Lhasa Pow 186 Carbon Review
PM Gear Lhasa Pow 186 Carbon Review by and for non-mag JONGs.
WTF? Another review of the 186? Yup.
But, WHY??? To share my perspective from a non-maggot point of view and hopefully get more joe schmoes like me stoked on Lhasas. You absolutely do NOT have to be a smokin' hot TGR ripper to have a blast on these skis.
Skier: Gary, weekend warrior type, not particularly strong or fit.
Age: 45 god dammit
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 155 lbs
Style: Garden variety advanced skier, a pussy by TGR standards. Not an exracer, no big air, no park, speed is typically slowish. But I have been skiing for 30 years and for the last decade I've been skiing mostly off piste and even more recently some backcountry skinning and hiking and stuff. I like billygoating through technical terrain although I avoid mandatory no fall zones above cliff bands and such. I ski mainly at Kirkwood, Alpine, and Sugarbowl. I'm currently on 178cm Dynastar 8800's, Marker Barons on the line, and Lange 130 World Cups. I like my skis soft and my boots stiff. I also have been telemark skiing for the past few years, but that's a whole other story for some other day.
OK, you probably know that the stellar Lhasa Pow is loved and coveted by its owners. Just a few of the many threads here on TGR:
191 PM Gear Lhasa Fat
the 179 Lhasa Sickest ski ever!!!
191 Lhasa Wow
Lhasa-186-on-hardpack-question....
Review 188 s7 191 Lhasa 190 Lotus 120
191 Lhasas for a lightweight?
190 Lotus 120 vs 191 Lhasa Pow
REVIEW: 191 Lhasa Pow!!!
Lasha Pow: I owe Spalt a review!!
191 Lhasa Production-Paging Splat
Lhasa 186 vs EHP 186??
HELP! BRO 183 or Lhasa 186 or something else?
JONG Gaperific Gear Review - 186 All Glass Lhasa Pow, Marker Duke, BD Factor
GIANT THROBBING WOODY (196 lhasa related)
Lhasa Pow 186 vs 196 Review
186 Rocker Review Thread
FKNA! nsfw
Something people should know about splat
So after lots of poking around on TGR and picking up the buzz on PM Gear, Splat, Bros, and the Lhasas, I saw that I could demo the Lhasas at Cornice Sports in Kirkwood, and for only $20! Let's do it!
After a first look at the skis in person, I gotta tell ya, I was feeling pretty intimidated. These monsters were massive compared to my 178 Dynastar 8800s. But I pretty much instantly felt comfortable on these skis. "Let's get acquainted" turns on groomers? Cake. Traversing icy, sun crusty slopes? Not a problem. Firm and steep? Yeah, edge bite and control are awesome. And then I went for some cut up heavy crud. Hole Lee Fuck!!! Like a magic carpet ride, these babies glided through mashed potatoes like nobody's business. I was skiing with speed and control with a standard centered/forward stance in snow conditions that were barely survivable with any of my previous skis. What a revelation! So much fun!!! I actually found myself for the first time ever searching for cruddy, manky snow to ski in. Just so amazing how effortlessly these babies slice and arc smooth GS turns in shit snow. And in total control though I was skiing faster than ever. So confidence inspiring, so sweet, and so much fun!
Zipperlining the moguls? Yes. Trees? Oh Hells yes. Truly unbelievable how maneuverable these skis are when you need them to be and yet so stable at speed in variable conditions. And then it started flurrying big, fat flakes. Ended up being only a couple of inches on firm, but so damn much fun. I've read that these skis are really easy to ski, and that's the complete truth. I'm no XXL or RC112 driver either; I'm coming off of noodly 'get these for your girlfriend' 8800's.
The Lhasa's are high performance, versatile, and forgiving skis. That last quality is very important to me because as I get tired and sloppy towards the end of the day, I don't want to get spanked by my skis. It seemed that whenever I got in the backseat, it took little effort to regain a centered stance whereas on other skis, tailgunning would result in a quick and ugly spiral out of control. Simply amazing.
And yeah, if you've never skiied rocker, well, what the hell are you waiting for? By the end of the day, I was actually feeling that these skis which have a bigger footprint than anything I've skiied before were a tad short. How is that even possible? Dunno. So, based on Splat's recommendation, I've placed my order for the 2010/11 191's. Tits!
A work buddy of mine who is decidely intermediate had hit a plateau on his old internet special, way too stiff Atomic TM Exs. He demo'ed the Lhasas after I raved about 'em. He's still an intermediate, windshield wiper on blue groomers kind of skier, but he had the same 'magic carpet ride' feeling as I when skiing in the heavy Sierra crud. These skis open up so much more of the mountain for those of us who 'ski as other commitments allow' whether conditions are good or (most likely) not so good. And they're so forgiving and easy to ski that even an intermediate can have a blast on 'em. He demo'ed them a second time, to see if it was a fluke or something. It wasn't. This summer, Ted, who doesn't part easily with his cash, bought a pair of 186s. Turd got his Lhasas before I've got mine.
I'm a cheap bastard, too, and for three decades bought all my gear on close out at steep discounts. I usually keep my equipment 'til it breaks. And while I've skiied on comparatively few skis over the years and have no experience with competitors to the Lhasa, I do know that it's super highly regarded here on TGR and it's by far the funnest and most horizon expanding ski I've ever clicked into. It's a given that this is an awesome one-ski quiver for experts. I'm super stoked to report that this ski kills it for mere mortals like me as well. FKNA kills it!!!
See ya on the slopes.
Gary (embryonic-maggot) Park
mini update: spent the 2010/11 season rocking the 191 lhasa's and surprise, surprise: they fucking kick ass. that is all.
Miscellaneous quotes:
Quote:
Originally Posted by
single
The 186 Lhasa pow is the BEST SKI I HAVE EVER BEEN ON.
Period.
Incredibly playful and light, but still floats and rips every condition out there. I could ski it everyday.
I work at a shop, and get to demo everything. I have owned/skied most skis that are popular within the TGR crowd. I have the ability to proform almost any ski on the market, but not PM gear.
I still bought the lhasas. If you are on the fence, I encourage you to make the right choice.
Just sayin.
And for the record, I am 5'9 145#. Jump off stuff and ski pretty hard. I ski most things around 190cm. 186's are playful and great at bridger. If I skied more open terrain, I would go 191. Mostly pow/big and fast, I would go 196.
And the 192 is a rippin ski. If you want to start stompin your landings...
posted 1/17/2012:
Quote:
Originally Posted by
splat
A lot of people have told me the Lhasa shape has been around for a while and I should move into the short sidecut/flat cut rockered tip/tail arena to keep up with the progression in shapes. I just kinda shake my head because I feel the Lhasa shapes have yet to be dialed in for perfection in the one ski quiver arena. I thought the 191 would be the ultimate iteration of the Lhasa but I was wrong. To date, the 191 Fat is indeed what I've been shooting for. To have access to the carbon fiber I can get has been the feather in this ski's cap. No, there is not a button you can press so it does everything for you. No, it is not for people with no grip on technique or form. The world is full of those skis. It's a hard chargin mofo for the guys who know what a real ski should be able to do in every fukking condition the mountain can deal. It's made to ski 60 mph and huck 60 ft hucks all day long. But it will also ski easily at casual speeds like a ski should, in any conditions, ice to crap to groomer to deep pow. I'd rather be known for building a few of these skis than be known for building a million inferior skis to make a buck selling crap.