Non Blister Faction La Machine takes
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Skaramanga
I got the 186cm ones.... I have never toured on anything over 120mm before. These days my touring is either spring fitness laps on skinny skis or short, midwinter powder laps in the Wasatch. Hoping this ski fits that niche nicely.
Nice! Thanks for noting the true weight and camber. That's about the same weight as a Volkl BMT122 although the BMTs have a lot of parabolic rocker and certainly no camber or flat area underfoot. But since finding BMTs is nearly impossible the La Machine may be a great alternative.
"Midwinter powder laps" are the perfect niche for fat (115+), moderately light powder touring skis. I use a 120+ underfoot ski for every fresh snow day I can (mostly the BMT122 or old DPS Lotus 120 Pure Carbon). ~1850g seems to be a sweet spot for weight/performance if the ski is 120mm waist and 180-190cm. Any lighter and the performance really suffers on the descent IMHO, whereas at ~1850g the boot choice becomes the determining factor and not the ski. You may break trail again on an established skin track with really fat skis! But the trade off is faster planing up on low angle slopes and making fun turns when other skiers are still submarining on their midfats. Well worth it and perfect for the high avy danger days when you can lap low to mid angle trees and still make heaps of fun turns.
One thing I've found is that a laterally tight heel and beefy toe seems to be the ticket for bindings on 120+ skis. Radical toes + SSL2 heel is great, Salomon MTN is great, in comparison Speed Radical heels are vague on fat skis.