PREVIEW: 2012-2013 MOMENT Governor

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Moment Governor, Blister Gear ReviewSki: 2012-2013 MOMENT Governor, 186cm

Dimensions: see the story below

Actual Tip-To-Tail Length (straight tape pull): 185.1cm

BLISTER’s Measured Weight per Ski: 2,186 grams & 2,279 grams

 

Ever since the Governor arrived at BLISTER HQ, I’ve been obsessed with this ski. Here’s the story:

Once upon a time, Moment made a ski called the Bibby Pro, and it was great. (Still is, too.)

Then, Moment made a modified version of the Bibby Pro, and they called this new ski the Bibby Special.

Actually, that isn’t entirely true. Moment never officially named this new ski anything at all, and people just started referring to it as the “Bibby Special.”

We took the “Special” with us to Argentina to review it, and…

We didn’t think it was great.

And BLISTER reviewer Will Brown wrote a really good review that explained why.

Then, in a very cool and classy gesture, Moment president Casey Hakansson thanked us for the review on the Bibby Special, said that it was some of the most helpful feedback they’d received, and told us that they would be modifying the production version of the ski based on our review (Strong work there, Will Brown) and some of the input from their own riders.

In the fall of 2011, the production version of the “Special” came out.

And in a move that felt like a terribly effective practical joke, Moment decided to list the “Special” in the Bibby “Pro” section of their website, so that when you’d click on “Bibby Pro,” you’d just see these available lengths: 196cm, 190cm, 186cm, 184cm, 174cm, and there was no mention of this other ski.

The Bibby Pro = the ski available in the 190, 184, and 174cm lengths.
The Bibby “Special” = the ski available in the 196 and 186cm lengths.

At some point, we started to think (wrongly, of course, but whatever) that Moment did this specifically to mess with us, because we spent roughly 32% of last ski season answering emails to explain that there was a Bibby “Pro” (174 & 184 & 190cm) and this other sort-of-Bibby that is actually an entirely different ski (186 and 196cm).

I think you owe us a beer, Moment….

But somehow, in a very busy season last year, we didn’t get on the retooled production version of the Special.

Fast Forward To This Season

Moment liked their tweaked production version of the “Special,” and for this season, decided to finally give the ski an official name: the Governor.

Several weeks ago, the Governor arrived at BLISTER HQ. I stood them up against a wall…and I started to stare at them. A lot. Every day.

We hadn’t yet heard from Moment what the specific changes were that they’d made to the production model. But the dimensions listed on the topsheet of the Governor were the same as those on the 11/12 production “Specials,” and our pair of prototype Specials: 150-116-123.

Hmmm…

I kept staring at the Governors.

Our proto-Specials were in Utah, and I was in New Mexico. But the Governor looked balanced to me in a way that the Bibby Special never did; with its enormous shovel and skinny pintail, the Special just looked sort of “off” to me.

I kept staring.

Then one day, as I was once again staring at the Governors and thinking that they looked amazing, I thought, There’s no f’ing way that’s a pintail. (The standard definition of a “pintail” is a ski where the widest section of its tail (e.g, 123mm) is less than 10 millimeters wider than the narrowest section of its waist (e.g., 116mm.)

So I did what any obsessive weirdo would do: I went to the store and bought a pair of digital calipers.

And guess what?

The Governor is not a pintail.

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21 comments on “PREVIEW: 2012-2013 MOMENT Governor”

  1. A. probably going to go get this ski.
    B. I need a job, any openings?
    c. I am having trouble figuring out where this ski will fit in between my current quiver. I have the original Moment Garbones, Last years Bibbys and now the RIP Donner party’s. I find the Bibby’s fun, but thats about it. not exciting, thrilling, etc. It’s just a god ski. Bele’s rage like none other and the Party’s I haven’t skied yet. Anyway, I’m looking for the new powder charger, Jag Shark or Governor’s. Why one over the other?

    • a. Cool
      b. Not currently, sorry
      c. Obviously, I haven’t skied the Governor yet, but if “Powder” + “Charger” is what you’re looking for, my answer would be the Bibby Pro, which you already own. I don’t know your height / weight, but for me personally (5’10, 185 lbs.), I love the flex profile of the shovels of the bibby pros, and if you’re really talking about charging, I’d rather go stiffer than the Bibby Pro (Governor) than softer (Jag Shark). Moment rates the Bibby as an “8” stiffness, the Jag Shark as a 7, the Belafonte as a 9, and the Governor as a 10. While I’d say that those differences are fairly subtle, the question is whether you want a slightly softer shovel than the Bibby.

      I just flexed the 192 Jag Sharks & the Governors, and while they aren’t world’s different in terms of stiffness, the Governor is stiffer.

      And finally, the tail: the fattest point of the tail of the Jag Shark is definitely further back than the Governor’s. The Jag Shark skis like a conventional twin tip tail; we’ll see what the tail on the Governor skis like….

  2. Very interesting about the dimensions… I demoed last year’s production 186 Specials and didn’t dig them for many of the reasons you listed in your review of the protos. They really didn’t work for me and still skied very much like a pintail. I’ll be interested to see what you guys come back with on these.

    The 190 Bibby Pros and 182 Garbones (112 waist) are both in the realm of what I’d call a masterpiece.

  3. I’ve got a pair of last year’s 196 specials and the graphic lists the dimensions as 150-118-128, I’ve wondered on occasion if I got a set from a pre-production run. From reading this, though, it would seem that these are the production model with a different topsheet.

    I’ll have to break out my calipers and check. Interesting read, thanks!

  4. Be curious to see how the Governor stacks up against the Billy Goat. Given your talk of a stiffer Squad 7 and Bibby Pro, it seems like the logical comparison…with the obvious difference of tail rocker on the BG and not on the Governor.

    Any preliminary thoughts?

    • Good point, Zak. I’m afraid that my preliminary thoughts aren’t all that helpful: the specs on the 12/13, 191cm Billy Goat (145-118-128) are getting really close to the Governor, though less so the specs (specifically the shovels) of the 186cm BG (142-116-126). I don’t know what ON3P’s done with the stiffness of the BG’s shovels, but my hunch is that they will be slightly softer than those of the Governor. Which means it will really come down to the tails (as you point out), where my hunch is that the BG will ski looser and pivot more easily than the Gov. And we need to see whether the tails of the Gov feel more balanced. Seems like we need to ski that new BG….

  5. my bibby special topsheets say 150-118-128 aswell… considering that there is 5 extra mm in the tail and its “40%” more stiff, the problems you had with the prototype should be almost eliminated. on a side note, compared to my obsetheds the special/gov feels like 50% stiffer (i know the seth is hyper stiff underfoot to make up for the softness in the tips, but still) and i love how stable the obsetheds are. i think these things are going to be a mix of the bibby pro and the belafonte. freeskier mag said thats exactly how they are,”playful and stable”.

  7. Sorry for the denseness, are the Governors different than the Bibby Specials, or an earlier prototype? 186cm specifically. Thanks all!

  8. Thanks for spending more time on this ski as it’s easily one of my favorites that Moment has ever made (the racestock Comi from 2008 built with extra fiberglass and just as stiff as the M1 is a very, very close 2nd). I am obviously biased, but think the Governor does deserve a bit more recognition than it gets. Ultimately, this ski is the bastard child of the Garbones and the Comi (rest in peace). One thing to note though at least in my opinion, is that unless you’re a tall dude (>6 ft), you might have trouble engaging the 196 due to the long shovel. For short weebles, the 186 length inspires plenty confidence that would even make Rudy Garnshit jealous.

  9. I’m quite confused…
    really curious about the true dimensions of the 196 governor.
    the listed dimensions would deem them a pintail. just curious as to what the true dimensions are so i can tell the old guys at the hill its not a pintail ;)

  10. Easy there Chauncey, I am one of those older guys at 48 and I ski (or will be soon anyway) the Governor. Just got them. Can’t wait to give them a whirl. They look fun just leaning on my office wall – like a siren calling me dive in…

    More snow please!!!

  11. Any updates on this bad boy yet? Going back and forth between Gov and Bibby. Leaning towards Gov because of directional flex, but am intrigued by surfy feel of Bibby

    • Hey, Jason – I really have been hoping to A / B the Governor and Bibby some more in deep snow and a few days after a good storm, but I think I’ll just need to put up a preliminary review for now and update when I can. But I’ll go ahead and say this: this is a very different ski than we had with us in Las Leñas in 2011. Flex is great, tail is great, and the 186 feels like plenty of ski. Expect a 1st review soon.

  12. Jonathan,

    I am quite intrigued by MOMENT skis.Thanks for all the useful information you have been writing.I cannot yet decide which one to buy.I ski mostly in Las Leñas and Whistler/Blackcomb, and mainly I stay out of the resort runs and go touring or just out of bounds (CERRO MARTIN/ EDUARDOS). I am 1,85 cm tall and 87kgs of weight. I am trying to decide between 1,92 BELAFONTE, 1,96 GOVERNOR or 1,92 BIBBY PRO. I am actually on 1,85 ARMADA JJs, fun but too short and turny for me, as I like to ski fast and agressive.I would very much appreciate your expert thoughts about this. Thanks in advance!

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