Quick, Short Turns in Steeps and Moguls (More about that Playful Side)
The Director definitely isn’t as stable and damp at speed as the Moment Belafonte, which has traditional camber underfoot and a non-rockered, twinned tail, nor quite as damp as the Supernatural 108.
However, considering how stable I’ve found it in variable conditions, the Director can be thrown sideways quite quickly, more quickly than the 108, Cochise, and certainly the Belafonte.
The Director is not a terribly difficult ski to maneuver in tight spots and in moguls because it has that pivoty, smeary side to it.
However, you’ll have to anticipate your turns and be ready to deliberately slide the Director’s tails out / throw the ski sideways; its sidecut doesn’t seem to do a whole lot to help swing the ski back and forth in between bumps, but its reduced effective edge makes that pretty easy for you to do on your own. All things considered, in moderately spaced bumps, big or small, and in steep trees, I’ve been very happy with how the Director handles.
Skiing moguls, the only time the Director felt especially cumbersome or out of place is when I was skiing tightly grouped bumps with deep, narrow ruts in between them (the kind you’ll find on popular, high-traffic runs when it hasn’t snowed in a while). In those cases, I felt like I couldn’t quite get the ski edge to edge fast enough to manage my speed well, and sometimes I felt the tails hang up on the wall of a bump behind me. Part of that has to do with the fact that I’m skiing the Director in a 191cm length, of course; that’s simply a lot of wood and fiberglass to snake through a tight rut line.
191cm Whitedot Director vs. 186cm Line Supernatural 108
When it is skied on Whitedot’s “FR” line, it seems reasonable to put the Director in roughly the same class of skis as the 14/15 Moment Belafonte, yet the two are at opposite ends of the “directional charger spectrum” that Jonathan laid out in his review of the Armada Invictus. The Director is definitely the most playful / forgiving ski on that spectrum.
So if you love skis like the Belafonte, or like the sound of a decidedly directional ski with a flat, traditional tail, you might appreciate the Director’s charging capabilities, but I doubt it’s the ski you’re looking for.
However, I think the Line Supernatural 108 is worth considering next to the Director. The Director and Supernatural 108 are similar in that they both offer an interesting, somewhat unusual balance of playfulness and stability, but I’m not yet ready to say that if you like the Supernatural 108, then you’ll surely like the Director, or vice versa. For now I can say that the skis are comparable, but they are also distinct in some important ways.
The first significant difference between the 108 and Director is on groomers. If you’re looking for a stable ski in the ~106mm underfoot, all-mountain class that also has a relatively snappy, energetic feel on groomers, the Supernatural 108 is my first recommendation. As I said above, I still need to get the Director on some nice, soft groomers before I’ve reached my final verdict, but from what I’ve found so far, the Director’s groomer performance isn’t nearly as exciting. Considering how stable and damp it is at speed in variable snow, the amount of pep the Supernatural 108 has on groomers is remarkable.
You can compare rocker pics of both the skis to get an exact visual, but know that the Supernatural 108 has (a) noticeably less tip rocker than the Director, both in terms of splay and how deep the rocker line runs, (b) far less tail rocker, and (c) camber underfoot. It’s also heavier on paper (some 150 grams heavier per ski), and feels slightly heavier on snow.
And the Supernatural 108’s recommended mount point (-10.1cm) is also 5cm behind the Director’s relative to true center.
What all that adds up to, as you might guess, is that the Supernatural 108 is a more stable, damp ski when it comes to skiing fast in variable, bumpy conditions. (The fact that the Director’s sidecut is a little longer than the 108’s only contributes so much to its stability over these other factors.)
That’s not to say that the Director is a chattery mess, by any means, but I can ski the Supernatural 108 a little harder, with a more aggressive stance than the Director in the sort of variable conditions I discussed above.
Of course there are more stable, more damp skis than the Supernatural 108, too, but they don’t also have the same quick, playful quality that it and the Director share.
Speaking of quicker, more playful skiing: you can can make relatively quick, smeary turns on both skis, but the Supernatural 108 isn’t quite as quick as the Director. It takes a little more encouragement to swing back and forth, and feels a little more sluggish than the Director in moguls and trees.
What about the Blizzard Cochise?
Read our review comparing the Supernatural 108 and Cochise. That piece should make pretty clear that the more you’re concerned about smooth, damp ride in firm, variable conditions, the more the Cochise makes sense over the Supernatural 108. If you’re liking the sound of the Director, then you might also like the sound of the Supernatural 108, but I don’t really see the Cochise as a very comparable ski; it’s too far toward the “Stable / Demanding” end of the directional charger spectrum to be relevant in a conversation about the Director.
Recap & What’s Left?
Given what I know right now, if we’re talking about taking a fall-line approach to the mountain, in any condition, and not throwing spins off cat tracks, then I would probably pick the Supernatural 108 as my everyday ski over the Director.
However, I still need to get the Director in some deeper soft chop (where there isn’t much of a firm base to hit underneath) and fresh powder. The softer and deeper the conditions get, the Director’s more exaggerated tip and tail rocker will almost certainly make it easier and more fun to ski than the Supernatural 108.
And of course there’s the freestyle / jib component. Like the Director, the Supernatural 108 can make slash turns and pop around the mountain well, but the 108 is heavy and directional enough ski that I don’t really consider it a jib ski; I’ve thrown a couple spins on it, but it felt sluggish and not well balanced in the air. It’s a highly playful “directional charger,” but more of a directional charger nonetheless.
I haven’t had the chance to assess the Director’s freestyle capabilities yet, but given that it is quicker and more playful than the 108 on the whole, is a little lighter, and has a more symmetrical profile, it should feel much more appropriate to use as an all-mountain freestyle ski. Especially, that is, if I bump the mount point on the Director to -4 or -3cm from center.
We’ll have to see how drastically that affects how hard the Director can be pushed in variable conditions, but assuming it retains most of the stability it offers when skied on the “FR” line, the Director might be the hardest-charging, more freestyle-oriented ski I’ve tested, and that could be pretty cool.
A Note on Detuning
I couldn’t find a good place to work this into the small novel I’ve written above, so here it is. I made my first couple groomed runs on the Director with fully sharp, factory edges, and that was pretty scary. The skis’ shovels felt very catchy, and the front of my downhill ski felt like it was ready to grab the snow and throw itself under my uphill ski. And at the same time, the skis felt rather unresponsive when put on edge to carve. It was a bad combination of hooky and planky, but some easy detuning alleviated this entirely.
Using a soft gummy stone, I heavily detuned the Director starting about 6” in front of the shovel’s contact point (where the edges meet when the skis are held together, bases flat), through the tip of each ski. Then I felt like I could trust the ski, as it was now far more predictable.
So far, I haven’t felt the need to do anything else to the factory tune of the ski.
Bottom Line (For Now)
The Whitedot Director is surprisingly capable in variable, off-piste conditions considering how quick and playful it is elsewhere on the mountain. For aggressive skiers who still want an everyday, directional ski with a little playfulness, I’m not yet sure the Director beats out the Line Supernatural 108. But if you’re looking for something a bit quicker, and a little more soft-snow biased than the 108, or you also want a ski to throw tricks on, then the Director could be a very appealing ski. Stay tuned.
NEXT: Pow Update on the Whitedot Director
Really excited about what you at Blister have to say about these skis! Awesome that you are adding more brands to your encyclopedia of ski reviews. I’m also curious if your going to review any G3 skis this year, as there seem to be a lack of good reviews elsewhere, for G3 and Whitedot.
Thanks!
Really looking forward to seeing your review of these skis, I skied a pair earlier this year and loved them so interested to see your comparisons to other skis I haven’t been able to try yet.
I dig the White Dots. I’ve been on the Preacher, and it is badass.
The Directors sound pretty similar to the Praxis MVP, a comp ski that prefers to play, slash, or huck, and not much in between. In the 187 MVP, there is 48 cm of tip rocker and 40 cm of tail rocker, 7 cm of tip splay and 5 cm of tail splay, 110 underfoot, 26m radius, and no metal (unlike the Cochise). Any thoughts on that comparison?
Hmmm, there certainly do seem to be a number of similarities on paper, Metres. I’m still not prepared to assume that the MVP & Director will feel similar on snow, but is interesting that the Director has even more tip and tail splay than the MVP.
But long and short, I think you’re right to bring up the MVP. We shall see…
Have spent some time fondling the Ranger is a store. Is that one of the 4 you have to take a look at?
We have some test pairs of the Carbonlite versions of the White Dot Director, Redeemer, Ranger and Preacher this season and will let people know what they’re like…Since riding many production and proto White Dots since they started out back in 2009, we get the impression they want a ski with a wide range of terrain capabilities…not really excelling at any one particular situation, but being friendly and capable all over the mountain. Really nice bunch of guys behind White Dot. They want to make skis people enjoy and aren’t afraid to tinker with designs to make them do what people want. The new Carbonlites with carbon and flax fabric layers are very, very light. Stay tuned. Looking forward to Blister’s comments after spending more time on the Directors in more kinds of snow…Thanks for the preview and initial observations!
Am I the only one thinking that it sort of seems like a mini Blister pro? And from the review has at least some of the same attributes? Maybe it’s just the forward non-tapered, squared off tips, rocker profile and off-piste chops that makes me think that, dunno, but…..
Hey Pat,
The Moment PB&J is really more of a mini Blister / Bibby Pro, I’d say. And the biggest difference between the PB&J and the Director (that I’ve noticed so far), is that the PB&J feels a lot more conventional on groomers. It has a noticeably shortened effective edge, but a good amount of traditional camber underfoot and a sidecut radius that feels a little tighter to me than the Director’s; the PB&J hooks up and carves more readily than the Director. The Director is also a bit wider than the PB&J, but you’re not wrong to see a resemblance between the two, by any means.
Best,
Will
How about Ragnarok?
We finished up a review of the Carbonlite C3 version of the Whitedot Directors in short lengths (171cm and 151cm for the vertically-challenged…awesome kid ski in that length). Last season we tested a set of “standard” and “Carbonlite” versions of the Redeemers side-by-side and found the CarbonLites to be much more responsive, agile and sporty than the standard layup, but at the cost of some higher speed crud-cutting and stability. The standard layup also has the ability to absorb a higher level of input pressure from the skier before it gives-way. In essence, the Carbonlite versions are more backcountry-oriented or for lighter, less muscle-heavy resort skiers.
I usually agree with Blister’s descriptions of ski handling nearly 100%, and it feels like the Carbonlite version of the Director has some definite differences from its standard layup version tested here. It is definitely not a hard-charging ski, but more playful and fun, with excellent vibration control and balanced feel in powder and cut-up treelines. If anyone is interested in seeing the review of the CarbonLite Director, it can be found at:
http://exoticskis.com/forum/default.aspx?g=posts&t=362
As an intermediate skier, who still has lots to learn, but would like something in the 105-110 range, would this be a good choice or should I look at the Helix and Sick Day 110 as well as the Director and Supernatural 108? How would those all compare?
First of all, this was a phenomenal review by Will. It’s not that often I see a 6 page review on this site, so that immediately caught my attention and I have since purchased the 191 Directors this fall for use as my mid-fat in Colorado. I picked the ski to fit in between the Moment PBJ and the OG Bibby.
Quick overview of me for ref:
* 6’3″, 190#
* Look Pivot, 140 @ 11.5 DIN
* Vail, Beaver Creek, Copper
After 43 days on the mountain (mostly Vail, Beaver Creek, Copper), I have ridden the Director 37 times. It is by far my favorite ski, even more than the critically acclaimed Bibby. I have avoided full reverse cambered skis in the past because they typically came with inconsistent flex patterns and/or soft flex patterns, early taper, and a short turning radius. This ski is damp, quick, and rages in pow. As Will mentioned, as long as there is a little bit of the soft stuff to push around this ski excels… esp. for my style, which is defined by an appreciation for drifty turns and blowing up pow stashes at high speeds. The combination of dampness, late taper, and the camber profile gives me tremendous confidence because I know I can shut the ski down relatively quickly without it folding on me. Moreover, it allows for a huge variety of turn shapes (moguls to GS). I ski a lot of side-country and trees, so quickness is critical, but I also do not want to compromise too much in the way of stability for straightlining after an air or nuking it through chop. The Director is the perfect combination, especially for resort pow days where by the afternoon its a little too tracked out for me to be really stoked on muscling the 190 OG Bibby through tight trees (the Bibbs still dominate the chop though). I am convinced there is nothing quite like reverse camber and hope to see more chargy skis with this design concept. I wish they made it in 118-120mm underfoot for those truly deep days! My guess is the 128mm Redeemer is excessively fat and will be cumbersome in the air. So, do you have any other recommendations? Are there any other skis are out there around 120mm with reverse camber, stout flex profiles, large turning radii, late taper and progressive mounting points (-3 to -5cm from TC)? Thank you.
Best,
Andrew
Hey Will, Great review on the Director, I have been skiing the 182 Belafonte as a daily driver in Tahoe, and also switching up with the PB@J and 184 Bibby. I picked up the 181 Director to replace the PB@J’s since I found them good but not great in most conditions. WOW – I was blown away by this ski, first off the build quality is unreal, top notch.
Secondly they ski insane, I found just like Andrew above mentioned, in just a tiny bit of soft snow they come alive, carves, drifts, slashes, super super fun ski, even in the thickest Sierra cement they blow right thru it, 2′-3′ chop it dont matter. you can drive the tips or ski light and neutral, their like the Bibby in that sense, they just dont care. They turned out to be just what I was looking for a playful Belafonte, that can still charge.
Are you going to review the new Moment Meridian? which seams VERY similar to the Director in shape, and rocker profile, and after talking to Luke, the Moment sounds even stiffer. Thanks Again for the great reviews.
Andrew, to address your point on the Redeemer, I ski the 180cm length as a tight tree/ small area powder ski. im only 5′-6″ and 160lbs, but I would say it’s not cumbersome at all, its actually pretty quick and playful, and has a TON of float, since the wide point is pulled back from the tip and really carries its width behind your foot, and its plenty stiff enough to charge thru the chop later in the day, if you like the Director, you will like the Redeemer, they have a VERY common feel.