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HUGE Powder Ski

ski otter 2

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Man, I had no idea...... 10mmm lifters?........ For tugboats.

Well, I mean to move those things forward at least, but I keep finding fat skis that actually work fantastically for me now (4-6 of em so far), so the DH 182s will just sit, more than likely.

(There's the V Werks Katanas, Bibby Pros, the 189 Pettitors, 179 Pettitors, and the Atomic Auto 117s - I still haven't gotten those Autos out this year. And then there's the old Gotamas - and the Fat-ypus D-Senders 112 that are mounted with Schizos but I'm slightly afraid of.....)

If all those skis didn't work so well, I might think the problem with the DHs was me. :D

For fat skis, that for most folks see so little use, and then mostly on soft snow, second hand seems good too.
 
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ScottB

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I own a pair of Ski Logik Depth Hoars, they are 191cm and 142mm underfoot. They are bigger than most water skis. Surprisingly, they ski quite well. They don't really carve turns on hardpack, but I can slarve them around without much trouble. No problem getting back to the lift with them. They are not a daily driver, but they are fun in 4" or more of new snow. Tracked, or un-tracked they work. These are the ultimate in FLOAT and since I am 6'4", 240lbs I actually need something this size to keep me on the top of the snow. They only sink an inch or two, no matter what the depth. Once there is enough snow so they can sink into the snow to make a turn, they can carve, slarve, surf, whatever you want.

If your not a clyde, you don't need to go this wide, obviously, but my advice is don't be afraid of width if you want to use the ski in powder. If a 110 ski could float me, I would probably use it, since it will ski hardpack better, but most won't. I have a 101mm wide fully cambered Ski Logik Charriot and it sinks two feet in three foot deep powder. The Depth Hoars are fully rockered and they are almost more like surfing than skiing. They carve well in powder, but I have to admit I am really getting to like just pointing them down hill and letting them take me for a ride.

As another point of reference, I own a pair of Liberty Origin 96 skis. They have huge rocker on the tips and some rocker in the tail. They actually ski well in deep powder because the tips surf up to the top due to the extreme rocker. With me on them, the tails sink quite a bit, but they are very stable and ski well in powder. They are quite good on hardpack too. They make a pretty good one ski quiver. There is more than one way to make a ski work.
 
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ScottB

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Scott B 1-17-2016.jpg
 

Monique

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If your not a clyde, you don't need to go this wide, obviously

QFT, but in the opposite direction. If you *are* a clydesdale, you need more width for the same float. People seem to forget that sometimes when talking about optimal powder skis.
 
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Tom K.

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QFT, but in the opposite direction. If you *are* a clydesdale, you need more width for the same float. People seem to forget that sometimes when talking about optimal powder skis.

Agreed.

Also, there is no NEED in this thread!

Nobody needs a 140 pow ski (and I probably won't end up buying one).

But I'll have fun thinking about it!
 

ski otter 2

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I might make a few caveats on the DH skis, as an excuse to post pics of em.

Maybe mine are the wrong year, or have some kind of tuning problem.....or it's just me. :huh:

Craig "the Genome guy" on Yellow Gentian gives 5 stars to the DH, but he is reviewing the most recent one, from '16, which has maybe changed (?):

(I'm posting these mainly because such skis are nice-looking, to me.:P)

Mine:

'15 LIBERTY DOUBLE HELIX FREERIDE/POWDER SKIS
6707.png

'15 Liberty Double Helix Freeride/Powder Skis
Total Retail Value: $779.00
Our Price Starting At: $449.95
Save 42%
Purchase Options
Features:
2015 Liberty Double Helix Skis
Bamboo
Stealth Rocker
PTEX 2000 Base
HRC 48 Edge
Whitewalls
X-Wide Platform

Dimensions: 146-121-136
Turn Radius: 23m @ 182cm
Weight: 2200g

The Most recent (and last, so far):

'16 LIBERTY DOUBLE HELIX FREERIDE/POWDER SKIS
6852.jpg

'16 Liberty Double Helix Freeride/Powder Skis
Total Retail Value: $775.00
Our Price Starting At: $499.95
Save 35%
Purchase Options
Features:
2016 Liberty Double Helix Skis
Bamboo
Stealth Rocker
PTEX 2000 Base
HRC 48 Edge
Whitewalls
X-Wide Platform

Dimensions: 146-121-136
Turn Radius: 23m @ 182cm
Weight: 2200g

The ones @givethepigeye is selling right now here on pugski:

'14 LIBERTY DOUBLE HELIX SKIS W/TYROLIA ATTACK 13.0 BINDINGS
5992.jpg

'14 Liberty Double Helix Skis w/Tyrolia Attack 13.0 Bindings
Total Retail Value: $1175.00
Our Price Starting At: $548.95
Save 53%
Purchase Options
Features:
- 2014 Liberty Double Helix Skis
- 2015 Tyrolia Attack 13.0 Bindings Included
- Bamboo
- Stealth Rocker
- PTEX 2000 Base
- HRC 48
- Whitewalls

Dimensions: 150-121-140
Turn Radius: 25.5m @ 182cm
Weight: 2200g


I'm resisting the urge to post pictures of the Volkl Confessions 117 or the '18 K2 Catamarans 120:

oops.


K2 Catamaran

2017-2018 K2 Catamaran, 184 cm
 

Prickly Jones

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I've got the Sick Day 125s at 186 cm. Except for one test run, I've never used them for resort skiing.
 
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Tom K.

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K2 Pinnacle 118 update: Slid bindings forward +1. Noticeable improvement in quickness. No downside noted. These now feel more like a big version of a "regular" ski, which is my preference in a pow ski. More testing is called for.

@ski otter 2, you clearly have no great love for the Double Helix. Would you care to provide details?

Yesterday, at Mt. Hood Meadows, we had about a foot of new, but it was a bit on the "thick" side. More width than 118 would have been more fun, but may have also sucked rocks once things got skied out. I'd kill to take ONE run on Liberty's Genome (140). This is a ski that didn't sell well, so was cancelled, then brought back specifically at the request of the Mt. Baker Ski Patrol. I'm not sure how much weight to put on that, but it's worth something, that's for sure.
 

jmeb

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Given you ski in Oregon you owe it to yourself to try the On3P Billy Goat. The whole layup is designed around killing it in deep, heavy snow. And the RES sidecut makes it incredibly easy to ski even in longer lengths. The Billy Goat is so good I've borrowed my friend's for the day after a storm once it was soft but tracked out. It eats crud. (So do my Bibby Pros, but they aren't as perfect in untracked.)

I will say, my favorite resort-friendly big powder ski I've ever been on was the Praxis Protest (http://www.praxisskis.com/skis/protest/). It isn't the pure-untracked pow ski of a Genome, DPS Lotus 138 etc. But it is fat at 128, has lots of taper which makes it super loose and fun. I disagree with Praxis saying it can "rail groomers back to the lift" but it is manageable. Don't let the long radius listed on it mislead you -- the taper and camber profile means makes it just as easy (if not easier) than the Billy Goat in tight spaces.
 
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Tom K.

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@jmeb, there is nothing I'd like more than to buy a ski built just down I-84 in Portland.

But that Billy Goat has a pretty straight back end, and I've proven to myself many times that I like me some sidecut!
 

jmeb

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@jmeb, there is nothing I'd like more than to buy a ski built just down I-84 in Portland.

But that Billy Goat has a pretty straight back end, and I've proven to myself many times that I like me some sidecut!

I like me some sidecut too. The shape of the RES sidecut on the Billy Goat is one of the things that makes it so darn special. It skis way shorter than its stated radius would hint at.
 

ski otter 2

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And, @jmeb , the Billy Goat is better than the Bibby Pro in untracked? Wow.

I own the 184 Bibby Pro. (I'm a lighterweight guy, so they charge stabily, for me.) Are you heavier, and on the longer Bibby (190 or 191)? I've toyed with trying the longer Bibbys too.

At resorts (mostly Luv and Copper) I've yet to get the Bibbys out in untracked for more than the initial few runs. What I notice about them is that they really prefer a fall line attack, not big gs turns so much. But I love them.

And the Billy Goats were better than the Bibbys in untracked?

I've demoed the 186 Billy Goats twice at Luv, but it was only on chop/crud/groomer days. The Billy Goats were wonderful - but slightly odd/good on groomers, and great in soft bumps, for me. I'd have liked to try them on a powder day, and in untracked.
 

Ken_R

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And, @jmeb , the Billy Goat is better than the Bibby Pro in untracked? Wow.

I own the 184 Bibby Pro. (I'm a lighterweight guy, so they charge stabily, for me.) Are you heavier, and on the longer Bibby (190 or 191)? I've toyed with trying the longer Bibbys too.

At resorts (mostly Luv and Copper) I've yet to get the Bibbys out in untracked for more than the initial few runs. What I notice about them is that they really prefer a fall line attack, not big gs turns so much. But I love them.

And the Billy Goats were better than the Bibbys in untracked?

I've demoed the 186 Billy Goats twice at Luv, but it was only on chop/crud/groomer days. The Billy Goats were wonderful - but slightly odd/good on groomers, and great in soft bumps, for me. I'd have liked to try them on a powder day, and in untracked.

I have the Moment Deathwish in 190cm and have gotten them in untracked (wide open runs and in trees). One word, WOW. I am 6-2 185 and they provide a perfect balance of float and maneuverability / slashability in pow, chow, crud etc. They do whatever I want. Long GS turns mauling everything, they love it, slash across fall line, that too. The work great on groomers too. I have a few vids of me on them in action
 

jmeb

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@ski otter 2 -- In my opinion, yes. I find the BG even easier to break loose into various turn shapes than the Bibby. The bibby loves to rage down the fall line -- fast. Skiers in front beware. I'm on the 184, but at 6'2" / 170lbs I think the 190s would be more ideal for big spaces. I ski 70% at Luv, 10% at other places and until I pulled the AT bindings off them 20% BC. I think the BG and Bibby Pro fill a very similar role, the differences between them I would say are: Bibby 5% better in crud, BG 5% better in untracked, BG 5% better in trees/bumps and Bibbys 5% better at stomping drops. They are so close that performance characteristics are hard to separate from condition characteristics. They also just have a slightly different feel, Bibbys want to slarve a turn a bit more while BGs want to be worked into different shapes. Bibbys are very damp while BGs are bit more poppy.

Really it's probably all in my head.

@Ken_R -- I happen to also own Deathwishes. (Cause who can say "no" to $50 Deathwishes in your size and good shape. They are 90% of the ski the Bibby is in pow, but significantly better on groomers. Mine (an early Deathwish, but my understanding is they are relatively the same year to year) are not as damp in as the Bibby. And while the micro-cambers give better edgehold than the Bibby's, the also require a more consistently neutral stance. More so than most skis, the Deathwishes in my experience benefited from a pretty dialed and specific tune. I've got them at 2(edge)/1(base) throughout the micro-cambers and middle, tapering to 1(edge)/2(base) at the tips. With lots of detuning.

It's hard to justify owning both of them. I've decided I'm going to destroy my Deathwishes and when they are unskiable, move the clamps to the Bibbys.
 

Ken_R

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@jmeb Do you have the 184's or the 190's? I found the 190's better in Pow and crud and a bit damper in general than the 184's. AFAIK only the topsheet has changed over the years on the Deathwish. The newer ones have a nice more durable and thick material with a bit of a textured finish that wraps around more (semi-cap?). I have not changed the factory tune since they feel so so good as they are in pretty much every snow condition possible. Regarding stance man I do not know, I just ski them and they work but looking back I do have somewhat of a neutral stance while skiing but sometimes I tend to drive the shovels and so far the DW's have handled it well.
 

jmeb

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@Ken_R -- I'm rocking old 184s. Given the progressive mount on the Deathwishes it doesn't leave a ton of tip length. It doesn't surprise me at all that the 190s are a bit more able to handle a variety of neutral/forward stances.

Moments finishing wasn't great early on and these came to me well used. So it doesn't surprise me that their tunes are now much better.
 

Ecimmortal

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K2 Pinnacle 118 update: Slid bindings forward +1. Noticeable improvement in quickness. No downside noted. These now feel more like a big version of a "regular" ski, which is my preference in a pow ski. More testing is called for.

@ski otter 2, you clearly have no great love for the Double Helix. Would you care to provide details?

Yesterday, at Mt. Hood Meadows, we had about a foot of new, but it was a bit on the "thick" side. More width than 118 would have been more fun, but may have also sucked rocks once things got skied out. I'd kill to take ONE run on Liberty's Genome (140). This is a ski that didn't sell well, so was cancelled, then brought back specifically at the request of the Mt. Baker Ski Patrol. I'm not sure how much weight to put on that, but it's worth something, that's for sure.

Seeing as this thread is in full blown Billygoat discussion. I will say that yesterday is one of those days that had me wishing I had some Billygoats still. The snow quality went to shit quite fast. But my first run(first chair) down 3 bowl was quite magical.
 

Dwight

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I haven't skied big skis, heck I hardly ski powder. Last year I tried the Fat-yPus M5 at Bridger in fresh 6"-12" powder and they were fun. Actually got the kid to say,"who is the guy skiing the bumps so well, heck it's dad."

With that being said, maybe their Mack 5 might be worth a try. Right now they are selling demos for $325. https://www.fat-ypus.com/skis/ski-sale/
 
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Tom K.

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Seeing as this thread is in full blown Billygoat discussion. I will say that yesterday is one of those days that had me wishing I had some Billygoats still. The snow quality went to shit quite fast. But my first run(first chair) down 3 bowl was quite magical.

Agreed. I had work commitments, so it was a quick morning for me. Skiing down Willow to the bottom of HRM was pure GLOP the last half.

Monday and Tuesday were pretty special, esp for Meadows in March, fer gosh sakes!
 

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