Skis: Vicious 169,179cm, Mantra 177cm, Titan Nine 181cm, Scrtach BC 178cm.
Skier: 5'7", 135 lbs.
Ability: Advanced-Expert. Can get down most or all slopes, but maybe not in great fashion.I like to carry speed through all conditions.
Terrain: Open Bowls, Tight trees, Spaced trees, Chutes, Groomed, Bumps
Snow Conditions: Powder(Deepest was waist deep, Average was knee), Crud, Chop,Packed Pow
Flex:
Vicious-Softest of the bunch, but certainly not a noodle. Just stiff enough to where its stable at high speeds, can rail groomers, and bust through crud.
Mantra- In between the Titan and Scratch. Nice even flex.
Titan Nine- Stiffest of the bunch. Similar to Legend Pro, possibly a tad stiffer, but not really noticeable.
Scratch BC- Simliar to the Vicious. Just a touch stiffer.
Groomers:
Vicious- Fun to fool around with on the groomers. Make groomers fun again.
Mantra- Deffinately stable on the groomers, but lacking the energy of the Vicious and Titan Nine.
Titan Nine-Best of the bunch. Could be the combination of skinniest, stiffest, and the sidecut, but these things just absolutely rail the groomers. Its like a race board, just a lot wider. Tons of rebound and responsiveness.
Scratch BC- With the wide tail they carve nice round turns.
The Vicious, Mantra, and Scratch BC all did equally well on groomers. Each one just had a different feel. The Titan Nine blew the rest of them away on the groomers, my pick for best in this category
Powder:
Vicious- Wow!So much fun in the pow. Very surfy feeling.
Mantra- Very dissapointed in this ski in fresh snow. Less float than Vicious and Scratch. Equal float to the Titan, which has an 86mm waist.
Titan Nine- Great for the width. Not my ski of choice for powder, but once again did equally well to Mantra.
Scratch BC- The wider tail, and skinnier tip than the Vicious makes it not as floaty and surfy, but still a great pow ski.
All in all, all the skis did good in the pow. I feel the Mantra could use some work in this department. My pick for the best in this category is obviously the Vicious.
Crud:
Vicious- Great in the crud. Absolutely blasts through everything.
Mantra- This is the Mantras strong point. GREAT in the crud. Like a tank.
Titan Nine- Again another awesome crud buster.
Scratch BC- Also good in the crud. Just didnt feel as bulldozer like as some of the others.
All skis did great in the crud. The mantra did excel a little more than the others though. Mantras will get the job done in the crud.
Tight Trees:
Vicious-Very fun. Carry speed and turn quickly was not a problem.
Mantra- Mantras were the worst in the group again. I felt they were way too slugish for the dimensions.
Titan Nine- Haha holy shit. These thing rip the trees. You can carry speed through the trees, and turn on a dime if you need to.
Scratch BC- Awesome skis in the powder trees. Loved them. Better than the Vicious in this catergory.
My pick for this category is a tie between the Titan Nine and Scratch BC. Very different feeling skis in the trees. Too hard to the compare.
Bumps:
Vicious- Not bad. Very doable, but you will get tired skiing these in the bumps all day.
Mantra- These things are a bear in the bumps. They sucked in tight bumps. Not so bad in spaced bumps. I felt I had to ski these in a very relaxed position in the bumps.
Titan Nine-I felt very comfortable with these in the bumps. Very quick.
Scratch BC-Same as the Vicious, but a little easier.
Titan Nines are the best in the bumps.
High Speeds:
Vicious- Very very stable at speeds, however not as stable as the Titan Nine or Mantra due to the softer flex.
Mantra- Great at speeds. No chatter, no problems at all.
Titan Nine-Great at speeds. No chatter, no problems at all.
Scratch BC- Ehh. Worst in the group, but not bad by any means. Still a very stable ski.
Titan Nine and Mantra are the best at high speeds.
Big Mtn:
Vicious- Great for big lines and hucks. Huge landing pad, stable at speeds, and nimble in the tigh spots. What more could you ask for?
Mantra- Good, but not the best. Great for hucking and cruising at speed, but not too nimble.
Titan Nine- Would be the best if it had the huge landing pad and huge float.
Scratch BC- Similar to Vicous. I just preffered the Vicious.
Vicious is my choice for the big lines.
Durability:
All skis seem to be bomber. Especially the Titan and Mantra. The Titan has some of the best constructions Ive seen. And as you probably know Volkl is know for having durable skis. The Vicious was great also. I ran over a few rocks and no damage done. Tough bases. Scratch BC seems to be great. I have heard some issues with Rossi though. I'm not seeing them.
Overall:
Vicious- This skis is awesome!. Tons of fun everywhere on the mountain. Just go longer. The 169 felt dead to me, but the 179 was $$.Fucking great in the longer lengths. Best pow/big mtn ski IMO.
Mantra- Personally my least favorite. It may just be me, but I have heard mixed reviews of the skis also. I guess you either love it or hate it. I hated it.
Titan Nine- Will be my next everyday ski. I will be purchasing it in a few days. Would be an awesome east coast everyday ski. It would be equally awesome for the west coast. Bomber ass ski. Very simliar to the Legend Pro flex and construction wise. A little smaller dimension wise. Best overall ski.
ScratchBC- Competition for the Vicious. Go longer, just like the Vicious. Turnier, a little less lively, and a little less stable. May be better suited for other skiing styles. I suppose everybody who likes this would like the Vicious and vice versa. If your trying to choose between the Vicious and Scratch demo.
Any other questions, just ask.
