184 Wrenagade 108 vs 187 Woodman108?

[XtrPickels]

I feel like I have an opening between my bigger skis and my smaller skis.

I want a ski in the 105-110 range for a few inches of fresh and the days after a storm. I'll use this when I'm skiing crud and hunting around in the trees for fresh snow. It'll probably rip some groomers and side-hits on the way back to the lift. I don't want it to have metal and it's needs to be OK on groomers, but I have other skis for that purpose. Mount point in the -6 to -9 range.

Attributes: Good in Crud, Bumps, Trees. Leaning toward playful, but balanced: I'd rather boost off something than smash through it. I like a ski that I can roll onto edge, then break the tails loose as needed to scrub speed or tighten a turn.

Current Quiver:
The Bigger skis
191 Lhasa Pow- Doesn't get skied much anymore.
190 Bibby PRO- Bigger days For more open places
189 on3p Billy Goat- Bigger days for tighter places
186 Renegade- Big days

The Smaller skis
186 Enforcer 104- This will mostly be a no-new snow ski.
185 Stereo Apex- Groomer Ski
180 Line Sakana- Tooling around with the kids
180 Explosiv- Rock skis

Skis I've tried in this position:
Cochise: Decent in crud, not quick enough in tighter places
187 Meridian: I liked this ski a lot for the conditions I'm looking for, but I liked it so much that I took it out on days when I shouldn't have (firm) and I fell out of love. I'm regretting this, but having a hard time finding another pair I want.

My thoughts:
1. Tail rocker on the Wren and Woodsman is similar.
2. Rearward mount of of Wren + Shorter Length = Similar maneuverability in tight places to the Woodsman b/c dimension in front of and behind the binding are similar.
3. Longer radius of Wren = more stability in crud than Woodsman
4. Also still have Meridian / Wildcat 108 in consideration. Likely go with whichever comes available first.

Your thoughts?

[kid-kapow]

wood110s or wood108s imho.

Wren108s and Wood108s are more alike than different imho, but woods are a bit more playful (due to mount point and tighter sidceut) while still being chargy. Both take a bit of speed to become loose, but where Woods are even more permissive of a more upright/modern stance. The first year Wood108's longer tails are noticable in tighter terrain.

Blister's comparison of wood vs wildcat108 is pretty accurate. Wildcat108s are great too.

[ASP]

I would toss the Prior Husume into that conversation... I really think it's an under-rated ski on this forum... Might not fit your brief as well as the Woods just because it can be a little unwieldy in deep snow and tight terrain because of the flat stiff tail. However, it mobs hard and soft chop and I think it's actually a blast on groomers if you get up to a good clip of speed. Radius sits in-between the Woods and Wren IIRC. Build quality and construction is as good as ON3P IMO.

However, reading your wish list and seeing words like "boost", "playful" makes me think you'd probably be better served on the Woods. Wren and Husume are chargers through and through.

[Bandit Man]

You just described the 192 Dynastar MFree108...

[XtrPickels]

You just described the 192 Dynastar MFree108...

Interesting.

I hadn't considered it b/c of the oddly large jump in sizes. Got a pair you want to sell?

[Bandit Man]

Interesting.

I hadn't considered it b/c of the oddly large jump in sizes. Got a pair you want to sell?

Keeping my pair. The MFree108 has a lot of overlap with the Woodsman108. The MF108 has a bit more snap and energy and is much looser than the WD108. The WD108 is a bit more damp and a bit more groomer friendly. Both do slightly above average on groomed snow, but both really shine in any kind of fresh snow.

I wanted my 187 WD108 to be a more all-Mtn skinny BG. It has the same feel on snow, but is not as loose. I was really surprised that the MF108 reminded me of a BG in soft snow. I now ski my BG’s in the morning on a Pow day, and once it gets skied out, I switch to my MF108’s to enjoy the afternoon leftovers.

[Tailwind]

I have Wren 114’s in a 189cm and I’m always surprised by how loose they are for a ‘charger’ style ski.

I’m around 160lbs and have no problem spinning, moguls, trees and etc. Given the weight, they’re a bit of work and I need to be in good shape to handle them at 3pm. I’ve owned Meridian 117’s in a 187cm and Wildcats in a 190cm. The meridian felt the loosest. The Wildcat feels a bit quicker than the Wren but not a lot… I think the gap between the 189cm Wren 114 and Wildcat 190cm is mainly driven by the weight. It’s an extra 350 grams per ski.

Point being, a 184CM Wren 108 is likely going to feel playful enough. The tails are very easy to break free on the Wren Line. I don’t think they’ll want to pull you into a tighter carved turn when you lay into them like you’d mentioned wanting. I’ve skied the woodman 187 and it was way more willing to be pushed into tighter radius carves. The wren likes to ‘slarve’ it’s way into tighter turn shapes.

On paper… I should like the Woodman (I like playful skis too) but I’m 10/10 sold on the Wren.

[Bobcat Sig]

I've not skied the newer Wrens. But they've always been skis that charge. I skied them when I wanted to rip with reckless abandon.

Last year, I added the Woodsman108 to the quiver and find it far more versatile and for the same reasons you described. Therefore, in true TRGz fashion, I can only recommend what I have and that's the Woodsman.