Anyone have thoughts or experience on 186 Chronic 101 vs 184 Bacon 108?
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Anyone have thoughts or experience on 186 Chronic 101 vs 184 Bacon 108?
SirVic,
I didn’t listen to you about the Reckoners. You’re totally right about the new Bacons. They are an awesome ski.
Just had day one and two on Bacon One Oh Eights at Whistler. Sunny skies, no lines and chalky snow. Wow do I get along with these skis. Felt like they were a part of me from the first second.
Mine straight pull at one seventy eight point five (long for a one seventy eight ski) and I’m mounted minus four from centre. Perfect.
Super intuitive and that great mix of heavy/burly and yet still playful. Really stout feeling right underfoot (thicker), the mass is kind of in the center of the ski makes it feel relatively strong, but then it’s pretty soft in both the tips and tails (thinner). That stiff in the middle and soft at the ends combination makes them able to easily ski fast over bumps and maneuverable in variable, tight terrain. I also like the round, wide, non-tapered tips
and tails….great grip on chalky steeps.
You can ride the tails and slide into the next turn. Or roll them over and the whole edge grips. Very similar feel to the Season Eqpt Aero skis I have.
Glad I picked these up.
Will try the One Fifteens when the snow comes back.
KC
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Last day of my eight day Powder Hwy trip. The Bacon 108s got a ton of use this trip (with the HL FR 110). Lots of packed pow day where the smaller Bacon shone in the tight trees and steep chutes at Red and Whitewater. You can slarve or carve them so easily. They bite when you need them too, as they have some strength underfoot. Very easy to ski tough terrain on these a the tips and tails are soft and they just flow over everything.
Also got a day on the Bacon 115 in about 10 cm of fresh. They feel similar to the 108 but are a bit less robust? Also easy to slide around. Again this the kind of ski that rips yet is pretty easy to ski. Which I think more skiers would benefit from.
The Bacon skis are perfect for how/where I ski. Will prolly find the 122 if I can.
KC.
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Now you got me second guessing if I should mount up these brand new 108s I have for sale and ski 'em
Hello gentlemen. Seeing this post on TGR made me smile. Bacons are not usually considered around here. They are not TGR-friendly, but they are great all-around skis. Perhaps with a turning radius that is too tight, but they are fun as hell.
I am a 2012-2015 Bacon enthusiast (I have three pairs) and also a 2012 Opus. Incredible skis. The Bacons that came after that era were absolute garbage and were unskiable for me (I liked the surfy Outline 118, but they would have have benefitted from being 200 grams heavier).
The old Bacons had a maple core beefy construction (2250+ grams per pair) and were soft but not noodles, as people often think.
I always said that one day they would re-release the 2012 era goodness, which is pretty much what the current version looks like (the same sidecut, maple core again, and beefy edges and construction).
Reading your post made me consider trying them again :D
I've been using the Bacon 108s in a 190cm for a handful of days in Washington, Utah, and BC. I bought it to be a fun daily driver for most days. It's the narrowest ski I have so unless there is say 4"+ of new snow, it's what I'm riding. I mounted with pivot 15s at recommended. They feel like a park ski that had a few dials turned up (weight and stiffness underfoot) in attempt to change it to all-mountain. I really like these skis and basically if you like skiing the way these are intended, you're probably going to like them a lot too. If you want planks that will crush through everything at high speeds, no these are not what you want.
Pros:
They're just fun. They are really loose and poppy and inspire catching air off of every little thing. The swing weight feels perfect and they are great in the air. I can ski the Bacons switch better than any ski I've had before. These skis are amazing in any kind of soft snow (soft groomers all the way to powder)... okay maybe not deep powder but I wouldn't be riding them in that. Ideal for soft, chopped up snow where you're seeking out side hits and popping off lips, rollers, and moguls. In other words, a typical day for me at a PNW resort. In addition to being fun freestyle skis, they do not shy away from steeps or high speeds. They handle very precisely, so in tricky terrain where you need total control, the Bacons can be relied on.
Cons:
I wish the flex were a little stiffer in front of my toes, between the bindings and the tips. These skis can go fast but when the snow gets heavy or crusty, I start to lose a little bit of confidence. The Bacons do not perform that well in "bad" snow (e.g. ice, sun-crust, or really heavy PNW cement). In bad conditions I really have to bring the speed down and focus to stay in control.
The construction of the ski seems fine, but I already have two base gouges (not core shots) that need ptex repair. Granted it is from hitting rocks, but still notable.
To summarize, the Bacon 108s are really fun!
Finally got out on the longer length of the one-one-five. Mounted with Warden thirteen demos on the rear line.
Skied them in optimal conditions, eight to fifteen inches of light, dry powder and soft groomers this past week.
Really easy to pivot despite the length. Mediocre float but not amazing for how wide they are. Surfy when you get them on top of the snow. Got some really surfy turns with enough speed. Nice and stout under foot and quite a bit softer at the extremities.
Groomers performance was outstanding for a one-fifteen waist. Loved them on soft groomers.
Swapped for my MFree 108’s as stuff started to get skied out and realized how much more stable the Dynastars are.
Not sure that I’ll be holding on to these since they aren’t really my style and I get worried that they’ll get pushed around in typical heavier/dense PNW conditions.
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Just had another two days on the Line Bacon 108… new pow, mank shit snow and spring slush. The Bacon is as comfortable jumping into Saudan as it is skiing in VD Chutes or ripping groomers back to the lift.
I love the fact that it is very easy to ski and very intuitive as long as you use a centered stance.
The Bacon is a pretty capable ski in rougher shit snow. Cause it has pretty nice suspension because it’s a bit heavy for its size (but not super stiff) so it does a decent job muting / absorbing bumps and piles of slush when skiing variable spring conditions.
The -4cm mount makes it surfy and maneuverable when skiing tight trees and off piste steeps and it’s a riot when the snow turns slushy.
On smooth groomers you can still drive it pretty good and make some pretty high angle carves.
Maybe it’s cause I’m getting older but I really like easy to ski skis that can still rip.
Bandit - I think the 108 Bacon is a much better ski than the 115.
KC
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