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Cheapo Pow Monsters


JayB

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Since I only get first tracks on the deep blower stuff at resorts a couple of times a year, I didn't want to spend a thousand bucks on a superfat set-up that I'll only want to ski ' till noon a couple of times a year.

 

After doing a fair amount of bargain hunting I think I found the answer: 190, 145-115-132, $159.

 

http://www.levelninesports.com/Ninthward-Nick-Greener-Twin-Tip-Powder-Skis

 

They've also got the slightly more forgiving THA187 for $179.

 

 

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Agreed - if you've got the extra cash to drop, look elsewhere and buy something else...with rocker.

 

I just found myself having the fatty-envy on the rare big deep days and wanted to add a set for $400 or less including bindings. Don't think I'd have been interested if the original retail was in the sub-$200 range, but I'm also not surprised to see a big unforgiving ski from Ninthward on super-closeout.

 

I'm actually kind of surprised that Ninthward is still in business, though.

 

 

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ok, Call my stupid but I'm considering buying these. I've been skiing almost my whole life, relatively new to the BC. I just lost a ski in the BC yesterday and need a quick replacement that can tour, ect. I think i could at least somewhat tolerate these in-bounds but we'll see. Anyone have any ideas before I think about pulling the trigger?

Edit- bought them.

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I was going to say that these things are heavy, stiff, and unforgiving (at least according to the reviews) and are probably best suited to making super-long radius turns down untracked or lightly tracked open bowls/runs, and supposedly okay on wide-open groomers as well - and they're probably absolutely terrible for touring or anything where you need to be nimble (particularly with an AT boot on) - but since you bought them, for the price they might be worth keeping for big-inbounds stuff.

 

Sierra Trading Post has a bunch of K2 and BD skis that are touring or sidecountry oriented in their inventory, and normally you can scrounge around on the internet for good coupons.

 

 

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Want rocker but not willing to forgo the deals on the non-cambered stuff. Should be plenty of rockered skis in the bargain bin by the time the current set wears out.

 

Sometimes I kind of find myself missing the left-right pogo-stick action on the dead-straight skinny skis from the old days. Not often - but occaisionally. Seems like the old-school skis still do pretty well in the moguls, but no one seems to like those much either. Maybe it's too much like old-school powder skiing.

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Had a chance to take these for a spin at Crystal today and they rip.

 

They deliver the kind of float in powder that you'd expect with 115mm at the waist, and they're easily the most stable skis I've ever had underfoot at speed. There was definitely some structure/texture under the deep stuff today, but the skis stayed on line like champs even after getting pretty solid bumps from below at top speed. They got even better once things got chopped up, and made it super easy to carry speed through heavily tracked up powder without getting knocked off line. I had no problem with floatation while keeping my weight neutral when I was on steeper stuff and carrying speed, but found myself leaning back a bit on flatter stuff.

 

I didn't spend much time on the groomers but they felt like the kind of ski that's happiest on edge. The lack of tip rocker and the conventional tip geometry means the tips engage easily, and when you couple that with the lack of much sidecut means that once they engage and start to turn towards something you'll be heading rapidly in that direction soon thereafter.

 

I was avoiding stuff that was completely hacked up and packed down, and that's probably a good rule of thumb for these skis, and I'd stay well clear of hardpacked moguls or any other firm surface that's got a bunch of texture. No one should take these skis East of the Rockies, but after spending three years on the Ice Coast I can say that taking any skis east of the Rockies is a fools errand.

 

I'm kind of at a loss to explain why there's a bunch of these skis on ultra-closeout four years after the production run (they're currently on sale for $159 at the link I posted above). I can see how other skis with tip rocker and the narrow-to-wide tip geometry would de-tune the ride a bit and make skiing powder easier, but I'm not sure it would make them ski better. For $159, I'm thinking of buying a second pair just in case this sort of ski goes the way of the dodo and all of the powder skis in the future are de-tuned and noodly.

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Taking any skis east of the Rockies is a fool's errand, eh? The people of Vermont's Northeast Kingdom love you for your sentiment. I suppose you never got a good day in on the White's Presidentals. Too bad for you. There is nothing quite like locking a set of Ogasakas into a 40 degree machine tilled/loose granular slope...makes a skier outta ya.

 

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I forgot to mention that I am a complete fool, since I brought three pairs of skis and a snowboard back there, bought season's passes every time, and logged ~100+ days in three years, just about all of which required three hours or more of driving each way.

 

Having said that - I stand by what I said. Fools errand. If you're stuck there - make the best of it by all means, but anyone who travels there instead of, say, Utah to ski is literally insane.

 

If you happen to live on the EC, I think that Nick Greener Pro's would probably work very well as a teeter-totter for infants, or as a diving board for Vern Troyer if he's a frequent guest at your lake-house...

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The west is surely the undisputed champion of M'erican skiing. But you should have glanced north during your tenure in hard pack purgatory (although Jay Peak's 2001 571" snowfall is nothing to bite your thumb at). Ever heard of the Chic-Chocs? If mad snow yields open terrain than big skis apply....Simple ski logic.

 

I'm currently torn on the 98mm waisted, slightly rockered, mostly cambered, Nordica "Hell and Back" and the sloppy feeling K2 "Obsethed". Any one care to help sway my opinion? I love the Nordica "Enforcer", and the "Hell and Back" is from the same mold....press....whatever.

Edited by backclipped
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You are surely correct that Northern bit of Vermont is an outdoor paradise that should get it's own asterisk when anyone is making blanket denunciations of all things Eastern.

 

Seems like the Kung Fujas might deliver what you're looking for if you're trying to find something in between the Obsethed and the Enforcer.

 

 

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.....I just dug up some reviews on the Pep pro model--it seems to rate quite high. I was interested to see that it is actually a stable ski with carving capabilities. On the wall amongst other boards it looks and feels ho-hum.....I'll have to give it a second look......whatever I end up going with will surely be more "playful" than my 198cm Salomon Xwing Labs (talk about a pair of boards that likes to go straight fast....)

 

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