Seth Vicious Flex

[skibackwards]

Is this ski much stiffer than the old seth pistol? I talked to e few people who have a 189 vicious and 179 pistol and say that it wasnt heaps stiffer but its definately stiffer. But then i talked to a few others and they said the 189 vicious is alot stiffer than the 179. Whats the deal? Also does this ski seem short due to its hige tail & tip? Im a lighter guy but going longer and forward mounting the 189, so dont want anything too stiff. And my specs are: 6'(182cm) 160lbs(70kg).

This is basically going to be for chutes,pow,bowls,speed,BC,ect... At my size would i have to be an exceptionally strong skier to handle it? Im a strong skier, but i wouldnt say i am exceptionally strong like alot of people on this site.

Cheers.

[iggyskier]

I have the 189 Vicious and the 179 1st gen Pistol.

It is stiffer for sure, but no a lot. Basically you don't get the tip chatter you did with the pistol.

It skis somewhat shorter just because the twin is huge. I'm only 5'10", so I have no problem with it though.

I would go with the 189 for sure. I mounted +4 on mine for everyday skiing and wouldn't want to move it any further forward. I have no problems in the trees and they are much more stable at speed than my 179 pistols.

Vicious is a little taller than you and originally mounted his 189 Vicious +5. He thought it was too far foward and moved them back to +3, which he loves now.

So, I would get the 189 for sure. The increased stiffness is very managable. I would mount +3-4.

[DonWittore]

Vicious is stiffer then the Pistols, but I still consider it a soft ski... as iggy says get the 189 and mount i a bit forward..

[skibackwards]

ok thanks guys. So its still soft enough to be great in the pow as well as having the support to charge big mtn lines.

If so i think i'll go for the 189.

[Steven S. Dallas]

Get the 189s.

[skibackwards]

One more thing. I have had a bit of race training but nothing too intense. Do you think i would have to be a really strong skier to handel these things or just strong. The only thing i worry about is that i wont be able to move them in chutes. Im hoping a +4 mount will solve this. Thanks for all the help guys. Typical noob questions.

[KANUTTEN]

I haven't skied the Vicious nor Pistols, but I know a few people who have...

My feeling is that this ski definately is a manageable ski, a lot of people use the pistols for tele. For a reasonably strong alpine skier, the Vicious will NOT be too much.

I am more hesitant about the forward mounting recommendations you get here. Again, not based on experience but more on general knowledge. First the ski is constructed according to the recommended mounting place; this spot is ideal for this ski. This would be were the ski is the narrowest and stiffest. If you mount forward you might end up with a sweet spot that recquires you to ski somewhat in the backseat. Also forward mounting means a little bit easier turn initiation + huck stability, but less floatation in powder. One effect of forward mounting could be that if you "drive" your skis with your toeballs in powder, the tips will dip. Hence you may be forced to a more backseat style in powder, AND WHO WANTS THAT!!?? The gain in terms if turn initiation is not that big.

So my recommendation, WITHOUT KNOWING THIS SKI MYSELF, would be to be careful with the forward mounting. 4 cm is a lot, 3 is quite a bit, 2 you will notice. I wouldn't go more than 2 cm myself. For what it is worth...

[DonWittore]

Considering skibackwards lenght and weight (182cm, 70kg) and the skis lenght (189) I dont think he would risk that much nose dipping if he mounts them at +2-4..

I've got mine mounted at 0, reasons: I'm 186 cm, and I won't ski much in the trees this winter so I won't need the turning advantages of +2-4 mounting.. Also, asuming skibackwards like to ski backwards mounting the skis a bit forward should be a good thing for him..

Finally, you probaly should'nt trust me on this, I guess I'm still a bigger JONG then anyone here ..

[vinnay]

Remember when discussing mounting on these that the line is off in everyones book, which is to stay that 0 mount is really +2 and most common standard mount is +3, going up to as much as +5(seth) and beyond for complete park only.
I have not heard of anyone who mounted at true 0 on the line, but would be interested in what you found with them mounted there.

[phUnk]

I haven't skied the Vicious nor Pistols, but I know a few people who have

[snip]

WITHOUT KNOWING THIS SKI MYSELF

You put the disclaimer in there but you still went ahead and posted.

Why did you refute what the other Seth Vicious owners said about how they mounted their Seths, with nothing but obvious statements about the effects of forward vs back mounting?

Seems silly, no?

[Skip Dooley]

just for clarification:
Seth's are mounted +3(+5graph) but he is a light guy skiing very fast so...

Big guy every day ski might want to bump back a little.

[bagtagley]

I have not heard of anyone who mounted at true 0 on the line, but would be interested in what you found with them mounted there.

I mounted my Pistols dead on the 0 line. I love 'em. Great in the powder, plenty stable. I don't ride park much nor do I ride switch, so I can't comment on their performance in those situations.

[Skip Dooley]

just for clarification:
Seth's are mounted +3(+5graph) but he is a light guy skiing very fast so...

my +3(measured not graph) pistolas kick ass, will review mount for vicious when I get the skis.

Vicious' are not stiff!

[DonWittore]

Remember when discussing mounting on these that the line is off in everyones book, which is to stay that 0 mount is really +2 and most common standard mount is +3, going up to as much as +5(seth) and beyond for complete park only.
I have not heard of anyone who mounted at true 0 on the line, but would be interested in what you found with them mounted there.

Well, when I got them mounted I didn't know about the 2cm the chart was off, otherwise I might have mounted them different.. I'd thought mounting them at 0 would be the best alternative for me. I've skied skis that were mounted more forward in the past and I didn't like the way I had to ski them in the powder, they were great in the trees and in bumby terrain though..

Anyways, here they are mounted at 0, I look at them and I have to say that there still alot of the ski behind me, I've only skied them one day so far and honestly it felt great.. They were'nt hard to turn and they didn't feel short behind me.. Next time I'll ski is in January and I'll probaly ski them the way they are mounted for at least a week, if they dosen't feel absolutley perfect then, I might try to mount them a few cm more forward and see how that feels.. I'll be waiting till then or later to review them further..

btw it's really hard to talk about tech-stuff in English (I'm Swedish), I hope I've made myself clear enough..

[vinnay]

wouldnt have known unless you said it...

[skibackwards]

Vicious is stiffer then the Pistols, but I still consider it a soft ski... as iggy says get the 189 and mount i a bit forward..

Are you talking about the 179 or 189. I was just concerned teh 189 would be pretty stiff. But im pretty sold to the 189. But it cant hurt knowing the facts anyway.

[DonWittore]

Are you talking about the 179 or 189. I was just concerned teh 189 would be pretty stiff. But im pretty sold to the 189. But it cant hurt knowing the facts anyway.

ohh, the 189.. don't know about the 179 but it should be about as soft/stiff as the 189 i figure..

[KANUTTEN]

You put the disclaimer in there but you still went ahead and posted.

Why did you refute what the other Seth Vicious owners said about how they mounted their Seths, with nothing but obvious statements about the effects of forward vs back mounting?

Seems silly, no?

Eh.. Can't deny that you have a point, Phunk.

Reason for posting was that I read through the post, and everybody talked about forward mounting these. Quite a few park rats want to mount more or less dead on ski middle, (= waaaaaay forward relative to most mounting lines) or at least quite a bit forward of standard mounting line, which often totally destroys performance in pow + not good in everything but park/bc jibbing. The fact that 10 Pistol owners like their skis mounted frwd doesn't mean that #11 have the same preferences. My worry was that the asker of the original question mounted forward and would be unhappy with it.

If this ski has a weirdo mid mark, then I would obviously suggest that you listen to those who have specific knowledge of the ski. + it is obviously important to know what you want to use the ski for when mounting.


And to you, Phunk, next time you call me out I'm gonna you from here to saturn,.... or something of that nature...

[Jim S]

I had last years 179 SP and I have both the 179 and 189 SV mounted + 3.
I'm 6' 2" and 192 lbs.




Comparing both 179 skis, the SV is more versatile and better than the SP IMHO because it's stiffer with better edge hold and stable at speeds. It busts crud, floats pow, and is good in trees, chutes and bumps. I took my 180 Explosiv and 179 SV to Portillo and favored the SV 90% of the time and I skied it all down there: frozen crud, heli pow, bumps, chutes, groomers, and raced on them.

The 189 SV feel stiffer than the 179 SV. Of course it's not as quick but it's super sweet at speed and I found it more fun to arc on groomers. It's more work to ski the 189 all day; the 179 is child's play but not squirrely at all. I took the 189 in trees and it's doable but the 179 you can turn on a dime. Since I love to ski super fast I'll probably favor the 189 but I need more time to make the final call.

BOTTOM LINE: You can't go wrong with either.

[300hp]

At 155lbs with a racing backgroud, I'm loving the 179 mounted +3 on the scale. Now, I've only gotten to test these on packed pow/groomed terrain. I come from a racing background, so I'm always on the front of my skis. I was amazed how well the SV skied groomed, even though its super far from its intended use. I didn't feel a need for more tip. I'll let you know how they ski pow after my front range romp in dec/jan.
Hunter

[nexus]

I haven't skied the Vicious nor Pistols, but I know a few people who have...

My feeling is that this ski definately is a manageable ski, a lot of people use the pistols for tele. For a reasonably strong alpine skier, the Vicious will NOT be too much.

I am more hesitant about the forward mounting recommendations you get here. Again, not based on experience but more on general knowledge. First the ski is constructed according to the recommended mounting place; this spot is ideal for this ski. This would be were the ski is the narrowest and stiffest. If you mount forward you might end up with a sweet spot that recquires you to ski somewhat in the backseat. Also forward mounting means a little bit easier turn initiation + huck stability, but less floatation in powder. One effect of forward mounting could be that if you "drive" your skis with your toeballs in powder, the tips will dip. Hence you may be forced to a more backseat style in powder, AND WHO WANTS THAT!!?? The gain in terms if turn initiation is not that big.

So my recommendation, WITHOUT KNOWING THIS SKI MYSELF, would be to be careful with the forward mounting. 4 cm is a lot, 3 is quite a bit, 2 you will notice. I wouldn't go more than 2 cm myself. For what it is worth...

its for that reason that i mounted my 189 SV's @ +2 on the graph.... i have had many other forward mounted skis for over 10 years and i never go more than an inch... (except my mid mount invaders for park injuries)

[keksie]

FWIW, i'm 140lbs, no racing background or anything but pretty aggressive otherwise. had my 179s mounted +4 but changed to +0,5 after 5 days or so on them. i like them more at the current mounting point and dont feel need to change back. theres plenty tail left if i need to ride switch to the road, turning is still easy, and they feel nicer in pow. dont really do any park stuff so dont care about that.

[Jiehkevarri]

I have 2nd generation Pistols (189) mounted at +4...

I first had them at +2 with Solly 914's but changed to Freerides, and I thought (mistake) that I'd compensate the negative ramp angle of Freerides with mounting a bit forward (+4).

For me this was a mistake. My previous pow/Alps skis were Head Im103's (193cm), which were stiff and had a lot more tip infront of the binding. Now I feel like I'm easily overpowering the tip. And especially the long tail annoyed me in the trees...somehow I'd like to drive a ski more and I didn't got the more relaxed/centered stance required quite dialed. I was either going over the tips or felt very backseated.

I didn't get to ski any deep pow and only had like 6 days with that set-up. Maybe it's a matter of adaption in the end? (and Im103's needed much more skier input for sure, so the change was quite dramatic)

So, the point here is that forward mounting isn't for everyone; I'd recommend to stay around 0 - +2 if you feel like you're "traditional" skier and/or have more race background. Weight also plays a role here, I'm about 180lbs (83kg). But I consider myself more as a "finesse" skier than very aggressive/strong... I actually changed to Pistols cause I wanted softer skis.

[PS. In the dream world, I'd still like to have an ultra fat pair mounted pretty centered and stomp fakie stuff to powder like Pollard...and ski 100 days a year too In reality it seems much harder to change your habits / style though...]

[PeachesN'Cream]

just as an FYI i have a pair of 06/07 "the seth" — same as the vicous with the name changed for legal reasons. the one exception is the mount chart on the sidewalls — this year its accurate. so if you mount +3 on the chart you are really mounting +3. i measured mine out to be sure and they were dead on.

i got one ride on the seths at hood a few weeks back and like them a bunch so far. fun ski, lots of energy and not a total ass kicker. on the other hand i'm 6'3" and 225lbs with a race background so.. ya know, all i really gotta do is put em in position and let em go.

i had a pair of pistols that were mounted at +1 and another pair at +3. the +3 really helped the ski out with the stability of extra tail to help stomp landings. the tip is soft so it comes right up in pow, which really helps... i assume the same holds true with the seth too.

[nexus]

[PS. In the dream world, I'd still like to have an ultra fat pair mounted pretty centered and stomp fakie stuff to powder like Pollard...and ski 100 days a year too In reality it seems much harder to change your habits / style though...]

just wat till your pistols are fucked and you get a new pair..... voila!
but as for skiing as well as pollard... its all in the hair