The Official Great Pacific Octopus Thread

[grinch]

yes mvp springs to mind. more playful and not quite as pivoty. I had that issue with my bluehouse maestro. really nice ski. could roll it on edge on groomers and rip big turns but in pow with the zero camber I couldn't push it super fast. in pow it wants to pivot. still a good ski that I would have liked to keep for tight tree skiing days or playing on the hill. that ski basically steered me away from ccr gpo when I got mine, not that I wouldn't like to have both but if I only get one its the trad cambered one. still like to have both

actually I think we need the 182 ul wootests. nothing says massive sweet spot like a protest so touring equivalent would be............

[neck beard]

Grinch, Chicken, thanks for reading my long ramblings, and the suggestions. Unfortunately too much twin-tip on the MVP for me.

I'm really weight sensitive with 100% touring in mind. So I have to find second hand or discounted, right size, right weight (pref not much more than 8lbs per pair). Definitely prefer a wide sweet-spot and forgiving over the bro-business end of the spectrum.

I have a cambered pair of light GPO's just never got around to mounting them. Mainly because I really wanted to sort the intended mount before drilling with inserts.

And I would have bought a 182 Wootest 2.0 already. But that has been discussed

[grinch]

I'd start a thread to organize some others for a possible 182 wootest but with my ul gpo already and a plan to get a couple other hill skis I may already be too extended/first world problems

[EEC]

IMO, the problem is the CCR. Your balance issues are the exact experience I had with the renegade.

When I read neck beards post my first thought was "exactly how I felt about my 186 renegades!". Sizing up to the 196 solved the problem for me, felt like a totally different ski IMO. Will be interesting to see how the non CCR pair you have compare, I could imagine how the CCR would contribute to the ski being easily overpowered/sensitive to too big of a rider.

[neck beard]

I'm certainly not a big rider is size or performance. But I think there is something to going longer to lengthen the sweet spot. Probably stiffer as well. I have the custom Med/Stiff CCR. Perhaps less sidecut, though there isn't much I can do about that. I love the creamy even feel and slarvyness of the CCR. It would be perfect to keep that and improve upon some of the other character traits (small sweet spot and posture sensitivity, plus sometimes too pivoty in open long turns. The outside foot is particularly pivoty).

Good to hear some talk about skis. These low-snow seasons kill the vibe.

[kidwoo]

But midget redheads seldom do...

Whoa......give this another year and I'll have extra appendages. 5'8" brunnette sweetheart.

I literally can't ski this year due to a knee thing. Offer still stands to ship those out to you so you finally shut up about skis you want to ski like a protest but hike like a not protest I'm just riding bike and doing method airs on snowboards.

They've got a CAST setup on them. BSL right at around 300

But I think there is something to going longer to lengthen the sweet spot

Now you're really pissing me off.

You guys pretty thin on soft snow this year?

[neck beard]

Wish I had remembered your shipping offer from last season. And I bet someone you know came here as well because...

You guys pretty thin on soft snow this year?

No. It snowed a total of 1100cm in 2 months outside my house, with freezing level well below treeline on most days in that period. It has been very good.



(But will likely rain to treeline three times this week, but both times immediately followed by snow)

[grinch]

Woo- you should bring those up to Rogers pass when NB is over. Give a live tutorial on how to do kick turns on long skis. My bsl is 297mm

[neck beard]

Woo

pft. He don't ski any more.

[kidwoo]

Woo- you should bring those up to Rogers pass when NB is over. Give a live tutorial on how to do kick turns on long skis. My bsl is 297mm

Shoot me a mailing address. (and preferably pay for it )

Actually if I can bring a sled, that could happen. What's the deal up there? Limited access for sleds or sleds on one side of the road or something or other?

Like I've been telling the beard for 2 years. If I can ski these things at 187, so can anyone. (massive 5'8" here)

But he's coming around. He's now saying the things I told him over a year ago.

pft. He don't ski any more.

It's true. I can ski blower meadows but the real shitter is the buckling pain that comes from trying to skin up something. And yeah most of the people I know have probably been within 5 miles of you this year. I can't ski the way I want to ski so I've just been riding my bike mostly. It sucks dick.

[roQer]

Now that I put some mileage on my GPO I start to understand the Blister guys review. I have a 192 cm UL version in stiff flex mounted with a Beast at -2 cm. Up to now I'm not really happy with the performance of the ski. It is for sure very nimble and easy to ski. The stiff version is by any means not to stiff for me and feels just right in terms of flex. What bothers me most is the balance of the ski. In deeper powder I can notice a unnerving tendency towards tip diving. In tight spots there is a lot of tail which behaves somewhat hooky. Up to now I did not find the sweet spot of the ski. Before I get rid of it I'd try to remount at -4 cm and see if the balance improves.
Does anybody ski the GPOs mounted more than 2 cm tailwards and can comment on it? For reference, I ski Völkl V-werks Katana in 191 cm and DPS RPC in 192 cm as my daily drivers respective powder oriented set up and am completely happy with both.

[grinch]

Shoot me a mailing address. (and preferably pay for it )

Actually if I can bring a sled, that could happen. What's the deal up there? Limited access for sleds or sleds on one side of the road or something or other?

Like I've been telling the beard for 2 years. If I can ski these things at 187, so can anyone. (massive 5'8" here)

But he's coming around. He's now saying the things I told him over a year ago.


It's true. I can ski blower meadows but the real shitter is the buckling pain that comes from trying to skin up something. And yeah most of the people I know have probably been within 5 miles of you this year. I can't ski the way I want to ski so I've just been riding my bike mostly. It sucks dick.

thanks , appreciate that, no worries though. just throwin it out there incase you're itching to ski. sucks about your knee. rogers is national park=no sleds. plenty of that in revy(outside the park) 4000ft heli run being the closest but no sled(yet) so I generally walk
no probs with skiing a 187 and probably the same for NB. I used to tour on 190's for years. lost one of my 188 xxx one year and borrowed a friends single 193 and skied on that 188/193 setup the whole year(one w med fritchis other large). who knows where boot centre was, that was my quiver of one. over time ,and even with rocker, I kept creeping towards as short as I could go just because of the advantages on switchbacks and corners and tricky situations not to mention less weight but also generally slower speeds. if the wootest is anything like the protest I'm sure they could be shorter and still be stable at mach 1 . bought my 177 protests only because of the great price(great reviews to also) but very cautiously optimistic because of how short they were for a hill ski. there was no need to worry. no speed limit for me. even so i'll be ordering 187 protests any day now with less apprehension because I now know they turn equally well at slow speeds. no matter what coast I'm on i'll probably always have a protest. I have the ul gpo right now and plans to get that 187 ptest and an all mountain ski to fill a gap. I really hope Keith keeps the wootest in the lineup. next year I'd like to get a pair. have to unload some skis first and ski what I have as well as my planned additions for gaps. really believe in the ski and sure I could go back to 187 for touring although more centre mount now can = more tails getting tangled/ kicking off skin clips in the corners/switchbacks. still I will get some/blog

[kidwoo]

skied on that 188/193 setup the whole year(one w med fritchis other large). who knows where boot centre was,

I greatly respect this.

Yeah I hope Keith still makes the things. There were a lot of lukewarm to bad impressions of the first press and I keep seeing people talk about the 2.0 version as if it were the first, having only skied the first version. It's definitely not and there's a reason we changed it pretty much immediately. If he quits I'm buying a pair to hoard. They really are that good for hiking in soft snow. Considering how narrow they are I still think the 187 is fine for a pretty large group of people that would otherwise be skiing shorter skis. But like I've said over and over again, if enough people want a 178ish version band together and get it done. If I remember correctly, the magic number is only like 8-10 for a batch of cores to press. Once more for reference, I'm 5'8", zero formal ski training and didn't even, step off the spit board and start skiing until I was 30. So if I can do it.........

I'd love to take up on some Rodger's fun. Just not this year.....

[grinch]

i'll bet the 2.0 has a resurgence. just have to get more out there I'd guess

[neck beard]

i'll bet the 2.0 has a resurgence. just have to get more out there I'd guess

Have to list them on the website first.

[eskido]

Just for the record, im very interested in the 2.0. Need a legit, no BS BC ski and those with the SI&I system is on my very short list... the only other skis on my short list are Concepts (my daily driver, seriously unbelievable everywhere), UL GPO, and .... honestly, idk? still in consideration, but as much as I truly adore my Protests and the context of the last couple posts, I'd buy a pair of 2.0's immediately if I thought they were going away

[neck beard]

I'd probably buy some as well, both out of genuine ongoing interest in the ski, and also a reckless abandonment of my previously cautious buying habits, now replaced with a slobbering mindset similar to that of a recently divorced midwest car salesman surrounded by 22 year old girls at a party he doesn't belong at. Which really doesn't describe me, but hey, if you could try them all, but succeed at none, why not?

[kidwoo]

Have to list them on the website first.

Details, details...............

Shit I can't even get to them on the custom page anymore.

Oh well. That was fun.

Who wants some 187s? Now I need to order some apparently.

[hoarhey]

i had my 175 UL GPO's (111 mm underfoot) for 5 days on a local yurt trip.

5'8" 175 lbs
7.3 lbs for the pair (1650 g per ski)
B&D shim under the toe (6 mm)
Dynafit vertical ft12's
Dynafit mercury boots
mounted 1.5 cm back from dimple

Amazingly versatile ski!
Skied deep blower, wind/sun crusts for 5 days

Love it, didn't feel too short and good weight for skinning (100% human powered)

Next step is to lighten the boots to help increase daily vert from 4000-4500 to 5000-6000 ft.

[NakedShorts]

Wind effected soft snow review.
Mine are -1. I can see why Tabke skis them forward. They seem to keep you confident like an all mountain comp ski should. Like you best check yourself and not be a wus. If you checked the box better than Tabke then ski like it. If not you best keep your hands forward and weight too. If you have wanted to ever tuck a pow run these skis would do it. Backseat be WARNED. Stay over the top and exaggerate (and stay on it) they become super predictable. As far as I know (very little) you would not want to mount them to far back, that tail is NASTY. I drive them and pretend that nothing is even behind my ankles. Didn't put myself into any real billy goat terrain yet but a fun ski for sure. Not sure if these will feel surfy like my Maestros, seem to be a little more aggressive in nature. Passing peeps is fun at FULL speed. Just got to stay FORWARD. Others can chime In on this?

[roQer]

Just got to stay FORWARD.

This is my impression as well. The ski has to be driven from a forward stance. And here is the problem if you
1) are used to ski in more neutral relaxed stance
2) are billy goating in steep tight spots where forward stance is hard to keep
Therefore I'm a little bit disappointed of the GPO prized as an all mountain weapon. There are other skis which can charge as hard as the GPO (and even harder) and have a bigger balance "sweet spot".

[SupreChicken]

Wind effected soft snow review.
Mine are -1. I can see why Tabke skis them forward. They seem to keep you confident like an all mountain comp ski should. Like you best check yourself and not be a wus. If you checked the box better than Tabke then ski like it. If not you best keep your hands forward and weight too. If you have wanted to ever tuck a pow run these skis would do it. Backseat be WARNED. Stay over the top and exaggerate (and stay on it) they become super predictable. As far as I know (very little) you would not want to mount them to far back, that tail is NASTY. I drive them and pretend that nothing is even behind my ankles. Didn't put myself into any real billy goat terrain yet but a fun ski for sure. Not sure if these will feel surfy like my Maestros, seem to be a little more aggressive in nature. Passing peeps is fun at FULL speed. Just got to stay FORWARD. Others can chime In on this?

Huh. I am at the dimple on 192 carbons, med/stiff and I think i can ski them in any stance i want. Have not had the above experience at all.

[Shu Shu]

I'm with Chicken. If anything I find them less responsive if you drive them from the tips. A light, balanced approach allows you to ride bases flat, or easily lean them over on edge and ride that nice sidecut. From here they will do anything I ask.

edit... Tabke's run from FWT was awesome.. that under rotated 3 to double stager. Be interesting to hear his thoughts on why he's riding the RX this season over the GPO.

[Muggydude]

I'd have to agree that they work well if you drive them from the ball of the foot- don't have to be super aggressive with the tips. If you get really backseat they can run on you for sure, but I actually really enjoyed billygoating with them on some of the really steep terrain.

[adrenalated]

OK, just so there's no confusion:

Skis like a Wrenegade 112, Garbones, M1, RC112, XXL, etc. etc. etc. are skis that require you to ski forward and drive the tips. The GPO is not a ski that demands an aggressive, tip driving style. In fact, the tip will hook up too hard and carve around really, really fast if you drive them too hard. They are best skied just slightly forward, from the ball of your boot, or pretty much centered. No, they aren't super tolerant of backseat driving like all the floppy limp-dicked park skis out there these days, but you shouldn't be skiing from the back cuff of your boots anyway.

Also, mounting back does not mean that you're using the tail. I mounted back because it allows me to drive the tips a little harder without them diving/hooking.