I ended up mounting them "on the line" and that felt just right on the snow.
I only skied the 88s one day at Snowbird. Phil is right, the 186s were a bit long for what I wanted to use them for. My 185-190lb friend clicked in for a few runs and LOVED them though. He is strong and fast. I have several bigger turning / gs style crud busters (I guess I have a type) and these seemed to me to be another pair of what I have too many of already. The 177 would have been the ticket for my size.