How would this ski compare in terms of top end stability and playfulness to a Head Kore 105?
As a 50/50 Touring/Resort pow Ski would you reccomment the 106 or the 99 for the PNW? Main sticks are Enforcer 93s.
I’m interesting about real lenght of 181 version. Il 188 is 186,7, 181 is less than 180?
How do these compare to the Fischer Ranger 108? I think it would be an interesting comparison as they are similar weight, width, and both are positioned for inbounds and touring setups.
Hi,
Great review as usual. How would this ski compare to the Kastle BMX 105 HP ?
Thks
You need heavier reviewers, lol. Eat a steak or something.
Great review Sam ….I like your reviews. Thanks so much my Blister membership pays for itself in spades x10
Thanks for the kind words, Guy!
mr. broken record here : any plans to get on the new 99’s ? the new layup sounds like a pretty big improvement. as always, thanks for the info…
Thanks for the great reviews! Can you please offer us a more detailed back to back comparison between the 17-18 QST 106 and 18-19 QST 106?
How would you say this ski compares to J Skis The Metal?
Hello, I am an intermediate skier 6’5″ but only 170lbs and I have to questions. For use 70% touring and 30% All mountain resort, would you recommend:
QST 99 or QST 106? And 181 or 188 (considering my weight and level).
Strictly for use in Utah.
Thanks!
Did you ever get a response on this? I’m same size, trying to choose between 181 and 188 for the 106. Like to go fast through chop but I spend a lot of time in trees too.
Hello everyone would be a huge help if everyone could give me a little direction on witch skies i should go with. I am 5’11” and 170 lbs. I would like to say I’m a advanced skier but no means expert even tho I have the eye’s, heart, and balls to do some stupid stuff! lol… My line up of skies that I was hoping to get some feedback from and that I’m considering are these.
Liberty orgin 106
Head Kore 105
Salomon QST 106
all of these skies look like they could be great al around skies for out west making them a 1 ski for all. I probably need help with size too guys. I would probably want to stay at the 10ish size apposed to the 180 size cause i prefer a turner instead of a burner but tell me different cause I just don’t know?
I am 6’8″ 250 lbs 50 year old Colorado skier – advance to expert level that primarily tries to avoid the crowds on the groomers by playing in the bowls, moguls or spacious trees. Love making big turns in the chopped up crud of the bowls all season long and working down a couple long mogul runs during a day on the slopes.
Would really appreciate your thoughts for me making turns over the next couple seasons on the QST 99 or 106 or the Icelantic Nomad 105. I am a little concern I might overpower the QST with my size not sure if the Nomad is stiffer. I do like the technology in the QST but not sure if that is an advantage for someone my size. I have always admired the Icelantic line but have never been on them, normal size friends seem to really love them.
Thank you very much in advance for your guidance.
1 ski the salomon 1080 guns 175’s, and i’m going to the 18-19 qst 106. what size should i get? 174? or the 181?
Hi, im 6’2 140 lbs, would you recommend the 181 or 188 if I was mostly using the ski for the backcountry?
I ski nunataqs backcountry 178 and Atomic snoop daddy 174. After back surgery, I’m now 5’8″ and 190#. As I’m approaching 50 I’m not hard charging as much and really enjoy the tossability of the snoops in the trees with their 20 radius. I ski w teen boys 2 of 3 outski me now and need to keep up!. No parks, no air. Can’t drive the ski as hard, don’t want chatter but weight important for uphill. Want a one quiver to mount to switch bindings here in the Pac NW for days at Meadows resort and backcountry touring that isn’t as extreme as in my youth. Started out thinking Soul7, looked at Enforcer 100 and now stuck between Bent 100s or QST 106. Seems like the top features I need are ability to ski all conditions (pacific nw changes minute to minute) out of bounds/AT, but lively enough to be easily flickable w/ my beat up body in the trees.
Hey there,
I think you’ve got a good group of skis there to pick from. The QST 106 really feels happiest when being driven, so I’d point you toward a ski that likes a bit more of a neutral stance. The Line Sick Day 104 isn’t on your list, but I think it probably should be. It’s quite light and easy to flick around while maintaining a great suspension and versatile shape. I think the SD 104 or the Soul 7 are both excellent skis for how you describe your skiing.
Hope that helps,
Sam
Just had a chance to demo bent Chet 100 (more playful than I am) and the 106. Sam, you are spot on. I had to drive it more than my liking, especially in bumpy tree terrain. Soul 7 HD and SD up next. My days of wild, wild Backcountry may be less, all skis have trade offs. I may try qst 99 and enforcer 100 to see if it’s enough of a sweet spot for touring. Thanks for your reply!!
Hey Sam! great review i just can’t wait to feel mines under my boots. If you could help me with a decission it would be really helpfull. Did you feel great with the binding position recomendation from salomon or you would change it?. I would like to put them more to the front as i do 360 and other tricks, but i don’t know if thats going to compromise floatability.
Thanks!!
Hey Marc,
I never got a chance to play around with the mount point on the QST 106, but as a rule of thumb, you’re always going to gain a bit of quickness/playfulness and lose a bit of float/stability every cm you move the binding forward. 1-2 cm either direction typically won’t make a huge difference in the way a ski performs, but it is noticeable. Moving the bindings much more than that can definitely change the feel of the ski.
For the QST 106, I like the recommended mounting point but I would say that it feels rather directional mounted there. Moving it up a few centimeters would (I imagine) make the ski a bit quicker and more balanced in the air.
Hope that helps!
Sam
Hi! I would be quite interested in a comparison to the 181cm length. SkiEssentials reviewed the 181 and it almost seems like they are describing a different ski in terms of the playfulness and quicknesss.
I have the Rocker 2 100 in both 178 and 186 and they do in fact ski like different skis – massive difference between the two in terms of playfulness and stability. It seems that the extra length is added disproportionately to the thicker, stiffer mid-section of the ski – making the longest length in the lineup much stiffer and heaver relative to the differences between the shorter lengths.
Perhaps Salomon does this because they assume those ordering the longest length in the 1-ski-quiver category need something that can charge in bigger terrain and accommodate bigger skiers. Curious what you guys think.
Ben
After skiing last years model on 2-3″ of new snow over frozen corn at 188 cm the changes made for this season look to be just what was needed. More strength and more weight to address some of shortcomings noticed in the older ski. In particular, on hard pack and shorter radius turns they are chatterboxes. At speed they are a bit busy underfoot. Edge hold is lacking on frozen corn even with a 3 degree sidewall.
All of these issues are addressed in the 18-19 ski.
Hi,
I am looking at buying either the qst 99 159 or 167 or 106 in 167 (im 153cm). I now live in NZ and after riding on floaty DPS skis I’m after something that will handle harder snow conditions. I loved to carve on my fat DPS (this was easier on japan’s groomed runs), however when conditions get icy here in NZ it’s just not that fun and when it gets cruddy there’s a lot of tip flapping. I’m trying to find something that will be more stable in crud and hard pac snow. However, I still want something that I can cruise on in the powder as I am mostly in the backcountry.
My feeling is that the 106 may perform fairly similarly on hard pac to the 99 but be a lot more fun in the pow and slush but I would love and appreciate some advice on what to go for?
Thanks so much!
Hi, thanks, great review.
Are there fundamental differences between 99 and 106 (beyond being larger / better in powder for 106 and thinner / better on pistes for 99) ?
I’m a good skier with a 50/50 piste/off piste program looking for an versatile and not too physically hard ski (sensitive knees!).
Thanks a lot. Cheers from France.
Hi,
How would you compare the qst 106 to an Ranger 98 as a 50/50 Ski. Is it much more pow/Freeride orientated or quiet the same spectrum. I am looking for a 50/50 ski for the alps. I feel those two Ski mark the lower and upper boundaries of the 50/50 category.
Hi! Just mounted my 18/19 106s in a 181. Camber ist more like 5mm per ski. Mounted a cm back to be closer to the 19/20 rec. line. They ski great, actually the mount feels fairly progressive for a skier coming from DPS AND K2 mounting points. Very nice ski with maybe slightly soft bases.
How would this ski compare in terms of top end stability and playfulness to a Head Kore 105?
As a 50/50 Touring/Resort pow Ski would you reccomment the 106 or the 99 for the PNW? Main sticks are Enforcer 93s.
I’m interesting about real lenght of 181 version. Il 188 is 186,7, 181 is less than 180?
How do these compare to the Fischer Ranger 108? I think it would be an interesting comparison as they are similar weight, width, and both are positioned for inbounds and touring setups.
Hi,
Great review as usual. How would this ski compare to the Kastle BMX 105 HP ?
Thks
You need heavier reviewers, lol. Eat a steak or something.
Great review Sam ….I like your reviews. Thanks so much my Blister membership pays for itself in spades x10
Thanks for the kind words, Guy!
mr. broken record here : any plans to get on the new 99’s ? the new layup sounds like a pretty big improvement. as always, thanks for the info…
Thanks for the great reviews! Can you please offer us a more detailed back to back comparison between the 17-18 QST 106 and 18-19 QST 106?
How would you say this ski compares to J Skis The Metal?
Hello, I am an intermediate skier 6’5″ but only 170lbs and I have to questions. For use 70% touring and 30% All mountain resort, would you recommend:
QST 99 or QST 106? And 181 or 188 (considering my weight and level).
Strictly for use in Utah.
Thanks!
Did you ever get a response on this? I’m same size, trying to choose between 181 and 188 for the 106. Like to go fast through chop but I spend a lot of time in trees too.
Hello everyone would be a huge help if everyone could give me a little direction on witch skies i should go with. I am 5’11” and 170 lbs. I would like to say I’m a advanced skier but no means expert even tho I have the eye’s, heart, and balls to do some stupid stuff! lol… My line up of skies that I was hoping to get some feedback from and that I’m considering are these.
Liberty orgin 106
Head Kore 105
Salomon QST 106
all of these skies look like they could be great al around skies for out west making them a 1 ski for all. I probably need help with size too guys. I would probably want to stay at the 10ish size apposed to the 180 size cause i prefer a turner instead of a burner but tell me different cause I just don’t know?
I am 6’8″ 250 lbs 50 year old Colorado skier – advance to expert level that primarily tries to avoid the crowds on the groomers by playing in the bowls, moguls or spacious trees. Love making big turns in the chopped up crud of the bowls all season long and working down a couple long mogul runs during a day on the slopes.
Would really appreciate your thoughts for me making turns over the next couple seasons on the QST 99 or 106 or the Icelantic Nomad 105. I am a little concern I might overpower the QST with my size not sure if the Nomad is stiffer. I do like the technology in the QST but not sure if that is an advantage for someone my size. I have always admired the Icelantic line but have never been on them, normal size friends seem to really love them.
Thank you very much in advance for your guidance.
1 ski the salomon 1080 guns 175’s, and i’m going to the 18-19 qst 106. what size should i get? 174? or the 181?
Hi, im 6’2 140 lbs, would you recommend the 181 or 188 if I was mostly using the ski for the backcountry?
I ski nunataqs backcountry 178 and Atomic snoop daddy 174. After back surgery, I’m now 5’8″ and 190#. As I’m approaching 50 I’m not hard charging as much and really enjoy the tossability of the snoops in the trees with their 20 radius. I ski w teen boys 2 of 3 outski me now and need to keep up!. No parks, no air. Can’t drive the ski as hard, don’t want chatter but weight important for uphill. Want a one quiver to mount to switch bindings here in the Pac NW for days at Meadows resort and backcountry touring that isn’t as extreme as in my youth. Started out thinking Soul7, looked at Enforcer 100 and now stuck between Bent 100s or QST 106. Seems like the top features I need are ability to ski all conditions (pacific nw changes minute to minute) out of bounds/AT, but lively enough to be easily flickable w/ my beat up body in the trees.
Hey there,
I think you’ve got a good group of skis there to pick from. The QST 106 really feels happiest when being driven, so I’d point you toward a ski that likes a bit more of a neutral stance. The Line Sick Day 104 isn’t on your list, but I think it probably should be. It’s quite light and easy to flick around while maintaining a great suspension and versatile shape. I think the SD 104 or the Soul 7 are both excellent skis for how you describe your skiing.
Hope that helps,
Sam
Just had a chance to demo bent Chet 100 (more playful than I am) and the 106. Sam, you are spot on. I had to drive it more than my liking, especially in bumpy tree terrain. Soul 7 HD and SD up next. My days of wild, wild Backcountry may be less, all skis have trade offs. I may try qst 99 and enforcer 100 to see if it’s enough of a sweet spot for touring. Thanks for your reply!!
Hey Sam! great review i just can’t wait to feel mines under my boots. If you could help me with a decission it would be really helpfull. Did you feel great with the binding position recomendation from salomon or you would change it?. I would like to put them more to the front as i do 360 and other tricks, but i don’t know if thats going to compromise floatability.
Thanks!!
Hey Marc,
I never got a chance to play around with the mount point on the QST 106, but as a rule of thumb, you’re always going to gain a bit of quickness/playfulness and lose a bit of float/stability every cm you move the binding forward. 1-2 cm either direction typically won’t make a huge difference in the way a ski performs, but it is noticeable. Moving the bindings much more than that can definitely change the feel of the ski.
For the QST 106, I like the recommended mounting point but I would say that it feels rather directional mounted there. Moving it up a few centimeters would (I imagine) make the ski a bit quicker and more balanced in the air.
Hope that helps!
Sam
Hi! I would be quite interested in a comparison to the 181cm length. SkiEssentials reviewed the 181 and it almost seems like they are describing a different ski in terms of the playfulness and quicknesss.
I have the Rocker 2 100 in both 178 and 186 and they do in fact ski like different skis – massive difference between the two in terms of playfulness and stability. It seems that the extra length is added disproportionately to the thicker, stiffer mid-section of the ski – making the longest length in the lineup much stiffer and heaver relative to the differences between the shorter lengths.
Perhaps Salomon does this because they assume those ordering the longest length in the 1-ski-quiver category need something that can charge in bigger terrain and accommodate bigger skiers. Curious what you guys think.
Ben
After skiing last years model on 2-3″ of new snow over frozen corn at 188 cm the changes made for this season look to be just what was needed. More strength and more weight to address some of shortcomings noticed in the older ski. In particular, on hard pack and shorter radius turns they are chatterboxes. At speed they are a bit busy underfoot. Edge hold is lacking on frozen corn even with a 3 degree sidewall.
All of these issues are addressed in the 18-19 ski.
Hi,
I am looking at buying either the qst 99 159 or 167 or 106 in 167 (im 153cm). I now live in NZ and after riding on floaty DPS skis I’m after something that will handle harder snow conditions. I loved to carve on my fat DPS (this was easier on japan’s groomed runs), however when conditions get icy here in NZ it’s just not that fun and when it gets cruddy there’s a lot of tip flapping. I’m trying to find something that will be more stable in crud and hard pac snow. However, I still want something that I can cruise on in the powder as I am mostly in the backcountry.
My feeling is that the 106 may perform fairly similarly on hard pac to the 99 but be a lot more fun in the pow and slush but I would love and appreciate some advice on what to go for?
Thanks so much!
Hi, thanks, great review.
Are there fundamental differences between 99 and 106 (beyond being larger / better in powder for 106 and thinner / better on pistes for 99) ?
I’m a good skier with a 50/50 piste/off piste program looking for an versatile and not too physically hard ski (sensitive knees!).
Thanks a lot. Cheers from France.
Hi,
How would you compare the qst 106 to an Ranger 98 as a 50/50 Ski. Is it much more pow/Freeride orientated or quiet the same spectrum. I am looking for a 50/50 ski for the alps. I feel those two Ski mark the lower and upper boundaries of the 50/50 category.
Hi! Just mounted my 18/19 106s in a 181. Camber ist more like 5mm per ski. Mounted a cm back to be closer to the 19/20 rec. line. They ski great, actually the mount feels fairly progressive for a skier coming from DPS AND K2 mounting points. Very nice ski with maybe slightly soft bases.