Welcome to the Newschoolers forums! You may read the forums as a guest, however you must be a registered member to post. Register to become a member today!
MF-HARPGrabbed a pair of '09 Hellbents, 122mm underfoot before they added another 10mm, for $50 (+$20 Griffons, also mounted dead centre) in a 179 a few years back. I normally ride a 186cm K108 or 184 ARV96, so they're a little short for me.
I love them though, got a wild ass top sheet, super floppy and wide and you gotta love the rocker. TBH if you can get a deal on them I would, I used to ski em in all sorts of conditions, they're great fun for charging on despite being soft, they're just a little heavy so not so quick at times but the 80% rocker means they pivot like nobody's business.
One of the instructors I used to work with once even told me he was surprised how well i could carve them /claim but honestly I would say if you're looking at a cheap set and aren't planning on using them as your daily driver I'd cop em, they're super fun, get some great looks and when you're bombing hills and they're just flapping like all hell they're so fun. I love em, but they're a bit fucking stupid.
Hope that's a balanced opinion.
Fitz11ww"I love em, but they're a bit fucking stupid."
- best description of owning hell bents i've ever seen.
MF-HARPGrabbed a pair of '09 Hellbents, 122mm underfoot before they added another 10mm, for $50 (+$20 Griffons, also mounted dead centre) in a 179 a few years back. I normally ride a 186cm K108 or 184 ARV96, so they're a little short for me.
I love them though, got a wild ass top sheet, super floppy and wide and you gotta love the rocker. TBH if you can get a deal on them I would, I used to ski em in all sorts of conditions, they're great fun for charging on despite being soft, they're just a little heavy so not so quick at times but the 80% rocker means they pivot like nobody's business.
One of the instructors I used to work with once even told me he was surprised how well i could carve them /claim but honestly I would say if you're looking at a cheap set and aren't planning on using them as your daily driver I'd cop em, they're super fun, get some great looks and when you're bombing hills and they're just flapping like all hell they're so fun. I love em, but they're a bit fucking stupid.
Hope that's a balanced opinion.
JulianSharpeRode them today for the very first time. They have changed my life irreversibly for the better.
erwadI bought used set from of the 2013 model year from a guy that had just broken his leg and couldn't ski anymore. I live in Salt Lake at the mouth of the canyons and can pick and choose my powder days anytime I want. I have about 8 skis in my collection, but these Hellbents are by far the most fun of all of them. I've haven't skied them in every condition but many conditions and in every type of terrain, especially the steep and deep of the Wasatch - for my money they are the most enjoyable time I've ever had on skis in my life especially of course in the powder. I probably wouldn't choose them on a groomer day but I could manage them. I ski them in tight trees in deep powder, they maneuver like a much smaller ski and they stomp landings like crazy. They are an absolute roller coaster than is better than any other powder ski I've ever ridden. They are that much fun. My brother in law skied with me today on his Mantra's and me on the Hellbents today in 12 inches of fresh silky Utah powder and he was sold just watching me ski on them - he's trying to find a pair now and he's a great skier! They make skiing powder a complete breeze and a blast. Depending on your style these things maybe your ticket to powder skiing nirvana, as a life long powder hunter these things are the ultimate pow ski in my opinion. I'm 5'9 145 pounds and ski the 177's and am totally in love with these things. Was a complete shame they stopped making them, and yes it seems like the industry is going back to 'mid-fat' but for my money and skiing style these put most of my other skis to shame and make them unnecessary. Somebody above said they are crazy or stupid - and its true - they are almost comically big but totally worth it. It's like the ski equivalent of the BMW M5 - totally insane, unnecessary, unjustifiable and over the top but sometimes that's how you've got to roll.
**This post was edited on Apr 11th 2019 at 4:02:47pm