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JJ's vs. Hellbents vs. Ep's vs. Chopsticks

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sam.gillin
Posts: 905 - Karma: 314
Has anyone skiiied all of these. What's your favorite>
Sep 19 2009 1:57AM
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fLyInG-liNeS
Posts: 1562 - Karma: 223
i have skied Ep's and JJ's and i personally like the eps better because they are more playful and soft unlike the jj which is stiff and but does better in the crud, but from my experiences i have skied almost every thing you could ever think of on ep's and they are my favorite ski ever by far
Sep 19 2009 2:05AM
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Twig
Posts: 6407 - Karma: 60,033
Firstly, I rarely say this but you should do a search, lots and lots of threads with lots of info on these skis.
I will also answer you to the extent I can,
I've ridden 3 (not the Chopstick). From what I've heard, chopsticks are much less rockered, fairly stiff, heavy and not all that popular with most people
Hellbents are pretty soft, although more solid than the EP, obviously float amazing and come in a range of sizes. You can charge relatively hard on these, although they will wheelie out on drops. Downside is that I didn't like them on hardpack, without early taper they are pretty unpredictable. I didn't like the varying length of effective edge resulting from this. They are also the heaviest of the 3, being light, I didn't like this.
The JJ I only had a few runs on and only one pow run. For what its worth, they were good on hardpack (best of the three) and fairly light. Held up the best at speed too. However they float less well, and are less surfy than the other two. This is due to having less rocker and to being a significantly narrower ski (1.5 cm narrower throughout) They have narrow edges so may get broken up in the park and because of the shape centre mounting isn't advised (don't know if that matters to you).
The EP Pro is the softest and the best in pure pow. In my opinion its also the most fun. I thought they were better on groomed than the Hellbent (due to early taper). They are by far the 'surfiest' and float the best, and for tricks in to pow they are hard to beat, until you land wrong. The soft flex means get it wrong of something big and wheelie time. It also makes charging not ideal and crud less than fun. I skied these all last season and loved them but I sold them just recently. I'll be riding 189 Surface One Lifes this season.
Pow/Groomed/Drops/Bit of Jibbing = JJ
More Jibbing/Bigger Drops/Pow = Hellbent
Jibbing around/Deep Pow/FunFunFun = EP Pro

ON3P Caylor, Surface New Life and Atomic Bentchetler are also worth looking at. I haven't ridden them but: Bentchetler is like a wider JJ, and the New Life is a more rockered, lighter chopstick. ON3P Caylors are meant to be sick too, someone else can tell you better about them.
Sep 19 2009 4:32AM
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ski_DC
Posts: 1347 - Karma: 58
we need  more info too man. i have eps and love em. they are so much fun. chopsticks are very stiff. good for charging, but they are squirrelly.
Sep 19 2009 3:53PM
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Tait.
Posts: 51 - Karma: 121
i ski heelbent but i also have rode ep's both super fun. ep is more playful not as strong of a charger then the hellbent but thats just cuz of the flex pattern. both are super awesome youd have a blast on both.
Sep 19 2009 3:55PM
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sam.gillin
Posts: 905 - Karma: 314
^^^ correct me if im wrong. the bigger the drop the stiffer ski you want.
Sep 20 2009 12:03PM
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ReetsAdeets
Posts: 1531 - Karma: 611
Hes not looking for new skis. He is in love with his JJs.
Sep 20 2009 12:09PM
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sam.gillin
Posts: 905 - Karma: 314
haha yeah.
Sep 20 2009 4:23PM
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wazzucrewskier
Posts: 2269 - Karma: 151
i second most of what the top post said about chopsticks about them being stiff and less rocker but i certainly dont think they are heavy.  i think they feel about 2/3 the weight of my prophet 130's which really arent all that heavy of a ski either. 

i absolutely love my chopsticks.  keep in mind i like a stiffer ski in general so i wouldnt like the the bents or ep's i dont think but havent skied them.  they absolutely rule in chop and are incredibly stable.  they feel really good everywhere and were surprisingly decent on groomers as well.  with them being stiff it really gives you the confidence to ski faster and more aggressive through any kind of terrain with any other ski because you have no fear of going over the bars or getting shot into a wheelie.  also from their stiffness they are incredibly poppy, just ollieing off of little moguls you can really boost which makes them pretty fun.

downsides would be that they are pretty sketch on ice from the rocker but i feel like they would be better than the other 3 just due to their stiffness since stiffer skis are usually better on ice and more stable.  also if you like to actually carve on groomers rather than just skid around you really need to be going fast to do so.  if i try to lay a ski over half of the time i will just fall into the hill if i am not going fast enough since they have a 31 meter radius.  so basically, you need to be doing like 35 to get them to carve but that is fine for me. 

anyway if you have any questions on them i could help you out but its the only one of the four i have skied.
Sep 20 2009 5:47PM
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