Recomendation for bump/tree ski, mostly eastern?

Haven't quite found an answer to this in past threads. Sorry if I've missed one.

I'm looking for a freeride ski with a waist in the 85-92 range.

Here's me:

Skier type: advanced
Terrain: Bumps and trees (50/50), almost exclusively.
Current ski: Rossi B2 174
Height: 6"
Weight: 160

I currently ski on a Rossi B2 and am reasonably happy with them. They are dreamy in the bumps and good in the trees. I'd like something wider, though, for better flotation in fresh snow. I'm willing to give up a small amount of bump performance, but they would still need to be good. I'll keep my B2s for spring days when I'm 100% in corn bumps.

The B2s are not great on hard groomed snow, but I try to avoid that anyway. I have some carving skis for when I'm socially obligated to ski on hardpack. A ski that was a bit better on goomers would be a bonus, but is not a priority. A ski that has been around for a few years so I could pick up a previous year's model on closeout would be ideal, but I can be flexible.

Last year I skied the Volkl Mantra in 18" of powder in Utah and loved them, but felt they'd be too stiff outside of fluffy western bumps. Thinking I should look at the Line Prophet 90, Dynastar Sultan 85, and Rossi S86, but know there's a lot more out there. I know that there are some freestyle skis that might also be a good fit, but I'm not familiar with that market.

Many, many thanks for any suggestions. Also, if the consensus is that I should just stick with my B2s, that's fine.

if u liked the mantras,try the line profit 100s ,its a great ski,and works well in the conditions u spoke of,and it should cost a bit less than the mantras,,i ski these and wood recomend them too anybody!!!!!

jimmer said:

if u liked the mantras,try the line profit 100s ,its a great ski,and works well in the conditions u spoke of,and it should cost a bit less than the mantras,,i ski these and wood recomend them too anybody!!!!!

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Thanks. I'll definitely try those and the P90. I should say that while I liked the Mantras, I won't typically be skiing in 18" of Utah powder. I think the Mantras would be way too stiff (and possibly wide) for my day-to-day skiing.

Go with the Icelantic Pilgrim or Nomad in a shorter length. They are an awesome ski. Great graphics. I skied used these quite often when there is 4 or more of freshies. Give them a look.

Puck it said:

Go with the Icelantic Pilgrim or Nomad in a shorter length. They are an awesome ski. Great graphics. I skied used these quite often when there is 4 or more of freshies. Give them a look.

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Thanks for the suggestion. The 2010 Pilgrim would also satisfy my soft requirement of having crustacean-themed graphics.

Based on further research, the contenders are:

Dynastar Sultan 85
Line Prophet
Fischer Watea 84
K2 Aftershock
Atomic Crimson
Icelandic Pilgrim
Rossi S86

The Dynastar, Line, Fischer, and Icelandic hold particular appeal because there is still a decent amount of stock available from previous years, so there are deals out there.

I doubt I'll get to demo all of these, but I'll let you know what I find. Any more suggestions or thoughts on these skis is appreciated.

I love my Watea 94's, but I'm a big guy and tend to like a stiffer ski. The only conditions that I don't like them in is big, tight bumps with deep troughs. They're really more at home making big turns on soft snow, but they also rip on groomers and I can make up em turn down the zipper line as long as the bumps aren't too tight. It's all subjective though, I bet a lot of people wouldn't like them in the bumps at all. Greg is a lot lighter than me and didn't like his at all.

Not sure how similar the 94's are to the 84's are though.

bvibert said:

I love my Watea 94's, but I'm a big guy and tend to like a stiffer ski. The only conditions that I don't like them in is big, tight bumps with deep troughs. They're really more at home making big turns on soft snow...

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Just goes to show you the subjectiveness on gear. I don't find the Watea 94 to be a stiff ski and I got it specifically it straddles the line between having a respectable amount of beef without being a tree. And I find they prefer smaller turns to big turns due to the radius. Its always tough to generalize preferences because so much is individual depending on personal preferences, interpretations, characteristics, techniques, style, etc.

That said, sankaty's contender list is pretty sound though a lot of those skis are going to have quite different characteristics. The only way you'll ever know is to try them all. If you don't plan on demoing, just read online reviews and look for similarities between other people's preferences and your own (and especially differences on what other people like). Just beware most reviews will be glowing. After dropping $500 on a ski, no one likes to admit "damn, I made a dumb purchase!" Thus knowing your differences relative to other reviewers with glowing reviews is often just as important as similarities.

riverc0il said:

Just goes to show you the subjectiveness on gear. I don't find the Watea 94 to be a stiff ski and I got it specifically it straddles the line between having a respectable amount of beef without being a tree. And I find they prefer smaller turns to big turns due to the radius. Its always tough to generalize preferences because so much is individual depending on personal preferences, interpretations, characteristics, techniques, style, etc.

That said, sankaty's contender list is pretty sound though a lot of those skis are going to have quite different characteristics. The only way you'll ever know is to try them all. If you don't plan on demoing, just read online reviews and look for similarities between other people's preferences and your own (and especially differences on what other people like). Just beware most reviews will be glowing. After dropping $500 on a ski, no one likes to admit "damn, I made a dumb purchase!" Thus knowing your differences relative to other reviewers with glowing reviews is often just as important as similarities.

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I'll definitely demo a few of them. I guess I'm hoping that I'll fall in love with one of the contenders before having to go all the way down the list. We'll see.

Very true about how subjective gear reviews are. I think bump performance, which is key for me, is one of the most subjective, probably because of the range of techniques folks use in moguls. Edge grip on hard snow is another area where experiences seem to vary wildly, though that's not as much of a priority for me. It would be nice to have a ski that didn't drift as much under pressure as my B2s do, but that's a pretty low bar. Of course, that edge release is part of what makes them so nice and slithery in bumps, so it's a balance.

If the Sultan 85 is as good as the older Legend 8000 is in the bumps/trees, you have to seriously consider those. Might just be my next ski.

Greg said:

If the Sultan 85 is as good as the older Legend 8000 is in the bumps/trees, you have to seriously consider those. Might just be my next ski.

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i'm loving mine - there really isn't anything this ski doesn't do pretty well

Greg said:

If the Sultan 85 is as good as the older Legend 8000 is in the bumps/trees, you have to seriously consider those. Might just be my next ski.

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My wife has the Legend 8000. It's a fantastic ski. I almost got them in 2007 instead of the B2, and sometimes wish I had.

The Sultan 85 is currently at the top of my list to demo, though I'm also really curious about the Line Prophet 90.

Personally, I would go for a straight up pow ski over 100mm and then keep the B2s for bump days.

I find that bump performance goes down considerably when you get much above 80 in the waist, especially solid/icy bumps..

I ride a High Society Free Ride as my eastern pow ski. It's a fantastic ski and handles bumps very well, but definitely not in the same league as a B2, which is my primary ski as well. I wish they made a longer version of the High Society that was still 92 underfoot. I'm 5'8" 190lbs. I like the ski a lot, but wish it was more in the 185 range with a straight tail as opposed to the 179 twin tip that it comes in.

deadheadskier said:

Personally, I would go for a straight up pow ski over 100mm and then keep the B2s for bump days.

I find that bump performance goes down considerably when you get much above 80 in the waist, especially solid/icy bumps..

I ride a High Society Free Ride as my eastern pow ski. It's a fantastic ski and handles bumps very well, but definitely not in the same league as a B2, which is my primary ski as well. I wish they made a longer version of the High Society that was still 92 underfoot. I'm 5'8" 190lbs. I like the ski a lot, but wish it was more in the 185 range with a straight tail as opposed to the 179 twin tip that it comes in.

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Interesting thought. The Mantras seemed super wide at 96mm, but really fun to get up on edge. Would be great to try out something over 100mm. However, I've been having a hard time reconciling my skiing style to a ski that is too specialized. I like alternating runs, one in the bumps, another in the trees, etc. The only dedicated bump days are in the spring (and I'll definitely keep my B2s for those).

I guess I'm hopeful that the Sultan 85 or Watea 84 (and maybe even the P90) won't be too much of a step down from the B2 in the bumps and do other things better, but it's possible that I'll find that my B2s are still the best all-mountain skis for my purposes.

sankaty said:

I'm also really curious about the Line Prophet 90.

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For what you said, I would lean more towards the prophet flite than the 90's. I have a par of last years 90's and love them for a groomer/tree ski. But the flite is softer and wont get kicked around so much in the bumps. The flite will hold a much better edge than the B2 on groomers.

Got a chance to demo both the Sultan 85 and the P90 in variable conditions at Sugarbush. Really liked both skis, but need a some more time with them to make a decision.

Conditions: mostly FG with some windblown powder following a heavy thaw, refreeze. Very atypical, but allowed me to test the skis in some crazy conditions.

Sultan 85 (172cm):

Handled really well on the firm FG groomers where my B2s would have been useless. Had several runs through several inches of windblown powder over a scratchy crust. The Sultans handled this very well. Flotation and turn initiation was excellent, allowing me to stay in the narrow lanes of powder along the sides of the upper mountain trails. The jury is still out on mogul performance. I got tossed around more than usual on Middle Earth, but the bumps beneath the new snow were Very Firm, so I'm not sure what was the ski and what was the snow.

Line Prophet 90 (172cm):

These skis really spoke to me. Fantastic on the hard snow. The tails are perfect for my skiing style, holding an edge right until I'm ready to release the turn. In bumps, they were unexpectedly fantastic, maybe as good as my B2s. I found soft bumps on Morning Star, so I really got to get a feel for them (wish I had tried the Sultans on this trail). The only caveat in bumps is that the tips would sometimes catch on each other with my narrow stance, but I can adjust to this. My only concern about these skis is deeper snow performance. Most of the powder from the day before was tracked out, so I only got a couple of turns in powder on the P90s, and the tips seemed a little divey. I was sking them short (172), so a bump up to the 179s might take care of that. It also might just have been imagined, as my powder sample was much too small to draw real conclusions.

Both skis made me realize how much my B2s lack in anything but very soft snow. The tails on the B2s wash out so easily, it's very hard to pressure the second half of a turn on anything remotely firm/steep. The P90s (and possibly the Sultans, pending more bumps) were superior to the B2s in just about every way.

Next up, try the P90s a bit longer (and in deeper snow), the Sultans in bumps, try the Watea 84 and possibly the Line Flite.

When my P90's were the widest ski that I had, I never thought they were lacking in the powder. Now that i have some Powder skis I find them to not float as nice, but I loved them before.

Fwiw...there's another in that zone...if you see it anywhere, might be worthwhile to demo = Fischer Motive 84

bigbog said:

Fwiw...there's another in that zone...if you see it anywhere, might be worthwhile to demo = Fischer Motive 84

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I'd really like to try the Watea/Motive line, but I've been having a hard time finding demos of them.

i just grabbed a pair of line elizabeths (139/110/137) what a great ski, it carves better than my rossi powderbird at 80 underfoot..was great in the bumps and trees...love it, held a great edge on the hardpack...dont just look at the underfoot measurement, look at the whole ski....

I have it as a tele setup with hammerheads...

Dynastar Sultan 94 is an amazing ski. Wide but it still carves. For what it's worth I never really liked the B2's even though I tele on the Powderbirds