The three I'm considering are the Tyrolia Attack 13, the Marker Griffon 13, and the Atomic STH2 13. (I'm not considering Looks, even though I have had many a pair. Over the years, I've become less of a fan of the rotating heel plate because I think it set me up for a couple of knee injuries due to the cross bar maybe preventing sideways heel releases.)
About me and the ski they are going on:
I'm 5'10", 150 pounds, 59 years old, and have been around the track a few times...this is my 50th year skiing. I ski exclusively out west, mostly at Mammoth Mountain. I average about 50 days a season, and would modestly self-describe as expert. I set my bindings using 3+, and so depending on the setup I prefer my DIN anywhere between 6.5-9.5. I'm in Tecnica 120 boots with Surefoot injected liners.
I currently have whittled my skis down to a quiver of 4...
My rock skis are a pair of 2010 170cm Stockli Stormrider XXLs. They have Marker Griffons on them with 8mm race lifters. (I'm sorry I wrecked them because they were the greatest frontside non-park skis I have ever ridden.)
For hardpack and slush bumps I'm on a pair of 173cm 2-year old Brahmas with Marker Demo bindings.
For DDs it's a pair of last year's 173cm Stockli Stormrider 95s with a pair of the STH2s.
For powder I have a pair of 2008 176cm Volkl Gotamas with Marker Duke bindings. (I put those bindings on so that these could be both my deep pow skis as well as back-country touring skis.)
I love them all, for different reasons. For mid-winter conditions, the Stormrider 95s can't be beat, but they start running out of gas after 10-12" of powder, at which point I will switch to the 105mm Goats. But once the snow piled up past 18-24", I really wanted something more than what the Goats could do.
During last winter's epic conditions at Mammoth, I was very fortunate, because I got to try a LOT of deep pow skis in the conditions they were designed for. But after riding a bunch of different 108+mm skis, the winner hands down for me was the Line Pescado. It's exactly what I was looking for to fill out the deep end of the quiver. The Gotama with the Dukes will plow through anything from mank to crud to thick peanut-butter pow, etc. But I was looking for something more playful, since I prefer a ski with lots of recoil or "pop" or whatever you want to call it. The Pescados are all of that...lightweight, poppy, surfy, slarvy, shmeary, and with a turn radius of only 19M, but a waist of 125mm, for a powder ski they are really responsive. They won't be brought out very often, but for those special deep days these things absolutely slay it. (Thank you Santa, I must have been a good boy this year!)
SO...the Griffons and the Tyrolias are the lightest weight of the bunch, and because the Pescados are so light as well (1950 grams according to Line, and only 1800+ grams according to BlisterGear reviews), I'm trying to minimize the weight of the binding as much as I can to take advantage of that light ski weight. The STHs weigh about 200 gms more than these two, so they are the most portly of the three.
On the other hand, having had the Griffons out in some deep snow, I can say that they can be a little challenging to put back on in deep snow. It takes some work to clear snow off of them, and then you still have to sort of lift your toe while pushing forward into the toe, and then step into the heel at the same time. There's no doubt the STHs are much easier to put on in the deep stuff...they seem to shed snow a lot better. I do not know about the Tyrolias but have heard they also shed snow pretty well.
The -1 for the Tyrolias is that the largest standard brake size they provide is only 110 mm, and since the Pescados are 125 mm, I'd have to pay extra to get the special larger 130cm brake. Also, if I understand correctly, the larger brake on the Tyrolia has to be separately drilled into the ski. Having had several skis delaminate over the years due to issues with drill holes, I really try to keep the number of drills to a minimum.
Bottom line: Griffons and Tyrolia are the lightest. STHs (and AFAIK the Tyrolias) shed pow better. The Tyrolias require an additional purchase and maybe more drills. So, unfortunately, all have some pros and cons.
Given all of that, thanks in advance for whatever input you all can provide! I think any of these would be fine, but I'd certainly appreciate advice.
About me and the ski they are going on:
I'm 5'10", 150 pounds, 59 years old, and have been around the track a few times...this is my 50th year skiing. I ski exclusively out west, mostly at Mammoth Mountain. I average about 50 days a season, and would modestly self-describe as expert. I set my bindings using 3+, and so depending on the setup I prefer my DIN anywhere between 6.5-9.5. I'm in Tecnica 120 boots with Surefoot injected liners.
I currently have whittled my skis down to a quiver of 4...
My rock skis are a pair of 2010 170cm Stockli Stormrider XXLs. They have Marker Griffons on them with 8mm race lifters. (I'm sorry I wrecked them because they were the greatest frontside non-park skis I have ever ridden.)
For hardpack and slush bumps I'm on a pair of 173cm 2-year old Brahmas with Marker Demo bindings.
For DDs it's a pair of last year's 173cm Stockli Stormrider 95s with a pair of the STH2s.
For powder I have a pair of 2008 176cm Volkl Gotamas with Marker Duke bindings. (I put those bindings on so that these could be both my deep pow skis as well as back-country touring skis.)
I love them all, for different reasons. For mid-winter conditions, the Stormrider 95s can't be beat, but they start running out of gas after 10-12" of powder, at which point I will switch to the 105mm Goats. But once the snow piled up past 18-24", I really wanted something more than what the Goats could do.
During last winter's epic conditions at Mammoth, I was very fortunate, because I got to try a LOT of deep pow skis in the conditions they were designed for. But after riding a bunch of different 108+mm skis, the winner hands down for me was the Line Pescado. It's exactly what I was looking for to fill out the deep end of the quiver. The Gotama with the Dukes will plow through anything from mank to crud to thick peanut-butter pow, etc. But I was looking for something more playful, since I prefer a ski with lots of recoil or "pop" or whatever you want to call it. The Pescados are all of that...lightweight, poppy, surfy, slarvy, shmeary, and with a turn radius of only 19M, but a waist of 125mm, for a powder ski they are really responsive. They won't be brought out very often, but for those special deep days these things absolutely slay it. (Thank you Santa, I must have been a good boy this year!)
SO...the Griffons and the Tyrolias are the lightest weight of the bunch, and because the Pescados are so light as well (1950 grams according to Line, and only 1800+ grams according to BlisterGear reviews), I'm trying to minimize the weight of the binding as much as I can to take advantage of that light ski weight. The STHs weigh about 200 gms more than these two, so they are the most portly of the three.
On the other hand, having had the Griffons out in some deep snow, I can say that they can be a little challenging to put back on in deep snow. It takes some work to clear snow off of them, and then you still have to sort of lift your toe while pushing forward into the toe, and then step into the heel at the same time. There's no doubt the STHs are much easier to put on in the deep stuff...they seem to shed snow a lot better. I do not know about the Tyrolias but have heard they also shed snow pretty well.
The -1 for the Tyrolias is that the largest standard brake size they provide is only 110 mm, and since the Pescados are 125 mm, I'd have to pay extra to get the special larger 130cm brake. Also, if I understand correctly, the larger brake on the Tyrolia has to be separately drilled into the ski. Having had several skis delaminate over the years due to issues with drill holes, I really try to keep the number of drills to a minimum.
Bottom line: Griffons and Tyrolia are the lightest. STHs (and AFAIK the Tyrolias) shed pow better. The Tyrolias require an additional purchase and maybe more drills. So, unfortunately, all have some pros and cons.
Given all of that, thanks in advance for whatever input you all can provide! I think any of these would be fine, but I'd certainly appreciate advice.
