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Pow ski advice. Hellbents and bent chetlers.

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Kreech
Posts: 4178 - Karma: 3,024
Hey all. So I finally sacked up and demoed some '11 hellbents at crystal this weekend. I was completely blown away at the total floaty-surfieness of them and how I could ski very forward in steep pow runs. After experiencing fat rockered skis in powder I'll never be satisfied by my center mounted anthems in powder again, which brings me to my point. Next season I think I'm gong for a rockered ski and am thinking either the old or new hellbents or bent chetlers. I've heard that the old hellbents are actually worse than the new ones on pack due to the softer flex and flapping. This would be my main ski except for the anthems which I'd use to thrash on urban and on skibus, so I want some sort of versatility. Do the bent chetlers float as well in powder as the hellbents, and just how do they compare overall? Stats: 5'8" 130lbs. Expert aggressive skier looking to mildly charge, play around, be great in pow and manageable everywhere else. Thanks
Mar 1 2011 1:01AM
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Kangbang
Posts: 14211 - Karma: 423
Bent Chetlers are siffer, not as wide under foot, have rocker and camber, have taper in the tip and tail.

Hellbents are softer then the Chetlers, wider under foot, fully rockered, no camber.

2 different skis. But I'd personally go with the Chetlers because I really won't be skiing in anything over 50cm and IMO Hellbents are useless unless you are skiing in 40+cm a lot.
Mar 1 2011 2:26AM
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Banane.
Posts: 3102 - Karma: 414
Bentchetler, i never skied them but the they look so nice. Plus They will be better all around.
Mar 1 2011 11:37AM
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Ghini
Posts: 2261 - Karma: 3,002
Get Bibby's
Mar 1 2011 12:17PM
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Dustin.
Posts: 13839 - Karma: 7,704
Bentchetlers are a sick fucking ski. Amazing. Hellbents are lame as shit, but since you are coming from a 100% park ski you probably didn't mind at all.

Go with the Atomics.
Mar 1 2011 6:49PM
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Legion
Posts: 1374 - Karma: 29
i ski on 192 chetlers, and coming from hellbents, (old gen) it was an amazing improvement. they charge hard and are so fucking light compared to the bents. way more playful and poppy... they dont feel so dead and noodely. i can also rail groomers just as easily as my park skis too.
Mar 1 2011 7:25PM
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Chompo.
Posts: 4952 - Karma: 88
chetlers.. Because you will still have plenty of float, but you will still be able to carve.
Mar 1 2011 7:30PM
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Kreech
Posts: 4178 - Karma: 3,024
how floaty are the chetlers in comparison to the HBs?
Mar 2 2011 9:16PM
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Dustin.
Posts: 13839 - Karma: 7,704
You don't have to worry about it.
Mar 2 2011 9:18PM
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Kreech
Posts: 4178 - Karma: 3,024
Ok good, because I want ultra pow performance but I figured that if the chets were just as good as the HBs in the deep then it'd be worth it to get them for the extra versatility
Mar 2 2011 9:23PM
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skiingute
Posts: 630 - Karma: 15

I live in Utah and in anything less than a perfect powder day my friend on this years Hellbents wishes he had a different ski. For good resort skiing I'd defintely go with something smaller underfoot like the Chetler. Hellbents are trash in anything but powder.

I'd also recommend looking at the Obsethed's or Rossi s7. Floating won't be an issue and they are way better at turning on groomers and a wider range of snow conditions.

Mar 3 2011 3:43AM
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pigglywiggly
Posts: 4482 - Karma: 305
i ride bentchetlers and cant say enough good things about them. so fun, so poppy, so surfy. you know they are good when a kid in PA spends close to a grand on a bentchetler setup when he gets only a few pow days and makes one or two trips out of the state a year. get this or the jjs if you want a versitle pow ski
Mar 3 2011 7:09AM
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Alkyy
Posts: 2839 - Karma: 149
I live in utah and next year ill have a pair of bentchetlers, I'm sold that for a pow ski, rocker camber rocker is the way to go. I've ridden a few full rocker pow skis and wasnt having to much fun on them, I think the only way id want them is if everyone you were with had them and you spent your day buttering and jibbing off of every little feature (which would be so much fun and the bents would be amazing for). If your riding with someone on a pair of s7s bibbys jj or bentchetlers, they will be able to ski the soft snow as well as you then blast through crud and go fast back down to the chair and have way more fun skiing steep fast trees. Skis like the ep's and ghost chants are just not fun at all for crud and groomers.
Mar 3 2011 1:09PM
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Kreech
Posts: 4178 - Karma: 3,024
Thanks. If I can get my hands on some, I think I'll do the chets. Probably demo them first...
Mar 3 2011 8:46PM
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Kreech
Posts: 4178 - Karma: 3,024
Just looked into the caylors, and I'm pretty intriegued.... How do they stack up to the 'bents and the 'chets?
Mar 5 2011 12:43PM
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RudyGarmisch
Posts: 25443 - Karma: 13,844
Stiffer than Bents, stiffer than Chetlers too. Camber underfoot, huge rocker sections, no taper in the tips and tails so it floats like a mo-fo, responsive, poppy and just fun. Every day I take them out is a great day, I rode them in everything from deep deep pow to spring park at West Coast Sessions last year.

If you want info on specs or want to see how well it would match up with your skiing style and what you are looking for, PM me with some details.
Mar 5 2011 1:16PM
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Blake.P
Posts: 9894 - Karma: 3,585
Get caylors. I was in your same situation and saw the caylors and decided to get them over the other skis. Such a good decision.
Mar 5 2011 1:31PM
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Kreech
Posts: 4178 - Karma: 3,024
how floaty are they compared to the chets?
Mar 5 2011 2:21PM
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ReetsAdeets
Posts: 1531 - Karma: 611

4 of my friends have Armada JJs, which you should look into. They are great skis, super versatile, light, floaty, and poppy. One of the friends with the JJs also has 183 Bentchetlers, and he says that they are way more of a charging oriented ski. They are stiffer, have a larger turn radius, and are more stable than the JJ. I have some S7s, and have tried the JJs...I'm sold on the early taper idea, it makes turning sooooo much easier, surfier, and more fun. I demoed Caylors at Baker earlier this season, and they seemed like a more charging oriented, lighter, stiffer, more versatile Hellbent, so if you like that idea, then get them. The ON3P Billygoats would also be a rediculously fun ski in soft snow, but they skied absolutely horrible on groomers and hardpack, at least in my opinion.

Between the Hellbent and Bentchetler, go Bentchetler. Look into the Armada JJ are Rossignol S7 as well.

Mar 5 2011 10:03PM
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Kreech
Posts: 4178 - Karma: 3,024
Right now, since i kind of do an even mix of all pow-type skiing, I'm more interested in versitility, so my main prospects are caylors, bent chetlers (im looking for something a tad wider than the jj), and POSSIBLY night trains, although I've heard they can feel kind of planky underfoot especially for the pnw. thoughts?
Mar 5 2011 11:41PM
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Dustin.
Posts: 13839 - Karma: 7,704
I haven't ridden the Caylor, but I have ridden several other ON3P skis and I can say I'd be surprised if you were disappointed in them.  I also rode the Bentchetler and it's a fantastic ski as well.  So much fun and versatile.  You can't go wrong with either of these.
Mar 6 2011 1:12AM
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Kreech
Posts: 4178 - Karma: 3,024
dusting this thread off. There isn't really quite enough vertical terrain at Crystal to properly charge, at least not hardcore. I defidently like to shred the powder at high speed, but like fooling around and not exactly charging. but to the point. I dont really want something quite as heavy as the hellbent as I do a lot of hiking, so I was thinking maybe ep pros or chetlers or the opus for next year. for someone of my size (5'8" or 5'9" and growing fast, and around 130 or 135), will the chetlers and the opus have that same unsinkability even when leaning forward as the hellbents and the eps? Has anyone even ridden the opus yet? thanks.

ps What Im mainly looking for is a near unsinkable powder ski that wont be 9000 pounds and that I can still lay somewhat of a carve without having rediculous chatter.
Mar 17 2011 12:46AM
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Kreech
Posts: 4178 - Karma: 3,024
sorry for the double post, but how heavy are the old hellbents compared to the new ones and the other skis listed. anyone care to share the difference in performance between the old and new hellbents?
Mar 17 2011 12:52AM
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zerospinskier
Posts: 4867 - Karma: 350
I don't know about the new Hellbents, but the old 189s are 12.28lbs a pair. They're pretty heavy compared to most other skis their size that will be in the 10lbs range.
Mar 17 2011 2:57AM
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Twig
Posts: 6407 - Karma: 60,033
Just get the bent chetlers. Assuming you won't be skiing 2ft plus every time you take them out, they are just a better ski. Different league on hardpack, lighter, easier to spin, better for charging.
I've had old Hellbents, EP Pros and Bent Chetlers. For versatility the Bent Chetlers blow the other two away.
I'm 5'9 140 on a good day and I don't really notice the difference in float. Obviously the Hellbents will be more floaty at a certain point. But there will be so few days notice. I don't sink the tips of my Chetlers even if i try.
Mar 17 2011 4:20AM
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Kreech
Posts: 4178 - Karma: 3,024
Thanks. Any comments on the eps?
Mar 17 2011 12:24PM
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.nasty
Posts: 10581 - Karma: 11,151
get ep's or bent chetlers. hellbents well... suck. or at least I wasn't impressed at all.
Mar 17 2011 2:16PM
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Kreech
Posts: 4178 - Karma: 3,024
how do night trains compare to chetlers?
Mar 18 2011 2:29PM
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RudyGarmisch
Posts: 25443 - Karma: 13,844
Stiffer, made in America.
Mar 18 2011 2:47PM
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wrenegade
Posts: 6631 - Karma: 41
Caylors, Night Trains or Bentchetlers. Don't waste your time with Hellbents or EPs. The new Bents are not all that versatile (they're fucking huge) and the old bents and EPs are waaay too soft. Either of the top three will be able to do more all mountain stuff while still killing it in the pow.
Mar 18 2011 2:59PM
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zerospinskier
Posts: 4867 - Karma: 350
I didn't know people loved the Bentchetlers so much. I've loved my Hellbents for years now, but this thread is making me want to give some other pow skis a shot. I need to find some demos.
Mar 18 2011 5:00PM
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Kreech
Posts: 4178 - Karma: 3,024
Bibbys?
Mar 18 2011 10:28PM
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hokkanee
Posts: 1800 - Karma: 435
+1 for the caylors
Mar 18 2011 10:42PM
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Twig
Posts: 6407 - Karma: 60,033
Chetlers are made in Austria, a place that isn't exactly known for its sloppy workmanship...
Mar 19 2011 5:05AM
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Kreech
Posts: 4178 - Karma: 3,024
whats stiffer between caylors and night trains. I've had a chance to fondle chets and nts at evo, but never the caylors...
Mar 19 2011 6:32PM
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Kreech
Posts: 4178 - Karma: 3,024
anyone?
Mar 20 2011 2:08PM
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