179 Stiff Bro mini-review

[SponsoredByDuctTape]

At the same time ,we are finalizing everything to set up our own shop, including getting the press, a CNC, and a Wintersteiger.

Then we can send our Bros to you for free grinds for life?????????

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

BTW, if you ever make a ski that is 185-190 cm and 105-115 underfoot with the same light weight, characteristics, and flex of the 179 stiffs, you can pretty much put me on the pre-order list.

Funny you mention this now....you should see what is literally drawn up on the markerboard in my office right now

[/rumor mill]


(and thanks for the review...so stoked to hear stories of people out on our skis having a blast. thanks.)

[Hutch]

Saw this in the user galleries...

[f2f]

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

That Pope guy..he's pretty smahrt....and pretty close....

[P_McPoser]

Does this mean I might finally find a long skinny box sitting on the door step when I get home? (179 softs???)....The wait is kILLING me.

Thanks, 3p, that's a freakin rave review if ever we've gotten one.

As for any new 179 or 188 soft orders - we're asking people to hold off right now until we ship what just came in today.
Except for 188 stiffs, which we have an abundance of at this time.

At the same time ,we are finalizing everything to set up our own shop, including getting the press, a CNC, and a Wintersteiger.

Thanks again to everyone who has supported PM Gear.
Next year will rock!

[meatdrink9]

I finally got a chance to ski my 179 "stiffs?" today. I waxed them 3 times before taking them out and never had any probs with speed. Today was crazy deep and soft. I had a great time. The ski has no speed limit what-so-ever.

Me 150lbs, 6'1". I ski like a monkey on carbonated peanut butter. First impressions. I was skiing a little in the backseat and couldn't figure out why. The pow was deep, but normally I ski Maidens or PRs and still manage to stay out of the backseat. I thought about how people wished the mounting point was further back, but I didn't feel like it had to do with mount location at all.

After a few more runs I finally got comfortable enough be out over the tips in the deep pow. These skis are fast and the flex/rebound is super lively. Crazy springy and good lord are these skis lightweight. After a couple more runs I came to the conclusion that the fear of/feeling like you're going over the tips (which never happened, or even came close) was due to the crazy amounts of camber in the ski. On my other skis there is no camber. When I'm in the air between turns the ski is either parallel with my boot or even slightly upturned due to the forces of motion. However, I found that with these skis the tip is naturally pointing down due to the enormous amounts of camber. Thus it feels like your tip is about to dive (the reason my first few runs kept me in the backseat), but it doesn't dive. The springly flex bends and finds the surface rather than dives. Before long we were just going as fast as humanly possible in pow and lightly tracked pow. Never got it to dive once. We put down 30k of vert today and I wasn't really tired at all by the end. The first run or two I thought I would be wrecked, but once you get the feel of that camber and trust it won't dive you can unload.

Thanks Splat and PM Gear. This ski freaking rocks. I think I may have to ski it again tomorrow. I'm sure by the end of the season we'll have some great shots of the Bros in action.

[splat]

Does this mean I might finally find a long skinny box sitting on the door step when I get home? (179 softs???)....The wait is kILLING me.

They're on the way, P.

edit: they'll ski even better with a grind and a tune, md.

edit/edit: Looks like we are sold out of 179s. Sorry.

[grapedrink]

They're on the way, P.

edit: they'll ski even better with a grind and a tune, md.

edit/edit: Looks like we are sold out of 179s. Sorry.

wow, glad i got my order in

[mday]

edit/edit: Looks like we are sold out of 179s. Sorry.

You guys were due for a good problem like this. Personally, I feel lucky as hell to have a pair. I'm counting down the days until I get my 179 stiffs mounted, tuned and on the snow in Mammoth (only 4 more days, woohoo!)

[eldereldo]

Out of 179's???? And I was thinking of getting a pair for the wife.

Oh well, at least I have mine.

[DePierre]

For a little backround I'm 5'7", 135lbs, advanced-expert skier, very agressive.

Today I got out on my 179s at Jay. Conditions were from 6-10in of pow to sheer ice and everything in between. I didn't get a full stone grind, or tuned edges. Just a wax and mount.

My first impressions were the skis look bomber. Huge edges, thick core, sweet looking topsheet, and featherweight. After smashing the skis into severall rocks there was nothing but a minor cosmetic scratch. Not even noticeable unless your looking closely.Topsheet doesn't chip. Hit a tree head on with the tip of the ski. No marks at all. Lots of camber though. Didn't really notice it once I started.

These things fucking rock. They do everything better than I could imagine. Quick through trees and bumps, blow through crud and chop, float through pow, rail groomers. Basically the perfect everyday, do anything ski.

First run we headed to Valhalla for some trees.Half way through the first run of powder filled trees I started to get these things dialed in. They so quick and easy to throw around. I had so much confidence in the trees with them. I was skiing faster through the trees than ever.

Second run we heading over to liftline to huck some rocks. First rock at the top, about an 8ft drop. They're super stable on the landing and just rocket you out of it. Cruise off another 5ft-3ft double and once again super stable and easy on the landing. After that it got crudy, but the BROs just plowed right through. No deflection whatsoever.

After that we headed up to the face chutes for some pow and wind buff. They float really well for the width, cut right through the chopped up stuff, and surf right over the wind buff. Cut right through any snow buildup. Perfect chute ski. Super quick edge to edge in tight spots and very light for jump turns.

Then it was super bulletproof the rest of the way down. I could notice the unfinished base pulling my skis away, but I'm sure a full stone grind will fix this problem. I didn;t have my edges tuned, but they still held a super good edge. No chatter, didnt budge when going through ice chunks at speed.

Overall these are the best all around skis Ive ever skied. Splat put together a masterpiece with the BROs. I'll deffinately be buying more skis from PM Gear. If something bigger than the BRO with less camber comes out next year, I'm in.

Thanks Splat.

[kona12]

OK, no more 179 stiffs equals no more 179 stiff reviews. This is just pure torture for us late comers who missed the boat.

[splat]

Yeah, it's true. We did not get all the 179s ordered. However, we have cores and bases that we're shipping back with the press, so we'll be making them ourselves soon.

We got shorted, and I am currently shipping according to the order in which people ordered. Unfortunately, I think we're going to come up short, so we'll refund to those whose orders we can't fill now, or you can be first on the list for the next run in our new facility, which will take a couple months to get up and running. I'll be in touch with everyone as soon as I know where we stand.

[kona12]

Thanks for the update splat. Since you told me to hold off, I didn't actually place the order so if there is an official waiting list, please add me to it.

[frorider]

phattypowpow, i'm curious about your B&D ski crampon comment. i've been using their ski crampons with various tele bindings for a while; the larger B&D crampon is 100 mm, and fits perfectly around the 99 mm waist of my bromodels. yet you got some 110 mm 'semi-custom' crampons made? what made you go for the 110 width--are you planning on getting some wider skis at some point? thanx.

[phattypowpow]

The 100 mm are great for the Bros. I've got a pair of 106 mm waisted tele skis that I might want to use the crampons with and, since the extra mount is only $15 or so, having the 110 crampon is nice. I have used them yet on really firm snow/ice with the Bros yet but they seem like they're up to the task.

When I asked Bill at B&D if he had anything larger than 100 he said making a 110 wouldn't be too much trouble and charged me the same price as the 100. Super nice guy and his ski crampons are wonderfully simple, light, effective, and affordable. The only downside is that they won't work for Fritschis or Naxos but they're perfect for Dynafit and tele.

If anyone want pics of this setup, just say so and I'll get off my lazy butt, take a few pics, and post them here.

[descender]

What the diminsions on the 179s? I can't find it among the million threads and it isn't on the website. Thanks.

Edit: OK found it.

[DePierre]

Dimensions are 125-99-114 and they are on pmgearusa.com and all over this site.

Pictures from Jay:
About to lose it:


The BROs plow right through:

[splat]

This guy digs them,too.

[Twoplanker]

Awesome pic. I can die happy now that I have helped to make skis that Captain Powder has approved of.

[SponsoredByDuctTape]

There's your marketing campain.

[Trackhead]

Skied 'em on 45-50 degree very firm, borderline ice, with a few inches of snow on top. They work fine. Short swing turns. Again, I like the shorter length for this type of skiing.

Also skied them at Alta, after hiking up one morning. As a groomer ski, I'd want something longer and stiffer. But I'm 6'0" and 190 lbs. I never ski the area, and I bought these for other purposes.

[doctapow]

now here is all the equipment necessary for the true 179 Bro review...

[Twoplanker]

FKNA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!