Thread: 194 LP Review

Ive had half a season on these things now and Ive skied them in all possible conditions and although Im not a huge ski review kinda guy Im gonna go ahead and put this one up as there aren’t a whole bunch of reviews on 194s, at least not that Ive seen, and as this ski has just been the shit and I feel I owe it some praise.

So moi,

20 years old(not that it matters much)
186~ cm, that’s around 5’10-11ish for you imperial peeps.
170-5 lbs
Fit dude
Strong skier
Some race background, but limited to early teens
Enjoy long walks on the…

Im not much of a big quiver kind of skier. I much rather enjoy obtaining one ski and making it work in all conditions and really knowing it. For me the difference between choosing one ski over another would have to be between powder and bulletproof. In any other case I like knowing one ski and just using it all the time.

When I first got onto these things I got my ass kicked. It was a good sign for things to come. My biggest problem with recent skis has been out-skiing them too fast and not getting everything I wanted out of them. These things took a good week to reign in and upon doing so I fell in love, for the most part.

Powder – I hadn’t really experience a good powder day(more than 20cm) this season so I was still kinda iffy on these in the deep stuff. The last few days we’ve been getting dumped with snow and I had my first 3 full days of 30+ cm conditions and these things just loved it. Despite the fact that they aren’t the fattest, for their width+their length+my weight they do a lot and I had no problems what so ever staying afloat on these and the flex, Ive found, doesn’t hinder their pow performace at all. There were a couple of times where in the low light I went from centered weight to pressuring my tips that I experience a bit of dive but not significant enough of me to eat it and regain composure. This ski takes a strong pilot to ski in deeper snow and does require some speed to really start having fun, but if you can handle them its great. It can be tiring after a long time and consecutive days, but I really loved my and am a better and stronger skier for it.

Tracked out – Thanks to its stiff flex these were great even as the snow was getting tracked. Crossing someone else’s lines was a breeze with barely, if any, deflection occurring and never felt any sketchiness while doing so (by that I mean having to adjust going from pow to a tracked line to pow and back) and allowing them to just haul ass the whole way down never flinching once. This ski was great in this terrain continuing to prove its versatility as the day went on and the conditions changed.

Soft packed and bumps – These were great skis in the soft packed terrain and bumps. As you could imaging for their length and flex they aren’t ideal in this kind of habitat, but I personally love skiing all of my skis (despite how stupidly long and stiff they are) in bumps just so they can give me a kick in the ass here and there, forcing me to stay on top of them, and I find it helps me get to know the ski in all aspects. They are a lot to handle comparatively to what’s out there but learning this skis short radius capabilities and making it work in tight bumps was great and in doing so this ski became surprisingly playful for me as I really started to work them. Of course they were also great on anything soft packed, keeping the edge and once again showing their playful side when being treated properly.

Hardpack – Well, considering these are a fat GS ski there was no doubt in my mind that they would excel in this condtion and they certainly didn’t dissapoint. They rail like no other ski Ive owned (other than race sticks) and for a midfat ski, and given the length, I had no problems going from edge to edge and just mach1ing everything in my sight. Bulletproof was great as well feeling very minimal amounts of chattering and never once have I felt unsure of this skis capabilities on the hardpack. To add, no speed limit.

Trees – This was one area that the skis took some getting used to and unfortunately aren’t the best. In loose open trees they had no problem at all and considering I had them +1 from recommended made it a bit eaier going. The tight trees did become a bit too tight at some points. My local hills (North Shore Mtns of Van, primarily Cypress) are all treed hills so getting into the terrain wasn’t a problem. I wouldn’t say these skis aren’t manageable in the tight trees, but as you could imagine take some getting used to. Learning these on the bumps definitely helped a great deal in the very tight and as long as one can get used to the 194cm of ski that needs to be maneuvered and constantly spot your approaching line and terrain (as we all should be doing) coupled with not thinking to much and avoiding trees they are manageable.

Big mountain – Since Im a student and don’t have all the money in the world to constantly spend and travel on skiing bigger and better terrain my experience with this ski in these conditions was lacking. My local hill does get steep in certain areas (35-40) and considerably open (25-30 meters wide; 65 to 100 feet) but not true alpine. I have had a weeks worth of good skiing at Whistler with these and that’s where they felt most at home. Big open spaces, they love it. Steep chutes, they love it. Cliffs (40 footers local, about the same, maybe a bit more, at Whistler), they love it. It truly is at home in these conditions and its where they can really be opened up and when done they slay everything in their path and are super fun to ski.

Conclusion – These skis are great. Ive loved them in all conditions and when worked properly can excel in all conditions. They definitely take some getting used to and they do require that you stay on top of them all the time or they’ll thrown you off faster than a mechanical bull, but the outcome of course is great skiing. They can slay anything you throw at them. They shred powder like piranhas, stomp airs with ease, and can hold an edge like a true race ski. I am definitely very satisfied with these skis and, dare I say, they are the best skis Ive ever owned.
To them I raise my shot of Jager and salute thee.

Edit - Holy crap, 2 full pages in Word. This is why I don’t do reviews.

If you’ve managed to read this whole thing, kudos.

I ski 194 LP.

Its all about your attitude. If you want to lean forward and destroy the snow there is nothing like the LP.

If your feeling a bit tired and want to take it easy? You will get worked and hurt on these things.

I just love mine!

I also ski 179 Bro's when I want to go a bit slower and ski with more caution in tight technical terrain. the little bro's feel very similar to LP's but light and nimble at the expense of that high speed stability you get with the 194 LP.

Good review

MTT Riding 194 LP's through Sierra Chop

Curious to know what other skis you have liked, and what you had come off before these?

Nice review, thanks.

Good review...I've been on the 194 for years now and they rip in all conditions.

Originally Posted by dirtybryan

Curious to know what other skis you have liked, and what you had come off before these?

I started getting into twins and non race skis in general about 4-5 years ago. Other than my race skis Ive had:

175 Dynastar TM - Cant really remember what I thought of it and it wasnt really on my mind to compare/critique it at the time. I remember it was soft, very soft.

176 Mojo90 - Liked these. Nice and stiff, skied WAY to short (176 measured 173 tip to tip), I just wish they were a bit more playful. Felt too dead, never livened up.

179 Seth - Once again fun ski. I enjoyed going from the stiffer Mojo to this. Unfortunately the love was short lived. This was a part in my life where my skiing jumped another huge step. I liked this ski for about a week and by then I was outskiing it.

189 Seth - I really liked this ski. Longer, stifffer, funner than the 179. So once again I liked the added length and stiffness but the love only lasted so long with this one. Within a month I was skiing it and washing out everywhere on anything other than pow/tracked.

Thats the bulk of it. Ive owned an AM twin here or there as well.

Ive also had the chance to ski a few other for extended periods of time (2-3 weeks).

I borrowed my friends ANTs last year and skied them for a couple of weeks while he was gone. I really like them and almost had them as my skis this year. Stiff, fairly fat, light. They performed great on the hills around here and I had a blast with them. The deciding factor to not go with these was due to the twin. As you can see my general pattern in skis over these last years are twins. I started to crave the edge hold of a fairly flat tail.

After the ANTs I got a chance to ski some 194 Nobis Pros and I really liked them. I only had 3 days on them so I was a bit concerned when buying my 194s but clearly very happy now.

Originally Posted by MTT

MTT Riding 194 LP's through Sierra Chop

don't fall over

MTT you suck at the internet, downsize your photos.

Originally Posted by Dickeymotto

MTT you suck at the internet, downsize your photos.

... said the guy who resurrected an 8 month old thread

Originally Posted by lukc

... said the guy who resurrected an 8 month old thread

And 8 month old thread about a five years old ski.

And Still a great Ski, To bad they don't make them anymore

Originally Posted by lukc

... said the guy who resurrected an 8 month old thread

Resurrected because I'm looking into a pair of pre-2009 LP's. The date didn't make the gargantuan pic any less annoying