So after taking these out in pretty much all conditions possible, I figured it would be time for a detailed review. I was recently trying to sell them but will probably end up keeping since I now have a 6-inch core shot.
Stats:
Skier - 5'10", 215#
Skis - 193 Nordica Blower mounted on the "Ride" line (139-110-129, 29m r)
Locations - Chapelco, Cerro Catedral, Breckenridge, Keystone, Vail
Conditions - all
Skis I've ridden/reviewed:
192 Moment Comi-Kazi
192 Moment M1
186 Moment Comi
188 Moment Tahoe
194 Dynastar Legend Pro
200 Lotus 120 (flex 3)
The Grades:
Performs very good - powder up to 24", moderately- to tightly-spaced trees, groomers, moguls
Performs poorly - powder greater than 24", crud, ice
I first got on these when down in Argentina at Chapelco. Skied there for one day and experienced crust, heavy and wet snow, as well as spring conditions. In the crud, these skis absolutely sucked, but I was expecting that considering how soft the tip is. They did not perform well in heavy snow but were sufficient in spring conditions.
I then got two days in at Cerro Catedral. Day 1 was in 18" of relatively light powder. Face shots were plenty and the float was excellent. Some 6-8' airs were attempted but can't comment on the landing abilities since I double ejected due to a binding misalignment.
Day 2 at Catedral was in 2-5 feet of powder (heavier than the east coast). Because of how wet the snow was (it was raining for several hours in the morning), I'm not sure I can give an accurate review of the ski in these conditions. They performed well in some spots and horribly in others.
Now over to Breckenridge and Keystone this last weekend where it was snowing all day and the conditions were pretty favorable (at Breck). In moguls, these skis are surprisingly forgiving and are quite easy to maneuver for a 29m radius ski (which I believe is not correct since they felt a lot easier to turn; the overall length of the skis actually measures out to 189cm and not 193). On groomers and slightly bumped out trails, these skis performed very well. Underfoot is pretty stiff and tail slightly less. To make these skis better, I would make underfoot about 10-15% stiffer and extend halfway towards the tip. At Keystone for night skiing, the skis were exposed to some ice and performed very poorly even on smaller patches.
Now on to Vail and a big powder day on Sunday. Snow conditions ranged from light to moderately heavy snow. I was able to get 4 runs in untracked 24"+ of week-old powder where the flotation was not adequate. I'm sure my size has something to do with it, but if I was a new buyer and wanted this ski for all powder conditions, I would recommend mounting at 1.5-2cm behind the "Ride" line. In trees, these skis absolutely ROCK! I originally thought the length would be too much, but such was not the case and they handled very well in tighter spots. Like I said earlier, the 29m radius is deceiving and I would go so far as to say it's more like 25. As for airs, the Blowers stomp; biggest I got on Sunday was 8-10' and the landings felt super solid.
In sum:
► kick-ass in powder up to 24"
► forgiving in moguls
► stomps extremely well
► horrible in crud and anything not soft
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