Bluehouse Maven Review

[laseranimal]

The short synopsis: These skis KILL it, if you didn't buy a pair of these, you're completely bumming


Longer review

The set up:

Mavens mounted with Marker Dukes at -.5 cm skied with Dynafit Aero Freerides modified with uber stiff booster straps and tongue shims

The skier:

235 pounds, 5'11 likes powder, ec trees, and off the beaten trail skiing. Hates bumps, groomers and skiing where everyone else has been

The conditions:

2 days of hiking at Plattekill in conditions ranging from pow to windblown to freeze crust to pure corn.
2 days skiing the blue square gnar at Killington. Conditions ranged from super gnar corduroy to mega gnar skied off to ultra gnar snow gun mank

The Review

Holy shit balls these things rock. I was somewhat questioning the sanity of buying something like this on the East Coast but after 4 days on them I'm convinced that in fact these could potentially be an everyday board at the right EC resort. Obviously these things destroy pow like nobodies business, and thats to be expected. What I wasn't expecting at all was the ability to HAMMER THEM on the groomers like I was skiing on something WAY stiffer. In all seriousness you could have blindfolded me and told me I was skiing something like a G4 or an Explosive, thats how stable at speed these things are.

Plus you get the added bonus of almost intuitive turn initiation, its like you've done a Vulcan mind meld with them, just think about a turn and you're 3/4 of the way through it. The other surprising factor for me is how absurdly quick they are edge to edge and not just for a 139 waist, its a completely weird feeling because they shouldn't BE that quick, but they are. My guess is that with no tip and tail edge its simply a matter of turning the 120 cm of actual contact area.

Crust is absolutely no problem with these babies and skiing corn is absolutely dreamy. Once I actually got skins that FIT them touring was absolutely no problem. In fact I found due to the massive surface area I could go straight up in places where I would normally have to switchback. The Maven/Duke combo won't replace dynafits for longer tours, but I could see them potentially stealing some time in the short tour/powder day tour department.

As someone who skis with AT boots full time these things are absolutely fantastic because they simply require a boot that is laterally stiff. True you probably wouldn't want to rock them with with F1's but Freerides/Naxo's with a zzero 4 or spirit 4 wouldn't be a bad combo. I'm pretty sure if you were touring only it would be possible to get away with Megarides or Spirit 3's. I'm not sure about dynafit's though, the ski is so massive and the dynafit footprint is so tiny I'd worry about the leverage. I'm not saying it couldn't be done, but I think there are better binding mounts.

The only drawbacks so far are that they do not fit in the ski slots on the gondi racks, you need to put them in the snowboard slots or carry them inside. Not a big deal if you ski a resort with a tram or no gondi, but worth noting if your at a place that requires gondi use to get to the goods. The other thing is that these things absolutely HATE bumps. I hate bumps as well, but again its worth noting. Its not that they aren't quick enough, they're just too wide to fit in the troughs. So you can DO bumps, its just not going to be any fun. Finally you will get comments and funny looks in the lift line. Its cool at first, but after about day 2 it gets REALLY old telling people that "yes they're great in pow and they're even fun on days like today".

There are a few conditions I didn't get any data in, the first is bulletproof EC hardpack,the second is ultra tight EC woods. For bulletproof EC harpack I have ice skates and if you're pulling out a 159-139-154 ski on a bulletproof day you're either trying to make a statement about the ridiculousness of the conditions, or your a masochist. Needless to say I'm not too concerned. Super tight EC woods will be the make or break for these babies. I can overlook a whole bunch but if they're miserable in my favorite terrain, they're going to spend a whole lot of time on them. All the terrain I've skied so far indicates that they'll do fine but check back in 1-2 months and I'll update the review.

[jon turner]

This makes me happy I just mounted some mavens with nx21's. can't wait to take 'em out.

[peacedivision]

Thanks for the review! Cant wait to try em out.

[PowTron]

nice, dude...I am REALLY looking forward to skiing these now. I mounted mine -.5cm with Jesters, and I am about your size.

As far as the Gondola not fitting them...that is the case with pretty much any ski over 140 in the tail. Get used to it

very good to hear!

[RTR]

Whoa, whoa, whoa... I had pretty much ruled out mounting these with AT bindings... Yeah, I had the strange thought to do so, but I casted those thoughts out by the wayside. So, now, you're telling me that others had these thoughts as well, and they don't regret it? Hmm... I might just have some px14's for sale, then. Hum hah.

[Core Shot]

Inneresting first review.

I think they would be sweet for tight EC woods. Plenty of float, rocker and pivot. Cool to hear they rock the firm. I woulda thought 139 waist was out of control on hardpack, but I guess not.

[PowTron]

I woulda thought 139 waist was out of control on hardpack, but I guess not.

I haven't tried my mavens yet, but I rocked Prophet 130's on groomers and "colorado hardpack" for the last few years and they RAILED it...

[Artie Fufkin]

Nice review, I was psyched to get on Mavens, even more so now, sounds like there fairly versatile for a big ski. I'll definitely be mounting mine with some Dukes or Barons.

[Bandit Man]

Thanks for the review. The 235 lb. skier part does skew the review a bit in my mind, though. It's a big burly ski, but with that much girth, it becomes a whole different experience versus someone 50-70 lbs. lighter on the same sticks.

[RTR]

It's a big burly ski...

You bring up some valid points... but I wouldn't say it's a "burly ski"...
Big, yes. But because of its soft flex, it seems like it'll be pretty forgiving. Indeed, the flex is probably what contributes most to its "driveability." (Granted, being 200 lbs + is going to make it feel even softer.)

Hopefully it's manageable for a 170 lb. weakling, like myself.

[PowTron]

^^^^ I Agree..it is a wide ski, but very soft. Especially for 200+ hogs like my self .

Either way, the shape and the rocker are going to make this fatty very happy!

[bornincolorado]

your're right, I am bumming

Thanks for the review

[RTR]

Whoa, whoa, whoa... I had pretty much ruled out mounting these with AT bindings... Yeah, I had the strange thought to do so, but I casted those thoughts out by the wayside. So, now, you're telling me that others had these thoughts as well, and they don't regret it? Hmm... I might just have some px14's for sale, then. Hum hah.

Well, I did it... I took the plunge and bought some Duke's. Soon, I'll have "alpine touring" skis that are 139 at the waist. And yes, the PX14's are for sale.

Anyone else have input on these skis and how they are as an AT ski? Yikes!

[oftpiste]

What a terrific review! I too have been concerned about the drivability of that kind of girth on anything other than soft snow, but I've been surprised before by the hard-snow performance of bigger skis like the ON3Ps.

The whole AT binding question now adds more confusion on what to mount up because I was thinking that the amount of riser on a Duke would make these harder to turn. Let's see...take the Dukes off the Districts, ahhhhhhhhrrrggghhhhhhh!!!!!!

[teleknees]

mounted with bd 01 tele bindings. taking them to the bird this weekend. SSOO STOKED...bluehouse kills it.

[DaHeel]

mounted with bd 01 tele bindings. taking them to the bird this weekend. SSOO STOKED...bluehouse kills it.

A tele review would be great. I was waiting for my NTN to arive but I might not be able wait that long. I guess it all depends on some tele feedback. Where did you mount them?

[Artie Fufkin]

Took mine into the shop today to get mounted with some Barons, psyched to get them out on some snow soon.

[laseranimal]

What a terrific review! I too have been concerned about the drivability of that kind of girth on anything other than soft snow, but I've been surprised before by the hard-snow performance of bigger skis like the ON3Ps.

The whole AT binding question now adds more confusion on what to mount up because I was thinking that the amount of riser on a Duke would make these harder to turn. Let's see...take the Dukes off the Districts, ahhhhhhhhrrrggghhhhhhh!!!!!!

I skied Dukes and Mavens and Dukes with last years Districts back to back on hard snow and it was no contest to the Mavens. Shocking but true, the only reason I'd take Districts over the Mavens is if I knew I'd be seeing a lot of bumps, as the Districts flex and width is a bit better suited to bumps then the Mavens

My thought with AT bindings and R/R skis is on the EC you've got a limited window of lift served pow, after about 11:00 at most places you're not going to find anything untracked and by 12:45 everything is powder bumps. So you're going to be either hitting the sidecountry or you've skipped the lifts and are just hiking. Plus since you're going to be skiing in powder, you don't need as rigid a binding interface so you can get away with something like a Naxo or Freeride.

I will also highly recommend Climbing Skins Direct.com's twin tip setup for the Mavens. Initially I was using BD's STS and the tail clip kept slipping off. Yes I was using skins trimmed for 126-99-116 on the Mavens, but even so the tail is SO rounded on the Mavens I'm convinced even if the STS skins were the right size, the tail clip wouldn't stay on

[Evmo]

You are making me feel inadequate with my Kingswoods @ 115 underfoot and no rocker...

[oftpiste]

Good beta. Don't really want to take the Dukes off the Districts as I like them for an all around ski but can't really afford another pair of Dukes right now. I'm all confused.

Let's see....right now on the bench I have TT09s, 997s (which is what I had planned for the Mavens), some Dynafit Comforts but I don't really want to be limited to the Megarides. I really wish I could make my alpine boots dynafit compatible. There are some Naxos on my Scott Santiagos which I could move to the Mavens as I rarely if ever skin on them.....
I guess there are worse problems to have than too many options.

I skied Dukes and Mavens and Dukes with last years Districts back to back on hard snow and it was no contest to the Mavens. Shocking but true, the only reason I'd take Districts over the Mavens is if I knew I'd be seeing a lot of bumps, as the Districts flex and width is a bit better suited to bumps then the Mavens

My thought with AT bindings and R/R skis is on the EC you've got a limited window of lift served pow, after about 11:00 at most places you're not going to find anything untracked and by 12:45 everything is powder bumps. So you're going to be either hitting the sidecountry or you've skipped the lifts and are just hiking. Plus since you're going to be skiing in powder, you don't need as rigid a binding interface so you can get away with something like a Naxo or Freeride.

I will also highly recommend Climbing Skins Direct.com's twin tip setup for the Mavens. Initially I was using BD's STS and the tail clip kept slipping off. Yes I was using skins trimmed for 126-99-116 on the Mavens, but even so the tail is SO rounded on the Mavens I'm convinced even if the STS skins were the right size, the tail clip wouldn't stay on

[corn dog]

If you're bumming, check this.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=270297830868

[dfinn]

oops, wrong thread

[mojorisin]

fuck! nice looking toy dan

[Bandit Man]

You bring up some valid points... but I wouldn't say it's a "burly ski"...
Big, yes. But because of its soft flex, it seems like it'll be pretty forgiving. Indeed, the flex is probably what contributes most to its "driveability." (Granted, being 200 lbs + is going to make it feel even softer.)

Hopefully it's manageable for a 170 lb. weakling, like myself.

You guys are right...I was thinking Shoots not Maven, which are softer. I still believe that skier weight can skew a review and it material to how it will feel to more "average" sized folks.

[Sloafer11']

You guys are right...I was thinking Shoots not Maven, which are softer. I still believe that skier weight can skew a review and it material to how it will feel to more "average" sized folks.

shoots are most definately not softer . . . not sure where you got that. They are much stiffer, there was a thread a few weeks ago likening them to xxls and squads.