2nd Look: Moment Bibby

Review of the Moment Bibby, Blister Gear Review
14/15 Moment Bibby

Ski: 2014-2015 Moment Bibby, 186cm

Stated Dimensions (mm): 145-120-136

Blister’s Measured Dimensions (mm): 144-120-134

Stated Sidecut Radius: 23.5 meters

Actual Tip-to-Tail Length (straight tape pull): 183.8cm

Blister’s Measured Weight per Ski: 2300 & 2367 grams

Mount Location: -3.5 from center (about +2.5 from recommended mark)

Boots / Bindings: Tecnica Cochise Pro 130, Rossignol All-track Pro 130 / Marker Jester (DIN 10)

Test Locations: Solitude Ski Area, Alta Ski Area, and Alta Backcountry

Days Skied: 12

[Editor’s Note: It’s taken too long, but we’ve been eager to get Jason Hutchins’ take on the 14/15 Moment Bibby—not the Blister Pro, but the current Bibby. And so as to avoid confusion, we’re going to refer to the older Bibby as the Blister Pro in this review. ]

Intro: “Playful” – “Charger”

I’m a bit of an anomaly here at Blister when it comes to the previous iteration of Josh Bibby’s pro model. I’ve jumped on the OG 190cm Bibby Pro (now the Blister Pro) here and there and enjoyed it, but I found the 190cm model to be a little too stiff and planky feeling to consider it very playful by my definition.

I did, however, find the 190cm Blister Pro damp, stable, and confidence inspiring in most conditions at a variety of speeds. The ski supported the use of a wide range of turn styles, and it isn’t fussy about where you stand on the ski—all of which are big reasons why Jonathan, Will, and many others love this ski.

With that being said, I have desperately wanted to ride the 184cm length of the Blister Pro, a ski that would be much more fairly compared to the new 186cm Bibby.

I figure the 184cm Blister Pro will still be stout enough for my light frame (all of 160lbs) to confidently bust through variable conditions, but hopefully have a more playful side for trickin’ it up.

Unfortunately, I still haven’t been able to get on the 184, so that comparison will have to come later.

Before reading further, I strongly suggest reading Jonathan’s initial review of the new Bibby, if you haven’t already. Jonathan covers the changes made to the ski, as well as a detailed description of his experience. I also haven’t ridden the Night Train, Ghost Chant, and Ghost Train, so Jonathan has more to say about the Bibby vs. those skis.

There are a couple very important things to keep in mind while reading Jonathan’s review and while reading mine:

1) The 184 Blister Pro measures just shy of 2cm shorter than the current 186 Bibby, while the 186 is a full 4cm shorter than the 190 Blister Pro. The 186 Bibby has a sidecut radius a full 3 meters shorter than the OG 190, while only being 1 meter shorter than the OG 184.

2) Jonathan is about 25 lbs heavier than me, a directional skier, and much more of a feet on the ground skier. He loves skis like the 190 Blister Pro, the 13/14 Volkl Mantra, etc. I’m more into skis that still rip, but enhance the play factor, like the K2 Shreditor 102, Praxis GPO, Blizzard Peacemaker, and the LINE Mr. Pollard’s Opus.

Jonathan also didn’t have time to mess around with mounting location. So as you’ll see, our final take is slightly different.

Day 1

I couldn’t have asked for better conditions the first day I rode the 186cm Bibby. Alta had received almost 3 feet of new snow over the past 48 hours, with 16” falling the previous night.

On the first run, I broke trail from the High Traverse up to Gunsight and observed only a bomb hole and single track down the chute. My expectations were high.

A couple turns in I realized the snow wasn’t quite the quintessential Alta blower that it appeared to be on the east-facing Gunsight; the wind had turned the snow slightly upside down.

Jason Hutchins review the Moment Bibby, Blister Gear Review
Jason Hutchins on the Moment Bibby, Alta, Utah.

The Bibby wanted to overturn far too easily, and quite honestly, I struggled to find the sweet spot of fore/aft balance the entire way down the hill. The experience was bizzare, so I wrote the run off as one to getting accustomed to the ski, and began thinking about where to head next.

Taking off through the slightly more cut-up snow on my second run in the upper trees of Eagle’s Nest, I quickly became apprehensive again: the Bibby’s front end flip-flopped from feeling light and wander-y, to unsupportive and stuffy, and the shovels continued to feel overly aggressive across the hill when plowing into pockets of deeper snow. A few runs later, the skis tripped me up so hard that I ended up swan diving straight into a tree (yes, that hurt), breaking a pole and ending my day on the Bibby.

Mount Point, New Dimensions, Etc.

When I got home, I decided to measure where the recommended line on the Bibby lies with respect to true center. It turned out to be about -6cm.

While this number doesn’t seem absurd by any means, given how the ski had just performed; Jonathan and Paul’s experience of the ski “folding up” on them; and the tweaks made to the Bibby, my decision to move the bindings was a pretty easy one.

As Jonathan pointed out in his review, there have been a number of changes made to the Bibby. While the width, rocker profile, and flexed changed very slightly (and in ways that would likely tame a ski’s behavior), the most notable change is in the overall shape of the ski—specifically at the tip.

The dimensions of the ski grew 2mm throughout, but the sidecut radius decreased 1 meter—even though the overall length of the ski increased.

Moment accomplished this by shortening the effective edge length, moving back the widest point of the shovels closer to the bindings, giving the ski much more tip taper and increasing the surface area of the shovels quite a bit.

While such a shape generally enhances a ski’s ability to float in pow and helps to keep a big ski quick, I have found that shapes like these also provide a degree of unpredictability in variable snow conditions … unless I move the bindings forward to gain more leverage over all that surface area and aggressive turning nature of the design.

With that, I shifted the bindings forward 2.5cm (the most the demo plates on the ski would allow) and gave the ski another go…

And since making the move, the Bibby has turned into one of my favorites of all time.

All of my reports below are with the bindings in this location: about 3.5cms behind true center. 

Powder

The timing of my testing on the Bibby has allowed me to ski in everything from super dry Utah fluff, late spring slush storms, and the early season cream we received right before Christmas.

Since I’ve moved the bindings forward on the Bibby, I can’t say I’ve pined for any other ski when it snows, and I say that with the 185cm Line Opus and 13/14 192cm Atomic Bent Chetler sitting in my basement.

I am only 160lbs (72.5kg), but with a hint of speed and a balanced yet still forward stance, the 186cm Bibby provides the float I need to stay on top.

Interestingly, I have found that the ski actually feels like it floats with more consistency, and is much less sensitive to fore/aft weight shifts with the bindings slid ahead than when they were back on the recommended line.

As anyone would expect of a ski this size and shape, the Bibby provides the loose and slarvy feel that most jibby powder skis are known for at slow to medium speeds.

But the perk of the stouter flex pattern of the Bibby (compared to a ski like the LINE Opus), is that the ski feels as though there is no speed limit when arcing down a big open face.

 

Next Page: Chop, Crud, Bumps, and Groomers

14 comments on “2nd Look: Moment Bibby”

    • I wouldn’t necessarily consider the Bibby vs. Sickle an apples to apples comparison. The Bibby is significantly larger and has a shape intended to excel in soft snow, while the smaller Sickle has a shape that impeccably balances soft and hard snow performance. I am confident stating the Bibby offers a greater degree of stability during fast “big-mountain” skiing in most soft snow conditions (while still being very trick-able), but the Bibby is not nearly as intuitive and easy to ride as the Sickle. When you move to more firm conditions, the Sickle certainly outperforms the big Bibby, just as you might expect with it’s narrower dimensions and longer effective edge.

  1. Sounds a lot like the 2015 Atomic Automatic 117 to me. Which is another amazing ski you need to get out and try if you haven’t already. Great review anyhow Jason! Would love to see one on the Automatic sometime, which is my personal favourite ski I’ve ever owned.

  2. The new bentchetler is amazing. I cant wait to see your review on it! The stability went through the roof, while keeping almost all the playfulness. Category defining jib-charger.

  3. Great review! I think i’ve realized this ski isn’t for me though… I’ve been on the 176(ish?) SFB the past few years an absolutely love it, but i’m looking for a longer/fatter ski for a trip to argentina in august (I’m 5’9″ and 60kg). As much as i would love to own these, from the sound of it, it wouldn’t suit my style (after hearing all the comparisons with the opus, thats looking like a better option). Any chance you’ll try out the Faction Candide 4.0? They’re the only ski on my radar at the moment other than the magnum opus.
    Awesome review and it sounds like an awesome ski, just not for me!

    • All of the Faction Candide’s are at the very top of my wish list of skis to test. Unfortunately, not one pair has made it through my door as of yet. Let’s keep our fingers crossed!

      BTW, if you love the Bacon and just want something longer/fatter, but just as easy and playful, definitely grab the Opus. If you like to play around it’s impossible not to fall in love with that ski.

  4. I have seen the chipotle banana on backcountry but I have not really been able to find much feedback/reviews about it… any thoughts,comments? what does it compare to in the moment lineup as far as aggressiveness/stiffness. Thanks!

  5. WOW Jason You nailed the new Bibby spot on, I love it over the old one also, I got a pair at the end of last season and mounted them at +2 but I am a little heavier then you 175lbs. They ski great there, quick, surfy, yet can still able to drive the tips in crud& chop, I still think they might even be better going foreword another 1-2cm, my only complaint is I wish they would have killed the camber on them, they still have about 5mm, and when you go into those real hard hand drag slashes you can feel the cambers resistance when their sliding around, and it would make it even better in the pow. even though they float really good, I was surprised, even where I have them mounted I have skied very foreword in knee to thigh deep snow with no tip dive at all. I’m bummed Moment gave into the pressure to bring back the old shape, oh well, I have some Ghost trains on the way maybe they will ski like the current Bibby but with no camber. Keep up the great reviews, you and I like the exact same type of skis. .

  6. Great review Jason, these sound like an awesome setup. I’m currently skiing on Line SFB from 2010 (had a knee injury between now and then and took a number of years off). Skis are finally on their last legs and I’m looking for a new setup. I love the stability, playfulness, and float the SFBs have in pow, but I’ve always felt them to be a bit too heavy and hard to manage in tight trees or bumps. I still manage to do well in them and I find them to perform very well on groomers despite their width. Been primarily looking at the moment bibbys or armada norwalks. Hoping to find a quiver of one ski but may also be touring with these for a few days per season. I’m 6’0 155lbs and have been skiing the 182s. Any help would be appreciated!

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