Question for the Blister Braintrust: I’m starting to investigate a new pair of powder boards for some planned heli trips to the Chugach in AK. I’m 51 YO, 5’11”, 155 lbs, very good physical fitness and have been skiing for 46 years. Grew up and live on the East Coast, but make it out to Tahoe/CO/Mammoth for about 10-12 days a year out of about 30 total days. These skis will be powder only boards and I’m thinking >115 or wider. As per my East Coast pedigree, I’m very comfortable in bulletproof conditions and my skiing is much more GS fall line turns than jibbing around the mountain. I am looking for a directional ski as I don’t press or butter, and I don’t huck off anything higher than about 10′ anymore. For some context, I have had both the Armada 108Ti and the J Metal and was not in love with either of them. I skied both those skis for a bunch of days at Squaw and actually disliked the Armada, but found the Metal to be acceptable but “eh”. Not surprisingly, the Metal was much more enjoyable once I got them up to highway speed and let them work, although I did find they tended to hook the tips a bit when initiating turns. As I’ve been researching possible skis, I started to think the Bibby might be the one, but not sure if I need a ski that playful? The Governor has caught my eye as being a possible contender since it doesn’t have metal in it and I think that although I am a strong skier, my light weight makes metal not really necessary for anything less than East Coast hard pack. The other ski that I’m curious about is the Kastle BMX 115, but there’s a dearth of data on that ski so wondering what you guys thought? Finally, I was a long-time Volkl rider when I was a younger racer and I love their skis, but the Confession seems like it might be too much ski for me? Any advice and suggestions appreciated
Question for the Blister Braintrust: I’m starting to investigate a new pair of powder boards for some planned heli trips to the Chugach in AK. I’m 51 YO, 5’11”, 155 lbs, very good physical fitness and have been skiing for 46 years. Grew up and live on the East Coast, but make it out to Tahoe/CO/Mammoth for about 10-12 days a year out of about 30 total days. These skis will be powder only boards and I’m thinking >115 or wider. As per my East Coast pedigree, I’m very comfortable in bulletproof conditions and my skiing is much more GS fall line turns than jibbing around the mountain. I am looking for a directional ski as I don’t press or butter, and I don’t huck off anything higher than about 10′ anymore. For some context, I have had both the Armada 108Ti and the J Metal and was not in love with either of them. I skied both those skis for a bunch of days at Squaw and actually disliked the Armada, but found the Metal to be acceptable but “eh”. Not surprisingly, the Metal was much more enjoyable once I got them up to highway speed and let them work, although I did find they tended to hook the tips a bit when initiating turns. As I’ve been researching possible skis, I started to think the Bibby might be the one, but not sure if I need a ski that playful? The Governor has caught my eye as being a possible contender since it doesn’t have metal in it and I think that although I am a strong skier, my light weight makes metal not really necessary for anything less than East Coast hard pack. The other ski that I’m curious about is the Kastle BMX 115, but there’s a dearth of data on that ski so wondering what you guys thought? Finally, I was a long-time Volkl rider when I was a younger racer and I love their skis, but the Confession seems like it might be too much ski for me? Any advice and suggestions appreciated