Thread: Scott Powd'Airs or Ski Trab Volare - Anyone Skied Them?

After attending the Bent Gate demo day at Loveland a couple of weeks ago my eyes were opened in terms of light weight skis for backcountry use only. Was sold on the Dynafit Stoke till I read some stories of inserts failing and toe pieces pulling out. I started looking at alternatives that fit my needs...95-100mm waist, under 8 lbs per pair of skis for a ski in the 184mm ish length. Tonight I came across the Scott Powd'Air with a 100mm waist, carbon layup, traditional sandwich construction and weight somewhere in the 7 lb range. Anyone have experience with these? If so, would appreciate any comments/reviews particularly on soft snow performance.

Also, I came across the Ski Trab Volare, but not much more info than backcountry.com's site.

Scott - http://www.scott-sports.com/us_en/pr...9/60224/219993

Ski Trab - http://www.backcountry.com/ski-trab-volare-ski

Have em in a 183. Love them, fun in all snow conditions. No real rocker although they say they do. Have skied them in up to 8 inch and they are great, wish they made them a touch longer.

http://www.wildsnow.com/6122/volare-trab-ski-review/

CaliBrit, how do you have them mounted up (AT or alpine bindings)? What about stability at speed? Do you feel like you can push them as hard as other skis of similar size? Or does the lightweight prevent you from skiing as hard? The shorter turning radius is a little bit of a concern. I agree on the size, would be nice in a 186-188.

As for the Volare, I saw the Dawson comments and a positive review on backcountry.com, but was hoping to get a little more.

Have dynadukes on them, only skied them with dukes so far but the 'fiddles are ready for this weekend.

Pushed them hard, they are stiff and powerful, short radius is no real problem either, means they make nice turns on bad snow too.

Certainly better than any other super lightweight out there.

Have no need to ski slower on them. A little extra tip rocker and a 188 and they would be golden. Still a solid option that I would straight up buy again.

I have the all black powdairs from last year mounted up with dynafits in the 183 size. I believe they are a bit over 8 pounds in the 183. I can't remember for sure, but I think they are 8.4 pounds for the pair. I have skied them a lot last spring and summer, not so much this year. Only 1 day in powder, they floated ok, but I liked them a lot better in corn. Nice and quick turning with a bit of pop out of the turn, pretty stable for a light ski until you get the speed up in marginal snow, but I usually ski heavier skis with metal in them, so that is to be expected. The only thing I really don't like is the weird tip cutout. My skins don't quite cover the holes, so it adds to snow build up on the the topsheets and being black does not help with that either. Overall, its a great ski to grap when I am really not sure what the snow is going to be like.

I have a pair of Trab skin tail clips for sale that I am pretty sure will work with the Volare, as well the Polvere, I can confirm if anyone is interested. PM me.

I just picked up some of the 10/11 Powd'Airs. We are finally getting some snow in Tahoe so hopefully I can add some helpful comments soon.

Chris and CaliBrit, Do you have any suggestions the mounting position on these? I am actually trying out the shorter pair, 173cm and was debating whether to mount them behind the line or not for more float.

Thanks.

How much do these skis weigh? My 3 year old bamboo sidewall DPS w105 178 cm and w95 175cm were each about 7lbs without bindings, my new w112 184 are 8lbs. Do you save much weight with these Trab or Scott skis?

Originally Posted by Chris LaPierre

I believe they are a bit over 8 pounds in the 183. I can't remember for sure, but I think they are 8.4 pounds for the pair.

Was that 8.4 pounds with the Dynafits? Thought I read somewhere the weight for the 183s was less than 8 pounds...can't seem to find that info. If I pull the trigger on these, I plan on mounting them up with Dynafits too.

Maybe you need the the Colltex tip attachment on these:

http://www.edgeandwax.co.uk/2515/pro..._clip_kit.aspx

Translating the Fri Flyt review on the Ski Trab Volare 185:

"Ski Trab´s fattest feels like a lightweight ski for better or worse. In mixed conditions it was less stable and dependable than it´s best competitors. Float isn´t anywhere close to the many rockered skis of the test. On groomers, we´re missing edge grip. As it is, we´re left with an ultra light and wide ski that´s easy to get up the mountain, and gives you pleasant skiing as long as the speed is kept moderate and the conditions aren´t too demanding." (more or less)

Specs for the 185 -
Weight: 1598 grams
Length measured: 183cm
Dims and sidecut: 128/100/115 over 161cm edge, 32mR.

I am not sure that you save much weight or any at all vs. the DPS skis but you can pick them up (no pun intended) for a lot less money. I can weigh my 173s once they arrive.

They should be under 8lbs. and possibly close to 7. The review linked to below suggests that they are ~7.5lbs but it is unclear if that is for the 173s or 183s. It also may be a manufacturer's spec weight and not the real deal.


From: http://www.skinet.com/skiing/blogs/2...-scott-powdair
"At a paltry 7.5 pounds per pair, touring on these is a breeze. It comes in 163, 173, and 183 lengths. The 183’s dimensions are 134/100/123 and it has 19.5-meter turn radius."

I emailed Telemark Pyrenees on the Powd'air weight and the responded that they are 3.75kg (8.26 lbs) for the 183.

On a slight related note: voile chargers are significantly lighter than what's listed on voile's site. I have the 191s, with 114 mm waist, and actual weight of 8.25 lbs. That's 0.5 lbs lighter than claimed.

I had Trab freerandos back in the day. Garbage. Skied like crap. I've had no desire to try Trab again.

Quite happy with the performance of the Charger on a range of Sierra conditions.

Like the way dynastar and dps ski. Do not like K2 or original EHP 193.

Picked up a pair of 185 sivelo (sp?) light xl - 90 underfoot for spring touring. Completely surprised and really enjoy them. Light, snappy and stiff. However, i do prefer something more floaty/surfy for winter touring.

Would guess that these have a similar feel to the Volare