Which lightweight surfy pow ski should I mount underneath my FT12's?

[bptempleton]

Before buying my lotus 120s, I was concerned about them not being nimble enough. After skiing them for a few days, they felt more manuverable and confidence inspiring in all the tight tightest spots. I have mine mounted on the line and they can surf pretty damn well if you lean back a smidge. They're the most fun skis I've ever been on, I rode them 55 days in and out of bounds last year.

[Jim S]

JONG question but you want a huge wide ski to ascend and tour? I know you want to float but....just wondering?

[El Chupacabra]

JONG question but you want a huge wide ski to ascend and tour? I know you want to float but....just wondering?

Depends on individual tastes.

I tried the skinnier/lighter/efficient setup; climbed well, but I hated how it skied downhill. And since I'm touring to ski pow downhill, I decided it was more important to me that I like how my gear skis downhill (vs. how fast it went uphill).

There are tradeoffs; 195 Praxis pow skis with Dukes might be super fun downhill in deep powder, but they're going to be a lot of work to skin uphill, and not much fun if icier conditions are encountered.

IMHO, get something reasonably light, reasonably wide, that you like to ski downhill. Lotus 120s fit that bill for me, and I think the Drifters would also, based on their size/shape/flex/weight.

[bovine]

I recently got a good deal on a pair of Fischer Watea 94s- wood core/carbon I-beam construction= medium flex w/stiff torsional rigidity= good in pow, but also good for stiff, variable conditions.-They make wateas in a 101 waist too-and 114mm.

Prior to this ski, I skied a pair of Voile Insanes in a 183 (150-108-140). This was a fun, powder oriented ski-super lightweight and I could snap a turn off easier than passing gas, but... with a 150mm tip-occasionally, the ski would be wider than an old skin track and would kinda hang up. Not too big of an issue, but after being on a ski that wide, I went back to my "volkl ski" feel roots: wood core, snappy but predictable.

Check out the Fischer Wateas as an option.

[sierraskier]

Depends on individual tastes.

I tried the skinnier/lighter/efficient setup; climbed well, but I hated how it skied downhill. And since I'm touring to ski pow downhill, I decided it was more important to me that I like how my gear skis downhill (vs. how fast it went uphill).

There are tradeoffs; 195 Praxis pow skis with Dukes might be super fun downhill in deep powder, but they're going to be a lot of work to skin uphill, and not much fun if icier conditions are encountered.

IMHO, get something reasonably light, reasonably wide, that you like to ski downhill. Lotus 120s fit that bill for me, and I think the Drifters would also, based on their size/shape/flex/weight.

^^^^^

what he says. exactly.

I have a pair of Coomba's w/ Freerides. great touring setup, just not exceptionally fun.

[sierraskier]

Before buying my lotus 120s, I was concerned about them not being nimble enough. After skiing them for a few days, they felt more manuverable and confidence inspiring in all the tight tightest spots. I have mine mounted on the line and they can surf pretty damn well if you lean back a smidge. They're the most fun skis I've ever been on, I rode them 55 days in and out of bounds last year.

good feedback. doesn't seem like you should need to lean back at all though with the large tip and pintail?

[sierraskier]

you said "not fully rockered", which i don't understand. i use lotus 138's for the exact thing you describe; using them mainly for touring in the tahoe area and the wetter western slope. they've been great for me: surfy, noodlie, big turns, smears, milking it on the low angle, fast, slow, etc. i let a friend borrow them while i was growing my family over the late winter/early spring. he's now bought his own pair. his main touring partner is also looking for the similar. i have an older (outdated) model. that little bit of sidecut is helpful (for me) for survival turns on harder snow....

cheers

I bought a pair of 138's last year and have them mounted with jesters. this was mostly for my first AK trip. they are super fun, and with the straight edge and slight camber underfoot, very close to what I'm looking for. which is why I think the 120's may be the one. maybe I just don't have enough time on them, but the rocker on those tips is so huge that it seems like it negates a good portion of the ski, b/c it never contacts the snow except on the DEEPEST spots/days. especially if you are carrying any speed. the ski planes out so fast that the effective edge on the ski becomes very short. I feel like if the 138 shovel were a tad wider and the tip rocker was a little toned down they would be the shit (like the earlier gen 138s).

So, I think I'm looking for something with a little more edge contact than the 138, but still surfy like the 138. Basically something between the 138 and the praxis powder board, which seems like it is a 112, 120 or a Protest (none of which I've been on yet), or some of the others mentioned above. I am thinking the Protest will be my anything soft, daily resort driver this year. we'll see. if it had carbon stringers....wow.

I will say I'm super impressed with the design, finish and quality of both DPS and Praxis right now. hands down best two ski manufacturers in the market IMO.

[The Suit]

I have FT12s on Lhasa 186 Carbons. They're by far the best touring setup I've experienced. Light enough for climbing, but solid and fun in any conditions you're likely to encounter.

I took Lhasas (with alpine bindings) and Lotus 138s on a heli-ski trip in interior BC last year. I skied the Lhasas the first day, Lotuses the second, then switched back to the Lhasas for the remainder of the week. Everybody's different, but for me the Lhasas felt better than the Lotuses in everything except perfect untracked with plenty of turning room, where the Lotus's smeariness came to the fore. Even there it wasn't like I felt handicapped on the Lhasas.

[Shorty_J]

yeah that was a joke.

Fair enough... you never know around here.

[Goatboy]

120s for sure!

Spent most of last season on a pair of 200cms w/ft12. Incredible setup ! No speedlimits whatsoever, stable as fuck, surf them if you want to. But the strange thing is, they are actually nimble enough to blast trough nasty thight woods as well. They might not be as turny at slow speeds than my Kuros though (fully rockered), but that's OK.

They will also get you down refrozen crap quite ok, just trust them and drive those big, floppy tips.

AND those long & straight edges are nice when skinning/traversing on hard snow.

[khyber.pass]

If you think Lotus 120s are surfy, just wait til you try the Wailer 112RPs. ;p

[corn dog]

I bought a pair of 138's last year and have them mounted with jesters. this was mostly for my first AK trip. they are super fun, and with the straight edge and slight camber underfoot, very close to what I'm looking for. which is why I think the 120's may be the one. maybe I just don't have enough time on them, but the rocker on those tips is so huge that it seems like it negates a good portion of the ski, b/c it never contacts the snow except on the DEEPEST spots/days. especially if you are carrying any speed. the ski planes out so fast that the effective edge on the ski becomes very short. I feel like if the 138 shovel were a tad wider and the tip rocker was a little toned down they would be the shit (like the earlier gen 138s).
.

You might like a pair of ARGs. I only briefly skiied lotus 120s but things didn't click for me. I skied the older more traditional ones and I don't think they are that close to reverse/reverse. Only been out a couple of days on my newly acquired args + dynafits but I'm super happy with them. This is in Oregon/Mt Hood area. So good in powder and crappy grabby Cascade snow.

[sierraskier]

If you think Lotus 120s are surfy, just wait til you try the Wailer 112RPs. ;p

fucker

get me some!

[kidwoo]

K: You're looking for the exact same thing I was.

These were my contenders (all of which have been mentioned a lot in this thread)

Lotus 120: I didn't get these because I didn't want a 190 for touring and thought a 179 would be a little too short. Kind of wish the tail was a little more rockered.

EHP: a little heavier than a jj....never skied them but seem like a really good choice

CRJ: I went and played with a pair in Porters. Almost a symetrical ski between tip and tail widths which seems like it wouldn't work so well at slow speeds in the trees, kind of oddly soft too

JJ: Nice and light, good tip AND tail rocker, wide enough tip to float around in trees easily, nice long tapered tip to keep from hooking in tahoe cement.


And as we all know, since we're on the internet, I simply refuse to feel vindicated in my own choice unless I can convince you to buy the same ski I did.

I'm kidding. Take a good look at those RX skis at praxis.

[Jim S]

Rx Praxis are not light. Great ski but not light. I have two pair albeit several years old.

[kidwoo]

They're also not heavy.

[bodywhomper]

I feel like if the 138 shovel were a tad wider and the tip rocker was a little toned down they would be the shit (like the earlier gen 138s).

that's interesting, mine are 06/07, bought on close-out from dps. earlier gen's don't seem to be too hard to find. though. at the time i wasn't being picky, skied the protest, liked them a lot, but wanted something lighter; kept my eyes open for l138 deals cuz been happy with my w95 and the dps are damn lite; got email ~ dps closeouts; bought skis -> <3. if the l120's at 190cm had been on sale and cheaper, i'd gotten them and would likely love them, too.

hope you decide soon, cuz with current conditions, these will be the boards i'll be pulling out the quiver. cheers.

edit: i'm skiing tele

[SupreChicken]

I can weigh in here. I sprung for dynafits this year in a similar conundrum and without the coin to have a pow only ski like a full R/R as well as a touring rig, so I had to cover everything for the time being (deeper days and skinning) with this one set-up. I went with praxis mtn jibs, because I found a used pair of 188s in gear swap. They are between 9 and 9.5 lbs, so not the lightest, but certainly not the heaviest. They feel light as a setup (dynafits will do that) but even compared to other dynafit kits, they feel light.

I LOVE the kit. Absolutely love it. At 165, I only sink the tips in blower fresh. They are super nimble, make a great tree ski, great in the bumps for 111. I love the hybrid/moustache shape. I was able to keep up at about a 1500' vertical/hour at altitude. Made the hip flexors burn, but it was doable.

Obviously not a praxis pow or a lotus in the deep. But as an answer to the initially posed question...I've been very pleased.

Hope this helps.
-Chicken

[ClarkleberryFinn]

You should definitely check out the BibbY pros, really surfy but alos super versatile for variable snow.

[jondrums]

I have found my L138's to be WAY more versatile than they look. I'd have a really serious look at them for what you describe. They are really light and tour great too.