Prior CBC: Glass vs Carbon

[Jimty]

Possibly a long shot, but has anyone skied the Prior CBC in both the 184 and 188 lengths, and/or in both the quad glass and carbon layups? Interested to hear first-hand experience of the differences in on-snow (downhill) feel between the different lengths / layups. Blister clearly love the 184 glass, but I was listening to a podcast featuring the CBC the other day and the Blister guys put it out there that the 184 CBC’s magic seems to come from a combination of the fun shape, the stiff flex and (importantly) the weight. Just wondering if cutting the weight with a carbon layup would detract from what these guys liked so much about the glass version and whether you can counter that slightly with adding some weight via a longer length….

[FlimFlamvanHam]

Jimty, I think finding someone with experience on both of these is highly unlikely. You already know the answer.

In the world of skis, lighter is junk unless the weight reduction serves a valid purpose.

Your very same question can be applied to a width analogy (does going wider but keeping weight same as the skinnier model of same ski produce similar characteristics = no)

I would pose your question as "carbon vs glass layup experience" in tech talk (rather than specific to the CBC) as I am sure there are guys that have skied other skis than the CBC in both layups and could provide first hand advice.

[Vitamin I]

...Just wondering if cutting the weight with a carbon layup would detract from what these guys liked so much about the glass version and whether you can counter that slightly with adding some weight via a longer length….

I'd say YES, cutting the weight will INDEED detract from what Blister experienced. It's that weight decrease, PLUS the effect of carbon transmitting more nasty impacts/vibrations into your boot.

And YES, you can INDEED counter that slightly by increasing length. HOWEVER, merely "slightly countered" is probably not countered enough for what you're hoping for.

If you think you want lightweight carbon for more rotational agility (e.g. spins, flips, pivots, etc.), then that's not a strong reason in this case. The CBC's center mount should make even the glass layup easy to rotate/spin/pivot.

On the other hand, if you want lightweight for uphill travel, then that's a strong reason here...as long as you accept the trade-offs.

.

[Jimty]

Thanks for the feedback guys - appreciated.