179 Stiff Bro mini-review

[nutcase]

I think those green bros look freakin awesome

[Andy_B]

They all look sweet. ( I ordered mine 2 days ago)

And Stebed, your need to scrape the sand out of your vag.

[alpinepronghorn]

I too think they look very cool. But I prefer my topsheets to stay where they belong: under the snow, and on top of a ski that performs. So far, so good.

Anyway, moving on from queer eye for the straight ski...

Day 2: Dawn patrol.

No sheriff on the pass this morning, so the morning tour went off as planned. No sun, either, though, so no pics today, sorry. We went south of the pass to give the skins a chance and to get out on the nose of Eidlewiess. A little steeper, and, we hoped, a little lighter. Two quick runs were made in powder reserves on the way to and way back from the bowl.

Again, these skis are LIGHT. Skinning was a real pleasure with so much less weight on my feet. With a lighter boot than the Dynafit Aero FR (which actually weighs about the same as my Langes, but skis almost as well) it would be just ridiculous. Little things like herring-boning over little rises is so easy. So from the perspective of wanting a light, wide ski, I'm sold.

As for the descents: I'm pretty convinced that for any kind of deeper snow, these should be mounted back a few mm. Today was typical Jackson wind-deposited pow: nowhere near blower, but not all that heavy. Still, there were times I'd get that feeling of tripping over my boots. I've never experiemnted with mounting points, so I'm no expert, but reading splat and Marshal's comments, it seems that the standard mount should be back 2-4 mm for all conditions, and farther back for use purely a pow ski. Again, I'm only deducing this from my experience mounted on the line and the posts in this thread. But I would be happier with a little more tip float.

On the other hand, an interesting thing started happening on the brief, steeper sections of the nose. (For all the non-jackson maggots, south of the pass, with the exception of the claw, is pretty much meadow skipping...) At speed, the ski flexes a little more and the tips start to rise again. So I'm looking forward to finding a more sustained pitch and seeing if with a little more speed they'll float better. That would be kind of cool...

Until then, I'm putting some more wax on them in the hopes that I can meadow skip a little more quickly. Still to come: on piste in Jackson, steeps, trees, airs, and scary stuff. Stay tuned.

[LeeLau]

Dont forget that having skied at whistler for the ENTIRE season stebed is now a bro/brah local and has infallible knowledge for what everyone wants to see on a ski. Whistler - where looks are everything.

[splat]

I have to apologize to aph and ducttape for not fully ascertaining the boot centerline on the 179s for every condition. It wasn't until I got into some of the thicker setup pow crud at Whistler that I noticed the feeling of forward pitching. When we set the line on the 188s, we hadn't been in those conditions, but marked the line and it worked. I guess I expected the 179s to be no different, but they are. I have reset the boot centerline at 993 mm from center of tip (latch hung over tip) straight back, no bends in tape, not conforming to curve of tip. I expect this minor adjustment back 2.4 mm to minimize that pitching feeling and maximize the float and feel of the Bros in the varying conditions we'll find on any mountain.

Wait til you get to the resort, aph. sea2sky was running the downhill course at Whistler on them and I will personally vouch for their piste performance as insane. Bomber also skied the Bros at Whistler in the b/c for an entire day and it would be nice if she could post the woman's prespective here, as well as Tracy. Just ironing out the details.....sorry to guinea pig you like that.

[alpinepronghorn]

Hey, no worries, Splat. I mean, they're 179's, I don't expect them to ski like 190's. I'm looking forward to railing them on piste this weekend, and seeing how they perform in corn a little later in the season. For the conditions we're expecting for the next 3-4 months (!) I expect this will be fine.

For next (winter) season, anyone have experience moving a mount back 3mm? Can you just helicoil (sp?) new holes that overlap the old ones? Seems like the only possible solution, but I don't know much about mounting, so any advice would be appreciated.

[seatosky]

Wait til you get to the resort, aph. sea2sky was running the downhill course at Whistler on them and I will personally vouch for their piste performance as insane.

Most fun I've had on a groomer in years. Amazingly stable at mach stupid.

[Hicks]

back 2.4 mm to minimize that pitching feeling and maximize the float.

Now THAT is what I'd call a TRUE touch.

You should be named the 'Untouchable' by now.

[splat]

For next (winter) season, anyone have experience moving a mount back 3mm? Can you just helicoil (sp?) new holes that overlap the old ones? Seems like the only possible solution, but I don't know much about mounting, so any advice would be appreciated.

A dash of sawdust, a bit of steel wool, and epoxy will beef those holes just fine for new holes to come in on the edge of them, aph. Don't even think twice about it. I'll put a new pair of skis where my mouth is on that recommendation.

[SponsoredByDuctTape]

No sweat on the guinea pig-ness, Splat. They do rock the way they are. I probably won't even bother moving the bindings till next season, and I'll probably forget about it by the time next winter rolls around anyway.

To address the helicoil issue: When I was a more hard-charging stud, I would sometimes mount skis that had foam cores with metal helicoils the first time. A metal Helicoil and a touch of epoxy and you'll have to physically tear the skis apart to get the bindings off.

[team ftb]

So I was standing in the Gondi line at Mammoth and spied some puke green Bros on the shoulder of the guy behind me. I was excited cuz at 135 pounds the 179's are more my cup of tea. I accosted the poor guy, did not introduce myself, and started firing q's about the Bro's. The guy was straight up, cool and nice. That was my intro to Sponsored By Duct Tape. He let me fondle and flex his new mistress after knowing me all of 3 seconds. Way to go. Hope he does the same with his ole lady.

His were the stiff model and I had thought about the softs at my size. However after flexing them I will be getting the stiffs. They are not as stiff as you may have been led to beleive which is wonderful news for fellow lightwieghts and gals. Finally some boards for us midgets.

SBDT next time lets do some runs together. Sorry I was in a rush once the Gondi landed, fresh snow and all had me bolting for Hangers. I'm up again for three days this weekend if you're up there. Cheers.

[XtrPickels]

A dash of sawdust, a bit of steel wool, and epoxy will beef those holes just fine for new holes to come in on the edge of them, aph. Don't even think twice about it. I'll put a new pair of skis where my mouth is on that recommendation.

SPSWHMIPP
Splat putting skis where his mouth is preservation post.

[DePierre]

you should offer the bro's in a solid black or some other colour (dark blue? deep red?), no bigass logo, no graphics, nothing. keep the pmgear at the tails.. and then put a simple BRO right where the current BRO is written except in a better font and 1/5th the size. just big enough that it can be read clearly from six feet away. i bet you'd sell a lot more. no offense but the bro's are one of the tackiest looking freeride skis on the market and most (i didn't say all) people do care about appearances.. volkl nearly got it right this year with the mantra and gotama, such clean looking skis.. except for the nasty VOLKL on the gotama tails..

I think the BROs look great.

[DePierre]

"lots of people care, most in fact. thats just the way it is.."

What you say is true, but what you said does not apply to this board. People here are passionate about the sport and could careless whether their skis look like shit or not as long as they perform. Besides that most people on this board think they look pretty good.

[XtrPickels]

no but i'm semi-retired at 27 and spend my days travelling, skiing, and scuba diving so lets just say im not entirely clueless when it comes to the business world.. all i did was offer my opinion and advice, i don't see the need for hostilities..

I don't know if pmgear ever wanted to get rich. Make enough money to survive... of course.

Its about the skis, not the moneyclip.

[bklyn]

They are on to something about the current graphics - I've been accosted by teens and young twenty somethings (male) everywhere I've gone with the 179's. All my friends now in Utah are insanely jealous and want a pair.

Pat - I need a rep number. I ain't kidding. I could have sold 5-6 pairs today.

[SponsoredByDuctTape]

So I was standing in the Gondi line at Mammoth and spied some puke green Bros on the shoulder of the guy behind me. I was excited cuz at 135 pounds the 179's are more my cup of tea. I accosted the poor guy, did not introduce myself, and started firing q's about the Bro's. The guy was straight up, cool and nice. That was my intro to Sponsored By Duct Tape. He let me fondle and flex his new mistress after knowing me all of 3 seconds. Way to go. Hope he does the same with his ole lady.

His were the stiff model and I had thought about the softs at my size. However after flexing them I will be getting the stiffs. They are not as stiff as you may have been led to beleive which is wonderful news for fellow lightwieghts and gals. Finally some boards for us midgets.

SBDT next time lets do some runs together. Sorry I was in a rush once the Gondi landed, fresh snow and all had me bolting for Hangers. I'm up again for three days this weekend if you're up there. Cheers.

Thanks for the kind words. Actually, I thought about following you guys out to the Noids (that's where you were going right?), but I'd already been out there. Not sure if you remember, but I was headed out to the Tail. I noticed you guys had a dude on a board too, and I know how hard it is to get the goods of the Tail on a board, so I didn't want to tempt ya' too much 'cause I know I could've talked you into it, but I'm sure you would've lost your buddy in the process. Needless to say, the first run was untouched from the ridge to the race tracks at the bottom, and the second and third were almost as good.

I probably won't make it up again until after finals - May 10th or something.

As to letting you fondle my old lady: If I had an old lady, I wouldn't let you fondle her, which may be part of the reason I don't have an old lady. This way we can both fondle whoever the hell we want.

[Toby]

... I've been accosted by teens and young twenty somethings (male) everywhere I've gone with the 179's.

That may have less to do with the skis and more to do with the rider.

[splat]

and if all these guys want to do is sell a few skis to some hardcore skiers, then thats awesome.. all i'm saying is if they want to branch out and get their skis on as many feet as possible and grow their business and brand.. they should consider changing the topsheet because for johnny q. public, looks matter quite a bit.. whether its skis, clothes, shoes, cars, houses, etc..

Actually, we'd love to make about five more models and slay the world with maggot magic, stebed. Please feel free to drop by to chat if you ever feel you'd like to be part of the effort. We won't deny that we could use all the help we can get.

[Twoplanker]

there's no reason why they can't make great skis and make lots of money.. just like there's no reason why a person can't be a great musician/artist/etc and make lots of money.. and really, who wouldn't want to 'get rich'? i know lots of people who could care less about owning a big house and a fancy car, but money also buys freedom and peace of mind.. and i don't know anyone who doesn't want that.

Trust me, we want to make great skis and money. If we make lots of money it's because we're making a great product. However, we're looking down the road and have always known that financial success was a long shot.

We have always relied upon the input of our customers, including the design of our topsheets. Lots of people like our topsheets and some don't. I believe that if we try to please everyone then we're sure to please no one.

Aesthetically, I agree with your perspective: simple, clean, elegant. However, if you're a small company and you want people to notice your product it's nice to stand out. Baby blue and kiwi green skis get people in the lift line tripping over each other to get a peek and ask questions. Some people might not like what they see but at least they looked.

Thanks for your input.

[ulty_guy]

2-planks is dead on about the design. i, personally, may not love it, but it certainly doesn't mean that i don't notice it. they stick out, they get people talking and if people are talking, they'll hear the great story that is the skis and that's behind these skis.

[LeeLau]

stebed if you have the marketing savvy and credentials to back them up then great! Now we're talking.

But you knew the Summit was on, you knew Splat was there. Maybe I missed it but did you make the effort to look up Splat and let him know this face to face? Maybe some market research, maybe some branding?

Talk is cheap stebed. Implementation is everything. Entrepreneurs and businesspeople know that.

[smmokan]

I've skied on my 188 softs for two days now, and I bet I've had AT LEAST 10 people tell me how sweet they look - ranging in age from 15 to 60 (a guess). I even had a guy walk all the way across the street to ask me about them.

[squirrelmurphy]

Whether or not they're the prettiest skis on the market, I've put close to 90 days on my 188's at Alta this year, and I don't think i've gone a single day without hearing people talking about them near me, mentioning the Powder article earlier this year, whispering "whoa, what're those", or straight up asking me about them. Unique is good; it gets noticed. If you made these skis black and but "BRO" on the tails, people would laugh at the dumb sticker you put over "volkl" on your gotamas.

Splat + PMGEAR, keep doing your thing. Personally, I can't wait for the chance to buy the 179s, and the 193 Kill Maggots, and the Maggotulas after that. stebed, if you want bros that don't look like bros, go ahead and paint them. Or better yet, submit your design to the board for use in a future PMgear model.

[team ftb]

SBDT - Yea having a guy w/a board made the traverses slower. So while it was fresh we stuck to Hangmans, signline etc. Things we could drop into quick. Sorry I missed some runs with you on the Tail. Would love to hook up next time. Sorry to see the books will keep you away til after the 10th. I'm up there most weekends so let me know and we can log some turns together. Best of luck w/the exams.

Regarding the Bro colors. hey its personal. I like brunettes while other guys like blondes. Simple and elegent is a safe bet to most audience acceptance.