2012-2013 MOMENT Night Train, 186cm

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MOMENT Night Train vs. MOMENT Jaguar Shark

This comparison is much easier, because the two skis are even less similar than the Night Train and Bibby Pro.

2012-2013 MOMENT Night Train, 186cm, BLISTER

Let’s go to the stats again:

186cm Night Train: 140-123-135mm, 27.5 meter radius, 1540mm running length.

192cm Jaguar Shark: 143-116-129mm, 32 meter radius, 1730mm running length.

Ok, well I guess it still doesn’t exactly look like we’ve got apples and oranges here, but we do.

The Night Train is a much more center-mounted ski with significant tip and tail rocker, nearly flat underfoot, happy to ski forward, backward, and upside down.

The Jaguar Shark has a much more traditional mount point, more subtle tip rocker, zero tail rocker, significant camber underfoot, a longer running length, and wants to go forward.

The Night Train is newschool (okay, maybe not new newschool, like MOMENT’s dead-center mounted, totally symmetrical Ghost Chant); the Jaguar Shark is what you get when you start with a big, traditional ski and give it a subtle little newschool twist: it will remind you of a conventional ski – directional, predictable, stable – but smoother, better.

As for soft snow performance, both the NT and Jag Shark are great. The Night Train is super pivoty and incredibly easy to throw completely sideways, given it’s symmetrical tip and tail rocker. As I say in my Jaguar Shark review, its nonrockered tails are surprisingly, stupidly, easy to break loose, but it’s not a pivot machine like the Night Train. Again, it just comes down to what you’re looking for, and how you like to play on the mountain.

In terms of which ski is going to float better, I honestly can’t even say. Tail rocker is so much fun when things get deep, but the more centered mount on the NT does make you a little more susceptible to tip dive….

But frankly, deep snow performance isn’t going to be the key to your decision here. If you’re skiing with your nose pointed down the mountain most of the time and aren’t throwing spins, I’m not sure why you’d pick the Night Train over the Jaguar Shark or Bibby Pro (and remember, the Bibby still goes switch great.)

And again, you can ski the NTs in crud and chop, it’s just that you can ski crud and chop better on the Jag Shark or Bibby. They’re just better designed for it, as the NTs are better designed to spin.

For now, that’s it. I hope this is a helpful place to start.

Sam Shaheen has now spent some time on these, so check out his review of the Night Train.

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15 comments on “2012-2013 MOMENT Night Train, 186cm”

  4. Jonathan, great comparisons. Really clears up the differences between the three. Would you say the NT or Bibby is more similar to the ON3P Caylor?

    • Hey Eric – What I’d really be inclined to say is that the Caylor is more like the K2 Hellbent – with a backbone. But if the options are NT or Bibby, I’d say that the Caylor is closer to the Bibby. Will Brown, who has spent more time on the Caylor than I have had this to say: “The most noticeable differences between the Caylor and the Bibby is their feel on hardpack and dampening qualities. The Bibby Pro has a lighter, more poppy feel than the Caylor on groomers. This makes a good deal of sense, considering the Bibby has 4mm more camber underfoot and is built with a pine/aspen wood core reinforced with carbon stringers. The Caylor on the other hand is built with a bamboo/triax fiberglass core layup, which feels a little damper and heavier through chop, but isn’t quite as lively as the Bibby on harder snow. ”

      Then, Will added, “The Caylor and Bibby are comparable, but really are different skis on hardpack. The Caylor charges harder than the Bibby and is more at home stomping through heavy chop.”

      Hope that helps a bit.

  5. It’s interesting to hear all kinds of reviews talk about how the Bibby is more stiff and much more of a ‘charger’ than the NT, but Moment’s website depicts the NT’s flex as equal to, if not slightly stiffer than, the Bibby’s. Reviews like this one might lead some to believe that the NT would be more similar to a Hellbent than a Bibby would be, yet you say the Bibby is more comparable to the Caylor which I agree is like a ‘Hellbent with a backbone’. Interesting. I’m excited to test the NT out.

    • Eric – for 12/13, MOMENT has assigned flex ratings to their entire lineup. Take these things worth a grain of salt, of course, but MOMENT calls the Night Train a 7.5 and the Bibby Pro an 8.0. The NTs definitely aren’t stiffer than the Bibbys, but the NTs aren’t some kind of dumb pow noodle, either. If and when you get on the NTs, let us know what you think.

  6. Awesome comparisons. I’m between 2 skis, can u compare the on3p billy goat and the moment bibby. Any sugestions would be greatly aprecitaed.

  8. I am trying to decide between the bibby and the NT and am quite divided between then as I greatly enjoy a ski with great pop and plenty of jib. However there are also those days in which I have the need to charge. Im 150 lb and 6’0″ currently living in Fairbanks AK with that crappy dry 3 in-1 ft Fairbanks sugar “pow” (if it can even be called that). Im hoping to go to MSU for college and ski in Bridger and Big Sky and at times taking a trip to Mt Baker so it would be nice to have one of the more versatile skis that can work on and of piste. I’ve also somewhat consider the Ghost chants but have somewhat ruled them out as they seem to be too much of a deep heavy pow ski. Also I’ve had plenty of skiing years under my belt and have skied bother centered and traditional mounted skis but I have had no experience what so ever with any rockered ski above the 2009 Rossi S5, which has very little. Any suggestions?

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