2-3 Ski Quiver for the PNW

[ASP]

Hey all,

Getting back into skiing this season after a fairly long hiatus due to reoccurring knee injuries(outside of skiing).

Bought some 18/19 181 QST 106's earlier this year and have skied them in a variety of conditions(bulletproof ice to 2-3 feet of freshies). I had convinced myself prior to getting back into skiing that I would take it pretty mellow and go with a fairly dull one ski quiver and deal with the compromise. However, 30 days back into it, I've realized that I'm unwilling to make that compromise.

So, given that 80-90% of my skiing in the foreseeable future is going to inbound terrain in the PNW, what should a 2 ski quiver look like?

My thinking is that with a 3 ski quiver, the QST will get a touring binding and become a cool option to be able to start venturing into some sidecountry/backcountry stuff with some of my more experienced friends/family. So essentially looking for a 2 ski quiver to tackle anything and everything inbounds(a tall order I know).

I am 6'2 175lbs and fairly strong/athletic.

Thanks for the help guys, hoping to make it up to Alpental this weekend to ski and meet some of you!

Cheers!

[phatty]

I go a 3 ski quiver, but don't tour. About your size, but a little heavier.

187 Blizzard Bonafide - groomer ski
190 Salomon QLab - daily driver
191 ON3P Billy Goat - 6+" of new ski

Love them all, but I'm always keeping my eyes open for a new one.

[GBB]

I ski the Sierra. I'm 6'1 175 and have 2 ski inbounds quiver.

187 Bonafides daily driver
184 Billy Goats for anything soft. These are a recent upgrade from my 193 Sanouks. I loved them in fresh, but got tired of only being able to ski them a couple times per year.

The 184 Goats are the shortest skis I own, and yet I haven't yet wished I had the 189s. Maybe I'm just getting old.

[54-46]

I’m your size and ski Squaw/Alpine along with various trips:

180 Fischer Motive 95s
183 Candide 3.0

Both for sale as I need to pay for a divorce.

[MHSP1497]

184/189 ON3P Wrenegade 108 or Kartel 108 (for daily driving)
184/189 ON3P Billy Goat (for any new/fresh/soft snow)

but i’m a fanboy, so none of this should be surprising...

Personally, I ride Mt Hood and ride 186 Kartel 98’s on groomer days and 189 Cease & Desists on deep days. I have 184 Billy Goats for the in between days, but have only been on them once this year (since I got the Cease & Desists; yes, they’re that much fun).

6’ 175lbs, aggressive skier/former Ski Patrol, fwiw.

[mtskibum16]

184 ON3P Billy Goat (anything new or soft conditions)
183 Salomon Q-Lab for daily

I plan to replace the Q-Lab with an ON3P Kartel/Wrenegade (or new Woodsman) 108. Something like a Moment PB&J would also fit the bill for the narrower ski probably. I'm a storm chaser and have to pick my days so my Billy Goats will be my most used skis. I try to avoid going when it's bulletproof so no real need for <100 underfoot IMO. Get some Billy Goats.

I ski White Pass, Crystal, and occasionally Alpy. 5'10" 170 solid skiier with a playful yet fast/aggressive style.

[Kopi_Red]

I spent most of last season in the PNW on two skis.

192 Dynastar Pro Rider
-These carve like a mofo and they can truck over just about anything. They were mostly skied when there was just a skiff of fresh or no new snow.

193 Super Goat
-Super fun, loose ski that smashes soft chop. I grabbed these if their was fresh snow or if it was soft.



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[auvgeek]

Should be plenty of stuff for you to try/demo at BBI. Just do that and then report back.

But a 2 ski PNW quiver might be:
184/6 ON3P Wren/Kartel/Woodsman 108 (depending on how much you drive the ski vs staying neural & skiing switch)
189 C&D

[carlh]

My quiver looks a lot like Kopi's Supergoats and Movement Goliaths. I could trade the goliaths for something a bit narrower and turnier like a bonafide or m5 mantra that is more fun when going slow. I also have a set of old g3 tickets for when my son starts skiing the bunny hill but they don't really count.
Options as I see it:
I only ski when there is soft snow: Cease and Desist/Protest and Wren/Kartel/Woodsman 108
I ski all the time and look for soft snow when available: BG and Wren 96/Bonafide/Enforcer 100
I ski all the time and like both soft snow and carving: BG and Brahma/Enforcer 93/Mantra

[auvgeek]

Options as I see it:
I ski all the time, look for soft snow when it's available inbounds, and tour when it hasn't snowed in a week: C&D/BG and Wren/Kartel/Woodsman 108

FIFY

[XavierD]

How much do you care about groomers?
Personally if I could only have two resort skis one would be 92-96 and the other 114-118. If you don’t care much about groomers I’d look at something 104-108 and something 116-122. Rustler 10 / Legend 106x and Billy Goat jump to mind.

Some folks just have two pairs of Rustler 11s...

[carlh]

FIFY

I agree but OP doesn't sound like the touring type. My powder touring skis need an update been watching gear swap for something fun, I was hoping some old lhasas would appear with the run of new ones but I haven't seen any. Steeples are also being held closely. 110-115 underfoot 190 and 1900g are the magic numbers.

[mtskibum16]

OP may notice a trend here....get some BGs!

But auvgeek makes a good point. From what I've heard the new ON3P C&D is basically a fat BG. So it's possible an ON3P 108 and the C&D might be a better 2 ski quiver (with less overlap) than a 108 and BG. Or maybe a 100ish and a BG. Either way....a BG or C&D should be on your radar if you love fun.

[ASP]

thanks for the info guys!

Might have a line on getting some barely used 191 DPS Lotus F124's for a steal of a price. Has anyone skied them? Thoughts on the differences between the DPS and a BG or C&D?

Seems like Praxis GPO's are another cult favorite... really just trying to wrap my head around the plethora of options out there.

[Ritalin Kid]

Crystal skier...3 resort skis + 1 AT setup

- DPS Wailer 112 (all mountain, mixed conditions)
- Blizzard Bodacious (powder days)
- Head Kore 93 (groomers)
- Black Crows Anima (AT)


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[auvgeek]

thanks for the info guys!

Might have a line on getting some barely used 191 DPS Lotus F124's for a steal of a price. Has anyone skied them? Thoughts on the differences between the DPS and a BG or C&D?

for skiing inbounds, no comparison -- the ON3P >>> DPS in the PNW. Light snow in UT and CO is a different story. In my experience, the lighter the snow, the lighter the ski can be because it won't get pushed around. In heavy PNW pow, you want something fairly substantial.

Seems like Praxis GPO's are another cult favorite... really just trying to wrap my head around the plethora of options out there.

GPO isn't nearly as good as the BG in maritime mank and tracked pow, but it is better in hard snow so quite a bit more versatile. Frankly, almost everyone I know in the PNW who tried the GPO ended up with BGs for inbounds. But there are tons of good options, and you'd be fine to buy something cheap until you figure out what you really want. Praxis RX or Quixote in a heavy core are worth a look, too, as is the Bibby Pro/Wildcat and Rustler 11.

To be fair, some people dislike ON3P's amount of pop and lack of torsional rigidity, but I would argue the vast majority love the ON3P/bamboo feel of pop and damp. The C&D for this 2019 season is a 124 waist and has the same rocker as the BG which is why I think it should be on your radar as an inbounds pow ski. As opposed to the C&D from 2013-2018 which has massive shovel rocker -- awesome for those huge dumps but pretty impractical as part of a two ski quiver.

[gregL]

Some folks just have two pairs of Rustler 11s...

He's talking about me. Just bought a pair of 186 FIS GS skis for groomer days, but 96% of the time the Rustler 11 gets the nod.

[mtskibum16]

As opposed to the C&D from 2013-2018 which has massive shovel rocker -- awesome for those huge dumps but pretty impractical as part of a two ski quiver.

FIFY (I assume you meant C&D there not BG?)

[ASP]

Anyone running GPO's + Protests + a skinnier 85-95mm ski for super hard days?

I like the idea of a pretty fat ski at the top end(like a Protest or C&D, especially considering the kinds of wet heavy pow we get here in the PNW(not to mention it would be a killer pow ski pretty much anywhere).

I hear all the BG love but I'd like to trend more toward a ski that sacrifices a bit of deeeeeeep pow performance for more versatility in a wide range of conditions. I know there is a lot of disagreement in the CPO vs Quixote vs RX debate, can someone give me a very basic overview of those three skis?

Sorry if a lot of these questions seem pretty redundant. I've been scouring TGR for the past two weeks trying to wrap my head around all of this and things are started to blur together(especially the Praxis line and build options).

Cheers

[scblurlt]

not your size , but reckon this set of three covers all the bases except horrid resort only days on refrozen snow , when id be on my bike in the morning

[SupreChicken]

If you’re keeping the QST, you need a firm day ride and a soft day ride, correct?

On3p -
Soft -CD or BG
Firm - Jeff line if you jib or park, wren or wood if all directional. 96 or 108. I prefer the 108 class for the PNW.

Praxis.
Soft - GPO or Q or protest. RX is not really a soft snow ski.
Firm - mvp or piste jib.

Moment.
Soft - wildcat. The accolades are deserved. It’s an excellent ski. It’s just not a billy goat.
Firm - I like the deathwish more and more, but lots of consistency in their builds. If you like a balanced mustache ride (phrasing), just pick your size. PBJ (101mm), wc108, or deathwish (112)

Other skis on my radar.
Soft - bent chetler 120. Rustler 11, down cd114
Firm - bent chetler 100, line sakana,

Undoubtedly there are many options. Having tried most of them, I don’t think a ski superior to the billy goat exists for PNW soft snow.

[whyturn]

Gotta have BG for sure. Big day is a wide field and could even be cheap toons


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[eSock]

I'm working on the same for the PNW (mostly skiing Crystal w/ some Whistler, Baker and Alpental trips).

Just converted my 188 QST 99s to a touring/low tide setup w/ shifts and got the ON3P Woodsman 108 as my DD.

I'm looking to round things out with the 193 Super Goat to be my powder ski, nothing else has really caught my attention yet.

[ASP]

I ended up going with:
Prior Husume 188 Quad Glass with warden demos
Protest 187 MAP 3 Flex with kingpins
Brahma

Next is going to be a skinnier touring ski. Probably a ZeroG 95 or BMT 94

I’m also tempted to try out a Rustler.... and a GPO.... and an RX.... and a Q....and A CD114.... and and and

[TAFKALVS]

You have to put the ON3P billygoat on the list for PNW. It's a purpose built tool for the wet snow we get. I think you can scratch the RX off your list (personally)