This last April 2012 at Stevens, the GRO Demo happened. The snow wasn't bad in most spots, but on most of the backside, it was cement. (If you were there, call me out if I'm wrong, but it was pretty shitty in some spots) A lot of the skis I tried felt hooky when I was in this stuff, so maybe I'm just not used to getting my tails out in that stuff.(If you were there, call me out)
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I got on a 2013 Line SFB off the bat. It was meh. poppy? yes, playful? yes, it was your average do-it-all ski.. not a lot changed from this year's SFB.
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Next up were the 191 Billy Goat Tours.. God, I wish I skiied these last. As soon as I made my first turns and jumps, I was in love. They were the perfect distribution of everything I look for in a pow ski. The RES was magic, and when charging out of a drop or through chop, it was nobody's business for these guys. They float great, didn't feel like weights strapped to my feet, and the best part was their maneuverability at low grade/low speed/tree runs. Perfectly damp and I never had the tips dive on me. They like to be driven, and excel when they are driven, but allow a bit of laziness and have the ability to dump speed as well.
My only problem is that I am 5'9.5" 145lbs and I didn't get to try the 186 BGs (Normal or Tour)
Sometimes the 191 felt a little much, but other times it was perfect. (Did anybody get on both 191s and 186s?)
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Every other ski after the Billy Goats paled.
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So after hogging the Billy Goats for a solid 50mins,
I got on a pair of 181 Caylors. They seemed similar to the BGs in the tips (a little softer and more playful), but the tails felt really hooky. It could be because I'm not used to skiing a hugely rockered tail, but the BGs were noticeably easier to get around on for me. The Caylors also felt a little "clunky" for me. Like there was too much uneccesary ski?
But the whole time I was riding Caylors, I was thinking of how great the Billy Goats were (little sexual innuendo there).
Could someone please point out the differences that they noticed between the Caylors and Billy Goats? I was just so star-dazed and biased. I really wish I would have spent more time on the Caylors, but I moved on.
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Next, I got on some 185 JJs. Pleasantly surprised at how these handled, as I have never skiied JJs before. Long story short, I liked them and their balance between work and play, but they felt awkward in some really heavy stuff. (again, could just be me)
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Next, Moment PB&J. Dislike button. Not because they sucked, but because there are better options out there. They were fine as an all mountain/some park ski, but there's no way I would bring these on a day with 3+" and be miserable for the day.
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Aaand 178 Atomic Blogs. Pretty stoked on the playfulness of these. They were confidence inspiring and I suddenly felt like jibbing everything in sight. They did alright in deeper stuff, but they aren't pow skis. Really fun all mountain ski that I could see myself in the park with on days that didn't deliver outside the park.
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I guess this is more opinion than Gear Talk, but I really want to talk about the Billy Goats and the Caylors and other deep snow oriented daily drivers for the PNW that I may have missed. Holler.
