Lhasa Pow Stoke

**nickwm21** · 10-21-2010, 01:53 PM

Nice^^^ the first and the last drop FTW!

**Tyrone Shoelaces** · 10-22-2010, 04:20 PM

And here is some Lhasa Pow and Splatula stoke (Splatula's just delivered on Thursday...thanks Splat!)

Ever since I sold my Lotus 138's a few years ago, I have been without a megafat reverse/rockered ski in my lineup. And while I LOVE the Lhasa Pows, I've been wanting a slarvy, pivoty, sideslippy, FAT, rockered, plaything ski back in my lineup.

I owned the original version of the 192 Lotus 138 a few years ago, and then had that version replaced with their updated version when DPS was having topsheet chipping issues way back then. The original 138's had a lower rocker profile, and my replacement 138's had much more tip/tail rocker, and honestly, I liked the lower profile version better. So I ended up selling my 138's and have been without an uber fat rockered/reverse ski in my lineup ever since.

But one day over the sumemr Pat called me one day cackling that I needed to get on a pair of Splatulas. Fat, reverse, a long low rocker profile front and rear that I prefer, and a nice allaround stiffness (feels kinda between the Lotus 2 and 3 flex). And well, here they are. Build quality on these appear top notch....like all of the skis that Pat makes, they are built to take some abuse.

l to r:
186 Lhasa's with Dukes (for backcountry)
191 Splatulas (135-144-130) with 196 Lhasa topsheet (for THOSE days)
196 Lhasa's with 916's (for most days)
(missing from photo: 183 Bro's, 188 flat-tail Bro's, 192 Fats, and a beat up pair of 192 topsheet 186cm Lhasa Pow prototypes).

Bring zee sno pleeze:

**polarbear28** · 10-22-2010, 04:31 PM

^^^^^^ thats a sexy line up right there!!! Really I wished I lived somewhere where I could warrant that quiver. I just got some 186 Lhasa's this year and I'm beyond psyched to get them out on the snow!

**single** · 11-25-2010, 01:19 PM

pretty stoked!

**skifishbum** · 11-30-2010, 11:34 AM

**Nasty** · 11-30-2010, 02:30 PM

I can attest to the Lhasa durability but not to the way it skis. Got these at the end of last season when Pat had them on sale. I was headed up to try them on some new pow on a blue bird day when some girl decided to pull out in front of me at an intersection of the highway. The skis were in the back of the bed and surely slammed hard into the front of the bed. When the wife came to the hospital the first thing I asked her was if the skis were alright. She rolled her eyes and asked me "thats what your worried about?". Well yea I already knew my new truck was totaled. Been drooling over them ever since. Now I dont want to take them out until all the rocks are for sure covered. Thanks for the stoke!

**hiplainsdrifter** · 12-01-2010, 08:29 AM

Mostly lower angle stuff, but fun! My first good day to test the 191s. Verdict: good. I need to de-tune the tips a but, but other than that they are money. Very light but still powerful.

[ame="http://www.vimeo.com/17287614"]November 27 2010 Observation Ridge Bighorns on Vimeo[/ame]

**jonowakes** · 12-10-2010, 07:32 PM

I too am now stoked as I just ordered a pair of 186 lhasa's. They sound like a great product from a good crew. If these live up to even half of the hype I'll be happy.

Now let it snow in the rockies and please don't JONG me.

**jonowakes** · 12-10-2010, 07:34 PM

PS: Put those mofos on a plane asap
PPS: don't tell me i should have got the 191's.

**hutash** · 12-10-2010, 07:41 PM

^^^You will be more then stoked on the 186s as they kill it all over the mountain all season long. The 191s look fun, but do not appear to be nearly as versatile.

**splat** · 12-10-2010, 10:16 PM

That might change now that we are pressing the 191 with 2mm less in the tail. We're making the 191 noticeably more like the 186 with this redesign.

**Skeeze** · 12-11-2010, 06:54 PM

Just had my first day on the 186s at Mammoth on Friday. Conditions weren't very good (mix of hardpack, windscoured smooth snow, and a tiny bit of extremely heavy fresh snow). I'm not a great skier by any means nor am I really heavy enough to drive my stiff boots, so I was a bit worried about the Lhasas hardpack performance, but I ended up being blown away by them. I've never had a ski that is so light and snappy. They handled crust just as well as wind-scoured hardpack, all while making pretty much any turn shape I wanted. Here's a quick video I put together that shows what Lhasas look like in subpar conditions with an average skier:

**TheDon** · 12-17-2010, 06:00 PM

Funny I got out today at Alta in similar conditions and was going to post somthing almost identical. I hate to sound like an echo but today was less than awesome snow. I had read reviews of people getting rocked by the lhasa pow and was skeptical (to be honest). I stand corrected, the ski has the energy of a hormone throbbing emotional teenager. Just poppy poppy poppy, impressively bounding in bumped up junk. On the icy groomed runs I felt awkward on the first try but after a run or two they became an extension of my body. I was shocked at how nimble they are.

Though the tails are stiff I would still say it is relatively forgiving. It is a ski for the more aggressive but I could see some aspiring experts getting on and letting it push their game out of the intermediate level to an expert. They want to run that's for sure. Really fun ski. Makes me want a pair of the full carbons for a touring set up.

I'll be interested to see how they perform on some bigger drops. With the stiff tails I hope they don't get away from me. I will comment later if I get the right snow.

**khyber.pass** · 12-18-2010, 12:17 PM

I just fondled my new 186s and the latest edition is beautiful --- came delivered with freshly ground & waxed bases, what looks like a new metal tail that has a patch of base on it, and new sidewall construction. They are getting mounted as we speak, and I can't wait to get them rolling.

**PowTrees** · 01-26-2011, 10:15 AM

Day 1 on my 179 Lhasa's rocked

Moderate pow day with amazing base conditions. Very happily impressed with them from limited experience. Float great, bust crud happily, feel good for a fat ski on packed down stuff. Love how light these are. Shocked they are noticeably lighter than my many year old Armada ARV all mountain skis. So much fun to pop out of the powder or a turn on these, good feel to the flex. The shop was surprised how light they were also.

Love the graphics, they even work well with my orange NTN binders. Will try to post pics someday...

Thanks Splat!!

Have a pair of skinny skis, so I have no reason/intention to bring these out for icy groomers.

**Tye 1on** · 01-26-2011, 10:39 AM

No pics, but last Saturday was a killer day for the 191's at JHMR. They fkn ripped. Saw a pair mounted for tele in the gondi line at 845. Felt like of the 100 or so people in line, only one or two had skis as long as the 191's, but they are so poppy that they don't ever feel too long, and haul fkn ass.

Then skied a couple hours with Nvr2deep on his 186's. Overheard some pretty funny comments in the lift lines as folks noticed the matching graphics.

I'm stoked i got the old skool 191's with 2mm more in the tail, they gonna be ho-llector's items one day!

**rot** · 01-26-2011, 08:07 PM

Was going to create a new thread for my "review", but this might be a better place for it:

A gaper's review of the 186 Lhasa (carbon). This will be wordy because I feel the need to explain myself.

Me: Skied for a few years back when I was 12...in Saskatchewan of all places. Went to snowboarding, did that until my late 20s. Haven't been to a ski hill since, until I moved to Vancouver a few years ago.

Stats: 35yo, 5'9", 175lbs. NOT aggressive NOT fast and definitely NOT awesome. I would call myself a solid intermediate. Can link parallel turns when conditions are right but as soon as things get dicy I lose it. I can make it down safely and in control but it's not pretty. I typically get out once or twice a week - Whistler or Baker when I can, but usually Cypress or Seymour.

Haven't taken lessons and I mostly ski alone as my one ski buddy is out with a knee injury, so I'm learning all this on my own.

Previous skis: hand-me-down clapped out Rossi BC Scratches (didn't like but got me started), LibTech 176cm NAS Freerides (non-recurve, mostly liked).

What am I doing on skis aimed at people way above my level? Because they're fun. I wanted something unique, interesting, to support a cool company, and I think the best skis are the ones you're stoked to be on.

Why am I writing this and why would anyone care? This is a gaper's review for gapers. This is for those lurkers who wish they could ride something gnarly, with style. I was inspired by this review:

[ame="http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2957089&postcount=17"]Teton Gravity Research Forums - View Single Post - Lhasa Pow Stoke[/ame]

Especially the part about parkmeister's intermediate buddy.

The Review: I'll just go ahead and spoil the ending - I think the Lhasa is a great tool to boost your game and give you the stoke and confidence you're looking for.

Mine are 2nd hand (props Stroupskier!) and were previously mounted with small Dukes @ 305 on the line. I reused the holes for my Barons @ 307...which puts me 1mm behind the line. These things are the largest ski I've ever used - intimidating, to say the least.

But god hates a coward, or so they say.

Conditions: pretty shitty. Soft and wet. It rained.

Any intimidation was gone after the first run when I realized that I could turn these. Remembering what I've read here, I was careful to keep my weight forward and "steer from the front". I quickly found that the Lhasas were pretty forgiving. I could feel myself go backseat and correct. Contrast with the Freerides, where once I was backseat they just ran away from me.

As much as I really liked the Freerides, I just couldn't make them do what I wanted. Under anything but ideal conditions it was a struggle to ski them cleanly. Despite the size difference (186cm & 112mm on the Lhasa vs 176cm & 98mm on the Freerides) I found the Lhasas easier to turn (possibly the stack height of the Barons helped me here?). It was a lot easier to get into a playful mode of skiing, if that makes any sense. Steep runs, bumps, chopped up crap, and challenging terrain was still difficult but I felt a lot more confident and maybe even a bit smoother once I relaxed.

Twice I hooked the tips, going down pretty hard. Once my confidence was back, I was smiling again. I think I'll take these in to get properly tuned (I just cleaned up the edges when I got them) and then start looking at detuning the tips as per some suggestions in other threads.

Did the Lhasas turn me into a superhero? No. But they definitely gave me a platform to see beyond the clownish state I'm at now. Even from the one day out, I feel like they've opened up my skiing. Often I'd come home from an afternoon on the Freerides feeling kinda discouraged, not so with the Lhasas.

All in all I'm super happy with the new sticks. So they aren't the optimal ski for my skill level, big deal. I'm stoked to be riding them. Depending how things go for the next few trips out, I may put the LibTechs up on Gearswap.

So if any locals are reading this and see some awkward goof on a nice pair of 186 Lhasas, go ahead and heckle, but also have a bit of pity for the poor guy: he's trying his best. I'm also usually carrying a bit of bourbon, so don't be afraid to say hi!

Big thanks to Stroupskier, Splat, and PM Gear!

Edit: added some details

**vanisle** · 01-26-2011, 09:18 PM

^^great review,thanks for sharing that rot.

**splat** · 02-01-2011, 12:05 AM

**ludwigk** · 02-01-2011, 12:43 AM

Splat please tell us more!

**Chainsaw_Willie** · 02-01-2011, 01:36 AM

Originally Posted by splat

Sexy.

How much do those weigh in the 186?

**splat** · 02-01-2011, 02:41 AM

They weight the same 4.2 lbs per ski. It's the same layup that's under the the regular Lhasa topsheet. We're just putting white on a clear topsheet so that people know when we say there's full layers of carbon fiber in the ski, they don't have to wonder if that's really true. We did some test runs with these tops on 186s and 191s and they actually look a hell of a lot better in person than any photo I've been able to shoot. Pretty much the same thing we did on the tops Lynsey Dyer designed for the SheJumps ski, the 179 Lhasa. These 186s, along with a few other models, are going out to Powder Mountain this week with the guys from Steep and Deep for a little test drive they're doing on a bunch of indie skis.

**ludwigk** · 02-01-2011, 06:42 AM

Will they go into regular production?

**Hicks** · 02-01-2011, 06:53 AM

Can confirm the 191 Carbon Brockers of being a good product. Very versatile ski with a nice medium flex, good floatation but also holds an edge when you need it. Even doing o.k. in the mogul field on your way back to the parking lot with the mounting point I'm using - I was surprised how maneuverable these are for their length and width. Most important: they truly rail when you point 'em and won't let you down when leaning over. Bases and edges can definitely take some abuse. Me 5'9'', about 170 lbs.

FWIW it's a close contender for a true one ski quiver with an emphasis on bc or for the days when you're not sure which ski to bring out to the hill IMO.