LINE LENGTH

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Man up and go for the 185.

The true length tip to tail of a 178 Opus is 174 (straight tape pull)
The 185 is 182.5 (again straight tape pull).
I measured both at a ski show on wednesday.
Bentchetlers (183) and JJs also measure short.
I know there is a reason most skis come out short but I forgot why.
On3p measure true tip to tail length or so i've heard. K2 always see to be longer than measured for some reason.

P.S I think if i were you, I'd probably go for the Bentchetlers.

I don't care how the ski length "sounds," I care that it works right for me.

And,

Im kinda in the same boat as you except im 5'10'' and 125 pounds. I decided to go with the 185s and I think they will be fine for you since your a bit heavyer.

Ok by straight tape pull I'm assuming your talking across the tops of the tip to tail right? To the OP- I've done alot of measuring on the opus to ensure I had the right mount for me. Midsole recommended is perfect btw but I'll get to that in a sec. What's important to you is that compared to other pow skis the opus has a much more true to size running surface. So does this mean that the 178 will ski like say a 178 chronic? No but it'll be damn close. The reason for this is the less extreme early rise and the sidecut give it far more effective edge and running length compared to most pow skis as I said. So my best advice to you would be to consider what length you typically ski for an all mountain ski. If that length is 178, get the 185s. If you ski a 172ish, I would say go 178. But if that's the case you could prob go either way. The 178 is going to be more maneuverable in the tight trees and spins, etc. The 185 will be more stable at speed and for bombin big drops. So let's recap to be clear. If you typically ride a 178 all mountain ski, go 185 no question. If you typically ride 172 or less go 178 no question. Now onto mounting position. I'd highly recommend mounting the midsole mark on the ski. It is at -2 of true center but there is a 1.5 difference between the rise in the tips compared to the tails. So you get that center mount feel because as far as running surface goes your only -.5 back. But on edge and the ski in actual space you are -2 so you still get the float. Make sense? The ski is seriously magical and you'll probably poop yourself the first day out on it when you realize how well it handles, even on groomers. Best of luck and prepare to have an amazing season on those.

My all mtn ski is the Armada ARV 175

Honestly I think you could get away with either then. If your planning on being super jibtackular and doing alot of tight trees then go 178. If your gonna be doing some serious drops and backcountry with high speeds go 185. If it were me and I were your size I would go 185 if I were using it as a dedicated pow ski but I'd go 178 if I were planning on using it for all mountain playing. (which btw it is fully capable of.)