Pow-ski for the GF

[sf]

Her
Good skier, not really that good technically, but very balanced and athletic. Surprisingly smooth. Been skiing and snowboarding all her life. 167/50 (5'6"/110), but freakishly strong and just keeps on going.
Doesn't ski that fast, but can if I tease her. Just likes to have fun. Likes trees and soft chop over steep, open terrain. Has absolutely no interest in swapping skis at lunch etc.

Current skis
Allround everyday - 167 Sally Stella 106s - with atk 12s. She loves these, but would like just a tiny bit more float for the best days. And I'd like her to be on alpine bindings for inbounds. - She'll keep these
The pow ski she never uses - 177 Nordica La ninas - with Markers. In open pow fields and on soft groomers she likes them, but they are too big and heavy for her for trees and whatnot.

Previous skis
176? BC Navis - several years ago. Traditional camber, stiff AF (for her), mounted way back. She actually skied them pretty well, and at the time she didn't know better. Key take-away is that she could ski that ski.
174 Line Pandoras - had them for a year. Felt that they were a bit boring and uninspiring. Too soft and not playful.
Think she has been on some K2s back in the days as well. And borrowed a pair of the original Line Pandoras a few years back. Really liked those - probably more modern mount?

Summary
Tends to like traditionaly mounted skis (but hasn't really tried many others), with a tiny bit of backbone. But at her weight that still doesn't translate to a very stiff ski.

Candidates
171 Salomon QST 118 - she loves the 106s, and two of her friends ski the 118, but BSL doesn't allow for demos. Her favourite, but I'm a tiny bit worried about the more progressive mount.
172 K2 Mindbender 115 Alliance - looks promising. More traditional mount and good review on Blister.
172 Blizzard Sheeva 11 - Also a decent review on Blister. More forgiving tha the K2, but how forgiving is that? If it's a proper womens version of the Rustler 11 it should be sturdy enough. Slighty narrower.
171 4frnt HOJI W - dark horse. Both mount and reverse camber is probably a bit off of what she wants, but still. Not allround enough? Might not work well on groomers, probably needs to be tipped over with good technique?

Any experiences and comparisons? Blister has a good comparison between the K2, the Sheeva and the Nordica Santa Ana (which rules out the Nordicas). Anybody able to compare any of those three to the qst 118? The Hoji W is more of a side note.

And no, I won't be getting her Protests, BGs or any other tgr-approved ski. Protests might work out, but I didn't fall in love myself.

And no, no nudes

[mr_pretzel]

I havent skied the womens version of any of these, but I have skied the men’s skis.

For norway that mindbender is going to be the most fun. It is the most playful of the bunch and skies great on groomers, light and easy to throw around but skies fine in chop and such.

The sheeva would also be a good choice but I’d say it’s less playful than the mindbender if it’s anything like the rustler(the shape is the same so probably).

I think the QST118 is the most “pow ski” of the bunch and doesnt feel as good all mtn as the others.

Tons of females out there love hoji’s, but I think the other two options are the best choices for inbounds pow skis.

[SoVT Joey]

My girl rips the atris birdie in a 172 (I think that’s the length) and loves it. And it’s not built like the guys atris. Closer to a anima and nocta cross breed.


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[smooth operator]

The women rustler 10 is a popular choice over here. Forget what the women model is called.

[bigdude2468]

Has absolutely no interest in swapping skis at lunch etc.

With the above being the case why not the Moment Bella? women's specific ski that handles all conditions well and at 108 is wide enough to be considered a powder ski. Blister likes this ski a lot.

[danmelon]

5 posts in an still no request for tiddy pics. Man what happened to this place. There are rules man.

[kid-kapow]

It could be that BMT122s are a bit much ski for her (perhaps a bit long and big surface area), but at 80% off aka dirt cheap they could be more than worth a shot for a dedicated pow slayer. They work well with tech bindings.

https://www.sport-bittl.com/en/voelk...16::43544.html

BMT122s respond well to being driven and I assume they will be a pretty effortless transition from QSTs due to similar mount point. They can also be driven/ridden from a centered stance. They are not demanding. They are really easy to whip around and can pivot on a dime, yet stable at speed. They are better on groomers than they ought to be as long as one focuses on pressurizing the outside ski. My concern with them would be the amount of ski in front of the binding as the day progresses - so 176cm could be a bit on the long side for her, but would work fine out west where I live. Way, way more versatile than Togga Carbons imho.

Atris Birdies are fine skis, but pretty similar to her QSTs imho - that is, I doubt they will be a significant step up in pow performance compared to Stellas. I do not think there is any difference between the male/unisex models and female models other than weight and stiffness according to sizing. Anima Birdies seem a bit excessive for her needs according to what you are describing. Noctas in 176 could work, though the more traditional mount point of BMT122s would probably be even easier to ski for her.

Sheeva11s is also a pretty versatile model if the R11 is an indicator, so too Mindbender 115c Alliance. I am guessing you can find both S11s and M115cAs at pretty competetive prices this time of year (40-50% off 2020 models with 2021 models only having updated graphics) where both do a lot of stuff well from strong carvers to pow slayers. I am guessing both will be intuitive and strong pow skis for her based on her like of Stellas.
Mindbender 115: https://www.finn.no/bap/webstore/ad....kode=190688853
Sheeva11: https://www.sport-bittl.com/en/blizz...0::164689.html / sport conrad has some bundles that are pretty affordable too

[utagonian]

I would add DPS Nina A112's to your list. Hard to beat as a resort tree-oriented ski with a very traditional mount point.

[N1CK.]

I have a 181 Volkl 108 (full rocker) which I think would be a great pow ski for a lighter/smaller person.
Caught it here for cheap, would let it go for same deal. Still new.

[eskido]

I see no TGR approved but the smaller GPO is a phenomenal women’s pow ski that certainly wouldn’t get swapped out at lunch. Super easy to ski, fun everywhere and flex matched to her preference. I think it’s 111ish?

[sf]

Tons of good comments, thanks!

Re Sheeva 10s, Atris, Bellas etc.....too narrow. If getting a same width ski, just slightly longer was an option she'd probably stick with Stella 106s in 174. But by all means, especially the Atris looks good.

DPS and Praxis etc not really an option due to pricing. In addition GPOs never really won me over.

BMT 122 could be ok, but at that width and 176 it's more ski than she needs. Also slightly worried about reverse camber, even if subtle. Love my 94s and 109s though, great skis.
Thanks for links to the Skiconcept-sale, also found pairs for sale at a sligtly lower price locally in Oslo.

Comment about Sheeva 11 and Mindbender might be better as an allround-ski than QST 118 is interesting. I've had that feeling myself.

[doebedoe]

I have a 181 Volkl 108 (full rocker) which I think would be a great pow ski for a lighter/smaller person.
Caught it here for cheap, would let it go for same deal. Still new.

PM me if OP doesn't want them.

[kid-kapow]

my bad - I forgot to check from our friends at Braa, I see their pricing is pretty spectacular. Shit, she can probably get a pair and sell them on without much of a (if any) loss if they do not work out at that price.

Honestly, I think that deal will be hard to beat - both in terms of performance and bang for buck. Everybody seems to like them as a loose, yet stable and intuitive pow ski. Their sidecut and shape probably make them really versatile, and as such very suitable as an all day deeper days pow ski. I think their graphic is spectacular as well.

QST118s are supposedly really good pow skis, but their shape and mounting point doesn't excactly scream versatility imho. I would also assume that they need a bit of speed to really shine, though that is just pure speculation - I have not tried them.

Sheeva11s/R11s and Mindbender115cAs will probably be a bit more intuitive and confidence inspiring in the harder snow areas between the pow stashes as well as on groomers than qst118s or BMT122s. Sometimes predictable behaviour across a lot of conditions might be more important for some skiers than spectacular performance in one condition. I guess that is the main difference between swapping skis throughout the day and staying on one pair


Stellas for daily driver + M115cAlliance for deeper days should make her one happy camper. Though, I think you'd be hard pressed to go wrong with either Sheeva11s/R11s (a bit more power) and Mindbender115cAs (a bit looser).

[Dromond]

Everything you described screams DPS A112 or even the hybrids. I've known three female skiers that roughly fit this description who immediately bonded with the 112 resort pow skiing including trees. My wife had the Line Pandora and did not like them, but is obsessed with the 112 and does not want to ski anything else for pow.

I think that the K2, Blizzard and 4frnt options you mentioned are likely more aggressive and won't shine until you are going faster.

[wwwllw]

My wife digs the short billy goats.

[wasatchback]

Sheeva 11 172 is almost exactly the same as the Rustler 11 172. They come out of the same mold. Sheeva 11 has one stringer of wood that’s different than the Rustler, that’s it.

[sf]

Sheeva 11 172 is almost exactly the same as the Rustler 11 172. They come out of the same mold. Sheeva 11 has one stringer of wood that’s different than the Rustler, that’s it.

Thanks. I have a unskied pair of 188 R11 in the basement. Looks like a great ski for me, not sure about it for her. I'll head over to the shop to check out the S11s and the Mindbenders thursday.

[SirVicSmasher]

Mindbender alliance 106c for soft days
And if she does want to charge get her on the MB alliance 98 ti .

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[sf]

Had a look at both the Mindbender 106 and 115 yesterday.

106 is too similar to the QST 106 - which she'll keep. Probably wasn't clear about that in the first post.

The 115 is pretty soft, a "lot" softer than the QST she's on today. Which might not be a problem - just an observation. Shape and profile looked good though.
The Sheeva 11 is still interesting. Allthough it seems like Blister thinks the Mindbender has a bit more oomph to it.
Sheeva has more splay and softer tips and tails than the Mindbender, slightly stiffer underfoot.

QST 118 and Hoji W is out of the fight.

@wasatchback. If possible, on a scale from 1-10, how much softer will the Sheevas be compared to the Rustlers?

[splat]

GF has some 165 Solly Pocket Rockets w/ freerides she wants to sell.

[wasatchback]

@wasatchback. If possible, on a scale from 1-10, how much softer will the Sheevas be compared to the Rustlers?

Rustlers are very different by size. They have different waste widths and constructions on each size to try to scale them better for different sized skiers. The 180 R11 is narrower and softer than your 188. The 172 is the same width as the 180 but is softer again. The Sheeva 11 in 172 is slightly softer than the 172 R11 due to the center stringer of wood being different but that’s really the only difference between it and R11. As you go down in size the DRT metal piece also gets smaller. I think we did a pretty good job scaling them by size.

Ladies tend to love them. The reaction I’ve gotten at demos is always been pretty positive. Just like R11 they all say they’re amazed how fun they are on groomers for how well they float.

[sf]

Rustlers are very different by size. They have different waste widths and constructions on each size to try to scale them better for different sized skiers. The 180 R11 is narrower and softer than your 188. The 172 is the same width as the 180 but is softer again. The Sheeva 11 in 172 is slightly softer than the 172 R11 due to the center stringer of wood being different but that’s really the only difference between it and R11. As you go down in size the DRT metal piece also gets smaller. I think we did a pretty good job scaling them by size.

Ladies tend to love them. The reaction I’ve gotten at demos is always been pretty positive. Just like R11 they all say they’re amazed how fun they are on groomers for how well they float.

Quality response. I think she's leaning that way.

[kid-kapow]

Man, noticing this thread ended up being a costly "mistake".

I ended up getting some 172 MB115s and 168 MB96tis for the Princess quiver, both to be mounted with Meidjo 2.0 telemark bindings. Should be fun, and fit well with the local conditions - either getting dump on or variable

I should perhaps have gone down the Sheeva 10 + 11 route - as I love Rustlers and prefer Blizzard to K2 as a brand - but at 50% off the MBs were simply too good of a deal to pass up on. Should be fun and a proper 1-2 punch type quiver covering a ton of different conditions

Also, thanks wasatchblack for your continued and excellent posts providing added info on Blizzards. Most appreciated!

[sf]

Man, noticing this thread ended up being a costly "mistake".

I ended up getting some 172 MB115s and 168 MB96tis for the Princess quiver, both to be mounted with Meidjo 2.0 telemark bindings. Should be fun, and fit well with the local conditions - either getting dump on or variable

I should perhaps have gone down the Sheeva 10 + 11 route - as I love Rustlers and prefer Blizzard to K2 as a brand - but at 50% off the MBs were simply too good of a deal to pass up on. Should be fun and a proper 1-2 punch type quiver covering a ton of different conditions

Also, thanks wasatchblack for your continued and excellent posts providing added info on Blizzards. Most appreciated!

Nothing exceeds like excess

What was she on previously?

[kid-kapow]

There is no mrs Kapow, so who knows?

Their first user will be a friend of mine who is a really strong skier. We have gone back and forth regarding what ski she should get for close to a year now, but she never gets around to getting a new pair. This is in spite of her being dead set on getting back on teles and try Meidjos. She is currently using a pair of BMT109 w/radical 2.0s as her DD. Since I am really curious how both MBs and Meidjos ski and am getting really tired of trying to get her to buy specific skis, I thought what the hell, and bought both. I have zero inclination to ski MBs or Meidjos, but still thought this rediculous approach could be a win win. Time will tell if it is folly or a recipe for success

Besides, both MBs and Meidjos were bought at 50% off, so if the skis see limited to no use they will just be passed on at a later date at probably little to no transaction cost. Happy times.