Don't worry about any learning curve. They are a great combo to a WCT.
Don't worry about any learning curve. They are a great combo to a WCT.
Not tours, but these regular DW104’s are everything I hoped for. Playful, nimble and stable.
Got two days on the ghost trains in Japan, 1 day searching for pow and one day absolutely dumped on. These remind me of what I've heard about the CBs - absolute riot in chop but not as floaty as their width would suggest. Might be better in steeper/denser pow but that's not really on the menu here with most resorts I'm hitting up maxing out at 35 degrees. They're great in the air and stomping landings and super nimble with their rocker profile. Several days more to test things out but that's how they're currently feeling.![]()
I got my first days on my Ghost Trains. 194cm with a Marker Alpinist to supplement a Deathwish Tour with a brakeless FreeRaider 14.
I had some mild buyers remorse on these and I’ve been taking my time getting them mounted as I wondered if they were really what I wanted for “powder touring”. Historically I’d used a Line Pescado in this slot. After a day, all worries are gone.
Compared to the Deathwish, I didn’t notice any issues with the size of the ski on the skin track. I did a few kick turns and overall, not bad. I wouldn’t want to do any firm side hilling… but that’s not when I’ll pull these out. Pomoca skins barely fit on the tips but feel solid. I did notice less total contact for the snow given the rocker profile but it’s fine. I normally use the pink Pomoca race skins and opted for teal on these, while feels like the right call.
I thought they’d be a “fat Deathwish”. There is overlap but they ski differently. They feel a lot more poppy and I found myself able to effectively bounce between turns even in very light snow. You notice the rocker profile being different in that they require dramatically less effort to pivot. Much easier than anything else I’ve been on to ‘swivel’ and slash little turns. I’m comfortable spinning off packed takeoffs but I’ve always struggled spinning off untracked drops and features. I’m curious if these will help with that as it’s been a goal to land a 3 off a drop without a tracked take off. IE mid run “sure I’ll try to spin off that”. Float is fantastic and dramatically better than the Deathwish tour.
Flex pattern is a lot stiffer than my Deathwish tour but the rocker profile means that makes sense. Overall the 194 feels more nimble than the 190cm Deathwish by a good margin. I’m a 160lbs. The 186cm might be interesting for some contexts but even touring I’m happy with the 194cm. Maybe it’s 184cm Deathwish = 186cm Ghost Train.
I thought the weight would bother me but it didn’t. It wasn’t all that long ago I was skiing 2000 gram skis with Ion’s which is an almost 2700 gram setup. These are about 2600 with the alpinist and most of that weight being the ski. Resort core stuff does ski nice - even in the backcountry. I can see some people liking these in the resort but it’s more of a touring shape for me. A Ghost train tour would be a “shut up and take my money” ski. Feels like a Jeffrey 118 might be worth trying.
Just order them all ready, you’ve drug your feet enough.
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Anyone get on the 188 Commander 102 yet?
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You timed it well! Enjoy the snow out there!
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"Never let the truth get in the way of a good story." Warren M
I've got about 10 days on the DWT104 so far. Don't worry about the learning curve, they are intuitive and feel super versatile in everything i've encountered aside from really deep pow. The edge hold/carving ability is superb, especially when you consider how rockered/twin tipped the tail is. Reccomend for sure
5 days, pretty much all conditions, posted a mini review a little higher up
Hardpack handling: Above average for width
Soft bumps: About as nimble as the WC108 maybe touch slower
Drops/Airs: Good backbone for landings and hairy high-speed run-outs
Soft chop: Motors through pretty well no surprises. Not so much planing over more mowing through
Steep and deep: They actually require a pretty active driver, if you get in the backseat they will try to run away a little and the tails can wash out sometimes. But, if you're on it they make for a good partner.
Variable windbuff (Think wide-open alpine ridges and bowls after a strong storm):This area scored the lowest marks for me. I think the tip taper up front is a little aggressive and makes unpredictable density snow that much more unpredictable. Contemplating a mild detune up front to see how much that helps.
Stopped by the (other) Mothership yesterday.
His and hers
Wall shotz
What the heck??
Wildcat 130??
Chief Commanders!?!
Major upgrade from the old spot, even though my dog sure loved walking that river trail. Sorry Kona-boy.
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sproing!
Spent the day ripping GS turns around Deer Valley on my Commander 108s. Man, I love these things. Absolutely no speed limit but still maneuverable. They are nowhere near as demanding as the ad copy implied. Just picked up a Commander 98 and a Wildcat Tour to expand my Moment quiver.
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GT 194 out at Stevens pass. 15” in 48h, 4” in the last 12. Probably more Billy goat conditions, but I had to check em out.
Muh gawd, they float. The super long gradual rocker profile is really nice. They float every bit as well as a cease and desist. Very easy to pivot. They slarve to a point, and then they lock in. The edge is definitely there when you tip them over aggressively or when you need it.
They are a touch on the heavy side, and I could bounce down the mountain on them ok, but it took work. You have to give them some input. They skied me a couple times.
I needed 2 runs to dial in the flat spot underfoot. This was the first time I’d skied something without any camber underfoot in a really long time. Balance is a touch more finesse than the BG where you can just stand and truck. It didn’t take me long and didn’t feel strange to ski a little more centered, but I wasn’t quite in my natural stance if that makes sense.
Hiked for some untracked and face shots. Really track well in 3D snow. Shut down on a dime with a pivot/swing to the side.
I think the hike lap would have been my favorite of the day on whichever ski, but they SHINED here. 3D chalk, variable depth. Rode like hero snow. Really fun.
Stompy AF on landings. I thought the flat camber would make landings difficult, but they were intuitive and supportive. Happily jumped off everything I could find.
I cannot comment on their rail performance.
I don’t mind overlap in the quiver. Between these and the SGN urrakkar, I’m set for deep day rides. Not sure what I would pick if I could only keep one.
Legs are tired AF - some mix of minimal pow day conditioning and skiing big boards in PNW snow.
[emoji90] eating grin in place though
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wait!!!! waitwaitwaitwaitwaitwaitwaitwait...Wait!
Zoolander wasn't a documentary?
I wish my 98s had that Chief Commander topsheet. Very rad.
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