PM Gear Kusala pow

[powdork]

i love my kusalas. i started with the original lhasa's which lived up to the one ski quiver hype. then switched to the lhasa fats which i really liked, but didn't feel were what i wanted when i was in tight situations (unless straightlining was an option). the kusalas bring back the one ski quiver i felt i had with the original lhasa, but are even better in firm conditions. without a doubt my favorite ski ever, although to be fair I haven't skied anything from the big companies like rossi, salomon, etc in over 10 years. i would echo that the topsheet does hold more snow than i would like. i may consider neverwet for that.
some recent pics from our recent snows
they're plenty stable in the air






but unfortunately they're not magic. if you land in the back seat you're still going to crash, and maybe even separate a rib or two


they slay the pow


for some reason mine turn left perfectly, but when i try to turn right one ski just straightlines as shown here




honestly, i don't know why nacho does that but it's a pretty regular thing now

[1000-oaks]

for some reason mine turn left perfectly, but when i try to turn right one ski just straightlines as shown here

Johnson tucked down your right pant leg?

[powdork]

Johnson tucked down your right pant leg?

yeah and my vent was open

[1000-oaks]

There you go. Give up skiing and race NASCAR.

[powdork]

with the right equipment, even an old dog can learn new tricks




Thanks Splat

[kevino]

Another deep powder day on my Kusala's. So much fun.

Photo by BRUTAH:

[Ottime]

Finally mounted mine today after busting a Duke climbing bar on Sunday. Dynafit/Kusala is half the weight if my Wren/Duke. Can't wait to skin.

Anyway, I'm heading out on a tour Saturday with them, having not yet skied them. I've been on a Kusala, but not this pair. Question is - do I detune them, and how far back off the tip and tail. I'll bring a stone with me, if I need to adjust, but I'd rather not be completely hooking turns out where I'm going.

So. Who detained and where?

[LightRanger]

^^^ Make sure you set the gap and release settings right, eh?

[kevino]

I just did the tips and tails, a couple strokes on each. Probably did that two or three times. I wanted these skis to feel pretty loose and they do, in a good way. See above for reference.

[Tye 1on]

i was much more precise, obviously a better approach than these heathens above, especially given that you have Dynafiddles on them and maybe even Arcteryx above...

i used a quarter, 1983D mint mark. Did 3.1111111111 feet of the tip, 2.22222222222 feet of the tail. Exactly. 1.43987264 seconds on each edge slightly beveling said quarter evenly on each pass. Final passes only tip-to-tail as that's the direction they go when on show. Unless you're riding switch. Then fuck off...

you're welcome.

[Ottime]

^^^^Did you use a tape measure or calipers.

Sure, stupid question, but I've read all sorts of things about tip detuning with rockered skis. I've never had issues with my Wrens, but I don't really recall what I did. So, yeah, feedback, is much appreciated. These edges are sharp. Kind of a rare thing for me.

Kevino, when you say just the tip/tail, do you mean like a traditional ski, or did you go back toward the snow contact points?

Lightranger, if the gap is too wide, I'll just get a lot of practice putting my skis on mid slope in heavy, wet powder. Right?

[kevino]

Contact points/ares of early rise or rocker, sorry for the lack of clarity.

[LightRanger]

Lightranger, if the gap is too wide, I'll just get a lot of practice putting my skis on mid slope in heavy, wet powder. Right?

Exactly--with your buddy about to drop in on you/waiting for your slow ass.

Note: I need a pair of lightish, fattish, rockered skis like these. Would've helped the other day for sure. Perhaps next year.

[SchralphMacchio]

I wonder how the weight of a Carbon WooTest compares to a Kusala Pow. Different skis I know, just thinking about LightRanger's comment.

[JRainey]

Wootest I have are 1950g, Kusala hybrid not-so-softs are 2050g. Kusala is much more ski though, in the good sense.

[SchralphMacchio]

Wow, only 100g / 3 ounces for 11mm more waist, that's a really good deal.

[skifishbum]

mini-review

Ski- 186 KP, hybrid. No camber, flat, tail rocker seems to be more pronounced than the front, in the living room anyways. Mounted w/Axial2 120's on the line.

Skier- 6', 225, 42 years of skiing, fkn wanker. Can get down anything, but slow. 'Opening it up' is getting to speeds that groms are skiing switch into 20' airs.

Conditions: Targhee with a solid 2" of fresh medium density pow over super-holiday-hammered but well covered base.

First impression was not great, had to ski down a mini-approach to the lift, 50', but went french fry instead of wiser pizza, go to swing a turn at the corral and just about went over the handlebars. Oh boy, here we go.

Get to the top, classic Grand Foghee conditions, the next chair is visible, but not the second one up...Scratched my way down a groomer, flailed a bit but found some junk on the edges, and started getting used to the boards.

They made skiing 2" of fresh as easy and fun as 6" on other skis. Stoked! It basically took me one run to get used to them, and it was game on! Using the more centered stance, they were super easy to turn, but had great edge hold once i reweighted after the turn. Best of both worlds.

Three runs later they were solid. As expected given the heritage and HunterS-like batshit crazy builder, the faster they went the more stable they were. I still haven't found the speed limit, but need a few more days to really get 'em dialed. They didn't feel any wider than the 191 LP's, were way quicker edge to edge, and a total blast to ski...

yeah what that guy said
cept the 42 year old wankers part
older and lighter too
so a good 50 days now
hybrids dynarads and dynazueuzzers boots
got em pretty well dialed
stay on em and they'll make about any turn ya need
tried to wasatch wiggle a phone cord and unless your full bore jump turnin ts a bit tough
been crankin up and my old man ass aint found a top speed
aint quite figured em out in the zipper crust
but they crush the new utahoe cement
that red base is pretty bomber
scwared to go back to lhasas or lotus 120s
I got icemans pair w/ demo binders but haven't messed with the 100 ish mount point
bmc had em last weekend
skiinppens got em this weekend
if it quits snowin
may road trip to help my bro
fkna

[Lindahl]

Locked and loaded. First run on them this morning.

[otto parts]

Nice binders, Lindahl!

[Ottime]

Took mine out for their first day. No stoke top of the line pics, cause I was feeling pretty sun hammered during the 8 mile, 4500', 3 big face tour. Skis felt great through a variety of corn, creamed corn, supportable crust, and wintery semi breakable crust. I found myself hooking a bit in the breakable crust until I gave the tips a hard detune. My old MegaRides do not seem to be enough boot in firmer conditions. Speaking of which, Pat use some bomber edge material, because they are still sharp after an aggressive hit with the diamond stone.

Can't wait to 1) get leashes and 2) replace/fine tune/get used to my boots and go back and hi those lines more aggressively. And can't wait for some powder. Stoked to finally have mounted them up.

[Lindahl]

The stiff flex definitely solved what I disliked about the Renegades.

Comparing to my favorite skis, the Billygoats:

Haven't taken them off anything bigger than 25' yet, but they stomp great so far. The stiff flex and reverse camber moves the pressure point on landing closer to the front of your boot. This could be a bad thing on bigger cliffs, but I really need to send some stuff in the 40' range to know for sure. Feels like you don't get slammed forward as much. The stiffer tail helps get you better balanced if you're not 100% forward.

In chop, I'm not 100% sure yet which I like better. I need more time on both.

On hardpack or other firm surfaces, no camber, no contest. These are powder skis and it shows. You lose a ton of stability without having camber. Just the way it is. They can dig in just fine, and you can slarve your way down anything, but when you want to arc huge radius turns at high speeds, its gonna feel sketchy as fuck. Not really a problem for my application, but they won't serve as a one ski quiver like a Billygoat could (as probably expected).

In powder, definitely feels like a faster and more agile ski than the Billygoat and is just as stable. I love it. The stiffer flex alleviates the balance point issues I had on the Renegades, while still having the good parts of what I liked about the Renegade, mostly the lack of resistance moving through the snow and how responsive it is.

I wish they had a slight flare on the tail. It'd help with falling leaf in deeper snow. Definitely had the tails try and dig in when moving backwards a few times, which was a pain in the ass. High-sided a couple times since I wasn't used to this at all.

I'm thinking I'd prefer them a bit longer, but they still kick ass in the 186. I need to send some bigger cliffs first though and get back into the 40' range. Really wish it wasn't getting so warm out here, as I think its gonna kill any oppurtunity to get a real back-to-back review going. Was planning on a month on the Billygoats and a month on the Kusalas, but this March is more like an April than a February.

[DGamms]

Lindahl,
What layup did you get for your Kusalas? Carbon or hybrid? Stiff or soft?

I own Rens and like them, but I want a Ren that is lighter and maybe a little more damp as a pow touring ski.

Would these fit the bill?

[Lindahl]

Pretty sure these are hybrid stiffs, maybe xtra stiffs? Pat knows - I bought them as blems.

Its been a while since I was on Rens, can't say if these are damper or not. They're reasonably damp though - enough for me as a pow ski, even in set-up crud.

The ones I have are not light. 10-10.5lb range, so it depends what you mean by pow touring.

[iceman]

Yeah…3 days on em now. I stay out of tech talk because there's tons of people that study this shit harder and know way way way more than me and I ski good but not amazing so what's my opinion worth? But after 3 days the Kingswood fats I have loved and treasured these last few years are going in the closet.
I do love the Kingswoods. They have been my babies for maybe 7-8 years now. Great skis.

The Kusalas won't carve the arc that the kingswoods will, and they're not as powerful at smashing shit but it doesn't matter. They carve pretty good, good enough for me to get back to the lift really fast without killing myself, which is all I care about that, and they are so floaty and turny and fun that it's pretty amazing. Love them. I have skied a lot of skis, the Kingswoods remained the champs despite all comers for years now, and they have been knocked off the top. I really can't think of a day I would take them out instead of the Kusalas.

The one day I would take out another pair of skis would be a bomber rippin corn day and the No Ka Ois will never give up that slot. So sweet. Otherwise, Kusala Pow.

That's all I got.

[shafty85]

So, I got the opportunity to demo a pair of 186 Kusalas (don't know if they were carbon model or not, VanIsle could say more re: that) this weekend at Mount Washington on Vancouver Island.

Me: 5'11", 175#, weekend warrior, decent skier, no affiliation w/ PM Gear - never spoken/had contact with Pat or VanIsle prior to looking into the demo and never skied any of their stuff before but hope to again.
Skis I like: 184 LP105, 188 RC112, 189L120 (Pure3), 192 Med/Stiff Carbon GPOs (though I would possibly up that to stiff-/stiff in the future)

The conditions: good but variable - heavy, coastal, powder, which got chopped up before noon, some areas of a couple inches of fresh on crust and areas that kept getting refilled if you knew where to go. Your typical west coast day after a storm, I'd say.

Powder: Damn, that thing CRUSHES pow. Coming off my 188 RC112, I couldn't help but notice the weight (or lack there-of) of the Kusalas - even with the schizos on them, damn they were light *I should clarify that, not only were they light, especially compared to the RC112 with P18s, but it was the swing weight that I noticed the most. The skis have an incredibly light swing weight yet are still damn and stiff going through crud. Pretty impressive, if you ask me* In powder it felt like you could slash turns just by thinking about it - I had no hesitation coming screaming into the trees, or right at a tree while in the trees, and slashing a turn last second. Those things hauled and then turned on a dime - a ski that can definitely CHARGE but can also be playful and make fast turns of any radius you choose.

Chopped Pow/Crud/Crust: These skis crushed the heavy, chopped pow and crust - never did I feel I was being thrown around or that the ski was being easily deflected due to it's light weight. Super stable and damp and, again, was super confident on them felt like I was the best skier on the mountain (I'm not, but I damn sure felt like I was). Again, CHARGE that shizzle and turn whenever you feel like it and it felt like as soon as I thought it, the skis responded without effort.

Groomers/Cat-track: The only place these skis didn't absolutely kill it was on the groomer/cat track back to the chair but, as this is not what they were designed for, I could EASILY live with it; they MORE than made up for this with their performance in all other areas of the mountain.

Pat was super helpful getting me in touch with VanIsle for the demo - a shout out/thanks to the both of them - DAMN what a fun, charging, ski. I'm definitely hoping to demo the Lhasa Pows and possibly make some 186 carbons into a spring touring set-up. Again, thanks to Pat and VanIsle.