Review: Movement Thunder 187

[forest]

Ski: Movement Thunder
Length: 187
Dims: 122 - 89 - 111
Turn Radius: 23
Me: 6ft, 210Lbs, 27 years skiing
Setup: Scarpa Spirit 3, Dynafit Verticals
Geographic Region: PNW-Whistler-Pemberton
Resort/BC: 70% BC / 30% Whistler
Days Used: 30ish
My Other skis: Dynastar Legend Pro 186

Overall:
I couldn't be happier with these skis. I've demoed a lot of skis, mostly of the heavier, downhill variety because at 200lbs I'm not willing to ski down on some noodles just to save a few grams on the way up. I've steered clear of light weight gear until now because I thought you had to sacrifice railability. Not with the Thunders. These skis punch way above their weight. Every time I load them into the truck I'm amazed how light they are. They are comparable in weight to any reasonable ski setup I've picked up (not the silly rando racing setups).
I've skied them in every condition we get here on the coast from near blower pow (as close as we get to it anyway), breakable crust gong show, icy scary death, groomers, spring slop and everything in between. They've taken it all without question. In pow they ski better than I ever expected for a 89mm waist ski. The way the tip is designed it feels as though someone is pulling it out of the snow all the time. This lets you get more and more aggressive and push hard in the soft stuff. It really feels like you can't sink the tips (a whole different world from skiing the LPs). On groomers and sketchy steep sections, they are so quick edge to edge, its confidence inspiring. In bumps, as long as you’re on it and don’t get in the back seat, they work just fine. In the crud, they are stable and slice through without getting bounced around too much.

PROS:
Base durability – Bases have taken some hard hits and don’t have a mark. An important thing for BC skis.

Wood Core – I’m not into buying new gear all the time, so wood cores are a must for me. These haven’t lost any of their spring over 30 days (most of which were with a heavy pack).

Durable top sheet – They have than different textured top sheet that doesn’t get scratched. Still look brand new. Even around the tip loop they are holding up.

Light – Enough said

Skulls – Top sheet skulls are Rad.

Tips pull up – Its like magic (or I just think so because I’ve been on LPs for a few years). I thought with the 23m radius they’ve get hooky in setup, wind buffed snow, but with the way the tip is designed they don’t. You can just trust them to keep railing even is less than perfect pow because they just float, its fun.

Light – oh yeah, said that already.

Springy – I feel like tigger on these skis sometimes. They seem to work better when you put a lot of energy into skiing. The LP style - point down, push forward, haul ass, works, but a bit more finesse seems to be what makes these skis really come alive.

Easy to turn – Nobody wants to have to do those, ball of the foot pivot turns or jump turns but sometimes you have to. When you do, these make it easy.
Rail tighter turns on Groomers – I’m not a real big fan of turning, so the 23m radius feels a bit tight to me. Once I got used to turning a bit more, these were really fun on the grommers. No speed limit, just give’r.

Excellent grip on ice – funny thing, the BC isn’t all chest deep blower. When it gets dicey these grip like mad.

Don't get deflected too much – Coming from the LPs most skis are going to feel like they get bounced around in the crud a bit. For such a light ski I’m constantly impressed how well these handle the junk. I’d say you have to finesse them a bit more than the LPs but they get it done.

Cons:
I don’t really have any. The only thing I would change to make this my perfect touring ski is the turn radius. I back it off to 27-29 or something like that. Who knows though, maybe that would change something else about the ski.

Conclusion:
I’ll be skiing these for quite a while. Its like finding the holy grail. No need to sacrifice anything. You can haul ass on the way up and on the way down with these skis. The Thunders couldn’t be more different from be beloved LPs, yet they both rip. I really think Movement has nailed it with these skis. For a performance oriented touring setup, I can’t really imagine anyway to improve it. They make my BC days more fun period. The flex in the tip, stiffness under foot and it the tail is dialed. Great ski, I highly recommend them.

Over the last 5 years I've been moving more and more into the BC and this was the year to make the dynafit leap. I have drank to koolaid now. There's no going back. Light skis, touring boots and dynafits let you do more, get there faster and with more energy. I still use my Freeride + all the time for inbounds and slackcountry but for any touring days and longer trips there's no question the Thunders are coming. When you take a 200lbs + 50lbs of gear that’s a lot of weight. I’ve done several multiday trips with the Thunders and they handle me and my heavy pack no problem.

On a side note, I love the Spirit 3. The difference on the way up compared with my Tornados blows my mind. My legs never get tired anymore. And on the way down, they ski well (I wouldn’t claim that they ski like alpine boots, but damn close and good enough considering the uphill benefits). I won’t be skiing anything else in the BC next year that’s for sure.

Really good in the steep pow


Good in the spring (photos by Lee Lau)


Skulls are cool

[Viva]

I've put in a just a few days on my Thunders and am very impressed. Love these skis. They are a bit demanding, however, and I was launched once when I became lazy and moved a little into the back seat. Skied very nicely under Mammoth spring conditions...those buttercup thingys.

Not as quick as my Stockli Stormdouchers XLs, so they're not my preferred skis on hardpack, but I'll take them over the Stocklis for most conditions. Took a hard hit on the rocks and expected carnage, but the bases were unscathed.

[AKbruin]

Thanks for the review. Looks like an interesting contender for Dynafit BC ski next year. I need to find a place in Tahoe that demos Movement skis. (I'd also like to try next year's Sluff.)

By the way, I looked it up, and the actual weight is 3.8 kilos (~8.4 lbs.) for the pair.

One question though: is the Thunder twin tipped?

[forest]

(edit) apparently just a slight up turn.

[FlimFlamvanHam]

Nice review. Where were those shots taken, by the way?

[hemas]

yeah, they've got a full twin tip.

Have they changed the model for this season??? The Thunder has never had a full twintip, just your average kink/flair on the tail.

[Viva]

I need to find a place in Tahoe that demos Movement skis. (I'd also like to try next year's Sluff.)

Should you make it to Mammoth, Kittridge Sports carries the line.

[shirk]

It's not a full twin. It's more of a slight up turn and rounded.

Zero change in the ski from this years to next year, other than topsheet graphic. It's still red and black, but no skull.

[forest]

hmmm, I stand corrected. I thought it was pretty twiny. I'm no park skier though so what do I know.

Pics are Mt. Matier, Duffey Lake area, and Mt. Harvey

[schwerty]

Solid review. Got a pair of Thunders mid season for riding the lifts....I couldn't be happier with them!

[Wetdog]

I demoed a pair this spring at Whistler during the demo days. The conditions were horrible. Strong winds had blown all the loose snow off the mountain leaving only ice and hard pack. I had been skiing my LP's the day before in mixed soft snow conditions and wished that I could have tested them in the same. However, they handled the nasty conditions quite well for their dimensions. There were a few small pockets of powder in protected areas that gave me a small taste of their potential there. They are definitely lighter and a bit less powerful than the LP's, but more energetic and very stable for a wood and fiberglass ski with no metal. I think they would make a great touring ski.

[liv2ski]

Love my Thunders. I think I got about 15 days on them before my year ended at the end of April
Pretty much agree with everything you said. I also have the 187's and I am 5'10' and 200lbs and found that my technique improved dramatically due to using these as my every day ski at Mammoth. I am an inbounds kind of guy so far and found these skis are simply amazing as long as I don't back seat them and stay out of serious bumps. (I suck in moguls).
No speed limit, serious edge hold in all conditions, don't really deflect much in anything I skied. For me, they are good up to about 6"-8" of powder, then I switch to a wider ski (got Goliaths at the end of the season). The skis are very well made. Top sheets are bullet proof, no edge damage after my buddy hit me from the side going mach looney coming out of some trees and the bases are prefect. Slight flip to the tail, but not a twin tip in my book. Rated an expert ski? I am pretty humble about my ability after only 5-6 seasons back and being an old dude. I would recommend these to anyone looking to step up their game who likes to go fast. A true expert should be able to rip on anything and would kill it on these. The Thunders really helped me a bunch in 15 days on them. Thanks for the suggestion Perchleman.