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Even though we make and sell a ton of Bella 108s there are not a lot of reviews of them on forums or placed like Blister.Quote:
Originally Posted by mtskibum16
The way to look at the Bella 108 vs the 116 is Wildcat 108 vs 116. And there is tons of information on those skis. The Bella variations are very similar.
Briefly got on my new dwt184s with fr14s (wish i had waited for the voyagers) at alpine last week before the storm and couldnt shake a hooky feel on the tails. How much do people detune? They were damp, surprisingly didnt feel short @ 184 even though im a bit over 6ft - and generally super intriguing for tahoe mixed soft conditions, just wondering re the hookiness and triple camber. Perhaps its the stock fr14 ramp? Gonna have to shim the toes sooner or later.
I’m on the 190cm but did zero detuning from how they arrived stock. That being said, I’ve never taken them on resort snow.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Westcoaster
you do any kind of weird mount point other than the big triangle? I detune pretty heavily to about the middle M of MOMENTQuote:
Originally Posted by Westcoaster
Check to see if the bases are flat or edge high. That's how my Bibby's felt when they were edge high
Ive had a pair that came edge high from the heel piece back. I detuned them way too much and still had the same hooky grabby feel until I realized the bases were concave.
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Bring a gummy stone with you. If the tails feel hooky hit the contact point in the back and move in a couple inches at a time.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tailwind
We send the skis sharp.
My kid has officially outgrown his 121 carsons. If anyone's been hunting for a pair for their grom, shoot me a PM...will throw them up in GS later but putting them here first so you kooks have first chance at them.
As others have said check for base flatness and if looks okay, check base bevel is uniform at 1 degree along the whole ski(under that and they will feel catchy) and then make sure the edges are smooth/detuned from the last contact point up tip and tail.
Good to know, thanks! So that was the case prior to the 116 being available too? As in the the pre-116 Bella was still essentially a WC 108? SO for a powder specific ski for someone 5'1" and 100 lbs advanced/strong skier would you recommend the Bella 116 in a 162?Quote:
Originally Posted by Melee
Depends on their style. A ski at 108 will provide plenty of float for someone that height and weight...Quote:
Originally Posted by mtskibum16
Skied the Commander 124 (194cm) the other day and they perform as advertised. Mounted about +2 forward of line (same as my Deathwish) and they felt comfortable on the very first turn. The tips are a smidge soft but then again, they are a non-metal Commander fall-line, traditional powder ski. Even on the groomers, with a bit of effort, they will lay a nice long carve. Obviously, the turn initiation is much less than say the Deathwish, but they'll try to do what you ask. These should be perfect skis to take on heli/cat trips and for those looking for some fat skis with camber underfoot and some subtle rocker.
Thats roughly the equivalent to saying "Frodo dropped the ring into the lava on mount doom". Well played sir.Quote:
Originally Posted by skier666
If you had 192 Comis in your quiver as well which would you grab for mechanized pow skiing (Cat, Heli, Sled)?Quote:
Originally Posted by skier666
I felt like the Comis were too wide...I had the 192 swallow tail but ultimately barely used them. I guess, I'd like to get under the snow a bit. Depends on the snow as well. I took the Deathwish heli-skiing in Haines, AK and they skied fine most of the time, especially if the powder is light and dry.
Fair enough, the surface area of the Comi and 'getting under the snow' don't really mix well so I understand your perspective. The last thing I need is another ski with a waist greater than 125 underfoot but I feel like the number of people who have skied the commander 124 and the comi can probably fit into a squaw funitel car so I wanted to get your thoughts to see if I was missing out on something special.
Talk is cheap!Quote:
Originally Posted by skier666
Where's the vid:smile:
Facts! Also a question for the Moment quiver folks - which Moment ski would you use as a dedicated resort powder ski.
I've skied the 190cm Bibby for some time. Ultra versatile ski, but I'm looking for something that's a bit more powder specialist and a bit more directional without being a full on charger. I always assumed the 194cm Commander 118 and 124 were full on chargers that are fun going real fast on an open face, but not necessarily great skiing often tighter terrain in the resort.
Been pondering the Chipotle Banana, but would love to hear that the Commander is more versatile than I assumed!
Quote:
Originally Posted by tuco
^^^As close as the 124 is to the GOAT, which is my dd(Attachment 361509), I'm gonna say Commander.
I did the math for my wife a few years ago... she is 115 lbs and on a 110 underfoot ski floats way better than I do on my 125mm skis at 160 lbs.
Thinking about the lift generated as you get moving... a lighter skier only probably needs something like a 100mm under foot ski (with a lot of rocker ) to replicate most super wide powder skis for anyone heavier.
Point being a 116 wide ski for a 100lbs skier is pretty crazy. More like a 130+mm wide ski for most menZ
Quote:
Originally Posted by mtskibum16
Attachment 361666
I finally got a chance to take my shop's 182cm Commander 98 demos out these past few days, and I am super stoked with what they've done to the ski for the 20/21 season. I skied the previous versions of both the C98 and C108, and never really clicked with the shape, but the new ones felt easy, intuitive and confidence inspiring from my first turns onward. At 6'0" & 160lbs, I thought the 182cms to ski a bit short at times, and will be buying the 188s.
First day out was 6-12" of light and dry powder over firm but not rock solid chop. Definitely not conditions this ski is optimized for, but still very enjoyable. The front end has a fairly deep rocker line with a good amount of splay and taper, and with the -10 mount ,while tip dive was possible, it was easily avoidable. I spent most of the day lapping soft snow in very tight trees, and was impressed with their float, and ability to cut loose and skid and drift in deeper snow, especially given their nearly flat tail.
Today, I got up to the hill several hours into the day. There was virtually no untracked snow left, but things were still soft, and getting a bit bumped out. This seems like the conditions these skis are absolutely ideal for. First run was down a groomer, where they did not disappoint. They're very easy to bend/pivot/skid into tight radius turns, and they only get better as you increase the radius. They don't pull you into a turn or explode you out the end like a true groomer zoomer, but they have plenty of energy to be a lot of fun on ze piste. Edge grip was good enough at the factory 1* bevel that I don't see any reason to run a 2* or 3* unless you're skiing blue ice.
I opened them up to very high speeds a few times, and they were very confident on smooth snow at speed, but did get a bit nervous above 45-50mph when things got roughed up. Not holy shit I'm going to die when I eventually catch an edge nervous, but also nowhere near as unshakable as Monster 98s when going warp speed. They don't freight train through irregularities like the M98s, they launch off them. That said, I expect the 188cms to be a bit more confidence inspiring going fast on chewed up snow, but they also won't be the ski of choice for radar speed gun day either.
Skiing off trail on heavily skied snow, they felt quick, nimble, and strong. Super easy to make quick turns in bumps and crud, fun and well balanced in the air(especially for a ski with a -10 mount), and very predictable. Just plain intuitive. Again, I found their speed limit a few times blasting through crud, but I really think that I just need to be on the next size up since I like to open my skis up, even though I don't always have the skills to back said speed up.
To the point of playfulness, the C98s were easy to whip around in all situations, and felt surprisingly balanced in the air. I ran into a few park rat friends midday and was totally comfortable hitting 20ft+ park jumps. As a matter of fact, the skis had me wanting to jump off anything and everything on the hill, stumps, bumps, wind lips, you name it. They definitely don't feel like they're mounted at -10 when you're in the air, and have that typical progressive Moment jibby feel to them. Similarly, I found them super easy to feather turns into skids, slides, slarves, and never grabby or hooky.
TLDR: I like these skis a lot, and think I'll like them in 188cm even more.
It must be destiny that I came in search of this thread to ask about the Wildcat 101 and found it on page 101.
Finally got to ride my Wildcats (116) for the first time this year and forgot how amazing they are.
Thinking about getting 101s as a replacement for my aging Camox - they'd fill the similar slot of hard-pack / early season / daily driving / occasional park laps here in Steamboat.
Does anyone have any comparisons of the 101 to the 116 (I have last year's model)?
Would I want to size down to 179 compared to my 184 Wildcats?
Attachment 361734
I have the 182 pbj which is now the wildcat 101 in a 184. Rode the 190 bibby for a while.
It’s dope. The 101 is so agile and easy.
For perspective I have the 182 PB&J, 184 WC 108 and 190 WC and all of those lengths are perfect.
Short info on Chipotle Bananas after 10 days of skitouring:
Size: Straight tape pull they are 183.2 at size 186
Graphics: Probably best I've seen on skis. Super bright, colorful, just awesome.
Profile: I have some worries about their resort performance. Initially I was expecting rocker to be something like Candide 5.0 that I owned, where flat section underfoot was ~ 100-110cm long. However, here rockers go up straight from the boot section. They rise slowly, yes, but "flat" section is literally 20cm underfoot, that's all.
Stiffness: I found many reviews here and there very confusing. These skis are definitely not stiff. Obviously stiffness is a very debatable point, but I mean, really, there are many skis that are stiffer than Chipotles. To be more precise, Blister states Wildcat stiffness at 6.5 tips, 6 tails. I would say that Chipotles are probably 7 tips, 7 tails or something like that. They are just a bit stiffer. For example, I owned Candides 5.0 and they are significantly stiffer in tips and tails.
Mount point: Currently mounted them on -4.5 from true center (+0.5 from recommended) with ATK Freerider 14, as this is my favourite spot on freestyle-oriented skis.
Skiing: I was lucky to catch the storm so not much info on skiing. 10 days straight hut trip with 1-2ft of light fresh untracked each day, and with that waist and rockers, obviously, they were a blast. Easy to throw around, float is fantastic, no tip dive at all, hucking 15-20ft cliffs, landing switch, everything went smooth. Brought them with me for the second part of the season to a resort, will see how they will perform here.