• For more information on how to avoid pop-up ads and still support SkiTalk click HERE.

All-Mountain skis for a fast fifty-something?

Ron

Seeking the next best ski
SkiTalk Tester
Joined
Nov 8, 2015
Posts
9,282
Location
Steamboat Springs, Co
Stance 96. If you have the $, go with the Augment but these are my "all mountain" skis with a bias to soft snow.
 

noggin

Getting on the lift
Skier
Joined
Mar 21, 2018
Posts
237
Location
ME
Love the Bold Can beat the performance for the price. In my 50's and the Bolds have been my daily driver for the last 3 years here in the East. Can't recommend these enough for overall excellent hard snow performance including edge grip and stability. They are a damp and solid ski.
 
Thread Starter
TS
kitchener

kitchener

Still At Large
Skier
Joined
Dec 8, 2015
Posts
490
Location
Middletown, DE
Love the Bold Can beat the performance for the price. In my 50's and the Bolds have been my daily driver for the last 3 years here in the East. Can't recommend these enough for overall excellent hard snow performance including edge grip and stability. They are a damp and solid ski.

Have you had them out West, as well?
 

Ron

Seeking the next best ski
SkiTalk Tester
Joined
Nov 8, 2015
Posts
9,282
Location
Steamboat Springs, Co
the bolds are harder snow biased. they have very little rocker and a more traditional shape, that said, it has considerable sidecut and shape vs the typical "all mountain ski" they are fantastic ski's but for soft snow days, and days of 6+, the bold is not going to be optimal. for skiing steeps, trees and such on a powder day, the Stances or Augments will be much better. All mountain, the catchall term, really comes in soft snow biased and firm snow bias, the exception to that rule would be the Augment, but that requires skills and some power. The skier you described would be fine with them and if he has a race background, he would love the Augments.


The stances are my favorite soft snow biased all mountain ski. I use them primarily on leftover days here and in the trees, or skiing at resorts with bowls with steeps. they are very stable and solid ski's. they ski more traditionally and can also rip groomers. they are very stable at speed in crud/broken. They engage very well (so well, I dont feel the need for a mid-80's ski, my everyday groomer ski is a Blossom SL)) but of course, the bold will hook up faster and be more carve oriented but you are also comparing a 96mm ski vs, 84. The two really aren't comparable.

The Augment is supremely constructed and very traditional with no rocker. It has no speed limit and will ski like a narrower waisted ski. I ski the Augment 77 which is similar overall. its supremely stable and quiet and a joy to ski. It requires constant attention and will punish anyone in the backseat or who ski's lazily. It responds instantly to input. It can be drifted and slarved though but even the softest version of the ski is quite stiff overall. It is a race ski on a wider chassis.

If you wanted to stick to a narrower ski, the Kastle MX83 could also work.
 
Last edited:

noggin

Getting on the lift
Skier
Joined
Mar 21, 2018
Posts
237
Location
ME
Ron is spot on with the bold and that is does not excel in the soft snow or anything above ankle deep. The Stance is an awesome soft snow ski and would meet the requirements you stated. I was thinking of the ice bowls and skied off conditions, more often then not, of the Mid Atlantic and New England areas.
Cheers
 
Thread Starter
TS
kitchener

kitchener

Still At Large
Skier
Joined
Dec 8, 2015
Posts
490
Location
Middletown, DE
He kinda needs two ski's. there, I said it! :).

Wellll, I didn't want to muddy the waters -- he does have two. He's replacing his damaged Monster88s, but for trips out West, especially the kind of mountains where we might go off piste a lot, he's got a set of Mantras (I forget the width) -- great for crud busting. But, the skis he's shopping for are his daily drivers and as often as not, those are what he's got strapped on when we might suddenly and spontaneously diverge off the trail.
 

tomahawkins

Making fresh tracks
Skier
SkiTalk Supporter
Joined
Dec 3, 2019
Posts
1,798
Location
Bellingham, WA
Blizzard Brahma 88….
I'm surprised the Brahma 88 doesn't get more love here. Doesn't even show up in the ski selector. Near full cambler, stiff, heavy, directional. With the exception of sidecut, it seems to check most of the boxes that the AM88C does. Anyone who has been on both care to comment?
 

ScottB

Making fresh tracks
Skier
SkiTalk Supporter
Joined
Oct 29, 2016
Posts
2,166
Location
Gloucester, MA
Mission Control’s feedback is sticker shock on the Augments, and someone’s got his ear on the Enforcer 94’s. Anyone with some feedback on their performance in the “plus size” skier category? They weren’t in Phil’s initial list, so I’m thinking he‘d do better with any of the skis mentioned above thus far?

I am a Clyde (plus size) and I like the Brahma a lot for East Coast skiing. I would also recommend the Kendo, the Kastle MX89 or 83, and the Fischer RC One 86GT. I have skied the Enforcer 94 also, and it didn't do a lot for me. Kind of a little too soft and not enough tip engagement for my tastes. A lot of others like it though, but probably not the same skiers that like the Monster 88.

I haven't skied the Augment, so no comment other than its gathering steam on this site.

Skies I own and feel work well for a Clyde: Stockli Laser AX (78), Salomon Xdrive 88, Blizzard Brahma 88, Liberty Origin 96. I am thinking about adding another ski to the mix and maybe having a ski off: 2021 Faction CT 1.0, 92mm, 183cm, twin tip. This is the only year it was made as a charger and not a lightweight park ski. It gained about 400 grams and a tetanal plate under foot. I don't own it yet (waiting for prices to drop) but I did buy their 2021 CT 3.0, 112mm, 190cm and it feels like a stiff, chargy twin tip which I am looking forward to skiing on trips out west a lot this year. Not sure how well I will like the CT 1.0, but the price is good on Skis.com and I want to try it out before its gone forever. The 2022 model lost 400 grams and is back to a lightweight park/side country ski.
 

Ron

Seeking the next best ski
SkiTalk Tester
Joined
Nov 8, 2015
Posts
9,282
Location
Steamboat Springs, Co
so.... if its the mantra its in the 90;s so if he's just looking for a more versatile front side ski, that opens the doors up significantly. For instance, my go anywhere on the frontside and soft western bump ski is a SL. that might not work for most but you do't need anything too wide. I could list about 15 skis....
 

Johnfmh

Johnfmh
Skier
Joined
Aug 20, 2018
Posts
554
Location
Arlington, VA
I purchased a pair of Brahma 88s on sale at my local ski store at the end of last season. I am eager to test them on the ice coast. If they can handle Mid-Atlantic ice, they can handle any ice. On the other hand, I am also eager to see for how they perform on soft snow. My local hill, Timberline Mountain, can get 6 inches of snow overnight—perfect for an 88 mm ski. I will report back mid season.
 

Ron

Seeking the next best ski
SkiTalk Tester
Joined
Nov 8, 2015
Posts
9,282
Location
Steamboat Springs, Co
the brahma is a very nice ski, I think you will be very happy with it. One caveat for me is its flex pattern is not optimal for varied off piste terrain. What I mean by that is the tips and tails are quite stiff and I prefer ski's that have a little more flex in the furthest points of the tips and tails. that allows the ski to be bent easier and worked more depending on the turn shape and terrain. this design does not affect stability, that's really optimized in the area underfoot, and the ares just in front and behind the binding as well as in the horizontal rigidity.
 
Last edited:
Thread Starter
TS
kitchener

kitchener

Still At Large
Skier
Joined
Dec 8, 2015
Posts
490
Location
Middletown, DE
He wants to replace his damaged Monster 88 daily drivers. Well-regarded mid-fats are a dime a dozen, but they don't all perform the same under a 200+ pound hard-charging 56 yo who needs a ski that will hold an edge on Mid-Atlantic ice but will also hold up at Alta on a day where a set of 99s aren't optimum. If it were me, I'd just go grab the new MX88s (I might yet lol) but he doesn't want to pay a lot for this muffler.
 

Ron

Seeking the next best ski
SkiTalk Tester
Joined
Nov 8, 2015
Posts
9,282
Location
Steamboat Springs, Co
OK, so he really "wants" something no wider than 88. I think skiers focus too much on actual width of a ski and not what its capable of. Personally, I would be looking at something in the mid 80's at the widest. You can ski something that's 78-82mm on anything groomed of course and easily up to 3-4", and that ski will be better for carving and in the bumps as long as its not a stiff race ski, and then take the Mantra's out for anything over 4". Not saying you should buy what I have but as an example, I ski my Blossom SL's (non-FIS) or Augment 77's in anything under 3" and then grab my Stance 96 or my Moment 108's if its about 5" over soft. I dont need anything in-between.
 
Last edited:
Thread Starter
TS
kitchener

kitchener

Still At Large
Skier
Joined
Dec 8, 2015
Posts
490
Location
Middletown, DE
Ideally, it'd be great to just go out and demo a bunch of stuff and go with what feels best (how he ended up on Kendo 88s two generations ago, and on that width specifically) but he was able to do that on a trip out West later in the season. The damaged Monsters aren't giving him the option so it'll have to be a leap of faith. I guess the mid-fat category/comfort zone (86-90?) he's looking at is because he enjoyed his last two generations of 88s as skis that did well on ice and in 10 degrees, and for an unscripted foray off piste at Telluride.
 

Sponsor

Staff online

Top