P.S. They buried my thread as a post at the bottom of Phil's Peak ski review, so that's where you'll have to go.
I'll try to post it here:
I skied the Peak 98/184 in a reported 4-5" of light fresh snow today, at Keystone. Parts of the runs were groomed, most were not.
This ski gets top rating from me, FWTW. (This has to be a preliminary take, since I've only been out on it for one day.)
Initially I'd ordered just the Peak 104 and 110, since I mostly am set/good with skis I have that are 98 and under at the waist, and 111 and over.
But a few months later, before my order had shipped, I noticed that Peak still hadn't sold out of their initial stock. Same offer, same price.
I gave in and ordered the Peak 98s also.
(Bode had said this was a ski that 80% of skiers [would enjoy] skiing 80% of the time. Maybe me too.)
Whatever was going on with the Peak 98, I figured it would be good for someone with a bit of race background, for starters,
given who was designing and prototyping it.
Sure enough, as with the Crosson skis, what Bode said - and demonstrated - about this Peak ski was accurate
(though not likely I'll ski it that high a percentage of my days
):
it's great, versatile, and a bit different at least - An all mountain ski that handles fresh snow/crud, some uneven, groomers.
It could easily be someone's daily driver, or one ski quiver. 5 stars.
(Uniform bumps and trees will have to wait for another day, or another skier.)
The first thing I noticed was it was damp, unflappable at least to start with, not pushing it.
Also, it had some float, and made the conditions I found easy.
It carved well, in a direct way that was like what a racer would want, groomer, or in new snow.
Yet it could also be skied more playfully, with slarve, a bit relaxed.
It handled the areas that had been groomed as well as any 88 ski or above in width I know of;
it did this in a way I'd thought the Stockli 88 would do, until I demoed that 88 and found I had to adjust more, make more effort.
The Peak 98 handled areas that were a bit of powder, and areas that were variable or crud.
It seemed to be completely dependable, carve or slarve, in the soft conditions I skied in today. Just tops.
Comparing the Peak 98 to other top skis of that width, at least on a preliminary basis,
I own the Blizzard Bonafide 98, and the K2 Mindbender 99, because I like them both, both differently.
The Bonafide is more dialed in overall, and is better on groomers; but the MB 99 smooth charges crud and slush with more character.
The Peak 98 is at least as dialed in as my 180 Bonafide, and carves even better, probably - at least so far.
The Peak 98, so far, may charge crud and slush as well or better than the Mindbender 99 - so far it seems to, at least with some crud; time will tell.
184, sorry.
I think because of the keyhole tech, it handles and charges with the quietness and stability of a longer ski, more like a 192, in that way.
But it turns easily and is quick like a 184 or shorter. It also seems to ski with the dampness of a heavier ski.
At least it felt that way in soft snow - not a complete test.
For me, a ski of that width is mostly, usually, a soft snow ski, unless the ski shows me otherwise;
I'll go narrower for harder snow, most days, if I can.