school me on what my next daily driver should be...

I've been in ski decision overload... and could use some expert mag opinions.

been skiing the first gen Cochise (185's) for the last 5 years or so. I weighed a bit more when I first got them, but I'm a scrawny dude these days (5'7", 140 lbs). decent skier, Red Resort is my home mountain in the BC interior.

prefer steep & tight trees, no groomers, rarely ski inbounds if there's no fresh stuff to play on...looking more at a length around 180 for a new ski. something considerably lighter than my Cochise w/ dynaduke plates, dukes... mostly because I'm too lazy to haul those up any skin tracks more often than not.

skis I've been considering...

volkl v-werks katana (177/184cm)
head kore 117 (180cm)
down CD114L (only if they made a 180ish length)
DPS wailer 112 (178cm)
instinct seeker (183cm, small local company)

pretty much looking for something at least as wide as my 108 Cochise, light enough that I can tour on them at least some of the time (got a set of beast 14's that I'll be putting on these new skis), and nimble enough to weave between trees without going plinko on said trees. something like the kore 117 might be a bit wide, but on paper that ski looks pretty awesome (I think the 105 wouldn't be as wide as I'd prefer).

bonus points for new old stock from previous seasons which might be considerably cheaper...

thoughts? suggestions?

Hojis, Steeple 108s, or Praxis Skinny Qs.


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If you are skiing threes, the Wailer is very very nice. I find that the whole shape of the ski makes it turn, slice and dice with incredible ease in the trees. It's also almost impossible to tip dive.

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Originally Posted by LiveLarger

If you are skiing threes, the Wailer is very very nice. I find that the whole shape of the ski makes it turn, slice and dice with incredible ease in the trees. It's also almost impossible to tip dive.

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a buddy of mine said yea awesome in the trees, terrible wet noodle elsewhere when you're charging hard... otherwise, I like the idea of the wailer. maybe a stiffer variant..

I’m an old fat guy that has had Heart Surgery and loves my Katanas. They ski to me like an older lighter wide 2nd-3rd generation Mantra. Must have well over 100 days on mine and they have held up well, this is not true with everyone. Looking at buying the longer ones and maybe a pair of the new Werks Mantras also.

Moment Wildcat 108 tour. Available in 184. The OG Bibby is wider and still pretty easy in trees. Plus the ski is stupid light.

Steeple makes a lot of sense too, but they don't make them new anymore. You could go with a straight Billy Goat in a tour layup. It won't be stupid light, but with Beast 14s you probably don't care much. I don't particularly lke BGs on hard pack, but they are pretty magic in any 3D snow. 184 will measure like mosts 186 though.

thanks for the replies, folks. anyone have any thoughts on the kore 105/117? am I being ridiculous for considering a 117 as a daily driver?

I'm not super hung up on weight, but I have definitely been aiming at <1900 grams per ski if I can... without breaking the bank. a set of praxis would be sweet too... but the iteration of the ski I'd probably want would cost twice as much as I'd like to spend.

I know $$ shouldn't dictate everything, but I could get those kore 117's for $640cdn right now, which was much more within my financial ballpark.

those wildcat tours have piqued my interest now though as well.

Have you considered the Rossi Soul 7?
It really is the pinnacle of design and performance.

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Originally Posted by doebedoe

Moment Wildcat 108 tour. Available in 184. The OG Bibby is wider and still pretty easy in trees. Plus the ski is stupid light.

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This or the Deathwish Tour or a regular Deathwish in the tour layup. Lots of awesome 50/50 and touring options from Moment these days.

Jefro,

Super cool hill you call home. Tons of great lines.

Well, prolly a bunch of good options. A few that I've been on as follows
Volkl Katana/BMT 109 - both super cool skis but would cost about 14 million Canadian peso.
Liberty Origin might be exactly what you are looking for. Checks all the boxes. Super cool ski as long as you don't want to destroy everything in front of you at Mach speed. Not been on the 112
Moment Wildcat or Meridian (tour versions?) - Haven't skied the Meridian but I will be ordering a pair of tours for my wife tomorrow. Last time I skied Red I was on my Bibby 190's and they killed in all but the tightest trees. A shorter Bibby/Wildcat would have been outstanding
Salomon QST 106 - I've only been on the newer, redesigned version but it was a pretty cool ski when mounted at -2.
Atomic Backland 107 - I didn't like them at all but that doesn't mean you won't
ON3P Kartel's or Wren's should be outstanding, though I haven't been on an ON3P in the last few years.

The Kore 105 was great until I put it into some heavier chop where it got the shit kicked out of it. No experience with the 117.

If you are almost exclusively off-piste a 117mm ski makes sense, especially at a place like Red that actually get's snow.

Maybe someone has a pair of 182 standard gpo’s they’re offloading. That’s the one ski I’ve kept. Still call it the best one ski quiver . 8.6lbs with the nylon tops in stock 4 flex. Veneer would be preferable and probably make them just north of 8 lbs(not a fan of carbon in any of the ones I’ve had). 116 under foot but they rip groomers if they’re not ice. Just guessing but I think I have well over 100 days on mine and no core shots and they feel like new. Camber is still the same as new. Didn’t like ty on the dimple. -1 they’re great everywhere

I'd say a Hoji for sure. But like an older slightly heavier one with a Pilsner decal.

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most these suggestions are sub 110. He wants somethign north of 110. He has his cochise

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Originally Posted by jeffro83

...anyone have any thoughts on the kore 105/117? am I being ridiculous for considering a 117 as a daily driver?...

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I demo-ed the 189cm Head Kore 117 for only 2 hours. I liked it a lot, can't say anything bad about it, was pretty much my favorite ski at a 2-day demo event---but still I felt like I wouldn't want it as a daily driver at Whistler (with all of Whistler's many micro-climates from top to bottom, and wide variety of possible conditions, etc.).

If you are also keeping your 185cm Cochise, then maybe a 180cm Kore 117 would make it a great 2-ski quiver. Yes, 117mm is wider, but your Kore will be shorter than your Cochise, so you can whip that Kore around quickly in tight trees. I say demo a pair of Kore 117 first, instead of just pulling the trigger.

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thanks for all the replies.

I guess I should've also mentioned that I'm no stranger to wider skis. in the midst of my Cochise run, I also spent a season on some volkl shiro's (119 under foot I think) while one of the Cochise skis was buried under avy debris. had a deep day set of kuro's as well for a few years.

yea so far I'm leaning towards something from moment or these cheaper kore 117's...