"Lightweight" Pow Touring Skis

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Looking for a reasonably lightweight fat ski to use on longer outings or days when I am already gassed. I mostly ski Renegades and love how easy they are in weird snow, but I feel the weight on big tours and after consecutive days. Rough specs I have in mind are ~1800-1900g/ski, 185cm+, and 110+ width. I bought a BG tour for this slot, but so far the loose tail that I love inbounds is not my favorite for variable backcountry snow (they will likely be listed in gearswap soon). Whats out there? La Machine 4 or 5? Wildcat Tour? I cant keep up with the Heritage Lab options</p>

I'm a fan of the wildcat tour. Handles firm fine for its width. Floats pretty well. Pivots easily. It's stiff enough without feeling like a difficult ski.

On the whole, it's less that it does anything spectacularly and more that it does everything pretty well. Which is what I want for a ski that will likely see a wide variety of conditions.

You can Line vision 118s for pretty cheap these days if you like the shape.


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Voile v[emoji[emoji6[emoji640][emoji638]][emoji640][emoji640]]


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I think HL has UT122s in stock in both 183 and 190. OG renegades but 1750g in the 183 length,

Seconded for WC Tour. I run a lightweight race binding and often ski them with a f[emoji637] LT. Super fun and versatile kit. Use a bigger boot and it’s easily a mid winter DD in the [emoji637][emoji[emoji6[emoji640][emoji638]][emoji640][emoji640]][emoji640] length.


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A bit lighter renegade = HL ultra taper122

A sweet option if you're staying on soft stuff. If by variable you mean some hard pack thrown in, or are otherwise interested in saving some more weight (IMO 1850g is still heavy for a long day/tired legs ski), HL BC110. More sidecut so a bit less surfy as a pure pow tool, but it still has the reverse camber which is clutch for variable snow.

Vwerks katana, best ski i ever had

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Get a 2020-2024 Bent Chetler 120.

1800-1850gSki weird snow really good (extensive alps testing).

I think they ski like a super easy going renegade. And they can be had used for a great price.

Can&#39;t vouch for the updated 2025 version.

As others have said HL BC110 is great in pow and all kinds of variable. I also have Voile Hyper V8 which is significantly lighter and gets a ton of use, it is fantastic in pow and surprisingly good in variable if it isn&#39;t firm or icy, and it is just about the worst ski ever in those conditions. The Voile is a more specialized tool but there is nothing better for stacking pow laps on tired legs. They float amazingly for their width and make breaking trail in deep snow way easier.

Volkl BMT 122s if you can find a pair

I had the same thought as OP, just need a bit shorter length.

I had one-eight-four Wolf Renegades with Duke PT’s that I think I just sold, as I’m patiently waiting the imminent arrival of one-eighty-three HL UT One Twenty Twos and one-eighty HL BC One Tens. Putting ATKs on both.

I don’t think one could go wrong with Bentchetler One Twentys either.

KC

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Second the Katana v-werks. Expensive, but can be found much cheaper used/off season. 112mm, kinda full rocker that rips all conditions, mine were 1850 grams, 2150 with Alpinists. Also holding up to all manner of poor treatment.

Good recs thanks. I wasn't aware of the UT122 and wouldn't have thought of the Benchetler. My buddy has a pair that he's never using. I'll have to try those.

+3 on VWK

Vwerks Katana is the highest performing ski in this class though like any ski it may or may not fit your skiing style. It is a total GOAT for burly touring skis. Probably because it is a top of the line inbounds ski that is light enough to tour and gives up nothing in performance to obtain it’s lighter no metal weight.

BMT122 mentioned above is very similar but a lot harder to find. A little better in deep low density (no surprise), but skinning any firm sidehilling is surprisingly worse for just the +10mm waist width. More surfy, just as chargy, more rockered.

These have been my main 2 touring skis this year and have skied a lot of 6-16” of pow days. I love them both but the VWK is certainly more versatile and skis pow 95% as well as the BMT. Weights are within 10g of eachother BMT vs VWK.


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The bmt series are less torsionally stiff then the katanas. This affects edge hold on firm snow

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Just mounted a pair of 2021 184 vwk with raider 15evos, average ski weight was 1942g, weight with evos 2370g. ~2016 Bmt 122 186 with 15 evos, no brakes are 1966g average flat, 2358g with bindings.

Only one tour on the wvk so far, mounted +1.5, but wow. Hype is real. One wonders about vwk + a 200g class binding...

Recently got some vwk + tectons to use as a travel ski, this is making me very excited to get out on them.

Whenever I hear "weird snow" I think flat/reverse camber, so BMTs, vwk, and some of the HL touring offerings.

What was the issue with the BG tails? I love my BG tours but do find the tails can wash out if I get too far forward.

I owned VWK and agree with every positive comment. Those skis killed it everywhere. Im now on BMT109s as my main touring ski and havent noticed any lack or torsional stiffness but perhaps Im not as sensitive to notice.

How about the newest version of the Atomic Backland 109? They seem to work pretty well for that use case...

Bent Chetler is pretty soft IME, not a fan but I weigh 190 lbs. my current fave in this category is the G3 Slayr 114 in a 190. Around 1750 g on my scale as I recall. G3, like black crows, uses polyurethane to make these lighter skis somewhat damper. I’ve noticed a lot of Slayr users in regions that get significant storms. During a moderate storm cycle I prefer to tour in a 106-108 waisted ski.

The cosmetic blem Slayrs are pretty cheap, just have to keep an eye on their site. But with the corporate challenges I’m not sure what the future looks like for them.

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I agree the OP needs to define needs a bit more. And what region. &nbsp;I get the sense by &lsquo;variable&rsquo; you mean deep days but with wind affect on ridges, or manky deep snow down low. But if you mean variable in the sense of hardpack zones on a pow day, keep it under 110. But I think you know that.</p>
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Since Moment is local and sorta in my social circle I&#39;ve been tempted by the wildcat tour at 118 underfoot, but just over 1900 g is not my jam for touring. &nbsp;Sometimes when we have 3 or 4 feet of new snow in 24 hrs I&#39;ll do sidecountry on a 124 waist Scott with Kingpins. &nbsp;My point is that in a 190 cm ski, IME the skinning tradeoffs are noticeable as you get heavier than 1700ish grams and I&#39;d rather go fully into a damp alpine ski that does not have the tradeoffs on the descent of a touring construction. &nbsp;</p>

OP just saw this while doomscrolling. https://www.powder7.com/Faction-Agen...-Skis/for-sale


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I rock the Katanas with Shifts and the BMTs 109 with Trab Vario. The Katanas with Shifts are fucking awesome, especially for sloppy thirds on couloirs. The Shifts feel a bit too mainstream for me, and I considered switching to TR1s for a lighter setup. Not sure if the gunship feel of the Katanas comes from the ski itself or the binding compared to the BMTs with Varios. Either way, they’re light enough to haul up a bootpack when there’s no new snow.

Lotus one thirty eight rocker one


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