Thread: Rev: 09/10 Moment Bibby = All win, zero fail

I did a quick search on Bibby reviews, and found some that were quite contradicting to my experience, which is likely due to may be largely due to skier size or them just being pussies.

The NW demo tour rolled through this weekend, and we were lucky enough to have Moment in town coinciding with a surprise spring dump of wet PNW concrete. I split the day between two of the Moments (Bibby's and Night Trains) and since the Night Train was a bit too small for me (but still ripped), I'll limit feedback to the 186 Bibby.

Skier Profile:
26 y/o
210 lbs in gear
6'2''
skiing style: Skis fast, fast, fast, likes to push skis and ability to limits. Likes dogs. Also likes getting jibby, but not so spinny/flippy.

Also skis: 190 Gold Gots (daily driver), 190 Praxis Backcountry (Pow, touring, charging), 194 Dynastar Legend Pro (hard & steep)

I had just swapped out of the Moment Night Trains, skiing well short of desired length (178ish) but still had a blast on em. I was excited to get on something nearer the right length but doubting the Bibby's would really outperform the NT's. I was wrong.

I made my way into Heather Canyon and found a nice long open, steep, barely-hit pow fields with interspersed trees into a pretty chopped up narrowing gully at the bottom. My test of any ski beyond flotation and nimbleness, is stability at speed and good edge hold through the run-out.

When I had these wide open, driving long straight arcs, I could feel the entire effective edge slicing through the thick mank beautifully. I was thinking of samurai swords and my Japanese fold-forged kitchen blades. It has incredible float in pow at center mount, even while driving your weight over the top of the ski like you're supposed to (no more leaning back to keep the tips up). I got these going as fast as possible without absolutely straight-lining, and the ski held up with zero chatter picking up speed and rebounding out of the trench to pull maximum energy out of the turn.. The slight camber underfoot, when engaged, connects to work the entire edge through the rocker that you feel through your boots. What a delightful feeling.

From the boot center forward, the ski maintains very good stiffness and stability, while the tail is a bit softer but still there when you need it to check some speed. The ski really feels like it is intended to be skied with weight forward to really work the ski from the camber fulcrum into the rocker. I would imagine a typical backseat or light skier to have a much different experience, but it is very comfortable and fun when skied correctly.

I kept the speed running into the chopped up, skied out gully and put some pressure into the ski in less these less than desirable snow conditions and the stiffness of the forward ski kept everything together very well, skiing damply and precisely with no chatter. It definitely passed the chop/crud test.

Getting these to turn sharply and slarve is no problem. Once you spot your line, the ski seems to already be heading there. From instinct, you un-weight the ski slightly and it is ready to go. On a steep, crusty, choppy, manky tree run, these made every turn at speed to keep my in the line, with good edge hold thanks to the beefy sidewall that really hooks up when its supposed to. Excellent performance here.

The ski loves to jib and play. Every small bump becomes a feature, and the stomp factor of this ski is very high. The center to forward of the ski provides an incredibly dominant landing pad, but the tail provides enough stability without bucking you over the tips if you do come down in the back seat. The continuous/gradual stiffness profile does not have point in the ski that breaks down or 'snaps,' such as the tail of the Atomic Atlas that snaps at the rocker point to provide zero support in a backseat landing.

On groomers, there was absolutely no problem holding the edge so long as you were over the front, driving the ski and flexing the camber. I would feel fine taking these out on an icy surface, the key just being weight forward to keep the camber flexed and edge engaged in the snow.

In deep moguls, the ski made its way around very quickly and nicely. The stability and sidewall held the ski on line at speed, while the tail rocker kept the turns tight and had no hook-ups.

My final thoughts were, I was amazingly relaxed on this ski, leaving all my concentration and focus on the line ahead and what I could make out of the mountain. It begs for more, more, more, and did not fail. As a pretty big (200#) powerful skier who likes going fast ripping through and over features, this became my new favorite daily driver ski.

Moment Bibby = all win, 0 fail

I've decided on some Bibbys next year, havn't skied them but the shape looks perfect. Did they not have the 190 to demo?

I really like this ski too, it's on the short list of pow skis for next season. I skied it yesterday at Whistler, 7cm of pow with crust underneath up top, PNW cement at mid-mtn, and rain below. These things ripped in the pow for sure, super surfy, exactly how I expected them to ride. Lean all the way forward, let the rocker do it's thang. The chowder - I could still feel bottom, but the shredder of a girl - who's a much better skier than I am - was cursing at her Scratch Steezes because she was only hitting bottom. The rocker saved my ass here, I was gunning it, she was pissed.

I couldn't believe the amount of pop they have. I'm not much of a jibber by any means, but I like to hit little booters and fuck around here and there. They felt like springs, I could preload them, launch off a little lip, fly like a bastard. Period. I've never felt "pop" that skis have, but these definitely have it. I did experience a bit of tip flap on harder conditions, but these are primarily a soft snow ski, no? I can't say I'm disappointed, but I'll keep my S3s for variable PNW days and touring.

BTW, this was the 186. I'm definitely interested in giving the 190 a shot.

How did you manage to try a pair? Next years with carbon should be even poppier, and I believe all sizes are like the 190 (stiffer)

Originally Posted by JimLad

I've decided on some Bibbys next year, havn't skied them but the shape looks perfect. Did they not have the 190 to demo?

Nope, they didn't have the 190's in their demo quiver for some reason. Funny though, I actually took their 178ish Night Train and rallied the shit out of it and it held up fine. I was a little reserved with it but it was super stable.

Originally Posted by JimLad

How did you manage to try a pair? Next years with carbon should be even poppier, and I believe all sizes are like the 190 (stiffer)

The demo tour rolled through, they were on board, and a friend of mine was apparently their pro-ho, which worked out nicely to give me the "Just have em back by 2:30/3:00 pass." Although I really enjoyed the flex of this ski in the conditions I was in (wet PNW concrete mix of new snow and unfrozen slush), a little more stiffness never hurts. I typically ski 190cms + but am going to consider sticking with the 186 since I know I liked it so much.

Originally Posted by Graham

I really like this ski too, it's on the short list of pow skis for next season. I skied it yesterday at Whistler, 7cm of pow with crust underneath up top, PNW cement at mid-mtn, and rain below. These things ripped in the pow for sure, super surfy, exactly how I expected them to ride. Lean all the way forward, let the rocker do it's thang.

I couldn't believe the amount of pop they have. I'm not much of a jibber by any means, but I like to hit little booters and fuck around here and there. They felt like springs, I could preload them, launch off a little lip, fly like a bastard. Period. I've never felt "pop" that skis have, but these definitely have it. I did experience a bit of tip flap on harder conditions, but these are primarily a soft snow ski, no? I can't say I'm disappointed, but I'll keep my S3s for variable PNW days and touring.

Yep, this ski definitely wants to be skied forward, and it's so rewarding when you do. I thought the same thing about their poppiness, everything became a feature. I would say yeah, they are primarily a soft snow ski, but i took them into some tight steep trees that had a solid crust underneath that I was getting into and the edge hooked up when i needed it to. I would make this ski my soft snow daily driver, not just for the fresh deep powder days. So long as you are out in front, the camber underfoot should engage the skis edge and hook up just fine.