Gotama vs. Sakana for Tele? Recommend me, plz!

[juanrogera]

I'm looking for advice deciding between two skis for telemark. What would you choose between these two?

(1) Line Sakana 181 (2020)
(2) Volkl Gotama 178 (2012)

Both are used with one mount, in equivalent condition. Price difference in the end will be about $200 more for the Sakana.

I got into tele last season after stumbling upon a deal at a local swap on some BD Megawatts mounted with BD O1 bindings. I've had a blast on them, but realize 120 underfoot for in-resort telemark isn't ideal. The Sakana or Gotama will be their replacement. Most of my skiing is in the Rockies and PNW.

Majority of my quiver are alpine or touring skis, but the tele skis come out for at least a few runs most resort days (or all day if it's low tide, I'm skiing with a slower group, or I'm bored).

Existing Quiver:
Black Diamond Megawatt 120, 178 (telemark)
K2 Mind Bender 108ti, 186 (resort)
4FRNT Hoji 112, 190 (resort)
Black Diamond Boundary Pro 107, 187 (touring)
Black Crows Nocta 122, 185 (touring)
DPS Spoon 148, 190
Salomon Q-Lab 104, 183 (currently selling)

[chicken feathers]

Those are two pretty different skis. Gotama is probably closer to the megawatts e.g. larger turn radius, full rocker. Sakana is turny right, like a fat sl ski?...I'm not familiar with it.
I bet either would be fun. Just gotta figure out what you want covered in the quiver.

[juanrogera]

Yeah, I supposed I should clarify that. You're right on them being different skis. I guess I'm just looking for something fun yet not as fat as the Megawatts I'm on as I look for for a ski I can grow with. I figured somebody around here might have some personal experience with tele on the Sakana or Gotama.

[Danno]

I had an old non rockered Gotama that was my primary ski for years (and yes, I only tele, or rather, only use tele bindings) and LOVED it. There's one useless data point.

[chicken feathers]

I skied the volkl 108 (Gotama successor I think?) w/ 75mm Axl's as my everyday ski for 3 or 4 seasons. While I enjoyed them a lot initially, I found myself dropping a knee less and less as my gear got burlier. Actually just put attack's on them yesterday b/c my tele style has changed back to hippy turns, favoring softer boots/bindings/skis. Only tele skis I have now are a few pairs of voiles w/ 3 pin and 3 pin cable bindings and T2's ha! Those setups are for tours not resort skiing however.

I have a buddy whose daily resort & side country setup is still the megawatt/01 binding w/ a 4 buckle boot.
If it were me I'd ski the megawatts on powder days and corn days and look for a groomer ski that's like 85-95 at the waist. Something you can grab in between storms to keep it interesting.

[ski-wpk]

That era of Gots is probably my favorite ski of all time. Full camber better than rockered for tele.

[ski-wpk]

Sorry edit: just looked up the 2012s. Mantras were still cambered in 2012, but not the Gots. I skied two seasons on the same ski/same year/same length Gots that you’re considering. For me, the combo of full rocker and shorter length (I’m 6-3 180lbs) didn’t work well. I’ve since gone back to either full camber or rocker with rise in tips and tails. Usually ski around 182-185. Tele requires more heel of boot/tail pressure, especially downhill ski, and when I pressure a full rockered ski I just feel less stable. Might just be me, who knows.

[Danno]

I ski an S3 as my daily driver, fully rockered and soft, and have no issues. But I'm one of those people who couldn't tell you any technical details re how I ski or how a ski performs, I just like it or I don't like it.

[TeleBeaver]

Gotama for sure. The sakana reminds me of the old dynastar cham but with a swallow tail instead of a pintail. I hated those skis and their 15m radius. More sidecut = more turns = more work. Tele is hard enough as it is. The megawatt is an epic tele ski. Turns on a greasy nickle even with the 42m turn radius. They are pretty soft and get tossed around in chundery stuff but the gotamas should have a bit more backbone.

[wantriot]

I'm a big fan of soft and forgiving skis for tele. The bigger The Sweet spot the better. Although I love the gotama, in almost every era, it never reflected the fun playful style I want on my tele setup.

[juanrogera]

I'm a big fan of soft and forgiving skis for tele. The bigger The Sweet spot the better.

^^ that sounds nice. Perhaps I should have just asked for help choosing a tele ski. Playful, forgiving, with a big sweet spot sounds great. I ski a 4-buckle boot in the Rockies, mostly sticking to groomers because I suck everywhere else with half a binding. I'd really like to improve that when it comes to tele: becoming proficient this year in mixed terrain, moguls, etc.

So what should I look at? ...
Older non-rockered Gotama?
Mantra?
Volkl 98 or 108?
Slap some tele bindings on the Q-Labs I'm selling?
Some other prolific tele ski I don't know exists?

Thanks for all the feedbacks. Most of the usual players I was hoping to get input from. Last time I posted something like this I ended up with free boots, a ttip reunion, and threats of you lot smelling like damp wool and cheap polypropylene staying at my house (the offer still stands, by the way).

[chicken feathers]

Ya I'd look at something like a Volkl 98/108 if you like rocker. The Blaze series seem like they would make nice tele skis also. To add to what others said, when I think of a good tele resort ski the first thing to come to mind is usually a Freeride ski w/o metal...beefier than a full on touring ski, but more forgiving than a metal ski like a Mantra or something equivalent. Seems like most brands offer skis like these in their lineup, so pick what suits you.
Putting tele bindings on the Q labs would be cheap and give you another reference point too.

[Danno]

As this thread shows, though, different folks prefer different things. And honestly, me 15 years younger would prefer different skis, I used to like stiffish skis that would really push back when I pushed them, with no speed limit. Now, I just want soft rockered skis that are stupid easy to turn, but do have a speed limit.

[juanrogera]

Update: tele bindings going on the Q-Labs. Thanks for the comments and guidance.

[bodywhomper]

Using what you have is a good idea to me. have a blast!

I'm an outlier (except for on tgr), but I enjoy stiffer heavy-ish skis that are probably too long for me for tele. I understand why people love softer skis with a big sweet spot for tele-ing.

[Toddball]

Yeah I enjoy my stiff-ish heavy-ish skis for tele, easier to motor through variable snow. But I watched Future Freeheel, now I want to try something jibbier too.

[Danno]

I ski tons of trees, some very tight, so a ski where I just have to think "turn" and I've turned, is really important. Heavy long stiff skis not ideal for that!

[ski-wpk]

I just retired a pair of Monster 98s mounted with Vice bindings when I jumped to NTN. Dang those were fun.

[bodywhomper]

I also have some short (172) old atomic skis with telebulldog bindings I used them a lot when my kids were little to avoid getting tangled up. These days I'll use them for tele ballet (I have one move).

[Any]

I've never skied Sakanas, but I thought I'd give my $0.02;
I absolutely love my Pescados (the big brother to Sakana) for a playful fun ski, that still holds an edge fine on soft groomers.
Even on non-Japow days I find myself choosing them so that I can guarantee I'll have fun almost everywhere on the hill.
I've got about 200 days over 2 pair of them.

In spite of their awesomeness, there are a couple of drawbacks;

I replaced my first pair after about 2 seasons because they very quickly lose their spring/bounce/responsiveness and become quite damp and much much less playful.
I guess this happens when you use ultra light wood components.
This isn't so much a complaint, I specifically chose ultra light wood core skis, but just something someone might want to keep in mind.
I'd probably avoid buying 2nd hand Pescados or Sakanas because of this. Unless I knew exactly how many days theyve had on mountain.

It seems you probably won't be touring with them? but I thought I would mention that the fish tails can be a problem touring in deep pow, and could maybe be a problem for tele skiing?
The tails are designed to sink more than the rest of the ski, but if you're touring across and/or up a pitch, that extra sink can become very annoying. And it happens every-single-step. You need to be breaking trail in at almost 30cm of unbonded lose dry fresh pow for the Pescados to be a pain tho. Even in Japan this is only 20% of the time.
In resort, you can actually notice a pitch/aspect change of the skis when you transition from hard to soft pow. You can actually feel the tails sink in a little more and change your position. I don't know if this would effect your Telemark style of skiing or not, it doesn't effect "normal" skiing (lol!). My partner is a tele instructor and she just shrugged, "I dunno", so, well, lol.
The tails make for one hell of a skin clip point tho. They'll never slide off by accident ;P

The bases aren't normal sintered ptex. They're some sort of lighter than normal thinner than normal something. so Pescados and Sakanas cannot be treated with DPS Phantom.
My local shop wasted like $1000 in materials, resources, time and effort on my pair. I feel quite sorry for them, very happy I didn't try to do diy it, and a little sad that I've had like 5 base grinds on a brand new pair of skis.

Despite the above, I'll probably buy a third pair of Pescados if I find a good deal this winter.

[MakersTeleMark]

I just retired a pair of Monster 98s mounted with Vice bindings when I jumped to NTN. Dang those were fun.

If you are looking to offload, I'm looking for a pair of vices.

[ski-wpk]

I liquidated everything 75mm in the spring. All that’s left is a pair of Salomon Foil 185cm from a decade ago and T-Race candy cane shells in 30.0.

[juanrogera]

I liquidated everything 75mm in the spring. All that’s left is a pair of Salomon Foil 185cm from a decade ago and T-Race candy cane shells in 30.0.

… and those BDO1’s I messaged you about. Let me know if you’re still interested in parting with them.

[bodywhomper]

Reading about the Sakana a little bit, they seem like they could be a lot of fun.

I advise that you keep the megawatt in your quiver.

[gregorys]

I liquidated everything 75mm in the spring. All that’s left is a pair of Salomon Foil 185cm from a decade ago and T-Race candy cane shells in 30.0.

You don't still have the monsters, and want to get rid of them, do you?