can be had cheap. Check e-bay.

The only thing I don't like about the Sugar Daddy (183cm) is the clunky Atomic binding on them. I think if you take them to a knowledgeable ski shop they will take off the designated Atomic binding plate without voiding the warranty. The length of the Seth Pistol (189cm) is just right for me. I demoed some last XMas at Alta/Snowbird last season, and I found that in the trees (not at high speed, mind you), with a little work they can make short turns. Two seasons ago I demoed the Explosiv in two lengths - 180cm and 190cm (twin-tip), and I found that the tip was too stiff for me in both lengths, in heavy powder and crud. I have never demoed the Gotama or the Sanouk, and I doubt I ever will in the U.S., possibly British Columbia, and I know they demo them in the Alps.

I found the Pocket Rocket (185cm) a disappointmet - if Salomon made a wood core, it might be a decent stiffer ski. It had no rebound, despite all the titanium integral in the ski...

That's what steered me away from the Sugars. I have to ski those things 1.5 DIN settings high, just to keep them on. I will check with the Atomic rep. on removing the plate but, I don't remember anything from the clinic on that matter. That could sway me.

I find all Volkls too stiff for me. Although, I did get a chance to ski some Gotamas and they felt pretty good. They were another guys but, we seem to have this 305mm boot sole thing going in the shop so some of us can ski eachothers gear.

And in closing...Don't become a victim of the rocket!

Peace

Atomic totally redesigned their binding toe piece this year. They look like they function very similar to all the other bindings with two separate wings on the twe instead of the old single wing ESS design. It should be interesting to see how well they work.

By the way, I have Pocket Rockets and love them. Where I ski you have to deal with deep moguls, tight trees and narrow chutes to get to the untracked powder. My PRs are great for that. Whenever we hit tight spots or bumps I leave all my buddies with their big burly powder skis far behind.

Maybe you should try the Head Mojo. Same dimentions but with a wood core. I found them to be just like Rio did his PR's. Agile and quick when needed but with a little snap. But I'm not leaving anyone behind. ;>D Never skied the PR myself, but they sure are popular in these parts.

According to my preffered local shop owner, the suggar daddy has been softened for this year, and like Rio said the binding has been totaly changed. There are rollers on the toe piece wing now and the heel is different also.

I c an back that up. I ski the Mojo and it is perfect -- stiff enough to actually hold a decent edge on hard-pack while still very easy to turn in deep pow.

Hi,

You might take a look at my post on 12-01-03. If you're skiing 20 days a year, you have the right idea about rental demoing rather than buying. They may look macho - or goofy, depending on your perspective - but full fat powder skis are specialty equipment for special days, in my opinion, not much good for anything else.

In true pure bottomless ka-pow-wow, practically any boards on the market made in the last half-dozen years with a waist width of about 100 mm or better will work fine. Full fats don't need to be as technologically fancy as the latest greatest state-of-art hard snow carvers, and they aren't. There's more hot stuff out there than most of us can get around to demoing, but almost all of the off-piste skis I've tried lately are fun, once you adapt slightly to them.

For your average size and weight, don't go much over 180 cm length. At 5'-9", 160#, my ski of choice for the storybook storms - 20 days a year tops, of 100-120, even in the Wasatch and British Columbia - is the 2001 Fischer Big Six 106 (named for its waist) in 180 cm. I like the feel of a permanently cambered wood core, and its side cut, the shortest radius of any full fat that I know of. Other than colors, it hasn't been changed since about 2000 or so. On a guy my size, they resemble cartoon clown feet - after a couple runs of easy face shots, you won't be put off getting used to what you're seeing, looking down at those huge things sitting there on the lift bar...!

There are some skis out there that aren't for everyone, like people who prefer turns. An example of a ski that I'd be carefull about is the Atomic Big Daddy - stiff for a full fat pow ski, not to mention long, for those of us who have no reason to need a ski to handle, say, the run-out from a glacier cliff jump landing. For that matter, I've heard (and observed) similar things about the Stockli Stormrider. (But then, I'll admit, these aren't the only skis out there that alarm me just to watch some people on them...)

The slightly narrower, but still plenty fat Sugar Daddy is a more reasonable flexing ski, available without the plate in medium lengths. Also, I might've bought the Volkl Gotama, but a year and a half ago, if it even existed in the U.S. in anything under 190 cm, I sure couldn't find it. Now it's available in more normal lengths, I think it was 183-184 cm with a twin tip, makes it effectively under 180 cm running surface.

For buying - most of the time in the west, in anything much less than knee deep, especially after the snow gets skied up and crudded, you're better off with something mid to 3/4 width, waist in the 80's. My favorites are the Fischer Big Stix 84 in the 185 cm, and the Volkl G40, G41 or G4, 188cm, the last newest was the 7 24 AX4 (If I'm right, 2003 is the final year Volkl made these; a shame, one of the best all-around skis ever made.) Others - Volkl Explosiv, Blizzard Titan 8.2 and 9.2., Atomic R:EX, Elan Mantis 777, etc.

For lighter skis, the Dynastar Inspired and Intuitives (watch out for the Nobis models; again, long and stiff) and Rossignol Bandit 3X and B3 series are fun, but not as durable. Don't know much about K2 and Salomon's offerings in fat pow skis, but if the Pilot Series are as enjoyable as those cheap disposable X-Screams were, they're probably worth a try.

It's all about time and taste - cat skiing in the Sierras and in B.C., you're spending your time working on development of proper taste...!

Hope this helps...

Smiles, Dave