I'll chalk this one up to "ski what ya' like". .
I am thinking about adding another ski to the mix...: 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. ...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.
@kitchener - There's a nice pair of these for sale here in 178 length. Maybe an option?Blossom AM85 or a NOS Crosswind
I’ll answer this as I’m the one who has dragged @ScottB into the 2021 Faction Candide cult! HahaThat does sound like an interesting ski -- it was just a one-off, the 2021? Any predictions how the added weight will perform?
@kitchener - There's a nice pair of these for sale here in 178 length. Maybe an option?
Sold - 2021 Blossom Cross Winds 178cm $525.00
The Cross Winds are, as of 2022, now called the AM85. Graphics for '22 are updated. Other than that the shape and construction are identical. I skied these for five days and really liked them. I'm getting out of the mid 80's category however, so I'm reluctantly letting these go. Bases are 9/10...www.skitalk.com
love the 77 and the crosswind/AM85. However, what can the 85 do that the 77 can't? this where I got out of the 80-something ski's and went back to narrower.
The 200+ weight means add about 10mm width to a ski you would like in the same conditions, Ron, and if the ski comes in different stiffness's (ie. Augment) bump it up at least one or two notches. Heavy weight plus charger makes a difference in ski selection. I am in that category and the Brahma is my softest ski.
why would you add 1cm to a frontside ski? Stiffness is in the furthest tips and tails, not underfoot.
to each their own but im very comfortable on a 77 in up to a few inches of fresh or leftovers on a groomed run or bumps. I will go wider when Im off piste all day, encountering steeps and terrain I dont know what im getting into.Times I can think of are the trips out West when it hasn’t skied for days and our wider crud busters are back in the barn and we’re out on groomers but spot some off piste trail that looks like fun, with the inevitable ruts from previous skiers over the past few days since it’s snowed last. We’re not headed back to the condo so wouldn’t an ~88 be a little more fun (and in control) than a 77?
I think taken to its extreme, you could be a binary skier... where you'd either be skiing powder on your 1-0-somethings, or else you only need an FIS slalom ski. (I.e. you either need float, or you don't.)to each their own but im very comfortable on a 77 in up to a few inches of fresh or leftovers on a groomed run or bumps. I will go wider when Im off piste all day, encountering steeps and terrain I dont know what im getting into.
Did you ever try a Hero Elite LT? I ski an older 69 mm model at 183 cm and have not had this problem, although I probably don't ski as fast as you in crud.I assume this is directed to me. To answer the questions you add 1cm to a front side ski for float and the ability to go over crud piles versus plow through them. Width isn't the whole story, of course, but its the first chapter. If you are limiting the context to hard packed conditions, I would basically say the opposite and agree with you. I like narrow carvers for hard packed snow.
Not sure I understand the stiffness comment, but I am speaking overall stiffness. It does vary from tip to tail, so maybe overall flex pattern is more accurate. Anyway, I like/need a certain amount of stiffness/strength in the tip and tail so I don't overpower them and they start deflecting. I skied a Rossi Hero Elite Plus Ti on a day with a lot of dense snow crud piles (181cm). That was one of the worst skis I have ever been on in terms of tip deflection. I was scared of injuring my knees on that ski it was deflecting so badly at speed. It took all my concentration to not loose control of the ski when going fast. Not the ski for someone my size to ski fast on. A lot of posters here really love that ski, but it didn't handle my weight and speed and the dense lumpy snow conditions that day. The next day I was on a K2 Ikonic 84TI and it was great in the same conditions. A much stiffer tip on that ski that worked for me.
I think taken to its extreme, you could be a binary skier... where you'd either be skiing powder on your 1-0-somethings, or else you only need an FIS slalom ski. (I.e. you either need float, or you don't.)
It can be had for $575love the 77 and the crosswind/AM85. However, what can the 85 do that the 77 can't? this where I got out of the 80-something ski's and went back to narrower.
?? Certainly there are some that outsource manufacturing. However those tend to be on the bigger side, JSkis, Faction or "big names" like Pollard with season skis. But the true "Indy's" build there own skis, otherwise they aren't really an Indy.A bit of history-Faction designs their skis but use a secondary facility to actually manufacture their skis like most Indy ski companies.