Spurs whoop my ass!

[counterfeitfake]

My daily driver is the Blizzard Cochise in 185. I love, LOVE this ski. Confidence inspiring anywhere. On steep and icy they won't wuss out on me. They rail groomers well enough, and I can make them do bumps. They will destroy any crud I'm strong enough to push them through. Their weight is a virtue. And they float well enough in powder up to 10" or so...

And that's where my dark secret is revealed: I suck at skiing deep powder. In anything boot-deep or better, my signature move is tip dive->somersault.

I was really excited to get my hands on the Spur. Reviews were all positive, saying things like "No learning curve" and "Feels like a Blizzard" and I thought it would be like a powder-oriented Cochise- wider, floatier, a little softer, still versatile.

I've put in two days on them and gotten my ass handed to me. Seems like Blizzard went the other way with these, they feel extremely stiff. I can't turn them. I am frequently thrown into the back seat and wind up holding on for my life. And I still dive the tips. Did it all day long in 22" of powder at Telluride a couple days ago.

So a couple questions:
1. How can I suck less in powder?
2. Is there a ski I can buy that'll make me suck less in powder?

I'm 6'2", 165 lbs (suggestions to eat a cheeseburger will be countered with suggestions to eat a dick), pretty strong. My favorite runs are steep chutes->aprons, but I also like skiing trees and going pretty fast on groomers.

My impression of other skis I have owned:
- Coombacks: Used these for touring, they were good in soft snow and I felt comfortable even in deep powder, their shortcomings under harder conditions became too much for me.
- Old S7: These were nice and floaty and I really liked them in deep powder, I think the pintail helped? The weirdly abrupt shovel and too much tail were drawbacks.
- Old Gotamas: A lot like the Cochise. Somewhat floatier.
- Armada JJ: Always felt weird.

Thanks for your input.

[mntlion]

are both cochise and spurs mounted on the same place?

Do they have the same bindings? (with the same ramp angles)

Are both skis tuned, and tuned by the same person?

If not, make the spurs the "same" as the cochise, and try again?

[counterfeitfake]

Both are mounted on the 0 line. If you put the Cochise (185) and Spur (189) on the ground with the line in the same spot, the Spurs have a tiny bit more front, most of the added length is in the tail.

Cochise has Dukes with DynaDuke plates (have turned out to be pointless for me). Spurs have STH2 13s. I'm not sure about the respective ramp angles.

You might be onto something about the tune- the Spurs still have the factory tune, and I am aware that this ski is sensitive to it's tune. Do you think that's causing problems in deep soft snow?

I tune the Cochises myself where I work, I think the machine is set to a generic 1 degree base and side, I detune from the taper out, this has always seemed fine to me.

[2FUNKY]

Post a video of you skiing so we can properly asses your skiing. Sounds like a technique issue to me. Have a buddy who can ski well asses you and critique you on the mountain or get a half day lesson. Your issue does not sound like a tuning issue but more of a technique issue.

[Brock Landers]

Love the Spurs. Have 916s on them, not sure how a tune would make a huge difference. I mounted on 0 but +1 or +2 could be better for you since you're lighter

[eskido]

Protest, your welcome

[2FUNKY]

Protest, your welcome

Heh. They are the only thing keeping me from buying the Spurs in GS. I plan on doing a custom order protest for next season.

[Jesse]

My daily driver is the cochise, which I love in most conditions. Love love them in edgable chop, cut up snow that's not too deep, smooth groomers, less than 6 inches of new.
But really not happy in deep new snow. They are just not a pow ski.
I demoed a Shiro recently on a deeper snow day. They felt very very similar to the cochise except they floated so much better. Something to look at if you're looking to switch skis. Never tried the spur.

[Sessiøn]

Shoulda got some Billygoats.

[roQer]

The Spurs are dead easy to ski in almost everything, especially in pow. It must be the technique.

[Kopi_Red]

Heh. They are the only thing keeping me from buying the Spurs in GS. I plan on doing a custom order protest for next season.

You don't want Protest's... You really want to buy my Head Boneshakers for cheap...

[2FUNKY]

You don't want Protest's... You really want to buy my Head Boneshakers for cheap...

Pipe down junior.

[Bandit Man]

I own 185 Cochises and 189 Spurs and think that the Spurs are more demanding than the Cochise. They feel like a lot of ski if the snow gets heavy or spaces get tight. I think strong skiers or people who ski high alpine, wide open spaces will likely have a different opinion.

And have to agree with Phiber - I prefer my Billy Goats over the Spurs.

[wasatchback]

Tune them... Or Detune them.

Adding a little more bevel, especially at the tips and tails by hand will help but is not necessary... Detune the living shit out of anything with Taper. Round it over with a file.

There is no need to run anything through a machine. You can dial them in by hand in 10 minutes.

[chewski]

Heh. They are the only thing keeping me from buying the Spurs in GS. I plan on doing a custom order protest for next season.

Buy them, dammit!

But seriously, i only got in a half day before i landed a minty pair of og rens with one mount for my binding and BSL fir under $200. Had to pull the binders off the spurs. could feel they were a bit more cumbersome than 186 bodacious but not bad. Wouldn't be selling if i hadn't been jonesing to try rens for so many years

[skibrd]

I have 187 Bonafides, 193 Gunsmokes and 189 Spurs. The Spurs are almost useless unless it's nipple deep and I have tons of room to let them run. They are just not meant for tight trees and bumps. Spurs are AK skis for a reason, they have room to be skied fast and hard, most resorts just don't have that much room, but when they do, damn they are fun!!!

Now saying this, it took 10-12 days of 8in or more to get a handle on the Spurs, and now I can drive, not ski but drive, them all day. To make life easier I detuned the tips and tails, progressively less detuning as I got closer to my foot, to about 8-10 infront and behind my boot. The Spurs got a lot easier to ski, except on traverses. I've had some issues with tip dive and solved that by skiing very upright and not driving the tip like I do with the Bonafides, and the Cochise, but floating on top.

Hope that helps, it is a fun ski when the conditions are right, but do tend to grab my Gunsmokes more then my Spurs when it's deep.

[SupreChicken]

I have 191 goats for sale...fks18 mount for 310mm bsl.

[54-46]

I always wanted to try the Spurs. I have some 183 Faction Royales (same as Candide 4.0s but stouter) that I'll trade for you the Spurs. I just bought TahoeJ's Faction 3.0s and feel like branching out.

[Cosmic Suncloud]

love the spurs. mounted -1. super easy to ski. only thing i'd adjust is to have a slightly longer effective edge.
OP - check the tune

[neck beard]

Are both skis tuned, and tuned by the same person?

He is skiing powder.

OP: research the offerings from Praxis.

[SupreChicken]

Or nab some super cheap volkl two. 186 sounds like your jam

[skibrd]

He is skiing.

Tune still matters? I tried to tune my skis (took some of the burs out) before a pow day last week and they skied like shit, got them tuned at lunch and they skied so much better.

It's interesting to hear that I'm not the only one who wishes the Spurs were longer/had more effective edge. A Spur for us big guys in somewhere around 195-200cm would be my jam and solve the tip dive issue. Maybe I need to try to make my own skis and see if I can come up with what I want. #bigguysneedskistoo #skiingisnotjustformidgets

[gregL]

The Spurs are asking you to gain 30 pounds or ski a whole lot faster, and you're not listening. They are much more demanding than the 185 Cochise, prefer soft snow all the time, and want to make half as many turns as you are used to making.

PS I weigh about the same as you and own both skis . . .

[Island Bay]

Sounds like Spurs would be right at home at Craigieburn...

[gaijin]

Wax & Structure is the absolute most under-valued aspect of this decade. I'm willing to wager that the majority (75% ?) of people who dislike any modern ski simply have a shitty wax/structure problem on their bases for the day's snow.

Guys, skis today have huge surface areas. They need attention. One day of the wrong wax will make for a horrible day on any ski.

"I don't know why this ski sucked so much."
The right base prep, dude. That's honestly all there is to it. There is zero reason why someone would have any sort of trouble on a shape/flex like the Spur.

I grew up waxing my own. Started a ski tuning company in my basement at age 12. I'm 40 now and wax every single day I ski. Those of you who blow off base prep are simply naive (or perhaps strong enough to think the pain is normal.)

That is all.