The sub-100 PNW, travel, dad ski quest

[plugboots]

Buddy from back East went skiing at Crystal with me on Nordica Enforcer 93’s and he makes a really nice turn through the crud but it kind of made me want to get a pair of Enforcers, (pick a width).

[singlecross]

I have a hunch the M102 is the most underrated do-it-all ski of 2020.

I think the M102 absolutely shreds. But I don’t think it’s demanding at all.

Agreed completely.

Yep, M5 for slightly more firm snow bias or M102 for more off-piste bias. Don't be afraid of the tails on either of them, and the M102 is not quite the man-killer that Blister suggests.

Yes, here as well.

FWIW, I'm 5'7 and 180lb on the 184cm Mantra 102.

[gaijin]

thanks! appreciate the added insights. mind sharing your rough weight?

5’8” 154lbs.

[chaka]

thanks again for everyone's input. The Corbet's sale PSA got me inspired... while researching the 4frnt MSP some more, I noticed they had a 30% off promo on top of existing discount and pulled the trigger on new 181s. Fuck it. Hope they don't feel too long for me, they were out of 176.

Stupid to put Shifts on these? I will be on them mostly resort but the allure of having a swiss army travel ski is strong.... If Cody can hammer on Shifts, I can, right?

[klauss]

What is the 30% off promo code?

edit: thanks chaka i was confused and thought corbetts had extra 30% off and see thats a 4frnt deal.

[chaka]

What is the 30% off promo code?

Sorry, should had added that. "spring-skiing" . I was posted on their site as a banner ad

[gaijin]

The MSP 99? That was/is super attractive to me as well.

As was said— a lot of good skis in this category these days.

[chaka]

The MSP 99? That was/is super attractive to me as well.

As was said— a lot of good skis in this category these days.

yep. MSP 99 181.

[Hood26]

I vouch for the Bones. They are good at a lot of things. They may have more tail than you want.

I had a pair of Pinnacle 95’s for dad skiing. They were great on piste, ok in fresh, light, not too deep pow. They sucked in mank, cascade concrete, and really most off piste application. Maybe the Mindbender is better.

From what I have read, Nordica Enforcers should be under your consideration too.

[Bandit Man]

The Enforcer 100 is the ski you needed to buy. Checks all the boxes and has a very forgiving tail. 185 skis easy and the 177 even easier.

[chaka]

The Enforcer 100 is the ski you needed to buy. Checks all the boxes and has a very forgiving tail. 185 skis easy and the 177 even easier.

don't crush my mellow yeah, Enforcer a super solid option as well from everything I've researched alongside your and other's input here. I jumped on the MSP 99s as the deal was pretty good and they were on my short list. Probably splitting hairs choosing between several of the skis mentioned in this thread, all are probably awesome choices.

Now for the important decision... Do I spend extra $$$ and mount Shifts on the MSPs to allow me the flexibility of occasional tour use but mostly inbound.... I'm light, don't huck stuff...

[gaijin]

Mount pivots. Ski. When touring option becomes visible, add CAST.

[Bandit Man]

don't crush my mellow yeah, Enforcer a super solid option as well from everything I've researched alongside your and other's input here. I jumped on the MSP 99s as the deal was pretty good and they were on my short list. Probably splitting hairs choosing between several of the skis mentioned in this thread, all are probably awesome choices.

Now for the important decision... Do I spend extra $$$ and mount Shifts on the MSPs to allow me the flexibility of occasional tour use but mostly inbound.... I'm light, don't huck stuff...

The MSP 99 is going to do just fine for what you need. When you shared somewhere about wanting a more forgiving tail, that made me think of the Enforcer 100. That’s my PNW dad ski.

[phatty]

We shouldn't be wussing down for our kids but toughening them up. Every kid needs two sheets of metal and a flat tail! None of this rocker/jibber garbage

[gaijin]

An MSP 99 & Pivot 15 Gold (or RAW) + CAST is something I would literally buy right now with no thread needed. I would totally cheat on my M102/Baron for that set-up.

There aren't any kids involved...

But a Shift is like a dirty bar girl without a long-term vision. Might be fun for a year, but... likely doesn't bring home the bacon and likely wonders why you cheated in the beginning.

It's hard to understand why Shift exists aside from window sales. Pivot/CAST is the obvious solution for this genre who rip resorts and kind of tour when it's right.

[vav925]

Thanks for the thread point OP. Narrowed it down to the Mantra 102 or Mindbender 99 Ti, both in 177 - looking for a ski to take all over the mtn. Have my fat pow ski (Volkl 2s) at 120+ waist and my old 2008 Fischer Cold Heats at 82. Lots of good things about both the Mantra102 and MB - anything to tip the scales? If it's not a pow day, I'm either skiing with the groms on blues (till they get older) or an annual trip to the Rockies. Want something that's solid on groomers but still good to explore with. Don't care about performance in deep pow as much. Thanks!

[jackattack]

don't crush my mellow yeah, Enforcer a super solid option as well from everything I've researched alongside your and other's input here. I jumped on the MSP 99s as the deal was pretty good and they were on my short list. Probably splitting hairs choosing between several of the skis mentioned in this thread, all are probably awesome choices.

Now for the important decision... Do I spend extra $$$ and mount Shifts on the MSPs to allow me the flexibility of occasional tour use but mostly inbound.... I'm light, don't huck stuff...

IMO you made the right choice to pass on the meh-nforcer. The new 94 is a much better ski than the previous iteration, but still meh.

That said, there are so many good skis right now in the sub-100mm category, it's no surprise this thread is a hot topic. I think every manufacturer has one or two.

Did anyone else notice the FWT skier (Freeland?) struggle to remove his toe at the end of his run to pimp CAST in Fieberbrunn? Wouldn't that be fun at the bottom of a run? Pivots and Tectons are complementary patterns with no overlap, inserts are always an option. My plan is to choose 1 or 2 skis and insert for Tectons to avoid the hardware swap during transitions.

[chaka]

the MSPs arrived today, incredibly in great shape considering the ski shipping box was wide open about 4 feet along the taped edge. Build quality looks very nice, Elan Slovenia factory I think. Hand flex feels slightly on the burl side but not overly so. Can't want to put em to snow. If I mount shifts on them I wont have to wait until November.

[gaijin]

A lot can happen between now and November. Mount them and go skiing while the universe allows it if you have the chance.

[atree]

I waffled between the mindbender 99 and the m5. Spent a couple days on each. Then I took the rossi black ops out and I kinda fell in love. Super versitile. Give it a try if you can.

[slcdawg]

I recently bought a ski for the purpose you’re describing. Got Fischer ranger 94 fr’s in a 177. Two partial days on them now at snoqualmie. Been enjoying. Definitely can rail and if snow is less that say 8” deep I’d say they’re every day ski for dad days. My other ski is a 180cm rustler 11 which I love. Previous skis I’ve enjoyed, atomic atlas, Buddha gotama.


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I've been thinking of pulling the trigger on some Fischer 94 FR's. From reviews sounds like they would be great for trees and bumps. How do you like them in adverse off-piste type conditions?

[brown9]

I only got to ski it a few days before the ski areas shut down. I got the 177 length and an 5’8” and 180#. I felt it skied pretty short but does have a carvable edge. You can easily flip them around and pivot through bumps.


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