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Hellbents vs new life/lab 001 vs pillow fights

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XtRemE11
Posts: 5680 - Karma: 246
Im looking for some new powder skis, ive been skiing on the original ep pros forever and need to replace them.
so coming from ep's i never thought they felt overly soft like everyone says, wouldnt mind a little more support, but they were awesome for everything even if they are noodles. so im a bit skeptical about trying something stiff, ive never liked stiff skis, i always like to be able to feel and use a lot of the skis flex. then again ive never tried a stiff big rocker ski.

so im looking at hellbents, the new life, possibly the lab 001, pretty much the new life with a convex base, the pillow fights, ghost chants, and possibly the opus, but i really dont like dual camber skis, i like the flat underfoot surfey butteryness in powder, i could care less about making GS turns on a 120 waist rockered park ski, i think it ruins the fun, makes them feel like normal camber skis that float better.

now my other option is to buy my friends last year bacons for insanely cheap, use those for powder, and get a mid fat rockered parkish ski, ive always wanted something like 100-110ish, rockered, (not dual camber!) and somewhat soft for park. but i dont know what to look at.

So what do you think? if theres any other skis im not thinking of lemme know!


Oct 9 2012 2:29PM
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PeeDuBzz
Posts: 1010 - Karma: 134
Just to throw my thoughts at ya, i bought a pair of surface new lifes last year, way too much fun. the symmetrical rocker makes them tons of fun and being a stiffer ski i even had fun rippin groomers back to the lift. The stiffness allows them to haul downhill. Didn't really notice too much chatter (obviously itll happen slightly at high speeds with the huge rocker) but overall i am extremely pleased with them. possibly the most fun ive had on a pair of skis. Also the stiffness doesn't effect the playfulness of the rocker, whip butters around like its meant to be.
Hope that helps a bit.
Oct 9 2012 3:06PM
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BirtDike
Posts: 1258 - Karma: 514
I just mounted a pair of New Lifes for this season. They look awesome but they look like there made out of a thick piece of plywood rather than what a normal ski looks like. There edges splinter hardcore because of this, but i dont suspect it is more than superficial.
Oct 9 2012 4:41PM
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PeeDuBzz
Posts: 1010 - Karma: 134
yea not sure... didnt really notice what your sayin, but no issues with the skis after about 10 days on em. definitely a stiffer ski maybe thats what your getting at with the plank.
Oct 10 2012 2:21PM
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GANDALF
Posts: 6304 - Karma: 6,595
Honestly you cant go wrong with the New Life. If you like the flat underfoot pow surfyness, they are perfect. The Lab001 and Pillowfights are not very versatile skis. New Lifes not only destroy pow, but also rip it up on groomers and crud. Very playful.

NEW LIFE
Oct 10 2012 4:02PM
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BirtDike
Posts: 1258 - Karma: 514
theres no sidewall. other skis have somesort, on the 12' New life the wood is exposed. and it splinters a tad.
Oct 11 2012 3:58AM
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BirtDike
Posts: 1258 - Karma: 514
more exposed*
Oct 11 2012 4:06AM
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AlexC
Posts: 88 - Karma: 20
The '12 New Life has a sidewall, it's just not beveled like others, it's just 90 degrees. They are way too fun like the others said though. I also have the original Live Life 2's and I think thats exactly what you would want for a fat rockered park ski, their 142-112-132 flat underfoot with lots of 3 stage rocker and tons of fun.
Oct 11 2012 10:36AM
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XtRemE11
Posts: 5680 - Karma: 246
yeah its sounding like i might go with the new lifes, might wait till some people have skiied the labs tho, seems like they would be amazing in powder, and so long as they are alright in the park id probably try it.
Oct 11 2012 12:30PM
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blindside
Posts: 5619 - Karma: 1,201
I think we have similar taste in skis, although I live on the eastcoast.. Have you checked out the Icelantic Gypsy? I've never ridden them but I almost got a pair this year, they seem like a lot of fun.
Oct 11 2012 12:48PM
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RudyGarmisch
Posts: 25443 - Karma: 13,844
If you're looking for deep pow, Pillowfights. If you add in anything more than that, like occasional hardpack and park, you'd probably find you'd prefer the Caylor over the PF.
Oct 11 2012 1:33PM
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division.bell
Posts: 2762 - Karma: 1,905
I'm on last year's 196 Pillow Fights and I personally found them to be way more versatile than I would have ever imagined. Now that doesn't mean I would go out of my way to ride them on less than ideal days, but I have used them on dust on crust days as well as just fucking around on days without fresh snow and they do very well despite their size and amount of rocker.

Obviously in the powder, they are beyond words. Pure sex is close enough. I imagine this year's with the convex base would be even more fun, but I am more than content with my pair. I can't wait to get them back in the deep stuff.

As mentioned above, the Caylor's would also be a great choice too.

My 196 PF's:
Oct 11 2012 1:40PM
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XtRemE11
Posts: 5680 - Karma: 246
yeah they look super fun, they are just so damn wide! my ep's were like 127 waist and you had float to spare, all the time. but, thats what made them feel so floaty and surfey, like you could get sideways and slide around on top of the snow, which is the shit.

can you compare their flex to anything else? are they on the softer side? and ever ski them in the park? just have to ask because i will be doing park skiing on whatever i get, so gotta factor that in.
Oct 11 2012 4:03PM
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division.bell
Posts: 2762 - Karma: 1,905
The Pillowfights are definitely softer in comparison to ON3P's other skis, but that doesn't mean they are soft in the true sense of the word. The tips will flap on harder snow at speed, but the skis are extremely stable underfoot and I have not experienced one situation yet where I would have wanted them to be stiffer. I have been riding ON3P's exclusively for the past few seasons, so I am unfortunately unable to compare the Pillowfight's flex with something other than ON3P's.

I have not taken them into the park, but I have used them on rollers, natural jumps, and other random features not in powder. The 196's are huge skis, but with the more centered mount, they don't feel that huge after getting used to them. They are surprisingly light considering how huge they are.

If you have the money for a pow specific ski, my vote would definitely be for the Pillowfights.

Oct 12 2012 2:35PM
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-ShredTheGnar-
Posts: 2038 - Karma: 111
If you go down this root consider the Ninthward RDS... 113 under foot tip tail rocker.

I use it as my everything ski. crazy how good it is in the park and still amazing in crud/pow

Alot of people hate 9th on here... but they do make good skis.
Oct 12 2012 5:15PM
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AndyGreen
Posts: 827 - Karma: 61
just out of curiosity how tall are you?
Oct 12 2012 5:36PM
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division.bell
Posts: 2762 - Karma: 1,905
I'm 6'2" and 185lbs.
Oct 12 2012 5:46PM
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