Been debating pick up a Mantra M7 or M102 as my hard snow ski for Tahoe/Palisades. I demo'd the 184cm M102 last year and loved them, M6 was good but not as fun. M7 might be improved enough to go to that. Just a really awesome combination of powerful charger but still able to release and get sideways if needed, so long as you were driving them. Harder I pushed the more energy and response I got back. This is for hardtack only, no new snow, mid-winter type skiing. Ice, hardpack, some refreeze, lot of bumps and ripping through variable groomers. I like to go fast and need a heavy damp ski, but I do enough moguls that being quick there is a priority too. For that reason was maybe going to size down in the M102 to 177cm (5'10 200-215lbs), but probably not the M7.
I have 187cm J Skis Masterblasters (latest 99mm version) which are really fun and damp in anything soft, but they definitely can't hold much of an edge in icy conditions, particularly if I get to forward on them (tails wash out). They're a great slushy spring skiing ski.
That all being said, was looking through reviews on here, SkiTalk, Reddit, Blister - Holy Delam batman. So many reports of delamination for the Mantra series, usually behind the heel. Never seen so many reports of defective skis, I don't really want to have to worry about/deal with that. To be fair I usually stick to indy ski brands known for their durability (ON3P, Praxis, J Skis, Moment) for my powder-ski heavy quiver, but still.
What other skis in the 85-100mm range have a similar feel and performance as the M102 or M7 in firm conditions? I couldn't care less about soft snow performance.
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