Lhasa Pow 186 vs 196 Review

[Lakelander]

Interested to know if most carbon riders have mounted alpine or AT bindings. I've got a pair of 186 carbons on order and debating whether it makes sense to mount Dukes for inbounds/side country or just keep the rig super light with a lighter alpine binding such as STH 16 or P14. It seems a little counter intuitive to put heavier bindings a light ski. If this were going to be my longer tour setup, I'd prolly through so Freerides on the carbons. Thoughts please.

[toiletduck]

Lakelander, I had the option of STH16s or P14s - felt like P14s weighed a lot, are they really a light binding? My judgement's a bit impaired since I've only skied the P14s on Scott P4s and Prophet 90s (both have two layers of metal in and aren't light skis).

Anyway, I put the STHs on my 196 carbons. Very pleased with the setup, the swing weight is so light it's unreal. Definitely way lower weight than my Prophet/P14 setup.

[jondrums]

from here:
http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/s...4&postcount=10

P12 = 1050g
P18 = 1235g
sth16 = 1161g
duke= 1300g

I say mount the dukes. swing weight is king for alpine/freeride since your boots are real heavy anyway.

[The Suit]

My wife told me today that I ski much better on the Lhasa 186s than on my Lotus 138s.

It's also pretty cool to see SuperGaper's 196s in the window when you walk by Pepi Steigler Sports.

[splat]

Suit - if you see SG, tell him we have some donor 186s for the shop from a wounded Bro Modeler.
It's all explained on the previous page of this thread.

[SuperGaper]

Wow, just read the posts on the previous page. Sorry about the injury Sean. Hope you heal quickly and make to South America this summer.
Sean and Pat, just let me know how you wan't to proceed with the Bros, got a few folks who would like to try them out.

Sent my friend out on my pair yesterday while I worked, went Cody to No-Name on them and really enjoyed them. My other friend skied them in bounds the other day and really loved them. We were switching off between my 196's and a 190 DPS Lotus 120. Totally different skis. Anyway I'll post more about that later.

[jondrums]

^^ would be interested in a 196 vs. 190 dps 120 comparo!

[The Suit]

Sent my friend out on my pair yesterday while I worked, went Cody to No-Name on them and really enjoyed them.

Mystery solved. I saw him in the tram line, and then again on the Cody hike. Couldn't figure out who it was. I didn't ask for change for a nickel because my friends wouldn't have understood if he replied "get a life, beater."

[RootSkier]

"Get a life, beater." I just had this conversation today, but it was Gelande weekend at Snowbowl and I thought the proper response was actually "Fuck off, beater." I guess that's what 8 or 12 PBRs on a springlike day will do, though.

[splat]

New life is coming for all the beaters who ordered 196s. We'll pick them up from stonegrinding and beveling tomorrow, finish the finishing touches and start shipping Thursday. We got all but the last two or three pair ordered ready to go. We'll press more as soon as we get these shipped (the last pairs from this batch will prolly go out Monday) and have the last few pair out asap after pressing them next week.

[Ringo]

start shipping Thursday

Tears of FKNA right now, tears of FKNA.

[Spyderjon]

wooohooo!

[wilcox510]

Any chance of a full carbon (or any other change to make them super light) 186 Lhasa next year? What are they, 4 lb 6oz or so per ski? Thats pretty good of course, but if you could get them down into the DPS weight category I'd be sold for sure....

[Tye 1on]

Any chance of a full carbon (or any other change to make them super light) 186 Lhasa next year? What are they, 4 lb 6oz or so per ski? Thats pretty good of course, but if you could get them down into the DPS weight category I'd be sold for sure....

heel eeum tech

[Hicks]

Any chance of a full carbon (or any other change to make them super light) 186 Lhasa next year? What are they, 4 lb 6oz or so per ski? Thats pretty good of course, but if you could get them down into the DPS weight category I'd be sold for sure....

After skiing the regular carbon 186 for a couple of days I'm not sure that would make a better ski, especially when it comes down to stability at speed. They are already really lightweight.

[sean890]

My 186s are over at Pepi's at the village in Jackson. SG is looking for some good demo bindings to put on them and they should be ready soon I would guess. Anyone in the area not scared of being forced to buy a new pair of skis after riding them should give them a try.

[khyber.pass]

I wrote a few words on this in another thread, but here's a better place to throw down on the Lhasa Pow 186 (carbon) and 196 (fiberglass). Thanks to Elderado who kindly lent these out to me for a very fine bottle of wine here in Whistler .. maybe if you ask nice. ..

Me: 170lbs~, 5.11, unhinged ex-racer & PNW native
Quiver: ANTS, Goats, Scratch BC WRS, Line Blends, PEs... I use Manaslus & Verdicts for touring.

Conditions - fresh 30cm pow, heavy to blower chop + slop, rollercoaster trees & bumps, sun crust, chutes & steeps, rocks .. a full day, 9-4.

196. This skied long compared to the ANTs, a bit more damp, just as stiff at flex 2. This being my first rocker & flat camber, it took awhile getting used to the damp & flat feel of the ski, especially out in the long shovel. Couldn't sink the tips if I tried. Once I got into pushing them from the cuffs, I stanced more or less forward. Loves the big turns and once they opened up, they wanted to run wild. Kept hooking the tips in the played out trees, but I felt with a few more days I'd have 'em down with a solid platform stance. The ski was beating up my shins somewhat.. I didn't have the sweet spot down yet. I suspect a higher boot might even be needed (wearing Ghosts). Overall, the 196 skis BIG compared to an ANT -- make no mistake, it's fatter underfoot, and damper when lining, but as soon as one pops a turn, it is surprisingly light and turns very, very fast. I would love something a *tad* shorter, like 192, just for versatility. I found these took some effort -- but I am somewhat small for these planks. That said, the rocker is subtle, if not sublime. The ski floats effortlessly, cuts through anything, chud, pow, cropped & slopped. Landings were stable as to be expected, though I found them a bit too long in Whistler's rocky & narrow chutes (almost reminded me of being back on skinnies @ this length).

186, 'soft' flex. Clicked in & went 'oh yah, I know these skis.' Rode fast & light but stable at speed. Easier turn radius in the trees. For the size & style, surprisingly poppy & light with a fast swing. When I pressured the ski in the deep, it flexed fast with significant energy, and popped me back out of the turn which surprised me a bit at first (especially as I had just rid the 196). With a bit of time I'd probably get 'em to slow down on the pop and radius the turn at higher speed. Straightlining chop & slop was not a problem. It rode over everything; in this regard there is very little difference between the 196 & 186; both are incredibly stable. A fun ski. It did get pushed around a little more, but by this time my shins were in general pain after several days in the deep & mank.

If I had to make a choice, this would be a tough call. I'd love for a 192 as I think it's my sweet spot. The 186 is solid, but I like the souped up, all terrain overlord feel of the 196. The 196 feels like a lot of ski for me to handle, and in the tight trees & rocky entrances, here in Whistler, perhaps a little too long in the narrows where jump turns are a necessity, and where a ski that long is hitting rocks on either end. The 186 is predictably more agile in the narrows, and would probably be my go-to choice, though if there was a 192, I think this would be right on the money -- at least for the current conditions, my size & style, yadda yadda.

Overall -- an amazing set of skis that redefine what is possible. Definitely on the hit list for 09/10.

[splat]

khyber.pass - just to clarify, the 186s ElderEldo has are carbons and the 196s are glass. That difference in the skis is evident in your description of how they skied. That *pop* in the 186, the rebound out of the bottom of the turn, the snappiness and the light weight, are all carbon attributes. The dampness and weight (both swing and real) of ElderEldo's 196's are attributable to the all glass construction. If you could imagine the 196 exhibiting all those characteristics of the 186 carbon, that's what the 196 carbon will ski like. It's one of those 3-5 runs to figure out skis, but after that, it's all exploring just how much they will do that you weren't expecting they'd be capable of. Of course, one of the most predominant things you figure out is that if you ski with a good weight forward form, they really kick ass.

[Spyderjon]

I've got some 196 carbon's coming & am interested to know what tune/edge set-up owners are using? I think that the factory set-up is 1,2?

All my skis in the past, including my current 187 High Society FR's, are full length sharpened to 1,3 but I've never skied such a long radius or rockered ski.

Stay at 1,2? Change to 1,3? Full length sharpen? Detune?

[toiletduck]

I'm happy with 1,2 and haven't detuned at all - keeping them sharp seems to be the best plan, from experience and I think Splat has said the same elsewhere...

[mtaylor]

Eldereldo, any chance you ski in a single colour suit type dealy?

Might have seen you in a liftline at whistler. Caught sight of the Lhasa's as you were going up the lift.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

The 196's in some chundery non-pow this weekend. Super stable when you stand on the edge and let it rail....definitely not just a pow ski. i'm reaching for this ski more and more these days...

[acworthian]

Ya know those occasional moments on skis where you find that you're late for work and have to mach to the bottom in minutes... Well I've been doing this a lot lately and I just wanted to say the tails on my 186's flexed perfect through unexpected Laramie bowl bumps. My tips popped straight up 3 times after nailing some Bugs but my tails flexed and rode everything out smooth with some mach "afterbang" hahaha! It was a special feeling.

[Hicks]

Had the 186 carbon out in tight trees (think bushwhacking with machete - not spacious NA tree skiing) and knee-deep mank as it was pretty warm.

They excelled in these conditions as well. Turned on a dime at any speed with any turn radius to avoid smacking into trees and mached thru the sludge in the few spots I could really open it up. I'm not a huckster but the few drops I had were confidence inspiring.

What came as a surprise for me was that I had no problem keeping up with buddies who definitely are stronger skies than me and also were skiing wider platforms (Hellbents, Pontoons 'n stuff). Under all conditions from fresh to mank to crust.

[Gorilla]

Just to balance things out and put in a negative comment: the 186s aren't that hot in thigh-high tight moguls. Other than that I have been skiing them most days this season (about 40 or so on the Lhasas) and I am continually surprised by how well they perform, especially in duff conditions. I ran them down the Clos de Chalance in LDA two days ago, which varied from very firm windpack through to refrozen sping snow as we descended and shifted aspects. The Lhasas didn't make crap snow fun but there were no points where I was worrying about edge hold or whether the ski would do what I was telling it. For Europe this versatility is key as I rarely get a day of good snow and will often get a bunch of different conditions in any descent. Highly recommended.