School me on large radius pow skis

[burrito]

Ever since I bought a pair of Surface New Lifes a decade ago I've been sold on the fun to be had with light, surfy, slarvey pow skis. Most of those I've ridden, though, have had a pretty tight turning radius. Case in point I'm on Bent Chetler 120s these days at 19m. I have plenty of good days on them, but occasionally they're a little too hooky for my tastes.

I'm curious to look into skis in the same realm (120ish mm waist, light enough for the occasional tour or sidecountry mission, enough tail turn-up to ride switch) with larger turning radii. I'm on the smaller side (5'10"/165lbs) so I don't need anything too beefy.

The first skis that come to mind are the Wildcat Tour (25m) and Billy Goat Tour (28.6m), but I'm a little skeptical of camber underfoot due to the aforementioned hooking. As much as I'd like to get on a pair of Chipotle Banana Tours (35.5m), they're almost certainly too stiff for my size (and...ya know...$1300.) I did have a pair of Moment Exit Worlds (31m) for a couple of seasons that think I would have liked better if not for the goofy triple camber that, for me, rode incredibly inconsistently.

Any other recommendations to look into?

[XXX-er]

IME I was skeptical I could handle the Lotus 120 cuz it has a huge turning radius ( depending on length 39 or 43 ?) if you let them or slarve it down to completely sideways

[riff]

Overall I’m a big fan of larger radius, especially in touring skis to promote easy/smooth turns in funky unbroken snow. I use Lithic Ramblin Jacks(29m radius) for daily drivers, and Down Lowdown 90’s(30m) for spring and projects.
I’ll be trying out some Lithic Townes 117’s soon, which have a 30m radius in the mid 187. Mine will be 180, so a bit shorter radius, but combined with really smooth taper and what looks like a sweet smooth rocker too. They’ll be a light core touring ski, but I’ll try to circle around with a review if I get enough days on them before spring, definitely will be putting up pics in the Lithic thread. Full disclosure, I work with the Lithic guys and dig their program- I live 5 miles from their shop. Despite the PNW brief taste of spring in progress, I’m fingers crossed for more pow days to sling these Townes at.
I’d love to get on some BG tours, sounds like a ski I’d get along with. In fact, I’d love to try BG’s in the heavy build as well.

Lithic Townes Link:

https://www.lithicskis.com/collectio...cts/townes-117




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[riff]

Forgot to say, should be around 8# or so with the light core.


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[Self Jupiter]

Fwiw imo Chipotle Bananas are hardly an unwieldy beast and they hand flex fairly soft compared to a lot of the skis we talk about here in tech talk. I have the stock 186s and I’m 5’7’’ ~173.

[mntlion]

elan boomerang?

4frnt hoji?

[burrito]

Fwiw imo Chipotle Bananas are hardly an unwieldy beast and they hand flex fairly soft compared to a lot of the skis we talk about here in tech talk. I have the stock 186s and I’m 5’7’’ ~173.

That’s interesting/encouraging to hear. The impression I got from Blister’s review was that it was potentially pretty unwieldy.

[Self Jupiter]

I do feel they take a fair bit of speed to come to life and get up on plane, so perhaps they’re saying the skis are a handful in that regard. But stiff and unwieldy in my opinion they are not, in the 186 length at least. I’m really enjoying them in New England, so much that I would be eager to demo the 193s if I ever make it out to Tahoe again. But that length might kick my ass /blog

[MegaStoke]

That’s interesting/encouraging to hear. The impression I got from Blister’s review was that it was potentially pretty unwieldy.

Has a high top end, yes, unwieldy, no. After all, they’re full rocker.

That said, BGTs are definitely less hooky, and sound like exactly what you’re after.

[burrito]

Has a high top end, yes, unwieldy, no. After all, they’re full rocker.

That said, BGTs are definitely less hooky, and sound like exactly what you’re after.

What’s the camber like on the BGT? Looks pretty minimal from their pictures, but you never know how much to trust that.

[Core Shot]

IME I was skeptical I could handle the Lotus 120 cuz it has a huge turning radius ( depending on length 39 or 43 ?) if you let them or slarve it down to completely sideways

Hard to find a larger radius.
And light carbon.

#endthread

[TahoeJ]

Hookiness can be as much about how stiff / soft a ski is as the radius... depending on the consistency of the snow, of course. Just something to keep in mind.

[bfree]

My OG Renegades are listed at 35m. They don't turn so well on hardpack, but anything over 3" deep lets them come alive and make all sorts of different turn styles. Extremely stable, yet not all that hard to drive.

[altacoup]

^^^
All Hoji designed skis going back to the EHP feature large radius side cut but are all very nimble and predictable. Great thing about large radius is it allows the skier to determine the turn they want to make. Want a smaller turn, bend the ski. Renegades are my favorite ski of all time.


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[XXX-er]

Hard to find a larger radius.
And light carbon.

#endthread

Mine were the red hybrids but I liked the 184 so much i snapped up a pair of used/ supa cheap 190 from a bigger guy who couldn't quite handle em

for some reason the 184 has more early rise, 60cm on the 184 as opposed to 50cm on the 190c and skis nicer IMO

[snowaddict91]

^^^
. Great thing about large radius is it allows the skier to determine the turn they want to make.

Yup. You might have to get bossy once in a while, but the predictability is more than worth it.

[MegaStoke]

What’s the camber like on the BGT? Looks pretty minimal from their pictures, but you never know how much to trust that.

Roughly 2mm under foot, and I can decamber it between my pinky and thumb.

[beeeom]

Get some goats and lay waste to all peons in your path

[east or bust]

Large radius pow skis are where it’s at. IMO shorter radii skis have no business anywhere near 3d snow if you’re skiing fast. That being said I own two - older Line SFBs and Nordica Patrons. They do well in technical/tight situations, or if you’re resort skiing a mix of soft snow and groomers.. but, if you’re talking about high speed charging, fuck that. The Nordicas are probably one of my favorite skis of all time, but if it’s a fast pow day I’m grabbing RXs (32m) or Lhasa pows (35m+?). They are just so damn predictable and as already stated if you need to really turn em that option is still there. These types of skis come alive with speed

[detrusor]

Super goat on a 1X flex. 30 sidecut, great ski


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[whyturn]

At least 20-22 m but ideally 30+. Megawatts were 42, OG lotus is 40, all of pats skis are plus 30. Radius is irrelevant in pow and a hinderance


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[bw_wp_hedonism]

BC Nocta?


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[SKIP IN7RO]

This talk of long radii is giving me a semi, even as a snowboarder. My quiver starts at 14m for touring with 16, 18, and 20m radius boards for lifts.

[Orthoski]

I think you actually nailed it pretty well. I had a similar experience wherein, unlike many of this forum, I didn't hate skis like the original JJ and found them super playful and fun (felt like cheating the first time), but like others also found myself having to expend energy trying to keep them on track due to hookiness, esp if in tracked snow. Wasn't automatically bad, but it's like driving a Honda civic after driving a large SUV - it has a novelty to it. The WC hits a bit of a sweetspot - felt like a playful powder ski but had enough heft that it wasn't remotely as hooky as a JJ. I've found the Blister reviews spot on. The BGs in my opinion sacrifice some hardpack performance compared to the WCs to hit another sweet spot. As long as there's just an inch or two of snow (does not have to be real powder), I found that they let you make absolutely any turn shape but with zero hooky sensation. They honestly make you feel a bit invincible. It does come with a sacrifice on truly firm hardpack, but I found them easy to use nonetheless to get in between stashes, and only 1-2" makes them come alive, esp if wet snow. The only issue with BGs is they aren't overtly designed to ski switch if that's your thing.

[burrito]

...The WC hits a bit of a sweetspot...

WC?