Tricks / Airs / Swingweight
Slashes, snappy tail presses, and ollies are a blast on the Deathwish in powder, or just on groomers. The skis flex is just about as stiff as it could be to still be dependable at speed, while at the same time being well suited for tricking. As Jason would probably agree, in the air the Deathwish is heavier than the Rocker2 108, or probably the Sir Francis Bacon, but it is just light enough to spin and butter pretty easily. Jonathan suggested sticking with the 184 if you’re looking to trick the ski, but I’ve found that if I set spins and butters off catwalks confidently, I could get the 190 around just fine.
Plus, that slightly heavier feel of the Deathwish also makes it a bit more capable in nasty crud and variable conditions. So if you want something with a playful shape but that still has some weight and more of a backbone for more power elsewhere, this ski would be worth considering.
Crud / Chop
The strangest conditions I’ve put the Deathwish through were this past weekend at Crested Butte. Warm temps had the mountain soft and heavily slushed up by mid afternoon on Saturday. Thankfully, things stayed relatively warm that night, but we still picked up ~2″ of new, farily light snow for the next day.
I lapped the T-bar most of Sunday. The 2-3 inches of chopped-up, semi-soft rotten snow and slush were layered with the lighter cold layer of new snow. In some places, you could punch through everything and make even, relaxed turns. In others, the bottom layer remained a firm coral and would hook and grab your edges abruptly. I imagine that the 184 Deathwish would have likely been a hooky, squirrely mess here, but I was very surprised at how well the 190cm Deathwish did.
The medium flex let the ski absorb those weird, firm impacts very well. I still had to stay light and smooth when carrying some decent speed, mainly in order to stay balanced over the ski’s more centered mount. Both Jonathan and Jason felt this way too. I couldn’t blast through the stuff as aggressively, or as easily as I would have been able to do on a ski like the stiffer, flat-tailed 187cm Moment Belafonte, but the Deathwish was far from flimsy feeling.
I’d imagine that the 190cm Rocker2 108 wouldn’t have felt quite as quiet and collected in the tips and tails, and would have been kicked around more in general, but I still could have had a whole lot of fun on that ski, too. The Deathwish is a very trickable ski, tweaked for better chop performance, where the 108 is lighter in the air, and carves a little more smoothly.
Bumps
Jonathan really likes the way the 184 Deathwish handles in bumps. If there’s a real advantage to the 184cm version, it’s probably the mogul performance, because the 190 isn’t very well suited for quick, fall-line bumps. The ski’s flex isn’t a problem, and, in fact, the rockered, poppy tail makes it a whole lot more forgiving than it otherwise would be.
The ski is quick to pivot if you need it to, so the maneuverability isn’t the issue, either. 190cm is simply a lot of material to work through steep, tight troughs, and the forward mount means that the tail can get caught up behind you. If the bumps were spacious enough, I could enjoy skiing the 190 Deathwish in moguls, but I’d constantly be looking for the roomier route.
Bottom Line
All and all, I think Moment has generally accomplished what they set out to do with the Deathwish. Via some unusual engineering, the ski does provide solid edge grip on firm snow—or at least a grip that is significantly more solid than you might expect given how fun and easy the Deathwish is in soft conditions.
Is the edge bite “tenacious” and “unprecedented” as Moment claims? I don’t think so. It’s very good for how heavily rockered the ski is, but it’s nothing like a stiffer ski with a flat, traditional tail. I’ve found that what notable versatility the Deathwish does have comes with some tradeoffs, mainly the stable, yet decidedly rough, imprecise feel in a carve. Personally I’m a stickler for a clean, super predictable edge feel, even if it’s on a ski that’s not terribly strong on edge to begin with, and for that reason would probably rather ski the 190cm Rocker2 108 over the 190cm Deathwish.
But you may not find those slight irritations as bothersome as I do, and would prefer to have the sightly heavier, more stable feel of the Deathwish for better performance in variable conditions.
See Rocker Profile Pics of the Moment Deathwish
Will,
Great review. What would be the biggest differences between the 190 deathwish and the rocker2 115 in 1) Groomed hardpack performance and 2) Soft Snow performance
Hey Tom,
Neither ski is super quick on groomers, but the 115 has a tighter turn radius for its size (21m in the 188cm vs the 190cm Deathwish’s 27m), and it does seem to react a little more quickly when you get it on edge. The 115 can also be driven from a more race-like, traditional forward stance, where the DW pretty much requires that you try and stay more upright and centered during a carve (due to a more forward mount and more tail rocker). The Deathwish is also more fun in bumps than the 115, but it’s still not the greatest there.
While still able to smear and pivot nicely in its own right, in soft snow, the 115 feels more like the directional, big mountain inspired powder ski that it is. The Deathwish probably isn’t quite as supportive through the tail in general, so it wouldn’t be as suitable for big, powerful turns, and wont be as supportive on landings. The Deathwish would favor a lighter, more playful style in fresh snow. In terms of float in general, I think the two are pretty equal. Still, I think I would consider the Deathwish a wider soft snow oriented all-mountain ski, where the 115 is a versatile powder ski. Let me know if there are any other specifics you’re interested in and I’ll try and address them as well as I can.
Will
Will, did you try playing around with mounting point at all? Other reviews suggest that the skis feel better at -1 from recommended. Could this be the reason you didn’t find the 184s worked for you? Did you find that the recommended line felt good on the 190s?
Hey DM,
I didn’t feel inclined to mess with the mount point on the 184s, as it really felt like the physical material length, especially with the shortened effective edge, made the ski geniunely too short. Interestingly enough, I don’t feel this way about the 184 Bibby Pro, but the added stability and predictablility I feel with that ski may be due to the wider width, heavier swing weight, and sturdier flex (and even then, I wouldn’t want to go any shorter on the Bibby). The recommended mount point on the 190s felt good for the ski. I could have moved it back, but the general symmetrical shape/camber profile of the ski didn’t make me feel inclined to do so. As best as I can tell, the curious feel the Deathwish has on edge does seem to be due to its curious shape.
WB
Will thanks for the review of the Praxis Concept. If I were able to write a review for the Concept your review of the Deathwish would have been it. I had all of the same feelings about the underfoot grip vs full ski grip. The first few days on it were in soft snow and it felt great. I got mine for the 2011-2012 season and in Tahoe we had some periods of no snow (just like this year) and it was those firm day that had me wondering if I had made a mistake buying the ski. By the start of this season I had decided to sell the ski. I like grippy skis, skis that carve like race skis but I was looking for more width to be a “day or two after the storm ski”, where you are forced to ski some groomers to get back to the lift. I have the Praxis Powder Boards and their Protest so I have powder days covered. The Concept is a great soft snow ski (for me) and I had some great spring days on it this season as well as some great soft snow days. I did not mean to hijack your review but yours hit home for me for how I felt about the Praxis Concept which the Blister Deathwish vs Concept review did not express (speak to me) the way your review of the Deathwish did. I guess being that both are similar in design and shape there bound to be similarities in the way they ski. The Concept is one of many skis in my quiver, Previously I was not using it in the best conditions for the ski to perform but have figured it out at least for me.
Hey Rob,
Noah Bodman wrote that Concept review, and I actually haven’t skied it, but given my findings on the Deathwish and what you have to say, it’s definitely something I’m curious to try out. Thanks for reading!
Will
6’3″ 185lbs and looking for a good all mtn pow ski for mostly WP/Mary Jane. Lots of pillow lines and smaller drops all in tight trees. Also something that won’t punish me too bad when I have to take a Mary Jane bump run to get somewhere. Looking at the 190 deathwish and the 185 amperage… Thoughts?
Hey Allen,
Those are both good options for what you’re looking for. Neither ski is going to excel in bumps, but you can certainly make your way through any roomier line on them. I haven’t skied the Amperage, but from what I know about Jonathan and Andrew’s time on it, it might be slightly easier to handle in moguls. With the Deathwish, 190cm is simply a lot of material to work through steep, tight troughs, and the forward mount means that the tail can get caught up behind you. The 185cm Amperage is obviously a little shorter, and has a more rearward mount and more tapered tape that should make throwing the tail out a little easier. Bump performance aside – the two are rather distinct skis. The Amperage is going to favor a more directional skier and likely handle chop a bit better, where the Deathwish is better suited for someone looking to surf and smear in powder and want the option to spin and ride switch more easily.
Hope this helps. Jonathan has put time on both the 185 Amperage and 184 Deathwish, so you might post a question over on either of his reviews if you’re still looking for more specific comparisons.
WB
I have been skiing moment skis for about 5years now and love them. Although i have one complaint about the Deathwish and was wondering if you all noticed the same thing. I have the 2013/2014 190 Deathwish and have found them to be terribly slow on the flats. I use storage wax for the offseason and then start with a fresh tune whenever i start to get deeper into my quiver of skis. I ski Vail near 100 days a year and unfortunately that means that Im spending alot of time on cat walks to get to the goods. I GET BURNED on the the cat walks! I can point in through the bumps and try to hold my speed for a long traverse then i just stop and have to skate. This is a problem….Any tips or heard of the same thing?
Hey Taylor,
I haven’t heard a similar complaint from any of our readers. But what I can say is that I’ve always thought Moment’s new dirty mustache camber, with the little sections of camber along the ski, makes the skis feel a little “rough” on edge, as if they’re heavily burred or something like that; they don’t seem to knife as cleanly through the snow as a ski with regular traditional camber underfoot. So with that in mind, do you feel like you’re slowing down when running bases flat? Or does it seem to happen when you’re on edge on a cat walk?
Best,
Will
Could you compare the Pow Performance of the Deathwish to the DOWN CD2 ? I own a CD2 and I am looking for a ski, that has a bit more floaty, playfull feel without loosing all hardpack abilities. Is there a difference because of the little difference in width ?
Hey, Sebi – unfortunately, I’ve only skied the 184 Deathwish in pow, and as I wrote in my review, I found the ski to be a bit prone to tip dive in heavier pow. I never found that to be true of the CD2. Will has skied the 190 Deathwish, but not the CD2. But I can’t say, for any reason, that the 190 Deathwish will be ‘more floaty’ than the CD2. The Deathwish will be a better jib ski than the CD2, but nothing about it points to it being the better pow ski.
Hi! Love the website, nowhere else online can you get such dependable, honest and accurate information. Thats vital when you are from New Zealand and don’t get a chance to demo ski’s by companies like moment. Im 6’1”, 150 pounds. Expert skier and quite agressive. Im trying to justify purchasing the deathwish as my everyday ski here in NZ. I currently ride the first edition exit worlds in a 190. They are fat skis for the conditions here, but I love the stability and charginess and find they handle the surprise transition from rock hard windslab to heavy chop as well as anything. I tend to get them out inbounds at Treble Cone and the Canterbury clubbies fairly often as well as for side-country touring. Looking for something a little less cumbersome and a bit more playful, while still being reasonably stable in the variable stuff. How would you compare these to the exit worlds? Is there too much overlap? Id also like to go shorter than 190, but I’ve demoed the rocker2 108 in the 182cm and found it far too little ski for me so I worry about the 184 Deathwish. Interested in your thoughts.