
Originally Posted by
mtskibum16
Oh I remember your post in the old Moment thread. I'll copy and paste it here:
I took the 108 Commander 188cm to Chile last week with my Blizzard 185cm Cochise. I like the Cochise but I’ve been looking for a 108 all mountain ski that is a go-to in difficult and variable conditions. I like the dampness of the Cochise, and while it’s easy to break the tail free in tighter places when needed, I’d like similar dampness while being able to hold an edge in turns less than 27m. Towards that ideal I tried the J Skis 186cm Metal, ultimately it felt short and did not exhibit good edge hold in firm, icy conditions and the 2018 Black Crows Atris 189cm, which felt brittle and wasn’t near damp enough. First day of 5 on the trip I took the Cochise and Commander out, started on the Cochise until I had my legs back under me, after switching to the Commander, I didn’t take the Cochise back out again, nor did I take out my Blizzard Brahma – even though conditions were pretty firm everywhere and best on groomers, perfect conditions for the Brahma -- I just enjoyed the Commander the whole 5 days.
I never found the 185cm Cochise a difficult ski but the Commander is a much easier, more intuitive ski. It wants to be ridden from a more centered position, requires much less input to drive the tips and is also really easy to drift and slarve. The tails hold up well and while you don’t want to get in the back seat, it's pretty easy to get back in position if you do. Held an edge on firm and icy groomers and wind scoured packed powder, far better than the Cochise and I felt more comfortable airing bumps and jumping turns on the Commander, which was quicker edge to edge. Bases flat at speed on roughed up run outs, I would say the additional weight of the 185 Cochise, (about .5 lbs. per ski heavier than the 188 Commanders) made the Cochise feel damper. However, stability at speed on the Commander is enhanced by another 3cm and less tip splay than the Cochise so despite a little less dampness, run outs at speed felt more stable on the Commander. When on edge, whether on roughed up groomers, in crud, or airing bumps, the difference in dampness wasn’t noticeable and what feels like a longer effective edge on the Commander gives it much more stability. Most really damp skis don’t offer much in the way of quickness or liveliness. In contrast the Commander has edge to edge quickness, lightness in the air, and a very solid dampness that is still lively enough to offer lots of rebound out of turns.
For me, the 185 Cochise had pretty clearly beaten out the new ON3P Wrenegade 189 108, J’s Skis The Metal 186, 2018 Black Crows Atris 189, and Volkl 108 189.
Now, the 188 Commander pretty soundly beat out the Cochise and is clearly the best 108 ski for me. Great ski.
I'd be interested to know more about your thoughts on Wren 108 vs Coomander 108. It sounds like firm snow performance is important for what you were looking for. Is that the primary area the Commander 108 outshines the Wren? Any other insights would be great. I will be looking for a non-pow-day ski, but generally try and avoid super firm days so that's not a huge consideration for me. This ski actually has a lot in common with my Salomon Q-Lab but with a bit more tail taper and rocker. The metal with short radius and slightly progressive mount is fairly similar. A turnier more playful and longer Q-Lab is pretty close to what I'm looking for.
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