Skis 4 progression -- winner: Gotama!

From that list - Try Mantra then Gotama then back to Mantra.

Every strong skier I've ever spoken to who rides the mantra says it's one of the easiest and most versatile skis they've been on.

Yep.

The Gotama as well.

Depends on how much pow you expect. If he's really an intermediate skier, discourage something too long.

The Mantra, with a medium soft tail, is a very forgiving ski, skis both pow and hardpack very well, and skis cut up pow excellent, so if you expect <18" of pow go with the Mantra.

Less skilled skier => softer tail/wider ski fo pow. So, of that list, I say go with the Gotama if you expect >18" of pow.

If in doubt, get 177 Mantras, which will feel like twin surfboards compared to his Shuksans. I'm 6-2, 245 lbs., a quasi-charger and my go-to lift ski is a 184 Mantra, and it's plenty of ski. 177 Mantra is plenty of ski for a guy his size at his skill level.

Whistler was as good as you'd imagine it would have been Sat.-Mon., and not crowded either! New pow daily so it made a good testing ground for powder skis.

Day 1 was the Mantra in the 170 -- they were out of the 177. My pal the skier instantly improved and was able to ski not only powder but everything much much better. It was as if he miraculously developed a new-school style.

Day 2 he sized-up to the 177 in the Mantra -- still skied better but looked a little more like he did on his old Shuksans -- fighting them a little.

Day 3 was the Gotama. He opted to size down again, to the 168cm. Like magic he suddenly was able to ski deep powder confidently. Our little crew of boarders dropped 1500 vf of 35 degree glades on our first run and he bounced through them with a huge smile. On the Shuksan's it would have been a battle. But the the real conversion came on Coulier Extreme. We hit up the "easy" get in, right behind the first dozen skiers through. I dropped it and charged the 2 feet of fluff, stopping maybe 500 vf in. I looked back up and watch my friend arc turns past the 4 guys who had dropped in right before him. Huge smile: "dude that was rad -- I feel like I lost my virginity."

On the Shuksan's this slope would have had him gripping. We lapped some of the harder get ins for the next two hours, then lapped the park after we were totally wiped. He thought the skis edged fine on the few hardpacked places he could test them, so he bough the demos on the way home.

So thanks BIG thanks for the advice! I'm sure technique could be impoved but the fun factor went through the oof this weekend -- for him and for his ski buddies.

Two last comments -- the shorter length made life a lot more fun. I'm sure he'll be a hair slower in some conditions but who cares if you're having a good time! And the other thing he was most stoked on -- the flipped up tail: "this is great -- I can ride backwards if I get stuck."

Glad you got out on both skis and like the Gotamas.
I have both Gotamas and Mantras.
The Goats are a little squirrelly and washy to me, but I am way undersized on those at a 183. They sit around a lot and don't get much use.
My Mantras 191 are awesome, I am bigger 6'4"-195, as mentioned above they turn quick in tight chutes and trees, but because of the soft flex tend to sink at the waist a little more in the powder.
I assure you that when you need to point the Mantras they are more than capable of generating speed and stability. Since today I was forced to point them straight to avoid the 6 concrete trucks of snow that fractured on me and was pushing at my back sending me jetting at speeds over 45mph pointing straight down a bowl. Not the best way to test the ski, but glad they could handle it when things unexpectedly got crazy.

The Goats are a little squirrelly and washy to me, but I am way undersized on those at a 183. They sit around a lot and don't get much use.

FS?

I assure you that when you need to point the Mantras they are more than capable of generating speed and stability. Since today I was forced to point them straight to avoid the 6 concrete trucks of snow that fractured on me and was pushing at my back sending me jetting at speeds over 45mph pointing straight down a bowl. Not the best way to test the ski, but glad they could handle it when things unexpectedly got crazy.

Wow! Glad you had the pose to ride that out - sounds like a fall could have been ugly.