Skis for Japan

[Mustonen]

Everybody, listen to Mike Pow... He knows more than you first time posers with your fatties.... Yup, I am being assertive (maybe it was that double shot of High West Bourbon ??), but you Amerikans want to think your super fatties are the way to go... It's not the size of your tool, but how you use it...... I have only done 8 trips to JapPow ( 4 weeks each..) and ski over a 100 days a year in Utard snow (second best in the world after Hokkaido...). My JaPow max mid with ski is 105 and my JaPow touring sk is 96 mid with. No reason to go wider unless you got dinkie shrinkage....

What’s your daily driver in UT?

[Recreationpro]

What’s your daily driver in UT?

UT: Depends on snow conditions and mission. Lift served hardpack day is an 84 or 88, pow day is a 96, unless one of the few exceptional pow days, then 105. AT is 86 for firm snow, 96 for very soft or pow day. Tellywhacking BC on Voile Objective BC.

[Mustonen]

Pretty useful context, that.

My penis is too small to ski less than 120 on a hudge pow day, and anything less than a 95 otherwise. Preferred DD is 105-110.

[pfluffenmeister]

Pretty useful context, that.

My penis is too small to ski less than 120 on a hudge pow day, and anything less than a 95 otherwise. Preferred DD is 105-110.

Hmm, I need the extra float for my massive dong.

[beaterdit]

Japan's not in the cards this year but checking in for the micro peen club.

Skinniest skis are 98, Snowbird daily drivers are 109 but honestly I'm grabbing the 120s more anymore. Never regret it.

My swiss army knife travel skis are 110 waist BC Corvus Freebirds with Shift16s (they don't work everyone but they do for me) but I feel like I'd want something bigger for deep days in Japan.

[muted reborn]

Alotta tight trees in Japan, and low branches to duck. Skis can be wide but they better be maneuverable too. If you go early-ish there's underbrush that will grab your ankle, I'd rather go wide than skinny and float over them instead of through them.

Also go back to epic ski, Recpro. Happy you are having fun on narrow skis, that's what matters, but nobody is buying your bullshit.

[XXX-er]

/shrug— he just means groomers.

Groomers exist in Japan.

My resort, daily driver is not a BC set up.

One ski to rule them all via resorts would be an R110/CAST. Maybe even R120.

Well I'm sure they groomed something, maybe that run on the left just up from the bottom lift area where it looked like maybe they were setting up some gates but for the most part i didn't see conditions that woudl indicate I should have shleped multiple skis & boot setups to that side of the pond for a couple of weeks. For someone over there for extended periods a resort setup might be nice but if you don't have it no biggy IME,
lotus 120 which is wide but still carves was awesome and i would bring them again

[Recreationpro]

So Mike P, who skis (and teaches) in more JaPow than probably anybody posting on this TGR forum is on this for his DD : 177cm, 115-84-106 (at 6' 2" and 210lbs).Per Mike P: allows to get deep, nimble in trees. And in my many trips to Hokkaido, the well experienced guides I have skied with (Jap and gaijins) are usually on 90-106 mid. Neophyte guides (mostly young NZ or Aussies) are on much wider. Facts, not opinion..... Yes, you can bring them fatties, but like the well experienced guides, many of us prefer to get deep and nimble in trees.....

[Mustonen]

No that’s cool. Totally get it. Much respect, seriously.

But “I recommend sizing down for Japan” is how your posts are reading. When really it’s just “I like to ski max one oh five for pow days.” And those things are different.

I think what you really mean is “it’s not all bottomless blower and you should prioritize maneuverability.”

That’s cool! Nobody is trying to have a waist width gnar-off.

Probably.

[gaijin]

This thread is borderline painful.

And it happens every year. These guides/instructors who cater to skiers that don’t have pow skis always chime in about how you don’t need pow skis. They’re trying to recruit clients. I get it.

But look— skiing is different sports. It’s groomers, riding chairs, spring, blower pow, March forests, and high alpine.

To suggest that “we’re guides who ski more than anyone else and we don’t need a quiver of tools” is asinine.

Knock it off. People spend thousands of dollars for their bucket list ski trip. To sit over there and pretend like your one-ski quiver, Swiss Army knife, is fine for them is asinine. They’re spending $10k just to ski for a bit. You think they won’t drop cash on a real ski?

Be honest. They’re asking what ski they should buy for their dream trip to Hokkaido. To suggest anything other than a legit pow ski is absolute BS.

“I ski a 177 85mm just like you do back in Australia. In fact— why even visit Hokkaido? It’s the same thing where you’re from!”

Maybe not a waist-width gnar-off— but definitely an honesty-off.

[SUPERIOR]

^ Gaijin is correct.

Also, I think there’s a matter of style at play here as well.

Can you have fun on a narrower ski in japan? Sure. Are they easier to drag up Mt Yotei? Definitely.

Can you slarve a high speed turn and kick your skis out sideways?

Can you ski all that pow when it gets slightly sun affected and starts to get creamy?

Narrower waisted skis with camber suck in variable conditions.

Fat and rockered for Japan!

[zion zig zag]

If I had a Japow guide tell me that he skied on 177 cm, 84 mm waist skis at that height and weight......I'd promptly keep searching for a different guide based on the fact that we probably have different goals and styles.

[Mustonen]

Well, and not to dunk on Mike Pow at all cuz he seems legit and his advice upthread is actually very good…. But leaning back and taking the straightest line through low angle pow to maintain speed, which is what you see in the video, doesn’t look like reaching the highest potential of that snow condition. For me.

Anyways. Recpro brings his fattest skis to Japan, which is all we needed to know. It’s good enough advice to not go buy some 210 fattypus at 140 underfoot if you’re used to skiing your 180cm 110s, and well taken.

Also, watching this thread with interest as we’re probably ~16 months out from a trip that way.

[rudy]

Relevant so I'll play. I'm bring HL ST120s w Cast and a pair of Wildcat 108s. Only question is whether I bring the WC tours w ATKs or std WCs w Shifts depending on how much touring vs resorts I think we'll do but leaning toward the Shift setup. Since my every day ski is a 108 in CO aint no way I'm going all the way to Japan and skiing skinny skis.

[XXX-er]

Pow is pow so its all in the past, what I think about is carrying all the gear on 6 airplanes and countless buses, multiple setups maybe if I had a wife to carry it all,

[Fred Pabst]

The ski I'll be bringing for our January 25 Hokkaido trip is the Head Kore 111 in the 184cm. Snagged a pair from Corbetts for a little over $300. I plan to mount with a Shift. I have the K111 in the 191cm with a pivot, which I think are awesome pow skis, but went shorter for the more maneuverable thing.

[LeeLau]

?±+×

[half-fast]

I brought Protests and Cochise 106s last season to Hokkaido. Didn’t get any dumps, so only skied the Cochise

[PNW Lifer]

I just booked my first trip to Hokkaido for Feb and I'm debating between Bodacious and HL FR110. I am leaning toward FR110 as a quiver of one for this trip due to maneuverability and how much fun they are on low angle soft snow.

[XXX-er]

No snow here so ski bro sez do you have a passport wana go and in a week we were wheels up with zero planning but didnt think about the fact neither of us speak Japanese but we know someone here at home who's uncle is a guide in Annupuri SO we were getting the boot from our cheap Air BnB wondering how we would setup more accommodation ?

We text Mika back here for ideas, she texts her uncle Tomoki who fortunatley sets us up with a couple of cheap pensions where we only have to shlep gear across a P-lot for the rest of the trip and we hooked up for a day of riding, we were all riding different gear from a board-120's-106's

so really the biq question was not " which ski ? " it was shlpeping gear around and wTF are we going to sleep tonight ? but it all worked fine and Tomoki's daughter came to Canada the next fall for a HS exchange

[rudy]

No snow here so ski bro sez do you have a passport wana go and in a week we were wheels up with zero planning but didnt think about the fact neither of us speak Japanese but we know someone here at home who's uncle is a guide in Annupuri SO we were getting the boot from our cheap Air BnB wondering how we would setup more accommodation ?

We text Mika back here for ideas, she texts her uncle Tomoki who fortunatley sets us up with a couple of cheap pensions where we only have to shlep gear across a P-lot for the rest of the trip and we hooked up for a day of riding, we were all riding different gear from a board-120's-106's

so really the biq question was not " which ski ? " it was shlpeping gear around and wTF are we going to sleep tonight ? but it all worked fine and Tomoki's daughter came to Canada the next fall for a HS exchange

As I frequently find myself asking, what the fuck are you blathering about???

[Mustonen]

As I frequently find myself asking, what the fuck are you blathering about???

He traveled Japan with his tamagotchi pet. And also I believe the man has smoked some weed.

Try to keep up, plz.

[XXX-er]

As I frequently find myself asking, what the fuck are you blathering about???

makeyour wife carry the gear and itdidnt seem to matter what anyone was sliding on should be your takaway

try to follow along rudy

[54-46]

I just booked my first trip to Hokkaido for Feb and I'm debating between Bodacious and HL FR110. I am leaning toward FR110 as a quiver of one for this trip due to maneuverability and how much fun they are on low angle soft snow.

Go FR110.


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

[Mike Pow]

This thread is borderline painful.

And it happens every year. These guides/instructors who cater to skiers that don’t have pow skis always chime in about how you don’t need pow skis. They’re trying to recruit clients. I get it.

But look— skiing is different sports. It’s groomers, riding chairs, spring, blower pow, March forests, and high alpine.

To suggest that “we’re guides who ski more than anyone else and we don’t need a quiver of tools” is asinine.

Knock it off. People spend thousands of dollars for their bucket list ski trip. To sit over there and pretend like your one-ski quiver, Swiss Army knife, is fine for them is asinine. They’re spending $10k just to ski for a bit. You think they won’t drop cash on a real ski?

Be honest. They’re asking what ski they should buy for their dream trip to Hokkaido. To suggest anything other than a legit pow ski is absolute BS.

“I ski a 177 85mm just like you do back in Australia. In fact— why even visit Hokkaido? It’s the same thing where you’re from!”

Maybe not a waist-width gnar-off— but definitely an honesty-off.

OK, I'll play.

Since 2006 (minus 4 seasons for family reasons and COVID) I've spent my winters on Hokkaido teaching primarily desk jockey, recreational skiers to enjoy the mixed conditions which any resort serves up over the course of a ski vacation.

Thankfully the Niseko Resort Area ski areas (Niseko United and Niseko Moiwa); Rusutsu; and Kiroro [my workplace & playground] deliver a consistent soft snow experience for most of December, January and February - the prime ski vacation time.

I've had most of the same customers for most of that time and taken them from exclusively skiing the piste to enjoying all that Hokkaido has to offer within the resort area boundaries.

Over my professional career I've skied on and taught on slalom skis, mid fat skis, powder skis, twin tip skis, cambered, rockered, narrow waisted (65mm), wide waisted (120mm), short (170cm), and long (198cm).

I choose to ski on a 177cm long 115-84-106 twin tip freestyle ski which is centre mounted with a Dynafit touring binding wearing Dynafit Touring Boots, an older TLT5 model which has a flex of around 95-100.

I've come to this set up over many years of trial & error because it gives ME the feel I'm looking for both on-piste and off-piste.

It's light. It's manoeuvrable. It floats if I ski fast enough. It dives in the best snow conditions (Hokkaido) which gives me the immersive powder experience I enjoy and actively seek.

And I've worked hard at refining my technique and skills to perform more efficiently and smoother each and every season.

I honestly believe that for most skiers a centre mounted twin tip ski is the perfect ski for most of their needs.

In the dimensions I ski?

Absolutely NOT.

I recommend the ski which I feel is best suited to the current ability level of my students and the type of terrain & snow conditions they aspire to ski safely and well.

I ski with them and know what will work best for them for that particular holiday. It changes.

When skiers come on a thread such as this sight unseen and ask for recommendations for which ski to bring / hire when they come to Hokkaido my first recommendation is always to bring/hire the ski you normally ski on.

That's one less thing to think about when you're in new terrain and possibly snow conditions which you've never experienced before.

I'm 58 and wear a medical brace to protect my bum left knee (rugby injury) and I don't jump off shit. So I don't need a longer, wider waisted ski to give me a greater margin of error when I come back down to earth.

But if that is what someone is looking for on a run then I have and would absolutely recommend seeking out a longer length, wider waisted ski with tip & tail rocker.

Similarly if someone wants to ski fast and "slarve a high speed turn and kick your skis out sideways?" then yes bring/hire a longer length, wider waisted ski with full rocker.

However, taking the statements @gaijin made

"Knock it off. People spend thousands of dollars for their bucket list ski trip...They’re spending $10k just to ski for a bit. You think they won’t drop cash on a real ski?...Be honest. They’re asking what ski they should buy for their dream trip to Hokkaido. To suggest anything other than a legit pow ski is absolute BS."

may I posit an alternative view.

The snow, the terrain, the trees, and length of powder run on Hokkaido - especially within the resort area boundaries - is very different from what most people visiting will have experienced before.

They'll normally have skied heavier powder snow on steeper terrain, possibly with wider spaced trees, and the runs will be longer. Much longer.

And they'll want to bring/use the tool which they're used to and ski they way they always have in this new environment.

Hokkaido powder snow is the easiest powder snow in the world to ski in my opinion.

On a trip to Hokkaido you'd have to be very unlucky not to ski the lightest, deepest, most consistent, best powder snow of your life.

The trees can get tight - and that's where a lighter, possibly shorter running length, more agile ski is a better choice.

It's as light as a feather and you don't have to ski steep terrain to get through it.

That's why people come here, and pay handsomely for it.

It's hero snow.

So why for the most part would you 'surf' the top 10-30cm like you do at your hometown hill when you can be 'baptised', enveloped, each and every run, practically each and every turn?

You're spending a lot of money to ski arguably the world's best snow on your dream, bucket list ski trip.

Ski it!