Enforcer 104 alternative?

[tch]

I bought a pair of used Enforcer104 Free’s for a western soft snow all-mountain ski… but I haven’t bonded with them. I’ve been skiing a pair of 20-21 Brahmas for my western groomer ski. I like the looser tail and width of the 104s in the fresh and bumped crud but the skis overall feel heavy and somewhat ponderous, esp. when I get back on the groomers. I miss the quickness of the Brahmas and have been skiing them more in the deep, regardless of their width and “stickier” tails.

Anyone got got a suggestion for a lighter, more agile wide ski that does not give up much to the Enforcers in damping and suspension? A playful charger?

FWIW, I’m 5’7”, 170 lbs, advanced-level skier on 179’s.

 

[tch]

Nothing?

 

[David Chaus]

Rossignol Sender 94?

I myself just purchased a DPS Pagoda Piste 94 in 178 for pretty much the conditions you describe. I’m 5’10”, 150 lbs, advanced-expert-ish.

 

[tomahawkins]

I bought a pair of used Enforcer104 Free’s for a western soft snow all-mountain ski… but I haven’t bonded with them. I’ve been skiing a pair of 20-21 Brahmas for my western groomer ski. I like the looser tail and width of the 104s in the fresh and bumped crud but the skis overall feel heavy and somewhat ponderous, esp. when I get back on the groomers. I miss the quickness of the Brahmas and have been skiing them more in the deep, regardless of their width and “stickier” tails.

Anyone got got a suggestion for a lighter, more agile wide ski that does not give up much to the Enforcers in damping and suspension? A playful charger?

FWIW, I’m 5’7”, 170 lbs, advanced-level skier on 179’s.

What is your expectation of a wider ski? When would you want to use it over your Brahmas? Like you, I've been spending more time on narrower skis in deeper conditions. As long as the snow is light, I'm fine with narrow up to 12". But here in the PNW, heavy snow is the norm. So I reach for wider skis when going "through it" becomes less of an option. I'm starting to prefer softer skis in the wider platform, primarily for easier tail release for when the snow becomes tail-locking. This year I've been happy with Peak 104s and recently the 110s. But in general for me, skis over 100 always feel heavy and ponderous on groomers -- or on the resulting compacted concrete mid afternoon on a PNW "powder" day. I think little has to do with the actual weight of the skis and more because of the loss of leverage over the edges. On a few of these days this season, switching from wide skis to narrow, albeit heavier skis, actually made the skiing less fatiguing and more fun.

Not to focus only on wide-vs-narrow, I've also started choosing flex based on conditions. When the snow is pliable, I like really stiff skis (Ogasaka TC-SUs @170) for edge hold. But when the bumps firm up, I prefer skis with better suspension and more length (Head eRace Pros @180).

 

[1Turn2Many]

Enforcer 94? Almost as good as Brahma 88 (black ones) in bumps but better in fresh and crud. Stout but not ponderous.

 

[plannersteve]

I bought a pair of used Enforcer104 Free’s for a western soft snow all-mountain ski… but I haven’t bonded with them. I’ve been skiing a pair of 20-21 Brahmas for my western groomer ski. I like the looser tail and width of the 104s in the fresh and bumped crud but the skis overall feel heavy and somewhat ponderous, esp. when I get back on the groomers. I miss the quickness of the Brahmas and have been skiing them more in the deep, regardless of their width and “stickier” tails.

Anyone got got a suggestion for a lighter, more agile wide ski that does not give up much to the Enforcers in damping and suspension? A playful charger?

FWIW, I’m 5’7”, 170 lbs, advanced-level skier on 179’s.

Agree with tomahawkins that defining what you want for this ski is important. Assuming your Brahama's are 88 underfoot? Are you trying to do a two-ski quiver? My thought is that would be a 82-86 groomer ski and a 102-108 soft snow ski. Prioritize what is most important in that wider ski, maneuverability, float, or suspension.

I recently demoed the Atomic Bent 100's. They are a light ski and are somewhat stiff. I found them easy to maneuver and flick around in the fresh 5" we had that day. They got bounced a bit in the heavily chopped areas. They seemed to carve well on the limited amount of smoother groomed run I found that day.

Volkl Blaze 106 is a light ski, might not have your desired suspension.

 

[peterm]

The updated Stance 96 is one I'm interested in and could be what OP is looking for. I almost bought the old ones but decided I wanted something a fraction less serious and more playful.

 

[Tom K.]

Well if you love the Brahma, perhaps keep it simple and move up to a pair of Bones?

I was having similar thoughts to the OP's about a replacement for my much-loved, five seasons old, Enforcer 100s. Considered them as heavy as my old knees want, and the new version is heavier/stiffer, so I went a bit in the other direction with a pair of K2 MB99s.

In reserve for next season, so no impressions yet.

 

[GregK]

Obvious question anytime new Enforcer owners(especially Free versions) find them “heavy, slow edge to edge and demanding” is have they been stone ground to flatten the base and make sure base bevel is uniform tip to tail at 1 degree?
VERY commonly edge high/railed which makes even lighter, narrower skis much more work than they should be. Found the 186cm 104 a super easy ski for my 175lb after also needing a grind/tune.
I’d spring for a full tune(telling the tech that they might be railed) and try them out again. I’m sure they would be a transformed ski for much less money than swapping skis.

 

[Lauren]

I have a pair of Enforcer 104s in a 172....I feel a lot of the same things you do. They favor larger turns, despite their pivot-able nature. Definitely on the slower side of things edge-to-edge, and fairly heavy. Still playful, but quite chargeable. They are just "a bit much" sometimes.

I picked up a pair of Armada Strangers this year, and based on your description of what you like/dislike about the Enforcers...I would definitely recommend trying them out. Reviews from SkiTalk and SkiEssentials here:

2023 Armada Zero Stranger

Philpug Size tested: 180 Location tested: Snowbasin, UT Conditions tested in: Groomed old snow Fun. Playful. Puppy-like. There are dozens of words I can substitute when describing the Zero Stranger. But the name itself is apt: No feature, knoll, or jump will be a stranger to this ski while you...

www.skitalk.com

SkiEssentials

www.skiessentials.com

 

[TahoeWarrior]

A few skis to look up that might fit the bill (I'm kind of looking for something similar to you):
- new 2024 Rustler 9 or 10(I own the outgoing 10 model; is lighter, playful and awesome, not a high-speed charger though. New one is meant to be more charge oriented).
- 4frnt msp 99 (a ski I might be buying)
- Faction Dictator 2.0
- Salamon Stance line also of interest.

Keep us posted.

 

[Coolhand]

Blizzard Hustle 10 - Not just a "backcountry" ski, very capable in-bounds
Fischer Ranger 102 (or 96) - really easy off-piste, capable on soft groomers
Head Kore 105 - very light, but strong, can do it all
Volkl Blaze 106 - very light, but still can carve you back to the lift.
Rossignol Sender 104Ti - ease of Soul 7, with more grip, and stability, and better on piste

 

[BMC]

Blizzard Hustle 10 - Not just a "backcountry" ski, very capable in-bounds
Fischer Ranger 102 (or 96) - really easy off-piste, capable on soft groomers
Head Kore 105 - very light, but strong, can do it all
Volkl Blaze 106 - very light, but still can carve you back to the lift.
Rossignol Sender 104Ti - ease of Soul 7, with more grip, and stability, and better on piste

^^^^This is the direction I’d have been steering you for sure.

I assume you don’t just want a wider Brahma (the Bonafide is your answer, if that’s what you want), but a ski that replicates some of the relative looseness of the 104, without it’s ponderousness*. All these more agile skis will do that. I might also add the Salomon QST 98 or 106 and DPS Wailer 106 to the mix.

* I don’t find it ponderous but it is damp and relatively heavy so I get where you’re coming from.

 

[givethepigeye]

Sender 104ti

if you don’t mind extra 2mm width - the Kastle Fx106ti is very nice. skis groomers fine as long as it’s soft’ish and very refined. downside is probably not many deals.

to me - lightness is not a characteristic I’m looking for in a resort oriented powder ski that sees any level of traffic.

and as mentioned above - might be worth making sure the base is flat before kicking them down the road. Apparently notorious for not being so.

 

[locknload]

I can't quit my 104 Frees. There are times they feel a bit ponderous, but that tends to be when my energy level is low. Given how well they crush crud..particularly Sierra crud at places like Mammoth, going to something lighter with less metal has a big penalty. That said...if your mind is made up and you are moving on....I like the Rustler Line a lot. Pick whatever width you are doing for and you'll experience a bit more playfulness with some real strength underfoot. They will not handle crud the way the E104s will...but you have to pick your poison and decide what you want to trade off. If I lived in UT, I think I'd make the Rustler 11 my daily driver. Another one to look at is the Armada Declivity 102. Still directional and powerful but a bit more playful in its personality.

 

[tch]

Ok! Thank you for all these suggestions. FWIW, I’m keeping the Brahmas for groomer/small snowfall skiing. What I want is a wider ski (102+) for deeper days off-piste where I will be skiing (realistically) crud and bumps. I like the “pivotability” of the Enforcers, but not the weight. I will be picking my way, so don’t need lotsa beef for mach schnell skiing. But my knees need some kind of suspension so nothing TOO light.

I’ll be following up on some of these. Rustler 10 intrigues me as does the Sender.
Oh, and FWIW, the 104s have been recently tuned with special attention to base flatness

 

[Rgillispie]

Ok! Thank you for all these suggestions. FWIW, I’m keeping the Brahmas for groomer/small snowfall skiing. What I want is a wider ski (102+) for deeper days off-piste where I will be skiing (realistically) crud and bumps. I like the “pivotability” of the Enforcers, but not the weight. I will be picking my way, so don’t need lotsa beef for mach schnell skiing. But my knees need some kind of suspension so nothing TOO light.

I’ll be following up on some of these. Rustler 10 intrigues me as does the Sender.
Oh, and FWIW, the 104s have been recently tuned with special attention to base flatness

I'll second the rustler line. I have a thread about recently demoing a handful of skis. I thought I'd love the enforcers, but couldn't get along with them. Although the Rustlers (2022) were softer than what I typically like, I was very impressed. The fact that the 2024 Rustlers are supposed to be the same style ski with a bit more dampness seems to me like a no brainer for a one-ski quiver.

 

[Johnny V.]

I too picked up a relatively cheap pair of Enforcer 104s off KSL while we are here in SLC as the widest I own
(and brought with me) were Stormrider 88s. Skied them last Sunday at DV with fairly deep powder and they floated fine, but had no edge grip as they badly needed a base grind. Had that done locally, asked for a 1/3 base/edge and skied them yesterday again at DV. Fine on the soft stuff, but when things got scraped, they lacked again for edge grip and felt (as the OP says) kind of ponderous. My overall reactions to the skis was "Meh"-they'll work in powder, but nothing to get that "wow" feeling over. Has anyone played with fore or aft binding adjustment? I set these on the line, but they are system bindings and can be moved.

 

[Roby lukens]

Obvious question anytime new Enforcer owners(especially Free versions) find them “heavy, slow edge to edge and demanding” is have they been stone ground to flatten the base and make sure base bevel is uniform tip to tail at 1 degree?
VERY commonly edge high/railed which makes even lighter, narrower skis much more work than they should be. Found the 186cm 104 a super easy ski for my 175lb after also needing a grind/tune.
I’d spring for a full tune(telling the tech that they might be railed) and try them out again. I’m sure they would be a transformed ski for much less money than swapping skis.

Just to concur with the enforcer tuning thing. My enforcer 93s bought a few years ago needed two passes through the tuning process (i think i didn’t have the right person on the tuning machine the first time) to get the bases flat and get them to where they felt like the skis i demoed (several times) and loved. Worth looking into at least.

 

[locknload]

I too picked up a relatively cheap pair of Enforcer 104s off KSL while we are here in SLC as the widest I own
(and brought with me) were Stormrider 88s. Skied them last Sunday at DV with fairly deep powder and they floated fine, but had no edge grip as they badly needed a base grind. Had that done locally, asked for a 1/3 base/edge and skied them yesterday again at DV. Fine on the soft stuff, but when things got scraped, they lacked again for edge grip and felt (as the OP says) kind of ponderous. My overall reactions to the skis was "Meh"-they'll work in powder, but nothing to get that "wow" feeling over. Has anyone played with fore or aft binding adjustment? I set these on the line, but they are system bindings and can be moved.

Enforcer lacking for edge grip is just not something you hear very often. It is a powerful ski with the Enforcer pedigree. I can't argue with how it feels to you...that's just surprising comment.