Update
After a couple more days on the Director, I’m in a good position to answer some of the questions that remained when I posted my initial review. The first has to do with the Director’s groomer performance.
Nice, Soft Groomers
Prior to my initial review, I’d only skied the Director on groomed snow that was less than ideal (by West Coast standards, at least); it was a funny mix of very firm, wind-polished, man-made snow with a little bit of loose, natural snow dusted on top.
While certain areas offered some grip, there were many slippery, scoured spots that made it tough to confidently put the ski on edge and drive it through a carved turn.
I’ve since skied the Director on soft mid-season groomers and soft, slushy, spring groomers. In short, the assumptions I made in my initial review have proven to be accurate: the Director can be worked through some stable, carved turns on good, soft groomers, but it takes a good amount of speed before the ski reacts and pulls across the hill. Carves on the Director are big and sweeping, and even when I felt like I was carving as hard as I could, arcing the ski through the tightest possible turns, I didn’t get much in the way of energy or rebound from the ski, unlike the Line Supernatural 108 or the Liberty Helix.
None of what I’ve just said is very surprising, given the Director’s longer 25m sidecut radius and lack of traditional camber. But it’s stout flex seemed to play a part, too. I never felt as though I was able to bend the ski through a turn in order to get any energy out of it, which is something I’ve also said about the Blizzard Cochise. The Cochise has touch of camber underfoot and its tail is significantly less rockered and more supportive than the Director’s. As a result, the Cochise inspires more confidence when it comes to making long, fast carves, especially at high edge angles, especially on firmer groomers.
However, on good, soft groomers, it’s easier to make short-swing, smearing turns on the Director. The ski’s long-ish sidecut doesn’t do a ton to help bring the ski around at slower speeds, but given the Director’s reduced effective edge, it doesn’t take a ton of effort to initiate shorter turns.
5-10” of Fresh Powder
The Director may not be the most interesting ski on groomers compared to other directional “all-mountain chargers” like the Cochise, Moment Belafonte, and Supernatural 108 (at least when it comes to carving performance.) However, there’s a tradeoff here….
The Director’s flat-underfoot profile and pretty pronounced tip and tail rocker make it easier and more fun to ski in soft, fresh conditions than any of the other skis I just named.
The Director has a slightly looser, more pivoty feel than the Line Supernatural 108, and its shovels seem to float on top of and track through fresh snow a little more cleanly than the Supernatural 108. When it comes to skiing powder, the Supernatural 108 is quite good in fresh snow for its width, too (certainly more capable than both the Cochise and Belafonte), but the Director is a little better.
In fact, I don’t believe I’ve been on a ski that’s narrower than 110mm underfoot that floats as well and tracks as cleanly as the Director in fresh powder.
What I’ve also found cool is that, while the Director is a little easier to ski in steep trees and maneuver through tight areas in fresh snow than the Supernatural 108, it didn’t seem limited to a style of making lots of shorter turns or require a very playful approach to terrain. Again, thanks to that straighter shape, the Director can handle big, fast turns in fresh snow well too.
5-10” of Chopped-up Powder
As in softer variable conditions, when skiing both fresh and chopped-up powder the Director certainly has a ‘playful charger’ feel to it; it’s not too hard to slash the ski, but it won’t do that on its own and will never overturn.
In this way the Director behaves a lot like the Whitedot Redeemer which basically seems like a super-fat version of the Director. The Redeemer has the same “rocker-flat-rocker” profile, relatively straight shape and stout flex, and has the same directional-yet-very-smearable character as the Director.
The Director’s maneuverability is made available via its reduced effective edge, while its not-so-light weight, stout flex pattern, and long sidecut provide stability through bigger turns, even as things get quite chopped up on a light pow day. In soft, choppy conditions, the Director can skied with a playful style more easily than the 108, Cochise, or Belafonte, though it allows you to ski quite hard on those conditions as well. The Director is the least firm-snow oriented ski of the group and it has the most tail rocker, so you can’t drive its shovels or count on the tails for support to quite the same degree as the Supernatural 108.
However, I certainly still think the Director belongs in the same class as those other skis; the Director can keep up quite well when it comes to providing high-speed stability in soft, choppy conditions and firmer bumpy conditions, so long as there’s just a little bit (even a half inch) of soft snow to push around (see the video and text on page 2 of this review).
The Director as a Freestyle-oriented Ski?
As I said in my initial review, I haven’t been thinking about how the Director compares to skis like the Blizzard Peacemaker or Moment PB&J, which reside in a less directional, more freestyle-oriented, all-mountain class.
However, keep in mind that I’m speaking to how the Director handles from the “FR” line, which Whitedot says is “for anyone looking for a more traditional position and feel where we recommend to mount the skis for all-mountain use.” I’ve found that to be correct and I’ve been comfortable skiing the Director with a more directional, fall-line style from that FR line, though the ski still has that playful, smear-able side that’s not difficult to access.
Whitedot does say that the Director “is one of our models that is a favourite of our big mountain team through to our park riders looking for a ski to jib on those deep days.” So, how accepting is the Director of a slightly more forward mount point, a more centered, upright stance, and a more playful, freestyle-minded approach to terrain?
To find out, I moved the mount point on the skis forward to -4cm and then -3.5cm from center (1cm and 1.5cm forward of the FR line), which is about as far forward as I like to get on any all-mountain ski.
From those positions, turns were a little easier to initiate on the Director, and the tails washed out a little more easily if I got too far forward over the shovel of the ski (as you’d expect), but didn’t seem to change the character of the ski dramatically. The Director might have felt a little more balanced in the air, but it didn’t feel a whole lot lighter.
And at a little under 2,200 grams per ski, the Director isn’t a super heavy ski, by any means, but it’s not especially light, either. The Director is (and definitely feels) a little heavier than the Blizzard Peacemaker, which probably is the heaviest-feeling ski I’ve tested in that playful, freestyle oriented, all-mountain class ( including skis like the Moment PB&J, K2 Shreditor 102, Line Sir Francis Bacon, etc.)
If you’re interested in the ski as something to spin around the mountain on soft-ish days, know that the Director is quite accepting of a more upright stance when mounted 1 or 1.5cm in front of the “FR” factory mount point, and will be a little easier to spin and trick from that more forward position.
However, for me personally, I didn’t feel as though mounting the Director forward of the factory line suddenly made it as playful and as suitable for spinning and pressing features around the mountain as a ski like the Blizzard Peacemaker or Line Sir Francis Bacon; it feels a little too heavy and too stiff for me when it came to that kind of skiing, it’s less inherently playful, has a higher speed limit, and again seems more comparable to more directional skis like the Supernatural 108.
NEXT: Who’s It For?
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.