new cochise in the house! 192 & 186 pairs !
spent a lot of weekend on bonefide. damn nice on hard (but super perfect snow)
spent a lot of weekend on bonefide. damn nice on hard (but super perfect snow)
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Long and heavy charger skis
- Thread starter chris_the_wrench
- Start date
Where did you go, Anders? Seeing your interest in chargers, I should probably have you borrow my FL105s for a week next season.
hemsedal, still here
going to be here ish 10-14 more days this month at end.
yes please, Im located near oslo
Sure thing! We'll figure something out in the fall.Enjoy.hemsedal, still here
going to be here ish 10-14 more days this month at end.
yes please, Im located near oslo
Fixed a glaring hole in my quiver between the 102 Mantra and the 112 Katana V-Werks by adding the 108 Katana in 184. What an unwieldy beast of ski this is. Perfect ski for charging thru old cut-up powder. Would not ever recommend this ski to anyone. Plan on keeping mine.
Putting a little bend into the 108 Katana in the Steamboat trees
Putting a little bend into the 108 Katana in the Steamboat trees
Thread Starter
TS
Locally or on the line?
Public service announcement:
Okay, I haven't posted about this ski before. It's long but it ain't heavy, after all.
So technically speaking, it doesn't fit here. But performance-wise it does.
(Again, not sure about for really big skiers.)
For me this ski functions as if it were heavy, the second of two such skis I have:
Volkl V-Verks Katana 112 c. 191 and Head Kore 117 191.
Both these skis charge deep crud well, as if they were heavy skis, just
for folks looking for long/heavy chargers. But just the Head floats well.
Today at Vail it was supposedly 7" on top of 5" on top of 8" on top of 3" over the
last four days. In most places it was over a foot, and on many slopes it was
a foot and a half or more. Medium weight powder snow. Crud/chop only after a few hours,
in some places.
I had my Kore 117/191s out; what a great ski.
I got them because they have more float than my Black Ops 118 or other powder/crud chargers,
but they also do as well in crud, though different; and are less tiring because
they are light weight. They have none of the instability that goes
with the current lightweight skis. Less tiring than the BO 118s, which weigh
a lot more. For a person of light or medium weight (like myself), at least,
I just have to recommend these. I did not get tossed at speed once
for hours of skiing the fall line, at times fairly fast.
Ballpark bombproof - at this length.
Okay, I haven't posted about this ski before. It's long but it ain't heavy, after all.
So technically speaking, it doesn't fit here. But performance-wise it does.
(Again, not sure about for really big skiers.)
For me this ski functions as if it were heavy, the second of two such skis I have:
Volkl V-Verks Katana 112 c. 191 and Head Kore 117 191.
Both these skis charge deep crud well, as if they were heavy skis, just
for folks looking for long/heavy chargers. But just the Head floats well.
Today at Vail it was supposedly 7" on top of 5" on top of 8" on top of 3" over the
last four days. In most places it was over a foot, and on many slopes it was
a foot and a half or more. Medium weight powder snow. Crud/chop only after a few hours,
in some places.
I had my Kore 117/191s out; what a great ski.
I got them because they have more float than my Black Ops 118 or other powder/crud chargers,
but they also do as well in crud, though different; and are less tiring because
they are light weight. They have none of the instability that goes
with the current lightweight skis. Less tiring than the BO 118s, which weigh
a lot more. For a person of light or medium weight (like myself), at least,
I just have to recommend these. I did not get tossed at speed once
for hours of skiing the fall line, at times fairly fast.
Ballpark bombproof - at this length.
Hey @ski otter 2 did you see the weight of the new Reckoner 124 that’s available in long lengths? Thought of you when I saw the weight in this Blister article but forgot to link it to you. I’m intrigued
blisterreview.com
2024-2025 K2 Reckoner 124 | Blister Review
The Reckoner 124 is the widest, most powder-oriented model in K2's all-new Reckoner collection — here are the details.
blisterreview.com
Up to now, the K2 Reckoners have been more playful skis, and liked a more upright stance.
If the 124s are the stiffest in this line, it will be interesting to see how they ski, given their weight,
as you point out. Thanks.
(The Volkl Revolt 114, with its ability to charge both upright and driving forward, is one of the skis
that has me wanting to demo it, which I was unable to do this year.
I tend to mix up the Reckoners with the Revolts.)
My K2/Marker rep associate buddy says the past fat Reckoners are very playful and
fun in the powder trees, but are not so great outside this niche role. He will
let me know if the latest K2 fatty skis work in a more versatile, charger way. That may
have to wait a while, since last year he switched ski shops, from Larson's to the Vail
Gorsuch shop, which has sole North American dealership/distribution on the
VanDeer/Augment skis, and has a complete line of Stocklis also.
VanDeers and Stocklis have thus preempted most of his ski days and demoing.
He has loved and bought several of these himself.
I wish I could have really taken advantage of this availability of
these two brands myself, this season, but for various reasons,
I have not. Mostly because for me Vail is hard to navigate.
At any rate, none of these skis seems to be in the fat
long and heavy charger category. They are not really fat
skis, but more race-derived skis. So my friend has been a
bit distracted. He hardly noticed I was on Head Kore 117/191s today.
What a posh, densely packed place Vail is.
If the 124s are the stiffest in this line, it will be interesting to see how they ski, given their weight,
as you point out. Thanks.
(The Volkl Revolt 114, with its ability to charge both upright and driving forward, is one of the skis
that has me wanting to demo it, which I was unable to do this year.
I tend to mix up the Reckoners with the Revolts.)
My K2/Marker rep associate buddy says the past fat Reckoners are very playful and
fun in the powder trees, but are not so great outside this niche role. He will
let me know if the latest K2 fatty skis work in a more versatile, charger way. That may
have to wait a while, since last year he switched ski shops, from Larson's to the Vail
Gorsuch shop, which has sole North American dealership/distribution on the
VanDeer/Augment skis, and has a complete line of Stocklis also.
VanDeers and Stocklis have thus preempted most of his ski days and demoing.
He has loved and bought several of these himself.
I wish I could have really taken advantage of this availability of
these two brands myself, this season, but for various reasons,
I have not. Mostly because for me Vail is hard to navigate.
At any rate, none of these skis seems to be in the fat
long and heavy charger category. They are not really fat
skis, but more race-derived skis. So my friend has been a
bit distracted. He hardly noticed I was on Head Kore 117/191s today.
What a posh, densely packed place Vail is.
After 2 seasons on the 2022 M102 @ 184, I'm considering downsizing to a 177. I can get forward enough to drive the shovels fine, but it's a lot work to ski a full day like that.
Would going down to a 177 be a tad bit better experience? Not necessarily looking to do a bunch of quick and easy turns, just a little less work lol.
I'm 5'10", 230 lbs.
Would going down to a 177 be a tad bit better experience? Not necessarily looking to do a bunch of quick and easy turns, just a little less work lol.
I'm 5'10", 230 lbs.
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Thread Starter
TS
Id imagine that 177 should be readily available for a demo at Christys or similar in the colorado ski scene. Have you considered bumping your bindings forward? Or possibly forward lean of your boots?
Dropping down in size is, obviously, a option but Id be concerned about loosing a significant strength of that ski(its ability to run with stability and crush crud). Also you’d be loosing some floatation for your mass.
Wish this thread title was “Short and heavy charger skis” because I enjoy those more. Over the last 2 seasons my quiver has shortened up an average 8 cm across the board and I m skiing better because of it. Length is too closely tied to ego.
There are some used Katana 108s available for sale online just under $400 in 170 cm length.
I like the Kendo in the same length, I already have a pair of M-Free 108s in 182 cm length for deep days or a few days after a deep day when everything’s cut up, but an absolute crud buster like a Katana just sounds really fun for the Pacific Northwest.
Sorry.
Actually, it's a whole different thing. Both have their advantages. It depends on your style and skill set, and goals.
A lot of people's experiences went into liking long and heavy charger skis. (And there are a few lighter skis that fit the bill also.)
But a lot of people give you blank stares - have no clue the reasons.
I'm an old guy now, with less reason to charge with great stability, and versatility.
But just a few years ago, it was obvious, to me and to many of my friends, many of them in the business.
And it was obvious in how and where we skied.
(These tended to be the skis the brand reps and pros preferred also. And very little of it was about ego.
It's always been about performance and fun skiing.)
Exactly. I’ve been thinking either this or an M102. It could either be a lot of fun or not much fun at all.
I had my bindings mounted +1 when I got the skis and thought that would have been fine but haven't considered adjusting the bindings forward a little, that's a good idea!
For boots, rocking some Head Edge Lyt 130s, which have a decent amount of forward lean. I have the heel nut adjusted towards a softer flex since my calves are pretty big. I can still get forward enough in them if the top buckle isn't cinched down all the way.
Toyed with the idea of heel lifts but I don't think I need go in that direction. I'll definitely give the bindings a couple different shifts forward to see how they react! Thank you.
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Scratch that, my Marker Griffin 13s aren't adjustable like that (i think?). Ehh whatever it's not a big deal, these skis keep my core and glutes strong, will probably just commit to a different ski like a 177 Kendo to expand my quiver. Have just been stubborn about keeping a single daily driver.
Thank you for the suggestions though @chris_the_wrench
How you liking the Cochise? Really looking at this one for a really chargey bowl ski
I prefer 177-180. Plenty of stability in a stiff charger When you need it, much more fun to ski in techy steep and tree filled terrain. Also pretty darn sweet in bumps.
I am a bit smaller though at 5’9“ and run between 160-170 lbs most of the time.
However in some situations I know a little bit longer ski would really come in handy
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